Slider

MDC Slider provides an implementation of the Material Design slider component. It is modeled after the browser's <input type="range"> element. Sliders are fully RTL-aware, and conform to the WAI-ARIA slider authoring practices.

Note that vertical sliders and range (multi-thumb) sliders are not supported, due to their absence from the material design spec.

Also note that we have taken certain deviations from the UX within the spec, e.g. nuances as to the slider's motion across the track, as well as the color of the tick marks. Thus, there may be some treatments which deviate from the mocks. These deviations arose out of design feedback from seeing sliders used on the web, and thus have been endorsed by the Material Design team.

Design and API Documentation

Installation

npm install @limetech/mdc-slider

Usage

Continuous Slider

<div class="mdc-slider" tabindex="0" role="slider"
     aria-valuemin="0" aria-valuemax="100" aria-valuenow="0"
     aria-label="Select Value">
  <div class="mdc-slider__track-container">
    <div class="mdc-slider__track"></div>
  </div>
  <div class="mdc-slider__thumb-container">
    <svg class="mdc-slider__thumb" width="21" height="21">
      <circle cx="10.5" cy="10.5" r="7.875"></circle>
    </svg>
    <div class="mdc-slider__focus-ring"></div>
  </div>
</div>

Discrete Slider

<div class="mdc-slider mdc-slider--discrete" tabindex="0" role="slider"
     aria-valuemin="0" aria-valuemax="100" aria-valuenow="0"
     aria-label="Select Value">
  <div class="mdc-slider__track-container">
    <div class="mdc-slider__track"></div>
  </div>
  <div class="mdc-slider__thumb-container">
    <div class="mdc-slider__pin">
      <span class="mdc-slider__pin-value-marker"></span>
    </div>
    <svg class="mdc-slider__thumb" width="21" height="21">
      <circle cx="10.5" cy="10.5" r="7.875"></circle>
    </svg>
    <div class="mdc-slider__focus-ring"></div>
  </div>
</div>

Then in JS

import {MDCSlider} from '@limetech/mdc-slider';

const slider = new MDCSlider(document.querySelector('.mdc-slider'));
slider.listen('MDCSlider:change', () => console.log(`Value changed to ${slider.value}`));

You can also include MDCSlider via its UMD version located at dist/mdc.slider[.min].js

// CommonJS
const {MDCSlider} = require('@limetech/mdc-slider/dist/mdc.slider');

// AMD
require(['/path/to/@limetech/mdc-slider/dist/mdc.slider'], ({MDCSlider}) => {
  // Use MDCSlider
});

// Global
const {MDCSlider} = mdc.slider;

Initializing the slider with custom ranges/values

When MDCSlider is initialized, it reads the element's aria-valuemin, aria-valuemax, and aria-valuenow values if present and uses them to set the component's min, max, and value properties. This means you can use these attributes to set these values for the slider within the DOM.

<div class="mdc-slider" tabindex="0" role="slider"
     aria-valuemin="-5" aria-valuemax="50" aria-valuenow="10"
     aria-label="Select Value">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Using a step value

NOTE: If a slider contains a step value it does not mean that the slider is a "discrete" slider. "Discrete slider" is a UX treatment, while having a step value is behavioral.

MDCSlider supports quantization by allowing users to supply a floating-point step value via a data-step attribute.

<div class="mdc-slider" tabindex="0" role="slider"
     aria-valuemin="0" aria-valuemax="100" aria-valuenow="0"
     data-step="2" aria-label="Select Value">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

When a step value is given, the slider will quantize all values to match that step value, except for the minimum and maximum values, which can always be set. This is to ensure consistent behavior.

The step value can be any positive floating-point number, or 0. When the step value is 0, the slider is considered to not have any step. A error will be thrown if you are trying to set step value to be a negative number.

Discrete sliders are required to have a positive step value other than 0. If a step value of 0 is provided, or no value is provided, the step value will default to 1.

Display tracker markers (discrete slider only)

Discrete sliders support display markers on their tracks by adding the mdc-slider--display-markers modifier class to mdc-slider, and <div class="mdc-slider__track-marker-container"></div> to the track container.

