Guides

One, two, or four switches

Some people have one reliable movement. A switch under a hand, a head switch, a sip-and-puff, a foot pedal. InputConfig cannot add movements, but it can make each one do several things: a press, a hold, and a double press are three actions from one switch, and a cursor region is an input that needs no switch at all. This guide builds up from one input to four, with layouts you can download and rebind to whatever switch interface you have.

How switches reach the Mac

A switch needs an interface that presents it as a button. The PlayStation Access Controller and the Xbox Adaptive Controller both take 3.5 mm switches directly and show up as game controllers. Most USB switch interfaces present as a keyboard or a gamepad; either works, because InputConfig reads keyboards and gamepads alike. Press Scan and press the switch to find out what it is.

One switch, three actions

Open Options on the switch's row and set: press is one action, hold (600 ms) is a second, double press (450 ms window) is a third. With macOS's Switch Control doing the scanning, the three become Select, Next, and Previous, and the whole Mac is reachable. Without Switch Control, one switch is best spent on the one action that matters most, Start Dictation, with the hold as Return; a person who can speak then has a complete text input from a single movement.

Two switches

Two switches give six actions. The Two Switch preset uses: switch 1 press is click, hold is right click, double press is Return; switch 2 press is Start Dictation, hold is Escape, double press is Tab. That is a complete way to work through forms, messages, and dialogs with macOS Switch Control or a joystick providing the pointer, and dictation providing the text. Every threshold is long, 700 ms holds and 500 ms double-press windows, and each row speaks its action.

Four switches

Four switches make a proper pointer: up, down, left, right, moving at a slow constant speed while the switch is held, with a hold past 700 ms switching to a faster speed for long trips. Click comes from a double press on the up switch, right click from a double press on the down switch, and Return from a double press on the right switch. This is the Four Switch preset. With Variable Sensitivity off, the pointer moves at a predictable pace, which matters more than speed for aiming with switches.

Inputs that are not switches

Cursor regions. An area of the screen that fires when the pointer enters it. A strip along the top edge that triggers Mission Control, a corner that starts dictation. With a pointer driven by switches, a region is a command that costs no switch.
Tap the Mac. A knock on a MacBook with any part of the body is an input, told apart as double and triple.
Motion. A controller strapped to a wrist or a chair arm can move the pointer by tilting.

Feedback

Someone using switches often cannot see the controller and may not be watching the pointer. Switch on Speak on every row so each action announces itself, and use haptics if the interface supports them. A row can exist only to speak: a cursor region near the screen edge that says edge is a cheap way to know where the pointer is.

The emergency stop

Put Emergency Stop on the hold of whichever switch is most reliable, or leave it on the two-second controller hold. For a switch user the stop matters twice: it releases a stuck key, and it is the way to stop a runaway sweep.

Download

Two Switch presetBuilt on A and B of a standard controller; re-scan the two rows onto your switches. 3 KB
Four Switch presetBuilt on the D-pad; re-scan onto four switches. Holds move faster, a double press clicks. 5 KB

Open a downloaded preset with InputConfig, or drag it onto the app icon. It lands in the sidebar, ready to activate or edit. Any launch target inside a preset file is cleared on import; add one yourself in the editor if you want it.

Questions

Does this replace macOS Switch Control?

No, it works alongside it. Switch Control is a scanning system for the whole interface; InputConfig gives switches direct actions. Many people use Switch Control for text and menus and InputConfig for the pointer, dictation, and games.

Can a switch interface that shows up as a keyboard work?

Yes. Its keys are Keyboard Key inputs, captured per device, so they can be remapped without touching the real keyboard.

How slow can the pointer go?

Speed 1 on a Mouse Motion row is a few pixels per second at the default polling rate, which is slow enough for anyone.