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Assigning multiple actions to one button?


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Hi!

I didnt find an answer by searching.

Is there a way to assign one button, on a joystick for example, to perform more than just one action? For example, i would like to switch between wide and narrow view on Shkval with only one button. Or another one would be to switch between inward and outward weapon stations with just one button.

Ive tried assigning multiple actions to one key but it doesnt work that way. It only selects either one of those but doesnt switch to the other one.

Im asking this because i dont have a HOTAS system so the buttons on my joystick run out pretty quickly. This would free at least two buttons on my joystick.

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You can assign a modifier to another button or key. So if you press the modifier, then the button can have another funtion.

It might not make sense just to use on one button, but the same modifier can be used with just about every button or key. So it's giving everything you assign to use the modifier two funtions.

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Yeah im aware of modifiers and use them in many actions but i dont think using one would make it more practical in this case.

Anyone know if there is some way or trick to accomplish this?

Its not a question of life and death for me, it would just be a nice to have function.

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I struggled wit the same problem before I got my HOTAS Cougar. I also ran quickly out of buttons.

My Tip instead using simultaneously the Keyboard for everything that dosent fit on your joystick:

Get a cheap Gamepad and program it with "Hotkeys"

 

I think this is the best solution to get a little order in all the various commands

until you have a programmable HOTAS System.

 

So you can easily press only one button at the Gamepad instead something like "LeftAlt+LeftCtrl+R"(!) at the keyboard for instance.:)


Edited by PeterP

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Griffin, i understand what you are trying to achieve, but you really do have a host of options. I dont know how many buttons your joystick has but if you use one of the modifiers that are already available, one of your buttons can achieve 7 functions.

 

For example button 1 on its own when pressed can be used to fire a selected weapon, then used with left ctrl lock a target..........so you are still left with left alt, left shift, right ctrl, right alt and right shift available to program as you choose.

 

Another option is to sacrifice a button as a modifier. So if you have six buttons that leaves you 5 buttons but gives you 10 functions you can program.

 

Or sacrifice another button as a switch, which on a 6 button joystick would leave you 4 buttons but used with a modifier and switch would give you 12 functions.

 

So if you dont mind reaching for the keys that are already programmed as modifiers your remaining 4 buttons coupled with a button as a modifier and a button as a switch gives you 36 functions you can program.

 

The above calculations (which i might have got wrong because i'm half asleep atm lol) are based on 6 buttons. I'm not assuming you have 6 buttons but because you didnt say in your post the above is just an example.

 

I hope i made sense.


Edited by Pete-W
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  • 9 years later...

Here is another good example of why one would want to map multiple functions to the same button:

 

I just got the T.160000M and omg it is so wonderful having multiple hat switches now. I was trying to find a good function for the slider on the stick, so I mapped it to FLOOD LIGHT DIMMER CONTROL so I could turn on / off the lights easily during night missions.

 

I would also like it to adjust the console and flight panel lights... one slider to control 2 or 3 dimmers.

i5 6600K, 16Gb DD4 3000, GTX 960 4Gb, 1TB SSD, TM T.16000M Stick and Throttle, Track IR 5.

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Indeed, some things got lost when button programming moved to "inside" the game.

Before that you could program any sequence of key presses on & off in any logical order. If that is realistic is another thing, our clickable cockpits are as they are, 1 switch for each. Lowering the gear and settings flap to full along with HuD to ILS with 1 button might sound cool but in real its many separate switches and dials & levers, not 1.

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It's not possible in DCS by default, so I just use Thrustmaster's TARGET software since I have their stick and throttle.

 

Depending on what hardware you have, you may be able to use similar software or workaround 3rd party suggestions like suggested above.

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  • 1 month later...

Of course you can use third party software, but it is a little bit cumbersome to start them each time, especially when you have to restart them after each restart of DCS to avoid bugs. I have used these kind of emulating software for a long time, but then I got kind of tired of them.

