Slider
A numeric field entered by dragging a handle along a range rather than typing.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Data:
- Datastores — the datastore, then Table Designer to add or edit a field
What it stores
A number, exactly as a number field does. The difference is entirely in how it is entered — which means the choice is a usability decision, not a data one.
Where it works well
- Bounded ratings — satisfaction, confidence, priority on a fixed scale.
- Approximate values where precision is not the point.
- Percentages, where the ends are meaningful and the middle is a judgement.
- Touch interfaces, where dragging beats typing.
Where it does not
Anywhere the exact number matters. A slider makes entering a precise value harder than typing one — try setting 47 on a 0–100 slider on a phone — and users will accept whatever is near enough.
That is fine for a satisfaction rating and unacceptable for a price, a quantity or an age.
It biases the answer
Worth knowing if the value is data you will analyse. Sliders cluster: at the ends, at the middle, and at the position the handle starts in. Somebody who feels roughly positive drags to about three-quarters rather than deciding on 78.
So slider data is coarser than it looks, and treating a 73 as meaningfully different from a 76 is over-reading it.
Set the range and step deliberately
The range defines what is possible and the step defines how fine the choice is. A step of one on a 0–100 slider offers a hundred positions nobody can distinguish; a step of five or ten gives you honest data and an easier control.
Where you want a rating, consider whether five or ten discrete options — as radios or pills — would serve better and read more clearly in a report.
Mind the starting position
Wherever the handle starts is where an untouched field records a value. If it starts in the middle, every skipped question records a neutral answer that looks like a real one.
Decide whether an unanswered slider should be distinguishable from a deliberate middle, and if so do not default it to the middle.
Accessibility
Sliders are harder to operate for some users than a number box or a set of options, and harder still on a small screen. Where a field is on a public form, that matters more than the visual appeal.
Worked example
A feedback form uses a 0–10 slider with a step of one for likelihood to recommend, which is the conventional scale for that question. A separate "hours spent" field on the same form is a number box, because 3.5 hours needs to be exact and nobody should be dragging for it.
Recommendations
- Use it for judgements, never for exact values.
- Choose a coarse step — fine ones give false precision.
- Think about the starting position and what an untouched field records.
- Consider radios or pills for small rating scales.