App

Typora from a game controller

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreThe Typora 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: Typora reads these keys like a keyboard. The rows come from the Markdown note layout. The top face button needs Typora's source mode key.

Yes, Typora works from a game controller on a Mac with the Markdown layout: open on the big button, a new file, search, and a source toggle. The top face button needs one change for Typora. With dictation on a bumper, a Typora window and a controller is a good way to draft something long away from a desk.

The layout, control by control

Click a control. Labels:

How the layout thinks

  • Files. Open (Command O) on the bottom face button, a new file (Command N) on the right, search (Command Shift F) on the left.
  • Point and scroll. The left stick is the pointer, the right stick scrolls, the right trigger clicks, Escape is on Start.

Fix the source toggle

  • You: Change the top face button's output from Command E to Command Slash.
  • InputConfig: Sends Typora's source code mode key.
  • Check: Press the top face button in a document. The Markdown appears, and a second press hides it again.

One row, and the layout is Typora's.

Tune it for long drafts

  • Dictation. Add a Start Dictation row on a bumper.
  • Headings. Put Command 1 to 3 on the D-pad.
  • Focus and typewriter modes. Put their keys from Typora's View menu on the stick clicks.

Dictate the draft, then use the D-pad to give it its headings.

Get it in two clicks

  1. Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
  2. Search for Typora and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
  3. 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

The Typora preset in InputConfig, drawn on a DualSense Edge with each control labeled with the key or action it sends.
Figure 1. The Typora preset drawn on a DualSense Edge in InputConfig's Live Visualizer. For example, Right trigger is labeled Click, and A / Cross is labeled Quick switcher (Cmd+O). Any other controller shows the same layout on its own drawing.
ControllerSendsWhat it does
Left stick leftMouse motion left (speed 16)Cursor left
Left stick rightMouse motion right (speed 16)Cursor right
Left stick upMouse motion up (speed 16)Cursor up
Left stick downMouse motion down (speed 16)Cursor down
Right stick downScroll downScroll down
Right stick upScroll upScroll up
Right triggerLeft clickClick
A / CrossCommand (Left), OQuick switcher (Cmd+O)
B / CircleCommand (Left), NNew note (Cmd+N)
X / SquareCommand (Left), Shift (Left), FSearch (Cmd+Shift+F)
Y / TriangleCommand (Left), EToggle edit / preview (Cmd+E)
Start / OptionsEscapeClose / 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 Obsidian layout?

Yes, it has the same shape as the Obsidian layout. The source toggle is the one row to change.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreCompletely 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