Middle-click

Many mice and some touchpads have a middle mouse button. On a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can usually press directly down on the scroll wheel to middle-click. If you don’t have a middle mouse button, you can press the left and right mouse buttons at the same time to middle-click.

On touchpads that support multi-finger taps, you can tap with three fingers at once to middle-click. You have to enable tap clicking in the touchpad settings for this to work.

Many applications use middle-click for advanced click shortcuts.

  • In applications with scrollbars, left-clicking in the empty space of the bar moves the scroll position directly to that place. Middle-clicking moves up to a single page towards that location.

  • On the desktop, you can quickly open a new window for an application with middle-click. Simply middle-click on the application’s icon. The applications overview is displayed using the grid button in the dash.

  • Most web browsers allow you to open links in tabs quickly with the middle mouse button. Just click any link with your middle mouse button, and it will open in a new tab.

  • In the file manager, middle-click serves two roles. If you middle-click a folder, it will open in a new tab. This mimics the behavior of popular web browsers. If you middle-click a file, it will open the file, just as if you had double-clicked.

Some specialized applications allow you to use the middle mouse button for other functions. Search your application’s help for middle-click or middle mouse button.