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{{TODO photo|reason=needs illustrating further using disassembly shots, from other pages}} <!-- <ref>Insert footnote text here</ref> --> [[File:Fukka white ALPS switch.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Alps SKBM White]] clicky switch with white slider]] A '''slider''' is in keyboard terms a '''plunger''' that slides downwards when the key is pressed, and vice versa in the other direction when the key is released. Not all plungers are sliders - sliders are restricted by guide-rails or by the walls of a tight-fitting shaft. A plunging-shaft that is cylindrical is often called a '''barrel'''. Another common word for plunger is '''stem''' (especially in Cherry terminology) although it is more helpful to use "'''keystem'''" to refer to the shaft atop the slider onto which the keycap is placed (something that many sliders do not have). Most keyboard switch mechanisms contain a slider. A slider can be integrated into the bottom of a keycap or have a [[keycap mount]] on the top side. Most mechanical keyboard switches have the sliders locked into discrete switch components while most rubber dome switches have the sliders in the bottoms of the key caps. A key could have one or more secondary sliders for stabilising a key, often as a complement or a cheaper alternative to a [[stabiliser]] bar. Sliders are sometimes also used for connecting keycaps to stabiliser bars hidden inside a keyboard. ==Colour== With some switches the colour of the slider/stem is significant in telling the variation of the switch. For instance, the colour of an [[Alps SKCL/SKCM series]] switch's slider suggests what force curve is used. For example green sliders typically indicate linear switches, while blue sliders are always found in clicky switches. [[Acer switch]]es resemble Alps switches and came with both white and black sliders, but the colour of the slider has no known significance. For all current production [[Cherry MX]] switches, the colour of the stem guarantees the [[force curve]] of the switch, and whether audible feedback is provided. For example [[Cherry MX Brown|brown]] signifies 45 [[Force|cN]] tactile while [[Cherry MX Blue|blue]] signifies 50 cN clicky. Some older switches lack pigmentation; a colourless slider could be [[Cherry MX Clear]], but it could also be one of several other switches, including [[Cherry MX White]] if the slider has a cam to denote hysteresis. <gallery widths=250 heights=187> File:Fukka switches in the Tactile Pro 3.jpg|[[Matias Tactile Pro 3|Tactile Pro 3]] keyboard featuring both [[Forward SKBM White]] and green [[Xiang Min KSB-LE]] switches File:Cherry MX blue closeup.jpg|The blue slider in the [[Cherry MX Blue]] switch signifies the MX1A-E1''xx'' family of 50 cN clicky switches File:Cherry MX -- stems and springs.jpg|[[Cherry MX]] sliders and springs </gallery> <gallery widths=250 heights=187> File:Slider colours -- blues.jpg | Blues File:Slider colours -- greens.jpg | Greens File:Slider colours -- greys.jpg | Greys File:Slider colours -- oranges.jpg | Oranges File:Slider colours -- whites.jpg | Whites </gallery> ===White=== {{main|White}} Switches with white sliders can be referred to as "white" or "clear" depending on the brand. With Cherry switches, "white" refers to sliders with white pigmented plastic, while in most other cases, "white" refers to unpigmented, colourless plastic. Cherry describe colourless plastic as "clear", which may allude to its subtle translucency and reduced reflectiveness. ==Use with dome switches== [[Rubber dome]] switches require a stem that extends from the top of the keycap down to the top of the dome, which is used to depress the dome. In most cases the stem is a slider that is part of the keycap, but many rubber dome keyboards are fitted with discrete sliders. [[Topre]] continues this practice today. One example is the [[AppleDesign Keyboard]] model M2980, which came in variants with either discrete sliders or with the sliders in the bottom of the keycaps. <gallery widths=250 heights=187> File:AppleDesign_Keyboard_with_sliders.jpg|AppleDesign Keyboard with [[NMB dome with slider|NMB sliders]] File:AppleDesign_keyboard_without_sliders.jpg|AppleDesign Keyboard with the slider in the keycap File:Topre HHKB Switch.png|[[Topre switch]] with the slider visible in black </gallery> ==Mounting== The interface between the keycap and the switch is called the [[keycap mount]]. Two widely used mounts are called [[Keycap mount#Cherry MX mount|"Cherry MX Mount"]] and [[Keycap mount#Alps mount|"Alps mount"]], as used by Cherry and Alps respectively. Numerous types of switch including [[Alps SKCL/SKCM series]], the [[Acer switch]] and the [[Monterey switch]] all share the "Alps mount", as do some rubber dome keyboards; the keycaps of these switches are fully interchangeable. There are also rubber dome keyboards that use the "Cherry MX mount" via sliders, and will consequently take keycaps designed for Cherry switches. <gallery widths=250 heights=187> File:Packard Bell 5149 demonstrating U mount.jpg|Packard Bell 5149 rubber dome keyboard demonstrating [[BTC dome with slider|BTC sliders with "Cherry MX mount"]] </gallery> ==Function== <gallery widths=250 heights=187> File:Cherry MX -- click sliders.jpg|Two-part click sliders from [[Cherry MX Blue]] and [[Cherry MX White|White]] switches </gallery> [[Category:Keyboard terms]]
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