Building a slider component
November 3 2005
My latest project was trying to build a Flash component that could be used to set multiplier preferences for a database application. I wanted it to be fairly plug-and-play - someone who didn’t know Flash programming should be able to insert it into a web page with minimal configuration and have it work. The file should be able to receive initial values and be able to send back changes. Plus it should be intuitive to use for less-than-tech-savvy users. I think I’m on the right track as this example demonstrates:
By entering values for a minimum value, maximum value, starting (default) value, and interval widths into the text boxes you can configure the scale that the slider covers. Then you can drag the slider along the scale and change the value (it will show in large numbers in the background.) By changing the “fix to scale” setting to “1″ you can limit slider selections to the set intervals.
In practice, the initial settings would be populated by a database query instead of by user input. And if you changed the setting the new value would go back into the database. But because this accepts variable starting data, you can plug it in to control numerous settings without having to create new controls.
There are still some glitches to work out, like the dead area over the text on the “configure” button. But I’m making some progress.
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