<div class="mdc-slider mdc-slider--discrete mdc-slider--display-markers" tabindex="0" role="slider"
     aria-valuemin="0" aria-valuemax="100" aria-valuenow="0"
     data-step="2" aria-label="Select Value">
     <div class="mdc-slider__track-container">
      <div class="mdc-slider__track"></div>
      <div class="mdc-slider__track-marker-container"></div>
    </div>
    <!-- ... -->
</div>

NOTE: When the provided step is indivisible to distance between max and min, we place the second to last marker proportionally at where thumb could reach and place the last marker at max value.

Disabled sliders

Adding an aria-disabled attribute to a slider will initially disable it.

<div class="mdc-slider" tabindex="0" role="slider"
     aria-valuemin="0" aria-valuemax="100" aria-valuenow="0"
     aria-label="Select Value" aria-disabled="true">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

MDC Slider Component API

The MDCSlider API is modeled after the <input type="range"> element and supports a subset of the properties that element supports. It also emits events equivalent to a range input's input and change events.

Properties

| Property Name | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | value | number | The current value of the slider. Changing this will update the slider's value. | | min | number | The minimum value a slider can have. Values set programmatically will be clamped to this minimum value. Changing this property will update the slider's value if it is lower than the new minimum | | max | number | The maximum value a slider can have. Values set programmatically will be clamped to this maximum value. Changing this property will update the slider's value if it is greater than the new maximum | | step | number | Specifies the increments at which a slider value can be set. Can be any positive number, or 0 for no step. Changing this property will update the slider's value to be quantized along the new step increments | | disabled | boolean | Whether or not the slider is disabled |

Methods

| Method Signature | Description | | --- | --- | | layout() => void | Recomputes the dimensions and re-lays out the component. This should be called if the dimensions of the slider itself or any of its parent elements change programmatically (it is called automatically on resize). | | stepUp(amount = 1) => void | Increases the slider value by the given amount, or 1 if no amount is given | | stepDown(amount = 1) => void | Decrease the slider value by the given amount, or 1 if no amount is given |

Events

MDCSlider emits a MDCSlider:input custom event from its root element whenever the slider value is changed by way of a user event, e.g. when a user is dragging the slider or changing the value using the arrow keys. The detail property of the event is set to the slider instance that was affected.

MDCSlider emits a MDCSlider:change custom event from its root element whenever the slider value is changed and committed by way of a user event, e.g. when a user stops dragging the slider or changes the value using the arrow keys. The detail property of the event is set to the slider instance that was affected.

Using the foundation class

The @limetech/mdc-slider package ships with an MDCSliderFoundation class that framework authors can use to build a custom MDCSlider component for their framework.

Adapter API

| Method Signature | Description | | --- | --- | | hasClass(className: string) => boolean | Checks if className exists on the root element | | addClass(className: string) => void | Adds a class className to the root element | | removeClass(className: string) => void | Removes a class className from the root element | | getAttribute(name: string) => string? | Returns the value of the attribute name on the root element, or null if that attribute is not present on the root element. | | setAttribute(name: string, value: string) => void | Sets an attribute name to the value value on the root element. | | removeAttribute(name: string) => void | Removes an attribute name from the root element | | computeBoundingRect() => ClientRect | Computes and returns the bounding client rect for the root element. Our implementations calls getBoundingClientRect() for this. | | getTabIndex() => number | Returns the value of the tabIndex property on the root element | | registerInteractionHandler(type: string, handler: EventListener) => void | Adds an event listener handler for event type type to the slider's root element | | deregisterInteractionHandler(type: string, handler: EventListener) => void | Removes an event listener handler for event type type from the slider's root element | | registerThumbContainerInteractionHandler(type: string, handler: EventListener) => void | Adds an event listener handler for event type type to the slider's thumb container element | | deregisterThumbContainerInteractionHandler(type: string, handler: EventListener) => void | Removes an event listener handler for event type type from the slider's thumb container element | | registerBodyInteractionHandler(type: string, handler: EventListener) => void | Adds an event listener handler for event type type to the <body> element of the slider's document | | deregisterBodyInteractionHandler(type: string, handler: EventListener) => void | Removes an event listener handler for event type type from the <body> element of the slider's document | | registerResizeHandler(handler: EventListener) => void | Adds an event listener handler that is called when the component's viewport resizes, e.g. window.onresize. | | deregisterResizeHandler(handler: EventListener) => void | Removes an event listener handler that was attached via registerResizeHandler. | | notifyInput() => void | Broadcasts an "input" event notifying clients that the slider's value is currently being changed. The implementation should choose to pass along any relevant information pertaining to this event. In our case we pass along the instance of the component for which the event is triggered for. | | notifyChange() => void | Broadcasts a "change" event notifying clients that a change to the slider's value has been committed by the user. Similar guidance applies here as for notifyInput(). | | setThumbContainerStyleProperty(propertyName: string, value: string) => void | Sets a dash-cased style property propertyName to the given value on the thumb container element. | | setTrackStyleProperty(propertyName: string, value: string) => void | Sets a dash-cased style property propertyName to the given value on the track element. | | setMarkerValue(value: number) => void | Sets pin value marker's value when discrete slider thumb moves. | | setTrackMarkers(step: number, max: number, min: number) => void | Sets track markers background style on track container. | | isRTL() => boolean | True if the slider is within an RTL context, false otherwise. |

