# Inputs and controls (https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/inputs-and-controls)

A built tool has three parts, from top to bottom: its **inputs**, its
**controls**, and its **results**. Fuser designs all three from your prompt.

## Inputs [#inputs]

Inputs are what the tool works on. Each has a socket on the left of the node,
named after its role, such as **Photo** or **Base** and **Overlay**. A tool
can have up to four.

| Input kind | What to connect                                                                                     |
| ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Image      | An Image node, a generator's image, or another tool's image result. Animated GIF and WebP work too. |
| Video      | A Video node or a video result.                                                                     |
| Audio      | An Audio node or an audio result.                                                                   |
| 3D mesh    | A Mesh node. Tools can picture, measure, and count a model, but not change it.                      |
| Text       | A Text node or a text result, or type straight into the box on the node.                            |

Some inputs accept a list. Connect several wires to the same socket, for
example to lay out a contact sheet from many images. Optional inputs let the
tool run without them.

Until a required input has something to work with, the result area says
**Wire in an input to see the result**. If the connected node has nothing yet,
it says **The node wired in has no result yet**.

<div className="mx-auto max-w-md">
  ![A Punchy headline tool with text typed into its input, a Case dropdown, a Max words slider, and the headline result](/tools-text-tool.png)
</div>

Numbers arrive as text. To feed a value from another node, wire it into a text
input.

## Controls [#controls]

Controls are the settings you adjust on the node. A tool can have up to
eight.

| Control  | Use                                                                                                    |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Slider   | An amount, size, or count. Sizes are relative to the media, so a preview matches the full-size result. |
| Dropdown | A choice between named options, such as a blend mode or a palette.                                     |
| Switch   | Turn part of the effect on or off, such as **Invert**.                                                 |

Each drag of a slider is one undo step. Controls stay on the node; they don't
have sockets, so you can't wire values into them.

Want a different control? [Edit the tool](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/editing.md) and describe it,
for example “Add a switch to keep the original colors.”

## The result [#the-result]

The result sits at the bottom of the node, with an output socket you can wire
into other nodes. A tool that makes separate pieces, such as the four views of
a turnaround, has a result and a socket for each, up to eight. Each one can be
wired, downloaded, or saved on its own; a failed run fails them all together.

| Result kind | Shown as                                                             |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Image       | The image, framed at its own shape.                                  |
| Video       | A player.                                                            |
| Audio       | A player.                                                            |
| Text        | A text box. Long text scrolls.                                       |
| Data        | Structured data shown as formatted text, for lists and measurements. |

Text and data results can be downloaded as a file. Some download in a matching
format,
such as subtitles (`.srt`) or a spreadsheet (`.csv`). See
[Running tools](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/running.md#keep-a-result) for saving media results.

## Who can change what [#who-can-change-what]

Anyone who can view a project sees Live tools compute and Cloud tools' saved
results. Only people who can edit the project can change inputs and controls,
run Cloud tools, or edit the tool.

## What's Next? [#whats-next]

  - [Running tools](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/running.md): Live updates, Cloud runs, and keeping your results.

  - [Editing and versions](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/editing.md): Change a tool's inputs, controls, or behavior by describing it.