Profiles
Profiles let PadForge automatically switch your controller configuration when you switch between games or applications. Each profile stores a complete snapshot of all your virtual controller settings, including mappings, dead zones, force feedback, and macros.
- You create profiles and associate each one with one or more application executables.
- PadForge monitors which application is in the foreground.
- When a matching application gains focus, PadForge automatically switches to that profile's settings.
- When you switch to an application with no matching profile, PadForge reverts to the Default profile.
On the Profiles page, check Auto-switch profiles based on foreground application to enable automatic profile switching. When disabled, PadForge stays on whatever profile is currently active.
- Navigate to the Profiles page from the sidebar.
- Click New to create an empty profile, or Save As to clone your current configuration into a new profile.
- Enter a name for the profile (e.g., "Racing Games", "Elden Ring", "Flight Sim").
- Click Browse... to add the game executables this profile should activate for. You can select multiple files at once.
- Executables are added via the Browse... file dialog and stored as full paths.
- You can add multiple executables per profile to match several games.
- Use the Remove button to remove a selected executable from the list.
- Matching is case-insensitive against the foreground application's full executable path.
- PadForge checks the foreground window approximately 30 times per second.
The Default profile is your baseline configuration. It is active whenever no other profile matches the foreground application. You cannot delete the Default profile, but you can modify its settings like any other profile.
Each profile stores a complete copy of:
- All virtual controller slot settings (type, enable/disable state)
- Per-device Button and Axis Mappings
- Stick Dead Zones and Trigger Dead Zones
- Force Feedback configuration
- Macros
When PadForge switches profiles, all of these settings change at once.
Each profile in the list shows a topology summary with badges indicating how many controllers of each type are configured:
- Xbox badge with count (e.g., "2") — Number of Xbox 360 slots
- DS4 badge with count — Number of DualShock 4 slots
- vJoy badge with count — Number of vJoy slots
- MIDI badge with count — Number of MIDI slots
This gives you a quick visual overview of what each profile contains without having to open it.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| New | Click New to create an empty profile with no controller slots |
| Save As | Click Save As to clone your current configuration (all slots, mappings, macros) into a new profile |
| Edit | Select a profile and click Edit to rename it or modify its executable list |
| Load | Select a profile and click Load to apply its settings (double-click also loads) |
| Delete | Select a profile and click Delete (the Default profile cannot be deleted) |
- Set up your Default profile first with your general-purpose controller configuration. Then create game-specific profiles that override only what needs to change.
- Use Save As from a working configuration to avoid starting from scratch.
- Test auto-switching by Alt-Tabbing between applications and watching the "Active profile" display on the Profiles page.
- Macros are per-profile, so you can have game-specific macro setups that only activate when that game is running.
- Dashboard — See which profile is currently active
- Controller Slots — Profile switching updates all slot configurations
- Settings — Enable auto-profile switching globally