Mouse Middle-click Trick

By | May 26, 2018
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Mouse Middle-click Trick

If you have a mouse with a middle button or a scroll wheel, you have a middle-click option you may not have known about.

With this tip we’re going to show you a middle-click trick we’re sure you’ll use often.

For this example, we’re going to have you open Notepad, so go ahead open Notepad. If you’re using Windows 10 type Notepad in the taskbar search and click on Notepad (Desktop app) when it appears at the top. On any version of Windows, you can open Notepad this way:

  1. Open a run command (Windows Key + R)
  2. Type Notepad in the run box
  3. Press enter

When Notepad is open you’ll see its icon in the taskbar. Now middle-click the Notepad icon – you’ll see that it opens a brand new instance of Notepad. You can do this again and again (don’t get crazy) and each time you middle-click on its taskbar icon a new instance of Notepad will open.

See?

Cloudeight Windows tips and tricks

You can see that I have 4 Notepad windows open, I’m working in window #1. By middle-clicking the Notepad icon on my taskbar, I can open as many new Notepad windows as I want. Geeky people call this opening new instances. Take your choice.

If you think your mouse wheel is not a middle click button, try pressing down on it quickly – like you would your left and right mouse buttons. Most of you will find that your mouse’s scroll wheel doubles as  middle mouse button. The mouse I’m using right now is just $15 cheapie. It’s Walmart wireless mouse – and the wheel doubles as a middle mouse button even on this inexpensive mouse.

This trick not only works for Notepad, but many other programs as well. It will work with any program that lets you open multiple instances. If you have an icon on your taskbar for Chrome, middle-click it – a brand new Chrome window will open. Most of you have a File Explorer (Windows Explorer) icon on your taskbar – if you middle-click it, a brand new File Explorer (Windows Explorer) window opens. You can do this with a lot of programs- but not all. Some programs allow only one instance to run at a time. So, experiement. Try the middle-click trick right now and open multiple instance of programs with a middle-click.

2 thoughts on “Mouse Middle-click Trick

  1. S Elliott

    I’ve got to say, I’m totally impressed with this simple procedure! It’s hard to find something new andyou’ve done it!

    Reply
  2. Norma Allardice

    Thank you. You are so clever and read your page every week.
    May I ask please?
    As a volunteer tutor for Seniors I need to have a quick solution to getting text, paragraphs etc. immediately.
    In Windows 10 Microsoft Word I was able to type a “few letters and then a figure of how many paragraphs I wanted”.
    ie, msw10, and enter. Magic I tell you.
    I would have text mentioning how to use Word documents and with 10 paragraphs of text in seconds.
    I used it then to show my students jape set margings. Insert pics, cut and paste, etc etc.
    I’ll bet my bottom dollar you know exactly what I mean! It should work on any Windows! Thank you. Volunteer Tutor for over over 21 years, Norma

    Reply

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