Bear from a game controller
The Bear layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: Bear reads these keys like a keyboard. The catalog's rows come from the Obsidian layout; new note and search already match, and two rows may need Bear's own keys.
Yes, you can write and browse in Bear on a Mac from a game controller. Bear's entry borrows Obsidian's layout and mostly fits, because Markdown note apps share their keys: new note and search already match, and two rows may need Bear's own keys. With dictation on a bumper, Bear is a pleasant place to write from a sofa.
The layout, control by control
What fits and what to check
- Fits. New note (Command N) on the right face button and search (Command Shift F) on the left work in Bear.
- Check. The bottom and top face buttons send Obsidian's quick switcher (Command O) and edit and preview toggle (Command E).
- The rest. The left stick is the pointer, the right stick scrolls, the right trigger clicks, and Escape is on Options.
- You: Look up Bear's own shortcuts in its Help menu, and press the bottom and top face buttons once in a note.
- InputConfig: Sends Command O and Command E as shipped.
- Check: If either does something you did not want, Scan that row and press the Bear shortcut you prefer.
New note and search are the two you use most, and they already work. Two Scans at most make the layout Bear's.
Writing rows
- Dictation. On a bumper.
- Hear it back. Speak Selection on the other bumper, once Speak selection is on in System Settings, Accessibility, Spoken Content.
- Tags. Pointer work in the sidebar, with a slower Pointer speed on the preset's page.
Apple Notes and Ulysses have their own entries. Dictate, listen back, and fix it from the pad.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Bear and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
Every binding, as a table
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Cursor down |
| Right stick down | Scroll down | Scroll down |
| Right stick up | Scroll up | Scroll up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Click |
| A / Cross | Command (Left), O | Quick switcher (Cmd+O) |
| B / Circle | Command (Left), N | New note (Cmd+N) |
| X / Square | Command (Left), Shift (Left), F | Search (Cmd+Shift+F) |
| Y / Triangle | Command (Left), E | Toggle edit / preview (Cmd+E) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Close / Esc |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Why the Obsidian keys?
The entry starts there. Bear shares most of them, and the rest are a Scan away.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
Updated