Typically, linear sliders are used to easily set values that have familiar increments, such as feet, inches, degrees, and decibels. They also can be used for other purposes when immediate feedback is required, such as blending colors or showing a task's percentage of completion. For example, an application might let a user mix and match color shades by moving a slider arm, or a read-only slider could show how much of a task is complete by filling in the slider shaft as the task progresses. These are just a few examples of the ways in which sliders can be used.
The slider arm shows the value currently set by its position on the slider shaft. The user selects slider values by changing the location of the slider arm.
A tick mark indicates an incremental value in a slider scale. A detent, which is similar to a tick mark, also represents a value on the scale. However, a detent can be placed anywhere along the slider scale, rather than only in specific increments, and can be selected.
The appearance of a slider and the user interaction with a slider are similar to that of a scroll bar. However, these two controls are not interchangeable because each has a unique purpose. A scroll bar scrolls information into view that is outside a window's work area, while the slider is used to set, display, or modify that information, whether it is in or out of the work area.
Although linear sliders usually use values that have familiar increments, text also can be used. However, if the text is too long it can overlap the text displayed on the next tick mark or detent. Also, if the text on the far edge markers is too long, some of the text will not be displayed on screen. To prevent this use one of the following:
The slider can be customized to meet varying application requirements, while providing a user interface component that can be used easily to develop products that conform to the Systems Application Architecture (SAA) Common User Access (CUA) user interface guidelines. The application can specify different scales, sizes, and orientations for its sliders, but the underlying function of the control remains the same. For a complete description of CUA sliders, refer to the SAA CUA Guide to User Interface Design and the SAA CUA Advanced Interface Design Reference.