Being able to assign one button to multiple functions would be great, because it would make it possible to use a single button for a switch. Sometimes the devs allow certain key bindings to be used as switch buttons, but in other cases you have to use different key bindings for different states of a switch. So in the worst case you have to use two or even more buttons for only one switch, which is too excessive when your HOTAS only has buttons and no real switches (like my T16000).


Edited by Tiramisu
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  • 9 months later...

Double Time

 

Would be nice, if you could edit the controls config file. For instance, the pinky trigger could work as wheel brakes for taxi, but also works as the TGP laser firing command while in flight, or when TGP is in use. Just an example.

 

And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

                                                                                                                 Micah 5:15

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Have a look at the software that comes with your joystick. It might allow creating key sequences for subsequent button presses.

 

I know old versions of the Saitek programing suite had such a feature. Not sure about TARGET, Logitech or anyone else.

 

I'm using a TM Cougar with Foxy and there it just takes one line in the joystick profile to alternate between FOV keys:

BTN T1 /T - /T =

 

GlovePIE and AutoHotkey would be two 3rd party solutions I know off. GlovePIE has always been reliable for me, but AutoHotkey seems to be better documented.

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  • 7 months later...
Here is another good example of why one would want to map multiple functions to the same button:

 

I would also like it to adjust the console and flight panel lights... one slider to control 2 or 3 dimmers.

 

I would be very interested to hear if there's a way of doing this, multiple assignments for one rotary axis, especially for the rotary knobs on my X52 - to be able to assign one knob to control level of console, instrument + flood lighting together frees up the other rotaries for more important tasks.

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...

I would also like it to adjust the console and flight panel lights... one slider to control 2 or 3 dimmers.

Exactly what I wanted to do. All those cockpit lights with independent controls.

Would be nice if aircraft provider simply provided more binding options. If some purist doesn't like it, thinking it's cheating, they can simply not use it.

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I'm with you on that one, the purists can click around the cockpit virtual buttons. If i'm starting from a carrier at night I just want 1 knob to turn on the joystick to get everything I need illuminated. I will set up a second rotary on the stick to control the 3 MFD's separately as their brightness affects gameplay. In the Huey its great to see all 6 cockpit lights turning together :)

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In the Huey its great to see all 6 cockpit lights turning together :)

 

What are you using to achieve that result? (I know this isn't the Huey forum, but I assume it would apply to Black Shark as well.)

 

I use a StreamDeck (without any DCS-specific plug-ins yet), and have found that I can't get even a single rotary dimmer to turn using its button pushes. The key commands work correctly on keyboard, but produce no result when sent by the StreamDeck. Light rotaries are the only example I've seen of this, so I was wondering if DCS handles them in some way that is different and makes any sort of key macro-sending device/software problematic.

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No key-pressing assignments, its all axes; I use vJoy - virtual joystick and Joystick Gremlin together. In vjoy you can assign x,y,z,rx,ry,rz axes (theres also slider1 and 2) of the virtual joystick to one single rotary axis on the X52, then when in DCS you can map the vjoy axes each to one cockpit light rotary each.

VJoy appears in DCS settings a an additional joystick where mappings can be assigned. Joystick Gremlin is the go-between taking your actual physical joystick actions and manipulating them or translating them into signals for vJoy. Possibilities are massive.

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  • 3 years later...

Here is another usecase for one button doing more than one action.  In the F18 when launching off of the catapult in the day you do a pilot salute, at night you flash your lights.  It would be great if I could bind my pilot salute command to the toggle to flash the exterior lights. Obviously, every time that I turned my exterior lights on via the throttle switch a pilot salute command would go out, however that's not a problem because you only use that switch when you are in flight and fencing in or out on mission, and so obviously you are no where near the ship or the catapult.

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That’s what I do. My exterior light switch is momentary so I use the BTNxx_OFF bind to salute.

Can be done with a toggle also as you set the BTN_OFF of the lights off position as Salute to get the same result.


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