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hifihedgehog edited this page Mar 13, 2026 · 34 revisions

Driver Management

PadForge can install and uninstall the optional drivers it uses directly from the Settings page. No need to download separate installers or visit external websites.

Driver management cards

Overview

Three optional drivers and one optional service extend PadForge's capabilities. The Keyboard+Mouse output type requires no driver and is always available.

Driver / Service What It Does Required For
ViGEmBus Creates virtual Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers Xbox 360 and DS4 output types
vJoy Creates virtual joysticks with fully customizable HID descriptors and force feedback DirectInput output type
HidHide Hides physical controllers from games so they only see the virtual ones Preventing double input
Windows MIDI Services Provides MIDI output infrastructure for virtual MIDI controllers MIDI output type

ViGEmBus

What Is ViGEmBus?

ViGEmBus (Virtual Gamepad Emulation Bus) is a Windows driver that creates virtual Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers. Games see these virtual controllers as real hardware.

When Do You Need It?

You need ViGEmBus if you want to use Xbox 360 or DualShock 4 output types. Without it, those type options are dimmed on the Dashboard slot cards and cannot be selected.

Installing

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find the ViGEmBus Driver card.
  3. Click Install.
  4. A UAC (User Account Control) prompt may appear — click Yes to allow the installation.
  5. The status indicator turns green and shows "Installed" when complete.

Uninstalling

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find the ViGEmBus Driver card.
  3. Click Uninstall.
  4. Approve the UAC prompt.
  5. The status changes to "Not Installed."

Note: Uninstalling ViGEmBus will immediately remove all virtual Xbox 360 and DS4 controllers from the system.

vJoy

What Is vJoy?

vJoy is a virtual joystick driver that creates HID game controllers with configurable axes, buttons, POV hats, and force feedback support. Unlike ViGEmBus controllers which emulate specific hardware, vJoy controllers are fully customizable.

When Do You Need It?

You need the vJoy driver if you want to use the vJoy output type. This is ideal for:

  • Flight simulators that expect joystick input
  • Racing games that need custom wheel/pedal configurations
  • Any application that works with DirectInput but not XInput
  • Scenarios requiring more than 11 buttons (up to 128), more than 2 sticks (up to 4), or force feedback via DirectInput

Installing

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find the vJoy Driver card.
  3. Click Install.
  4. Approve the UAC prompt.
  5. The status shows "Installed" when complete.

Auto-Elevation

When the vJoy driver is installed, PadForge requests administrator privileges on startup. This is necessary because managing vJoy device nodes requires elevated access. If you decline the UAC prompt, PadForge will still work but vJoy functionality will be limited.

Uninstalling

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Click Uninstall on the vJoy Driver card.
  3. Approve the UAC prompt.
  4. PadForge will no longer request admin on startup (after restarting the application).

HidHide

What Is HidHide?

HidHide is a driver that selectively hides physical HID (Human Interface Device) controllers from applications. This solves the "double input" problem where games see both your physical controller and the PadForge virtual controller, causing doubled button presses and stick movements.

When Do You Need It?

You need HidHide if games are detecting both your physical controller and the PadForge virtual controller at the same time. Symptoms of double input include:

  • Every button press registers twice
  • Menus scroll too fast
  • Character movement is erratic
  • The game shows two controllers in its input settings

Built-In Device Management

PadForge manages HidHide directly — you do not need the external HidHide Configuration Client. When you assign a device to a slot, PadForge can:

  • Blacklist the physical device (hide it from games)
  • Whitelist PadForge itself (so it can still read the device)
  • Enable/disable cloaking automatically when the engine starts and stops

All of this is controlled from the per-device "Hide from games" toggle on the Devices page. A global master switch in Settings (under Input Engine) can enable or disable all hiding at once.

When the engine stops, PadForge automatically removes its blacklist entries — your devices reappear to games immediately without needing to uninstall HidHide.

Whitelist Management

PadForge automatically manages the HidHide whitelist — it adds itself so it can still read hidden controllers, and removes the entry on exit. The Settings page also includes a dedicated HidHide Whitelisted Applications section where you can manually add or remove applications that should be able to see hidden devices. This is useful for other controller utilities or remapping tools that need to access your physical controllers alongside PadForge.

Installing

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find the HidHide Driver card.
  3. Click Install.
  4. Approve the UAC prompt.
  5. The status shows "Installed" when complete.
  6. A system restart may be required for HidHide to take full effect.

Uninstalling

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Click Uninstall on the HidHide Driver card.
  3. Approve the UAC prompt.
  4. Physical controllers will become visible to games again.

Note: The Uninstall button is disabled when any device has "Hide from games" enabled on the Devices page. Disable hiding on all devices first, then the Uninstall button becomes available.

Windows MIDI Services

What Is Windows MIDI Services?

Windows MIDI Services is a modern MIDI infrastructure from Microsoft that provides MIDI output capabilities on Windows. PadForge uses it to send MIDI messages from MIDI virtual controller slots.

When Do You Need It?

You need Windows MIDI Services if you want to use the MIDI output type. This is ideal for:

  • Controlling DAWs, synthesizers, or other music software with a gamepad
  • Live performance and VJing
  • Mapping controller axes and buttons to MIDI CC and Note messages
  • Any application that accepts MIDI input

Installing

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find the Windows MIDI Services card.
  3. Click Install.
  4. PadForge downloads the installer from GitHub (approximately 210 MB) and runs it automatically.
  5. The status shows "Installed" when complete.

Uninstalling

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find the Windows MIDI Services card.
  3. Click Uninstall.
  4. The uninstall runs silently in the background.
  5. The status changes to "Not Installed" when complete.

Note: The Uninstall button is disabled when any virtual controller slot is set to the MIDI output type. Remove or change all MIDI slots first.

Driver Status on Dashboard

The Dashboard also shows a summary of all driver and service statuses in the Drivers section. This gives you a quick way to check which are installed without navigating to Settings.

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
Install button does nothing Make sure you approve the UAC prompt. PadForge needs admin rights to install drivers.
Driver shows installed but does not work Try uninstalling and reinstalling. A system restart may help.
Xbox 360 / DS4 types are grayed out ViGEmBus is not installed. Install it from Settings.
vJoy type is grayed out vJoy driver is not installed. Install it from Settings.
MIDI type is grayed out Windows MIDI Services is not installed. Install it from Settings.
Keyboard+Mouse type is grayed out This should not happen — Keyboard+Mouse requires no driver and is always available. Try restarting PadForge.
Games still see double input after HidHide Restart the game after installing HidHide. Some games cache device lists at startup.

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