Although PC mice have two main buttons, people mostly use the left one. But if you've used Microsoft Windows for more than a few minutes, you have more than likely right-clicked something to get a pop-up list of actions. You may have right-clicked a file to erase or rename it, or right-clicked your desktop to arrange its icons. Still, you may not know how important right-clicking is to Windows' architecture, or may not have noticed that right-clicking various objects in different places displays different possible actions. In fact, Microsoft quotes research showing that 75% of Windows users don't use the right button at all.

Almost everywhere in Windows, right-clicking displays a shortcut menu, also called a context menu. A context menu displays actions and options available in the "context" of the object on which you clicked. The item shown in bold (dark and emphasized) text is the default action that will be taken automatically if you simply double-click the object or select it and press Enter.

Context menus may include items shown on menu bar dropdown lists and often include functions not otherwise available. Menu items depend on the type of object clicked (such as desktop icon, hard drive letter, or file name) and its location, but most context menus usually include standard or common items such as Copy, Paste, Delete, Rename, and Properties.

Additional items are determined by the context. For example, right-clicking within an e-mail being composed might also show Undo, Cut, Paste Without Formatting, Paste As Quotation, and Select All. Right-clicking within my version of Internet Explorer also shows Cut, Select All, and Print. And Windows Explorer offers Open, Print, Edit, Send To, FAX Recipient, Open With, Scan With Norton AntiVirus, WinZip, Send To, Cut, Create Shortcut, Rename, and Properties. Context menus clearly offer a variety of choices.

Some actions open submenus with detailed options. And installed software can change or add options, such as the addition of Scan With Norton AntiVirus and WinZip choices. Default actions such as which programs handle particular file extensions can also be changed either by user action or installing software.

The Properties item is among the most powerful of the items in the context menus, displaying information, attributes, and settings for Windows objects. For objects like hard drives it's also the gateway to actions and useful programs to run. In some applications, highlighting an item and pressing Alt-Enter also displays properties.

You can experiment by right-clicking the Windows Task Bar, both on program names and unoccupied areas. And right-clicking items in the System Tray (located at the far right side of the Task Bar) can reveal useful options. I learned that right-clicking Windows' "updates available" icon reveals the updates' characteristics.

Right-clicking can also affect actions being performed. For example, if you drag an object with the right button, you'll get a context menu offering choices such as Move, Copy, Create and Shortcut when you release the button with the cursor over the object's destination.

Right-clicking is safe and informative, since choices are displayed but no immediate action is taken. You can dismiss the context menu with the Esc key or by left-clicking outside the menu. And right-clicking is often faster than searching pull-down menus for the choice you want. Additionally, exploring context menus often reveals powerful object-specific capabilities.

By the way, those who are left-handed can swap the left and right mouse button functions in Window's Control Panel by opening the Mouse Properties dialog box and checking the box within the Button Configuration area to switch the primary and secondary button definitions.

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