MDCSliderFoundation API

| Method Signature | Description | | --- | --- | | layout() => void | Same as layout() detailed within the component methods table. Does the majority of the work; the component's layout method simply proxies to this. | | getValue() => number | Returns the current value of the slider | | setValue(value: number) => void | Sets the current value of the slider | | getMax() => number | Returns the max value the slider can have | | setMax(max: number) => void | Sets the max value the slider can have | | getMin() => number | Returns the min value the slider can have | | setMin(min: number) => number | Sets the min value the slider can have | | getStep() => number | Returns the step value of the slider | | setStep(step: number) => void | Sets the step value of the slider | | isDisabled() => boolean | Returns whether or not the slider is disabled | | setDisabled(disabled: boolean) => void | Disables the slider when given true, enables it otherwise. | | setupTrackMarker() => void | Put correct number of markers in track for discrete slider that display track markers. No-op if it doesn't meet those criteria. |

Theming

By default, all thematic elements of sliders make use of the secondary theme color.

Sass Mixins

The following mixins apply only to enabled sliders. It is not currently possible to customize the color of a disabled slider.

Mixin | Description --- | --- mdc-slider-color-accessible($color) | Sets the color of all slider elements and automatically sets an accessible ink color with high contrast for the value indicator pin mdc-slider-highlight-color($color) | Sets the color of the highlighted (aka "on") portion of the slider mdc-slider-rail-color($color, $opacity) | Sets the color (and optionally the opacity) of the rail mdc-slider-rail-tick-mark-color($color) | Sets the color of the tick marks on the rail mdc-slider-thumb-color($color) | Sets the color of the thumb (grab handle) mdc-slider-focus-halo-color($color) | Sets the color of the focus halo mdc-slider-value-pin-fill-color-accessible($color) | Sets the fill color of the value indicator pin and automatically sets an accessible ink color with high contrast mdc-slider-value-pin-fill-color($color) | Sets the fill color of the value indicator pin mdc-slider-value-pin-ink-color($color) | Sets the ink color of the value indicator pin

Setting the correct background color for disabled slider thumbs

One tricky issue with sliders is how the thumb is supposed to look when in the disabled state. In this case, certain portions of the slider's thumb and track are supposed to become "transparent" and reveal the background color behind it. However, this presents a problem as there is no elegant way to derive what the background color behind the slider should be. We could theoretically walk up the DOM until we found an ancestor with a set background, but that would break the component's encapsulation model.

To solve this, you can supply a css custom property --mdc-slider-bg-color-behind-component. When used, this will override the default color used for the disabled state slider thumb and use the color specified:

.container {
  background: #fafafa;
}

.container > .mdc-slider {
  --mdc-slider-bg-color-behind-component: #fafafa;
}

Tips/Tricks

Preventing FOUC

Because MDCSlider updates its UI based on the values it reads in when it is instantiated, there is potential for an incorrect first render before the script containing the MDCSlider initialization logic executes. To avoid this, there are a few things you can attempt to do:

If you know how wide the slider will be at the time of instantiation, you can add an inline style to the mdc-slider__thumb-container/mdc-slider__track elements which will position it correctly by using similar logic to that within our code:

1. Figure out the the percentage of length the thumb should have traveled across the track by computing (value - min) / (max - min). We'll call this pctComplete.
2. Compute the amount the slider thumb container by multiplying the width of the slider element by pctComplete. We'll call this translatePx. Note that if you're using the slider in an RTL content, modify translatePx such that translatePx = <width of the slider element> - translatePx.
3. Set the transform style on mdc-slider__thumb-container to translateX(${translatePx}px) translateX(-50%).
4. Set the transform style on mdc-slider__track to scale(pctComplete).