So you've ordered a chinese macro keypad and the software supplied doesn't make any sense to you? That was my problem as well...
Enter the RSoft MacroPad!
No need to install anything, just download and extract a Release
Alternatively you ca clone the repository, build and run.
The main funcitons of the GUI are displayed on the image below
The key sequence box is displaying keys to be sent by the macro keypad. You can see which modifiers are also sent with each keystroke, and on which sides were they used.
The example below shows LeftCtrl + LeftShift + F5 Enter
The key difference to the original software is the this app translates hardware scancodes. This means if you have a non-US keyboard, you still can record keystrokes and will get the same keypresses when using the keypad
Open the app and connect your macro keypad.
The software will configure the first keypad it finds, so if you have multiple, disconnect the others while starting the app.
If there is an existing configuration for your device, the app will select the layout for you.
If you can't see your keypad's visuals on screen or what you see is not your keypad you can select another one from the menu using the 
icon. If you can't find any, that resembles your keypad, you can just select the 12 buttons 3 knobs layout, and use that (this is just a visual representation, doesn't affect operation)
Find the key on the visual that you want to configure and click on it. For knobs, click on the center part for the push function, or click on either side for the rotation function. The selected part should be highlighted.
If your keypad supports layers, select the layer as well with the radio buttons above.
You can either set the LED mode or the selected key's function. To choose just select the appropriate tab in the Key setup box.
This section is incomplete due to insufficient stock of testing devices. I.e. I (the author) just bought the cheapest device that doesn't support a lot of features others do. For example this 3 button 1 knob keypad doesn't support colors, and only has 3 modes, on being the Off state
You can record a key sequence for a button that will be played back using the record 
button. If you want to correct a typo or want to start over just use the backspace
and clear 
buttons.
The app records keys and modifiers together.
NOTE: The 3 button 1 knob keypad only stores modifiers for the first key in the sequence! Others should work as intended.
Support is limited, but it works just by selecting the media key you need
Select the button or scroll direction you need and add modifier keys as needed
The 3 button 1 knob keypad only supports the left side modifiers, but others should support all
To save your settings just click the upload button 
If you have a keypad that is not represented in this software, you can define your own layout in layouts.txt. If you do, and it works, please add it in a pull request, or just send it to me.
This file is storing visual representations and metadata only, it will not limit or change anything in the communication between the keypad and your computer.
This file is a list of layout definitions
- You can comment a line using
// - Whitespace-insensitive
- Indentation is optional
Layout definition:
Layout: {LayoutName}
{VendorId}:{ProductId},[{VendorId2}:{ProductId2}, ...]
{LayerNumbers}:{MaxCharactersInSequence}:{DelaySupport}:{LedColorSupport}:{LedModeCount}
{ButtonsAndKnobs}
Button format:
B{ButtonId},{PosX},{PosY},[{SizeX},{SizeY}]
Knob format:
K{KnobId},{PosX},{PosY},[{SizeX},{SizeY}]
SizeX and SizeY have a default value of 20 and roughly translate to mm units
ButtonId can be between 1-12
KnobId can be between 1-3
This file tells what kind of devices to look for. The app is looking for a device with the given VendorId and ProductId. Then, it will search for a HID device under that, which has the given path parameter present in it's path
This file is a list supported devices, each is a single line
- You can comment a line using
// - Whitespace-insensitive
- Indentation is optional
{VendorId}:{ProductId},{PathFragment},{ProtocolVersion}
ProtocolVersion can be 0 (Legacy) or 1 (Extended). Apart from one device (the 3 button 1 knob) all devices use the extended protocol
Find your device in Windows' Device Manager:
View>Devices by type- In the device tree find
Human Interface Devices>USB Input Device- You will find several of these so start by looking at their hardware ids. Write them down
- Double click device and select the
Detailstab - Select
Hardware Idsfrom the Properties dropdown. You'll find the VendorID, ProductID and PathFragment in the format ofUSB\VID_{VendorId}&PID_{ProductID}&{PathFragment}ofUSB\VID_{VendorId}&PID_{ProductID}&REV_0000&{PathFragment}
- Double click device and select the
- Disconnect the keypad and check which ones disappeared from the tree. Use this information to write a new line in the config file
- You will find several of these so start by looking at their hardware ids. Write them down
- For the ProtocolVersion your best bet would be
1since most of these keypads are using that. If that doesn't work, try0.
If you encounter any bugs, please consider creating a ticket in the issues serction on github or contact me via email.
Also please consider sharing
- a photo of your keypad
- a screenshot of the app just after connecting the keypad
- the
hid.logfile and theerror.logfile in your app's root directory
Please note that I am but one single developer upset about the unfriendliness of the original software shipped with my keypad. My intention is to make good, usable software, but I did, do and will make mistakes. Theoretically this software may not cause any harm to your computer, or any peripherals whatsoever, but still: Use at your own risk!
Drop a mail to rozovits.mihaly@gmail.com
