Which way is the easiest way to create or modify a key file?
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You can set set callbacks to controller buttons in the key file too. Look at one of the example key files that are already set up for a controller. The pre made key files have many remarks in them explaining what each line does. They even explain dx shifting. The only thing that is necessary for the pre made one to work is to make sure that your controllers are loading in windows in the correct order so the dx button numbers match up.
I just recently had to do this because I couldn’t get target to work in win 11. The dev folks did a great job on the key files.
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A good way of going about this is to
a) create a working default file for your setup using Kolbe’s spreadsheet
b) save the resulting key file to your config folder under a new unique name (I use “hoover20220203v1.key” for example so I can always revert to older versions)
c) use notepad++ or any other decent editor like GNU emacs from then onwards to make your own customizations, saving them to a new file and testing them.
All the best,
Uwe -
@hoover
Ive had a go at that spreadsheet, its a bit confusing, there arnt any clear steps on how to use it. I really need something like
Step 1 do this
Step 2 do this
And so on.
I got to selecting my spreadsheet version and then selecting my controller in the dropdown then its like yeah now what? -
@warpig
Hi!
You should learn to use EXCEL, there you can do whatever you want! -
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@hoover
Hoover, I only have Excel on my PC!
Yes it also works in LibreOffice! -
@hoover
I dont have Discord i assume its like Teamspeak which i also dont have.Im just saying its not clear on how to create a profile. I think it would be very useful to know and i think once of done it once ill be a pro at it!
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LibreOffice is free and open source so it won’t cost you a cent which is always nice. They accept donations though and I have sent some euros their way a couple of times in the past because I believe that a free office suite that is compatible across platforms is a worthy cause to support.
The remark was tongue in cheek of course, I hope it didn’t come across the wrong way.
I’d start with the “Import” tab. Open the bms full keyfile in notepad++ (also free and open source), and copy all the lines from BMS Full.key into column A on the import tab.
You will also need to tell the spreadsheet your current keyboard layout in order for it to work correctly (that’s done on the first tab I believe).
Next, click on the DX devices tab in the sheet and select your x52 (pro?) as the first DX device (select the X52 from the dropdown and assign the device number in the column next to it).
Now you should have a nice keyfile in the export tab.
you can copy the export “A” column to a new file in notepad++ and save it as a new keyfile in your BMS/User/Config directory, naming it something like
warpig20220205v1.key
or similar (make sure you use the .key extension and not .key.txt which is easy to overlook, turn on the display of file name extentions in windows file browser to make sure the file has the correct ending / extension).
Now load the new key file in BMS and check the setup screen to see if the buttons on the X52 do their thing in BMS.
If they do, you can now assign the various axes in Setup -> Advanced -> Flight and Avionics controls in BMS.
That’s basically it, from then on you should do all modifications in your keyfile using notepad++. You can do them in Kolbe’s sheet of course but I’ve never gotten my head around how to do this and find the editor approach more feasible (but then again I also prefer text stuff like bash and even sometimes powershell to GUIs for serious work).
All the best,
Uwe
EDIT this method assumes that your X52 is the first dx device, you can check this in BMS’ devicesorting.txt file.
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@hoover
Your a legend, thanks.
Its late, ive just got off the computer trying to figure out whats going on. ill be trying this in the morning.One thing, i opened the BasicDX X52.key in Notepad++ and saw that there are layered buttons in this profile, nearly all the buttons have a second layer so then i checked the PDF which shows the mapping for all the buttons on the X52 to confirm. None of the shifted buttons work, only the unshifted layer works.
I assume there is an issue with the DX sorting? Maybe (im getting better at this now!)
Is that correct? What other reason is there for the shifted layer not working?
Thanks again Hoover, ill be trying it in the morning.
Edit
I only have one device, an X52 -
you won’t see those shifted buttons activated in the setup screen in BMS, they’ll only work (hopefully ) in 3d.
Let us know how it goes, I’m certain I have overlooked something in my description above but I think we’ll get you going in the long run
All the best,
Uwe
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Ok, this what i did. I loaded the pr0 file into the SST software, then i started BMS up, loaded the BasicDX x52 key file then went into Dogfight -> Furball. I tried the shifted buttons and they do not work. None of the shifted which i tried worked. I held the pinky button down while pressing other buttons, so not sure whats going on.
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Hm, you might want to check if the key file references any button numbers beyond 257 (those would be the shifted ones).
Have you tried creating your own key file using the key file editor method?
I don’t know what a pr0 file is or does (some programming for saitek sticks?), so I cannot help there I’m afraid.
Cheers, Uwe
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I haven’t tried the spreadsheet yet as theres no point. I have tried to create a test pinky shift in AL but it didn’t work.
I was thinking of maybe deleting bms.cfg file or the dx files to see if BMS rebuilds them when starting up.
Something i found in the Technical Manual chapter 10, you need to enable pinky shifting by adding a line of code, i did it but it didnt work. By default it should be there anyway.
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@warpig
The only relevant cfg setting I know of is
set g_nHotasPinkyShiftMagnitude 256 // Enable DirectX Shifting and specify button offset
Which is in the stock cfg file (around line 80).
If you use the stock ‘BMS - BasicDX X-52.key’ file, it expects the pinky-shift magnitude to be 256.
Other things to look at… open your ‘DeviceSorting.txt’ file in notepad … make sure your X-52 joystick is the first line in that file.
And make sure your stick is plugged in and ready, before launching BMS.
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<p>Thanks for that, i will check if that line exists. There is another command which ends in either true or false (1 or 0), ill find the page number for that one. In device sorting the x52 is the only controller listed which is correct.</p>
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<p>I just checked, its the same function which i found, it was already in the .cfg file. I guess theres nothing else that can be done about it. For some reason it just does not work. Maybe its got something to do with the Logitech SST. Its version 8 which is terrible. Version 7 was good, it worked fine.</p>
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<p>@warpig make sure everything in SST is empty - i.e. remove all the different modes and mode+pinkie settings in SST, to allow BMS to see all the buttons correctly. Also recommended is to disable “Clutch mode” in the joy.cpl settings. <br /><img class=“ql-image” src=“https://i.imgur.com/8sb9UhS.png” /></p>
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<p>@Fearripper96 or any one, any idea how to remove the modes for the X56? </p>
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<blockquote>@Fearripper96 or any one, any idea how to remove the modes for the X56? </blockquote><p><br />Just click on the “X” next to the mode in the STT programming software suite:<br /><em>*(you can do this for all but Mode 1)</em><br /><img class=“ql-image” src=“https://i.imgur.com/NnwpfNN.png” /><br /></p>
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<p>@SemlerPDX <br /><br />Hmm, would if I could<br /><br /><img class=“ql-image” src=“https://i.imgur.com/URONePp.png” /><br /><br />I had the X52 Pro and that’s how I did it there. The X56 seems to have lost the facility.<br /></p>