help with input on windows?

[olivania]

i don't know if this is the right category to post this but does anybody know if it's possible to change the button inputs of a controller on windows? i want to switch my a and b around because it's causing me problems in some games that don't let me map controls easily. i keep seeing videos saying to use joytokey which is fine, but i didn't know if windows gave you that option at all. i'm using a generic usb wired controller.

 

[Clippy]

If your controller doesn't come with hardware or software to remap buttons then Windows won't be much help. Joy2Key or x360ce should do the trick. Iirc Steam also has an option to remap controllers but you will have to either play a Steam game or launch it through Steam to make use of that functionality.

Supposedly you can get an Accessories app on the Microsoft store that can do the job and it's even free somewhat surprisingly. The reviews, however, don't inspire confidence plus y'know, why trust Microsoft when you can use anything else and probably get better results.

 

[olivania]

If your controller doesn't come with hardware or software to remap buttons then Windows won't be much help. Joy2Key or x360ce should do the trick. Iirc Steam also has an option to remap controllers but you will have to either play a Steam game or launch it through Steam to make use of that functionality.

Supposedly you can get an Accessories app on the Microsoft store that can do the job and it's even free somewhat surprisingly. The reviews, however, don't inspire confidence plus y'know, why trust Microsoft when you can use anything else and probably get better results.

i think i've heard of x360ce i'm gonna try it!! thank you!!

 

[Sumea]

i don't know if this is the right category to post this but does anybody know if it's possible to change the button inputs of a controller on windows? i want to switch my a and b around because it's causing me problems in some games that don't let me map controls easily. i keep seeing videos saying to use joytokey which is fine, but i didn't know if windows gave you that option at all. i'm using a generic usb wired controller.

So, Depending.
Do you use steam? And with that, do you place most of your non-steam games, if any, to your steam library as non-steam games?
Steam Input in my books is one of the best tools for this, minus few edge cases where steam input does not work (some resistant games/programs that need additional push sometimes). Overall steam input lets you translate, per game (and universally) any controller into Xinput, Keyboard or mouse. Pre-requisite for non-steam games is to launch them through steam. There is support for non-steam controllers and non-orthodox controllers can be given "universal mapping" of your liking that matches your controller best.
Steam input even has that "swap A and B buttons" settings as a toggle for controllers after they started supporting switch controllers. I myself have used it with MadCatz PS3 arcade stick (shows up as generic USB pad on PC), unofficial and official Xbox controllers, PS4 pads, Saturn USB pad, 8bitdo pads etc. Even mapped games with keyboard bindings to controller that had no controller support by default.

 

[olivania]

So, Depending.
Do you use steam? And with that, do you place most of your non-steam games, if any, to your steam library as non-steam games?
Steam Input in my books is one of the best tools for this, minus few edge cases where steam input does not work (some resistant games/programs that need additional push sometimes). Overall steam input lets you translate, per game (and universally) any controller into Xinput, Keyboard or mouse. Pre-requisite for non-steam games is to launch them through steam. There is support for non-steam controllers and non-orthodox controllers can be given "universal mapping" of your liking that matches your controller best.
Steam input even has that "swap A and B buttons" settings as a toggle for controllers after they started supporting switch controllers. I myself have used it with MadCatz PS3 arcade stick (shows up as generic USB pad on PC), unofficial and official Xbox controllers, PS4 pads, Saturn USB pad, 8bitdo pads etc. Even mapped games with keyboard bindings to controller that had no controller support by default.

i don't have steam on this particular computer, but if what i'm trying right now doesn't work, i'll definitely give it a try. thank you, this was very comprehensive!!

 

[Sumea]

i don't have steam on this particular computer, but if what i'm trying right now doesn't work, i'll definitely give it a try. thank you, this was very comprehensive!!

Yeah. Out of non-steam options, and for games that generally accept xinput, x360ce is one of the better choices for sure.
Just a PC gamer assumption that everybody would be rocking steam though there is laptops and other low power PC considerations. Steam is surprisingly heavy for low power/older machines.

 

[secreto7]

GitHub - AntiMicroX/antimicrox: Graphical program used to map keyboard buttons and mouse controls to a gamepad. Useful for playing games with no gamepad support.

Graphical program used to map keyboard buttons and mouse controls to a gamepad. Useful for playing games with no gamepad support. - AntiMicroX/antimicrox

github.com

There's also this app, maybe it can help?