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The slider control is commonly used in software for adjusting volume, buffer limitations, custom colors, and monitor attributes. It can also be used for mouse settings and incremental adjustments, displaying a numerical value for reference.
Most software uses a graphical user interface (GUI) so that a person can issue commands to the software by pointing and clicking, turning a virtual knob, or pushing a virtual lever. A lever control, often used to adjust volume, is referred to as a slider.
Sound card software usually has a GUI control center for settings. In most cases a master volume slider reduces the overall volume, while the individual sliders set the levels for channels such as Line-In, Wave, Play Control, MIDI and CD-Audio. Media players capable of recording use sliders in a similar way and may also have a slider to balance the left and right stereo channels.
However, the slider control is useful for more than just setting the volume. It is often used to set buffer limitations or allocate memory used for temporary storage by programs that require buffering.
Software used to view streaming video typically uses a buffer to compensate for any delays in receiving data packets. The software preloads a section of the stream into the buffer before displaying the signal to the user. By staying “one step ahead of streaming” if packets arrive late, hopefully there is enough stream in the buffer to continue playing the movie without interruption. The user can normally assign the amount of memory he wishes to use as a buffer using a slider control.
Another use for the slider is in creating custom colors in art or graphics programs and basic operating system control panels. Choosing to create a custom color, the user typically clicks through a range of colors within a virtual palette, then uses a slider to deepen or lighten hue, saturation, and luminescence. Similarly, programs used for editing digital photographs allow the user to press a slider to adjust the image’s contrast, brightness, and gamma effect.
Graphics cards also come with a GUI control center for adjusting monitor resolution attributes, color, contrast, image enhancement, scaling, and other features. Most of these adjustments are done with a slider. A handful of mouse settings are also set with a slider, such as mouse sensitivity, click speed, movement speed, and pointer trails.
For incremental adjustments, the cursor control is the control of choice in software programs. Most sliders display a numerical value for the degree of adjustment for reference. Many people may not realize how easy it is to make hardware changes using the software interface.
