As was mentioned earlier, the left mouse button is used to clear or "uncover" cells. Using complete determinism, covered cells that have been determined not to contain mines can be cleared using the left mouse button.

The programmers who wrote Minesweeper have provided a time saving step for situations when multiple cells must be uncovered. But in order to use this feature, a number has to be fully flagged. (i.e. a "2" must have two flags placed adjacent to it, a "3" must have three flags placed adjacent to it, etc.)

There are actually three ways to trigger the quick clear event. The first way is to press both the left and the right mouse buttons at the same time, on top of the number that has been fully flagged. In this handbook, this action will be referred to as a double-button click. This action is different in that we are not clicking on a covered cell, but clicking on a number (a cell that has been uncovered).

The second way may be used if you have a mouse that has a center mouse button, or a scroll wheel that can be clicked. Pressing the center mouse button on the number that has been fully flagged can also trigger quick clearing. This method provides a good playing "feel".

The third way involves the use of the "shift" key on the keyboard. If you hold down the shift key, and click the left mouse button on a number, that number will be quick cleared. This method is effective as you can simply keep the shift key depressed and use the left and right mouse buttons to flag cells and clear numbers.

Study Figure 11. In Figure 11(a), there is a blue "1" that has been fully flagged, and has three other cells in its neighborhood which must be uncovered. This blue "1" is highlighted in Figure 11(b). By double-button clicking (or center button clicking, or shift left clicking) on this "1", all three remaining cells will be uncovered simultaneously, as shown in Figure 11(c). This action saves two tedious clicks, and allows for faster game play.

Figure 11
(a) Find the blue "1", fully flagged, that has three neighboring squares to be uncovered. (b) The "1" in question is highlighted. (c) The board after the "1" has been quick cleared.

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