How do you Copy/Paste W/out a Mouse?

My mouse suddenly stopped working last night. Looking online, I've discovered Mousekeys, which enables me to navigate using the number pad instead of a mouse. That's great. However, I can't copy and paste using this option. Looking online, I found one site that had instructions on this, but they don't work for me. Pressing Shift and moving the arrow does not highlight anything. With nothing highlighted, I can't copy. I'm using Windows XP. Can anyone tell me how to copy/paste without a mouse?

Also, is buying a wireless mouse a good idea? It seems like the ones available are for notebooks. Could I use the standard Microsoft model on my Dell computer?

Any help is appreciated. This is driving me nuts.

 

I wouldn't waste much time trying to copy and paste without a mouse. I believe it can be done but I'd sure hate to do it for very long.

What type of mouse is your old one? Have you confirmed it's properly connected?

Well, I sure like a wireless mouse. I've been using one on my main computer for about 3 years. I also use one with my notebook PC.

That's not true at all. Where have you shopped?

Yes.

 

It's the computer at my parent's house. I suspect my mother disconnected it when she swept behind the computer, but I looked again and again and couldn't see where it was disconnected.

I searched for wireless mouses online and noticed their description either said Apple or Notebook. I need one that I can just pick up at Walmart that will work with a standard desktop computer. Any suggestions? I'd still like to know how to copy/paste without a mouse, but I'm still interested in a wireless.

 

I'm confused... do you mean, how to "select" without a mouse?

ctrl+x = cut
ctrl+c = copy
ctrl+v = paste

 

I've found that selecting text via keyboard only is very cumbersome and the procedure depends on the application being used. So, it really takes some experimentation. Basically, you can try hitting the Tab key until you get to a certain point on your computer screen and then hold the Shift key and use an arrow key to select some text. As I said before, I'd find it very frustrating for even the most brief of purposes.

I visited Walmart's website and, as you said, they do have a lot of notebook/laptop/mobile mice, much more than for desktop PCs. The desktop mice are often bundled with a wireless keyboard. Still, they have some separate wireless mice for desktops, such as http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8245527. You may want to check other retailers such as Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, Best Buy, etc. And, online sellers such as newegg.com and tigerdirect.com are good sources. See:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=65&name=Mouse
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=143&name=Mice&

 

Yes, those commands work once the text has been selected. The challenge is navigating to and selecting text in the first place without a mouse.

 

I've purchased both ball-type and Laser mice for as low as $5 ea., so getting a new mouse shouldn't be a real big deal.

Microsoft Mice have the smoothest operation and last a long time. That would be my first choice, but after that any Generic Digital mouse should work just fine.

A wireless mouse must have batteries in it, for it to work. (Yukk!) Also, the wireless signal can be scrambled by other electrical devices in the house. I've tried several wireless mice and always went back to a corded mouse just to lessen the "Hassle-Factor".

If you have a Wal*Mart in your area, you probably have several other stores that sell mice. Several were already mentioned in a previous post.
Around here, I can even buy them at the "Dollar General" or "WallGreens" stores.

Cheers Mate!
Shadow :cool

 

For the record, I'm trying to copy something in Gmail and paste it into Blogger. Thanks for the help.

 

In the email, arrow to place the cursor in front of the first character you want. Hold down the shift key and arrow to the last character you want. Once selected let go of the shift key and CTL + C. Then go to your Blogger and CTL + V. Done.

 

But, how does he do these actions with no mouse? That is the question. For example, how does he get his cursor to be in the body of the email message, with the cursor in front of the first character, in the first place without a mouse?

 

Hummmm I just reread his first post and he already has tried the SHIFT and arrow. So, now I'm assuming that his cursor is indeed not positioned correctly. Depending on his email client the TAB key should get him in the proper position.

 

It can be done. What you will need to do is to activate the keyboard mouse!!

To activate this feature, press Alt+Shift+NumLock keys at once and you will receive a small MouseKey box.

To keep MouseKeys on, click on Ok button or click on cancel button to cancel.

1,2,3,4,6,7,8 and 9 keys are used to move the mouse cursor into different directions.

Key 5 is used as mouse click button.

Insert key used to hold down mouse button.

+ Sign used to double click on any object.

Use the other shortcuts as described earlier.

 

Doesn't work for me. When I hold down the Shift key to highlight, everything on the page automatically highlights (including the ads on the side).

 

Is this a WEB page?

 

Yes...and the same thing happened when I tried Microsoft Word.

 

continuityerror, hurry up and get a mouse on that darned computer so this nonsense can cease.

 

Go to the start of the line you want to copy. Hit the 5 on the keypad. Then hit the + key this should select the first word. Then holding down the CTRL and Shift keys move to the end of the line you want to copy and hit the + key again. This selects that line.