Spinner (computing)

Last updated
Example of a spinner together with a text box, placed above a check box Tabstop-spinner-gedit.png
Example of a spinner together with a text box, placed above a check box

A spinner or numeric updown is a graphical control element with which a user may adjust a value in an adjoining text box by either clicking on an up or down arrow, by pressing an arrow key down or moving mouse wheel, [1] causing the value in the text box to increase (if the up arrow is held down) or decrease (if the down arrow is held down). A spinner is typically oriented vertically. In most cases holding a button down causes the speed at which the associated value changes to increase. Usually, the value of the spinner is displayed in a text box next to the spinner, allowing the user to use the spinner to adjust the value, or to type the value into the text box. The combination of spinner and text box was coined as a Value Box.

A spinner is different from a scrollbar or slider in that a spinner is typically used to adjust a value without changing the format of the display or the other information on the screen. Thus, the appearance of the spinner at a given time does not represent the quantity of the associated value.

Related Research Articles

In computing and telecommunication, a control character or non-printing character (NPC) is a code point in a character set, that does not represent a written symbol. They are used as in-band signaling to cause effects other than the addition of a symbol to the text. All other characters are mainly printing, printable, or graphic characters, except perhaps for the "space" character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scroll Lock</span> Computer key

Scroll Lock is a lock key on most IBM-compatible computer keyboards.

Gamma correction or gamma is a nonlinear operation used to encode and decode luminance or tristimulus values in video or still image systems. Gamma correction is, in the simplest cases, defined by the following power-law expression:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrollbar</span> Graphical user interface element

A scrollbar is an interaction technique or widget in which continuous text, pictures, or any other content can be scrolled in a predetermined direction on a computer display, window, or viewport so that all of the content can be viewed, even if only a fraction of the content can be seen on a device's screen at one time. It offers a solution to the problem of navigation to a known or unknown location within a two-dimensional information space. It was also known as a handle in the very first GUIs. They are present in a wide range of electronic devices including computers, graphing calculators, mobile phones, and portable media players. The user interacts with the scrollbar elements using some method of direct action, the scrollbar translates that action into scrolling commands, and the user receives feedback through a visual updating of both the scrollbar elements and the scrolled content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dots per inch</span> Measure of dot density

Dots per inch is a measure of spatial printing, video or image scanner dot density, in particular the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch (2.54 cm). Similarly, dots per centimetre refers to the number of individual dots that can be placed within a line of 1 centimetre (0.394 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Text box</span> Boxes where text is entered in computing

A text box, text field or text entry box is a control element of a graphical user interface, that should enable the user to input text information to be used by a program. Human Interface Guidelines recommend a single-line text box when only one line of input is required, and a multi-line text box only if more than one line of input may be required. Non-editable text boxes can serve the purpose of simply displaying text.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aqua (user interface)</span> User interface of macOS by Apple

Aqua is the graphical user interface, design language and visual theme of Apple's macOS operating system. It was originally based on the theme of water, with droplet-like components and a liberal use of reflection effects and translucency. Its goal is to "incorporate color, depth, translucence, and complex textures into a visually appealing interface" in macOS applications. At its introduction, Steve Jobs noted that "... it's liquid, one of the design goals was when you saw it you wanted to lick it".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphical widget</span> Element of interaction in a graphical user interface

A graphical widget in a graphical user interface is an element of interaction, such as a button or a scroll bar. Controls are software components that a computer user interacts with through direct manipulation to read or edit information about an application. User interface libraries such as Windows Presentation Foundation, Qt, GTK, and Cocoa, contain a collection of controls and the logic to render these.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrolling</span> Sliding motion vertically or horizontally over display devices

In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures but moves the user's view across what is apparently a larger image that is not wholly seen. A common television and movie special effect is to scroll credits, while leaving the background stationary. Scrolling may take place completely without user intervention or, on an interactive device, be triggered by touchscreen or a keypress and continue without further intervention until a further user action, or be entirely controlled by input devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrow keys</span> Set of keys on a typical computer keyboard

Arrow keys or cursor movement keys are buttons on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor in a specified direction. The term "cursor movement key" is distinct from "arrow key" in that the former term may refer to any of various keys on a computer keyboard designated for cursor movement, whereas "arrow keys" generally refers to one of four specific keys, typically marked with arrows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Option key</span> Modifier key present on Apple keyboards

The Option key, , is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. It is located between the Control key and Command key on a typical Mac keyboard. There are two Option keys on modern Mac desktop and notebook keyboards, one on each side of the space bar.

In computing, caret navigation is a kind of keyboard navigation where a caret is used to navigate within a text document.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Aero</span> Design language

Windows Aero is a design language introduced in the Windows Vista operating system. The changes made in the Aero interface affected many elements of the Windows interface, including the incorporation of a new look, along with changes in interface guidelines reflecting appearance, layout, and the phrasing and tone of instructions and other text in applications.

The marquee tag is a non-standard HTML element which causes text to scroll up, down, left or right automatically. The tag was first introduced in early versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and was compared to Netscape's blink element, as a proprietary non-standard extension to the HTML standard with usability problems. The W3C advises against its use in HTML documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fn key</span> Keyboard modifier key

The Fn key, short form for function, is a modifier key on many keyboards, especially on laptops, used in a compact layout to combine keys which are usually kept separate. It is typically found on laptops due to their keyboard size restrictions. It is also found on many full-sized "multimedia" keyboards as the F-Lock key. It is mainly for the purpose of changing display or audio settings quickly, such as brightness, contrast, or volume, and is held down in conjunction with the appropriate key to change the settings.

A webform, web form or HTML form on a web page allows a user to enter data that is sent to a server for processing. Forms can resemble paper or database forms because web users fill out the forms using checkboxes, radio buttons, or text fields. For example, forms can be used to enter shipping or credit card data to order a product, or can be used to retrieve search results from a search engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable-pitch propeller (aeronautics)</span> Propeller with blades that can be rotated to control their pitch while in use

In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. A controllable-pitch propeller is one where the pitch is controlled manually by the pilot. Alternatively, a constant-speed propeller is one where the pilot sets the desired engine speed (RPM), and the blade pitch is controlled automatically without the pilot's intervention so that the rotational speed remains constant. The device which controls the propeller pitch and thus speed is called a propeller governor or constant speed unit.

Alt+Tab ↹ is the common name for a keyboard shortcut that has been in Microsoft Windows since Windows 2.0 (1987). This shortcut switches between application-level windows without using the mouse; hence it was named Task Switcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raster scan</span> Rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction

A raster scan, or raster scanning, is the rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction in television. By analogy, the term is used for raster graphics, the pattern of image storage and transmission used in most computer bitmap image systems. The word raster comes from the Latin word rastrum, which is derived from radere ; see also rastrum, an instrument for drawing musical staff lines. The pattern left by the lines of a rake, when drawn straight, resembles the parallel lines of a raster: this line-by-line scanning is what creates a raster. It is a systematic process of covering the area progressively, one line at a time. Although often a great deal faster, it is similar in the most general sense to how one's gaze travels when one reads lines of text. The data to be drawn is stored in an area of memory called the Framebuffer. This memory area holds the values for each pixel on the screen. These values are retrieved from the refresh buffer and painted onto the screen one row at a time.

References

  1. "Spinner". Techdic. Retrieved 2022-12-23.