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Definition: button


(1) A marked area on an electronic device that is physically pressed to activate a function. The button may stand out from its base so that it can be located by feel, or it can be level with its base such as the left and right buttons on most mice (see mouse buttons).

(2) An icon on screen that is "pressed" by clicking it with the mouse or, if a touchscreen, tapping it with a finger.




Simulating Press Down
In the early days of personal computers, on-screen buttons were often made to operate like physical buttons by simulating their depression when clicked with the mouse. While the mouse button was held down, the software swapped the original button image (left) with a depressed version (right). See mouse over.