Telegram from a game controller
The Telegram 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: Telegram reads keys from this layout like a keyboard. The jump and unread rows come from the Slack layout; Telegram's own keys are in its settings.
Yes, you can read and reply in Telegram on a Mac from a game controller: scroll chats on the right stick, dictate a reply, copy and paste on two face buttons. The jump and unread rows come from the Slack layout, so check them against Telegram's own keys. It is also a workable layout for someone who cannot type.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Read. The right stick scrolls, the left stick is the pointer, the right trigger clicks.
- Copy and paste. On the right and left face buttons, for the link you are forwarding.
- Slack leftovers. The bottom face button sends Command K and D-pad up and down send Option Shift and the arrows, Slack's jump and unread keys.
- Back out. Escape on Start.
Check the jump and unread rows
- You: Open Telegram's keyboard shortcuts in its settings and find its search and chat switching keys.
- InputConfig: Sends Slack's keys until you change those three rows.
- Check: Press the bottom face button and D-pad down. Where nothing happens, set the row to Telegram's key.
Scrolling and replying work from the start, so the jump rows are the only ones to fix.
Reply without a keyboard
- Dictation and send. A Start Dictation row on a bumper, Return on the top face button.
- Feel the send. Tick Vibrate under Feedback in the Return row's Options.
- Voice messages. Hold to record is a click held on the microphone. A row with a left click output, held while the pointer is over it, does that.
Speak, press send, and nobody knows you never touched a keyboard.
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 Telegram 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), K | Jump to (Cmd+K) |
| D-pad up | Alt / Option (Left), Shift (Left), Up | Previous unread |
| D-pad down | Alt / Option (Left), Shift (Left), Down | Next unread |
| B / Circle | Command (Left), C | Copy |
| X / Square | Command (Left), V | Paste |
| 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
Does this match the WhatsApp layout?
Yes, it has the same rows as the WhatsApp layout. Check each app's own keys for jump and unread.
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