ControllerMate v2.2.1 Update Released

Friday, June 3, 2005

Today, OrderedBytes announces an update to ControllerMate v2. Version 2.2.1 brings ControllerMate’s programming abilities to a wide variety of HID devices.

Previously, ControllerMate only attempted communication with HID devices that identified themselves as a “joystick”, “mouse”, or “gamepad”. Starting with v2.2.1, ControllerMate will attempt to connect to nearly any type of HID device defined in version 1.11 of the HID specification. This means that it is now possible to program buttons on keyboards, telephony devices, music devices, UPSs and more.

In addition, the preference panels have been expanded to allows users to select exactly which types of HID devices appear in ControllerMate’s Palette window and the types of building blocks that are created for each type of HID element.

ControllerMate v2.1.1 Update Released

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Today, OrderedBytes announces an update to ControllerMate v2. Version 2.1.1 expands upon the existing functionality, and includes a couple of bug fixes.

Improvements in version 2.1.1 include:

• Full-keyboard keystrokes palette. Helpful for configuring Keystrokes building blocks for users who do not use physical keyboards. Also helpful for users of new PowerBooks that do not correctly record function key combinations.
• ControllerMate now detects and responds to changes in the current keyboard layout selection.
• Unusable devices are now dimmed in the Palette window. Often, devices are unusable by ControllerMate when other software has exclusive access to them.

Fixes in version 2.1.1 include:

• Fixed a potential circular reference between modifiers and button, axis, and hatswitch building blocks.
• Fixed a bug with unichar keyboard layouts. Unichar layouts are not supported, but no longer cause a crash.

ControllerMate v2 Released

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Today, OrderedBytes announces the second major release of ControllerMate. Version 2 includes a number of additions, enhancements, and fixes.

First and foremost, ControllerMate is now compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger”.

New to ControllerMate v2 are six additional types of building blocks:

• Axis blocks allow you to assign keyboard actions to joystick axes.
• Hatswitch blocks allow you to assign trigger keyboard actions to joystick hatswitches.
• Range blocks allow you to define exactly which values (or range of values) from axes and hatswitches trigger keyboard actions.
• Delay blocks allow you to insert a pause between actions.
• Auto-repeater blocks allow you to automatically repeat any complex keyboard action.
• Beep blocks allows ControllerMate to provide audio feedback when performing actions.

Existing ControllerMate functionality which has been improved includes:

• Better support for a variety of gamepads.
• The visibility of modifier blocks may now be limited to the current page or page’s group.
• The Palette window has been improved to allow for easier dragging of building blocks.
• A few more custom icons for joysticks and gamepads.

Last, but certainly not least, a number of instability problems with ControllerMate have been corrected:

• ControllerMate’s decidedly ungraceful response when unable to find a font has been fixed.
• Cut, copy, and paste actions have been vastly improved.
• Memory resources are now used far more intelligently.
• ControllerMate is now much more rugged when encountering preference files that have been hand modified.

Version 2 is a recommended update for all users of ControllerMate. All keys purchased for ControllerMate v1 will continue to work for version 2 -- check your “About” box for “v2” after the key.

ControllerMate v1.2 Update Released

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Today, OrderedBytes announces an update to ControllerMate. Version 1.2 includes:

• Support for additional game pads
• Fixed a bug caused by a certain combinations of modifiers and groups
• Minor user-interface improvements

Version 1.2 is a recommended update for all users of ControllerMate.

Many thanks to those who reported game pads which were not supported with ControllerMate v1.

ControllerMate v1 Released

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Today, OrderedBytes announces the first release of ControllerMate, a unique controller programming system for Mac OS X.

ControllerMate allows you to use your joystick, gamepad, or trackball to perform any function that would require a keyboard. ControllerMate, enables you to:

• Generate any amount of text with a single press of a joystick button
• Simulate individual key-up and key-down events for any key on a keyboard
• Mix and match text and individual key events as needed
• Assign modifiers to joystick buttons to create button combinations
• Enable and disable entire groups of functions to quickly change your joystick’s programming
• Automatically enable and disable groups based on the currently running applications

Using ControllerMate’s graphical interface, creating and editing assignments for your joystick buttons couldn’t be easier. Features that make ControllerMate easy to use include:

• Drag-and-drop interface for combining buttons with keyboard actions
• Visual feedback shows you exactly what your joystick buttons are doing
• ControllerMate captures text produced by your joystick buttons to verify that their programming is correct
• Unlimited levels of undo/redo
• Extensive help pages containing examples to assist you in getting started

ControllerMate is shareware, registration costs US. Payments can be completed securely via PayPal. You can download ControllerMate for free and give it a try. The unregistered version will run without a time limit, but will be limited in the number of functions you can assign to joystick buttons. Registration removes all such limitations.

For a limited time, everyone registering ControllerMate v1 will receive a key that will be valid for version 2 (due by June 1, 2005). Version 2 will contain more functions that can be added to joystick buttons, support for joystick axes and hatswitches, and user interface enhancements. Get yours today!

ControllerMate v1 Beta

Friday, April 1, 2005

Today, OrderedBytes.com makes its debut with the closed beta release of ControllerMate, a controller programming system for Mac OS X.

ControllerMate takes a new approach to programming keyboard actions onto HID controllers. Using a highly graphical interface and drag-and-drop editing, users can easily program complex keyboard sequences onto the buttons of joysticks, gamepads, trackballs and more. Visual feedback is provided to immediately test keyboard actions as they are being constructed.

Keyboard actions can be grouped together and apply to only one particular application, or for any number of applications. Groups of sequences can be independently enabled or disabled to quickly change from one configuration to another.

If you would like to be part of the closed beta testing, contact us and let us know:

• The type of Macintosh you have
• The exact version of Mac OS X you use
• The joysticks, trackballs, or other gaming devices you use