Hold and double-tap
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Every row in InputConfig can carry up to four outputs on one control: the press, a hold action past a threshold, a double-tap action on two quick presses, and since 1.8 a triple-tap action on three quick taps. All of them are in the row's Options. It is how a single switch on an adaptive controller does four things.
On this page: 7 sections
Add a hold action
- You: In Options, under Extra actions, turn on When held, do something else, set the hold time, and pick the hold output (any output, or several).
- InputConfig: Fires the normal output on release for a press shorter than the threshold, and the hold output instead for a press past it.
- Check: Tap the control and the normal output fires; hold it past the threshold and the hold output fires.
400 to 600 ms feels natural; go longer for a control that gets pressed by accident. A longer threshold is the cure for holds that fire by accident.
Add a double-tap or triple-tap action
- You: Under Extra actions, turn on When double tapped, do something else, set the window and pick the output.
- InputConfig: Waits for a possible second press. Two presses inside the window fire the double-tap output.
- Check: Double tap and the double-tap output fires. A single press fires when the window closes, not instantly.
250 to 350 ms suits most people; a longer window helps a hand that moves slowly. Every double-tap row delays its single press by the window, so keep the window as short as your hand allows.
Three quick taps can be a job of their own. A row can do something else on a triple tap, set beside its hold and double-tap actions in Options, so a key or a switch holds four jobs.
Stack them with a chord
Hold, double tap and a chord can all sit on one row. A typical adaptive layout: press is left click, hold is right click, double tap is Return, and with a second switch held the same button is Escape. The Hold & Double-Tap preset shows it on the face buttons, and Modifier Holds puts it on the Mac's own modifier keys. One switch and a second switch can cover four jobs.
Use them on keys and pads
Any key row can have a hold action and a double-tap action, which is how Modifier Holds works; chords are the one option keyboard rows lack. A key still does its normal job as well, so they suit keys that type nothing, such as F13 to F19 or a right-hand modifier. Put hold and double tap on keys that type nothing.
What it cannot do
- A macro on hold. The hold action is any output, or several, but not a macro, and a row with a macro has no hold action. Put the macro on its own row.
- Other press modes. Toggle, repeat and macros are other press modes, so a row with a hold or a double tap does not also toggle, repeat or run a macro.
- Repeat while held. A hold repeats only when Repeat keys while held is on for the row; otherwise the key stays down as one press. Use turbo on a separate row for rapid repetition.
When a row needs a macro or turbo, give that job its own row.
The short version
- Hold. Different action when held, 400 to 600 ms.
- Double tap. When double tapped, do something else, 250 to 350 ms.
- Triple tap. Three quick taps, beside the hold and the double tap.
- All of them. They stack with a chord on the same row.
Three or four jobs per button is often the difference between a layout that fits your hands and one that does not.
Questions
Can the hold action be a macro?
No. The hold action is any output, or several, but not a macro, and a row with a macro has no hold action. Put the macro on its own row.
Does a hold repeat while I keep holding?
Only when Repeat keys while held is on for the row; otherwise the key stays down as one press. Use turbo on a separate row for rapid repetition.
Do hold and double tap work on keyboard keys?
Any key row can have a hold action and a double-tap action, which is how Modifier Holds works. Chords are the one option keyboard rows lack. A key still does its normal job as well, so they suit keys that type nothing, such as F13 to F19 or a right-hand modifier.
Related
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