Add a slider to your Captivate project

Overview

The slider widget in Adobe Captivate is an interactive component that lets learners select a value along a defined scale. It is commonly used to implement Likert scales, confidence ratings, satisfaction scores, mood trackers, and other graduated‑response interactions directly within an eLearning course. Unlike multiple‑choice questions that force discrete answers, slider interactions capture degrees of opinion or intensity, producing richer learner feedback while maintaining a clean, touch‑friendly interface across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

Key capabilities at a glance:

• Up to 10 sliders (questions) in a single widget. 
• Up to 10 steps (levels) per slider, horizontal and vertical layouts, Icon‑based, numeric, or text‑label scales.
• Built‑in keyboard accessibility and LMS reporting support.

Topics in this page:

Use cases of the slider widget

The slider widget helps instructional designers and learning content creators collect nuanced learner input where a range of responses is more meaningful than a single answer. It works well as a learner self-assessment tool, a confidence-check interaction, or an opinion poll in eLearning, allowing learners to express intensity, agreement, or readiness.

By using a rating-scale widget in online courses, you can replace static question formats with more engaging, reflective interactions that feel intuitive on both desktop and mobile devices.

Common scenarios where the slider widget adds value include:

• Confidence checks that ask learners how prepared they feel to apply a skill.
• Learner self-assessments before or after training to reflect on proficiency.
• Mood or sentiment tracking using icons or visual cues.
• Opinion polls that capture degrees of agreement or disagreement.
• Reflective learning activities that pause instruction and encourage self-evaluation.

These use cases make the slider widget a practical alternative to multiple-choice questions in training and a powerful tool for reflective learning activities.

Add a slider widget to a project

To add a slider widget to your project:

After insertion, the widget appears with a default title, body text, instructions, and a single slider.

Configure the slider widget

Use the Visual properties panel to control the layout of the widget, how many sliders appear, and how each slider behaves. 

Number of sliders

The number of sliders defines how many individual slider controls appear within the widget. Each slider represents a separate question, statement, or metric. Enter the number of sliders required in the widget.

For example:

• 1 slider: Quick pulse check or exit survey.
• 2–4 sliders: Focused feedback on a topic.
• 5–7 sliders: Comprehensive assessment.
• 8–10 sliders: Detailed evaluations (use sparingly to avoid fatigue).

You can include up to 10 sliders in a single widget, making it easier to group related learner feedback without adding extra slides. Navigation buttons (Previous / Next) appear automatically when multiple sliders are present.

Number of steps

The Number of steps setting defines the number of selectable positions on the slider. Each step represents a discrete response level along the scale. Enter the total number of steps required for the interaction.

For example:

• 2 steps – Best used for binary choices such as Yes/No or Agree/Disagree
• 3 steps – Suitable for simple opinion scales like Disagree / Neutral / Agree
• 5 steps – Commonly used for standard Likert‑scale surveys
• 7 steps – Appropriate for research‑grade or more nuanced feedback
• 10 steps – Ideal for confidence, intensity, or satisfaction ratings.

All sliders within the widget use the same number of steps. This consistency helps learners quickly understand the interaction and ensures a clear, predictable rating experience. Slider movement occurs in fixed increments rather than continuously, resulting in clean and easily analyzable data.

Design options

Choose how sliders are arranged on the slide from any of the four built-in design options:

• Horizontal layout works well for wide layouts and traditional rating scale interactions.
• Vertical layout is useful for compact designs, mobile-first courses, or when comparing multiple sliders.

Customize the slider widget

You can customize both the overall widget and individual sliders to support personalized learning interactions and clearer learner guidance.

Widget level customization

Widget-level options apply to the entire slider widget. 

Slider-level customization

Slider-level options apply to each slider individually and let you control how each response is presented.

Customize the slider step icon

You can modify the slider step icons used in a Likert-style slider interaction directly from the Visual properties panel. Icon customization is commonly used in mood trackers, confidence check interactions, and opinion polls in eLearning to provide clear visual cues for each response level. To customize slider icons:

Repeat these steps for each icon in the widget to ensure visual consistency across all slider levels.

Enable reporting

You can enable reporting for the slider widget so learner responses are captured in quiz results and sent to the LMS as part of a survey or assessment.

To enable reporting for a slider interaction:

When reporting is enabled, learner selections made on the slider are recorded and included in LMS tracking and reporting. This is commonly used for survey-style slides, Likert scale interactions, confidence checks, and feedback collection that needs to be analyzed outside the course.

Best practices

Applying the following best practices improves both the learner experience and the quality of data collected through slider-based interactions.

Design best practices

• Keep scales consistent by using the same number of steps across all sliders so learner responses remain comparable.
• Label every step to avoid ambiguity, as unclear scales can lead to unreliable or inconsistent data.
• Use clear, concise labels. For example, "Strongly agree" conveys intent more clearly than longer, more subjective phrases such as "I agree with this statement very much."
• Balance positive and negative options so the scale feels symmetrical and does not unintentionally bias responses.
• Avoid double-barreled questions. Ask about one concept at a time instead of combining ideas, such as "interesting and relevant," in a single statement.

Data quality best practices

• Use an odd number of steps when a neutral option is required. Five or seven steps allow learners to select responses such as "Neither agree nor disagree."
• Use an even number of steps when you want to force a direction. Four or six steps remove the neutral option, encouraging a clear preference.

Keyboard navigation

Learners can interact with slider widgets using the keyboard:

• Press Tab to move focus to the slider.
• Press Arrow Left or Arrow Down to decrease the slider value by one step.
• Press Arrow Right or Arrow Up to increase the slider value by one step.