A general tag for user-interface events that are generated by the mouse. This includes pressing/releasing a button, clicking (including double/triple-clicks), moving, dragging, etc.
This tag deals with the events that are generated by preforming actions with a Computer Mouse and similar input devices which emulate the behaviour of a mouse (such as Touchpads and Graphic Tablets).
Mouse events are usually split into several categories:
- Button Press (Button Down) event - The event where a previously unpressed mouse button just became pressed
- Button Release (Button Release) event - The event where a previously pressed mouse button just became unpressed
- Button Click event - A Button Press event followed by a Button Release event. In some platforms and locations, this concept has one or more of the following limitations:
- The Press and Release both happend while the mouse was in the same place (the mouse wasn't moved between the press and the release). Sometimes there is a lighter version of this restriction, which only forces the mouse to be above the same "user interface element" on the press and release events.
- The Press and Release both happend inside a limited (usually short) time interval.
- Button Double (Triple/...) Click event - Two (Three/...) click events, one after another with the same mouse button. These may also have one or more of the limitations mentioned for a single click event
- Button Move (Motion) event - An event where the mouse is moved. Usually this refers only to the case where none of the mouse buttons was pressed (for the case where one or more buttons was in fact pressed, see the next definition).
- Button Drag event - An event where the mouse moves while one or more of the mouse buttons is held down
- Button (Scroll) Wheel event - In modern mice, there is usually a wheel part called scroll-wheel, which can be moved (aka rolled, scrolled) up and down. Such a movement of that part is referred to as a Mouse Wheel event.
- In some newer alternative input devices which also serve as a mouse, sometimes there won't be any physical whell. Instead, there may be hot-spot areas and/or buttons that will emulate the movement of the wheel. For example, in many touchpads, a movement in certain areas will be interpreted as scroll event.
- Some mice (and other devices) allow scrolling not just up and down, but also in other directions (typically, left and right).
For more information and definitions, see the Computer Mouse and it's operation on Wikipedia.
