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No.52 · Controls

Ruler Picker

A number picked the way a tape measure is read: drag or flick the ruler under a fixed needle — it coasts, then settles exactly on a tenth — while ticks swell as they pass and the big readout rolls its digits. Switch kg ⇄ lb and the value converts while the ruler re-scales itself.

The prompt

The design brief behind this component — reuse it to regenerate, remix, or explain it.

Build a horizontal ruler number picker (weight in kg/lb) as a role="slider" (aria-valuenow, valuetext "72.4 kilograms"). Ruler: a canvas under a fixed accent needle (a dot on a bar, ringed in the card colour). Draw only the visible window: ticks every 0.1 unit at 96px per unit — 12px tall, 20px at halves, 30px at wholes with numbers — each scaled up to 1.55× and darkened by a Gaussian of its distance from the needle (σ 70px), so ticks swell as they pass it. The ends fade out (destination-out gradient). A soft green band with a bottom edge marks a healthy range (56.7–76.4 kg for 1.75m), also described in text under the ruler. Motion (one rAF loop that sleeps when settled): dragging moves the value by −dx/ppu with pointer capture and tracks velocity; on release it coasts with friction (e^(−3.2t)) then eases onto the nearest 0.1 (rate 14/s). Wheel or trackpad scrolls it (horizontal or vertical delta) without scrolling the page. Keys: arrows ±0.1 (Shift ×10), Page ±5, Home/End. Readout: 64px semibold tabular digits, each a clipped strip of 0–9 translated to its digit with a 420ms ease, so digits roll as the value changes; the unit beside it. Units: a kg/lb segmented radiogroup. Switching converts the value (×2.20462) and sets pixels-per-unit to the old unit's spacing expressed in the new unit, then eases it to 96 — so the ruler visibly re-scales. Range 30–200 kg / 66–440 lb. Themes: paper and night. Reduced motion: no coasting, rolling or re-scale animation.

Notes

Interaction
Drag or flick the ruler, scroll over it, or focus it and use the arrows (Shift for whole units), Page keys, Home and End. Switch kg/lb above.
Motion
Coast with friction then settle on a tenth; digits roll in 420ms; unit switch re-scales the ruler over ~0.4s.
Accessibility
A slider with a spoken value and unit; the unit switch is a radiogroup; the healthy range is stated in text.
Responsive
The ruler fills the card's width (max 460px) and redraws on resize.
On touch
Drag or flick with a finger; vertical page scrolling still works over it (touch-action: pan-y).

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