Avoid slider "jump" when grabing it

geoslake · Jun 21, 2009, 09:11 AM

Hi

I've been facing this problems for years, so I thought I should ask here

When I wanna grab a volume slider, the slider often jumps to the value my mouse cursor was put on.
This can cause volume to jump to very high values, which is very annoying.

Is there a way to avoid this ?

ps:I thought the "double click" option could help (like, first click only select slider but cannot move it), but it doesn't...

Thanks

Russ · Jun 21, 2009, 05:17 PM

When you only want to move a slider a small amount, one workaround is to click on the slider just outside of its tracking area (i.e. where the tick lines are), in order to give the slider the focus without actually grabbing the thumb, and then use the arrow keys to adjust the value (assuming that the sliders resolution was not set so high that the arrow keys are useless).

geoslake · Jun 22, 2009, 08:08 AM

Thanks for answering.
Well, I didn't even know you could alter slider-kbd resolution

However your workaround, while working, really requires carefulness.
I think it would be a nice addition to have something like the double click I talked about.

Cheers

Russ · Jun 22, 2009, 08:54 PM

By resolution, I mean the slider's internal range and step size -vs- the value displayed, etc.

A normal slider does not process double-click messages.
Also, a double-click is a single-click first... Adding the double-click behavior that you want could cause other undesirable side-effects.

Really the issue is that sliders were never meant to cover a wide range of values with exact precision. Movement is limited by pixels, and when a slider's range is way more than the number of available pixels, there is always going to be some problem. The ideal solution (if a slider is wanted, and you cannot or do not want to increase the length of the slider) would probably be to include a box where you can type in specific values, or maybe an up/down control (or both).

BTW: When you click on a slider, make sure that you click on the thumb, and not somewhere in the slider's track (which is supposed to cause a larger jump). The reason I mention it is because you spoke about volume sliders, and the volume sliders (i.e. in kxmixer or the 'vol' plugin, etc) never really jump more than like 1% for me, so I wonder why it would jump to very high values for you.

[EDIT]
Another workaround is to use the middle mouse button (if your mouse has one) to activate the slider, and then (again) use the arrow keys to adjust the value.

geoslake · Jun 23, 2009, 07:55 AM

Ok I see.
By "double click" I didn't mean the one we know in windows.
Just that a slider first would need to be focused before it can moves (what side effect could that cause ?).
Of course I try to click on the slider itself, but you have to be careful to click about on the middle of it.
If master volume goes from 2 to 6 or 8, the volume becomes superloud on my studio monitors.

[EDIT]
Damned, I didn't know about that, and that solves my problem !!!!
Thanks a lot !!!!

Jun 21, 2009, 09:11 AM	#1
geoslake DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 12 Rep Power: 0	Avoid slider "jump" when grabing it Hi I've been facing this problems for years, so I thought I should ask here When I wanna grab a volume slider, the slider often jumps to the value my mouse cursor was put on. This can cause volume to jump to very high values, which is very annoying. Is there a way to avoid this ? ps:I thought the "double click" option could help (like, first click only select slider but cannot move it), but it doesn't... Thanks

Jun 21, 2009, 05:17 PM	#2
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	Re: Avoid slider "jump" when grabing it When you only want to move a slider a small amount, one workaround is to click on the slider just outside of its tracking area (i.e. where the tick lines are), in order to give the slider the focus without actually grabbing the thumb, and then use the arrow keys to adjust the value (assuming that the sliders resolution was not set so high that the arrow keys are useless).

Jun 22, 2009, 08:08 AM	Thread Starter #3
geoslake DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 12 Rep Power: 0	Re: Avoid slider "jump" when grabing it Thanks for answering. Well, I didn't even know you could alter slider-kbd resolution However your workaround, while working, really requires carefulness. I think it would be a nice addition to have something like the double click I talked about. Cheers

Jun 22, 2009, 08:54 PM	#4
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	Re: Avoid slider "jump" when grabing it By resolution, I mean the slider's internal range and step size -vs- the value displayed, etc. A normal slider does not process double-click messages. Also, a double-click is a single-click first... Adding the double-click behavior that you want could cause other undesirable side-effects. Really the issue is that sliders were never meant to cover a wide range of values with exact precision. Movement is limited by pixels, and when a slider's range is way more than the number of available pixels, there is always going to be some problem. The ideal solution (if a slider is wanted, and you cannot or do not want to increase the length of the slider) would probably be to include a box where you can type in specific values, or maybe an up/down control (or both). BTW: When you click on a slider, make sure that you click on the thumb, and not somewhere in the slider's track (which is supposed to cause a larger jump). The reason I mention it is because you spoke about volume sliders, and the volume sliders (i.e. in kxmixer or the 'vol' plugin, etc) never really jump more than like 1% for me, so I wonder why it would jump to very high values for you. [EDIT] Another workaround is to use the middle mouse button (if your mouse has one) to activate the slider, and then (again) use the arrow keys to adjust the value. Last edited by Russ; Jun 22, 2009 at 09:51 PM. Reason: more info

Jun 23, 2009, 07:55 AM	Thread Starter #5
geoslake DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 12 Rep Power: 0	Re: Avoid slider "jump" when grabing it Ok I see. By "double click" I didn't mean the one we know in windows. Just that a slider first would need to be focused before it can moves (what side effect could that cause ?). Of course I try to click on the slider itself, but you have to be careful to click about on the middle of it. If master volume goes from 2 to 6 or 8, the volume becomes superloud on my studio monitors. [EDIT] Damned, I didn't know about that, and that solves my problem !!!! Thanks a lot !!!!