WhatsApp from a game controller
The WhatsApp 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: WhatsApp for Mac reads keys from this layout like a keyboard. The jump and unread rows come from the Slack layout; WhatsApp lists its own keys in its settings.
Yes, you can keep up with WhatsApp on a Mac from a game controller: scroll chats on the right stick, dictate a reply, Return to send. For an older parent, this plus a big controller is a way to stay in the family chat without a keyboard. Two rows come from the Slack layout and need WhatsApp's keys.
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.
- Slack leftovers. The bottom face button sends Command K and D-pad up and down send Option Shift and the arrows.
- Back out. Escape on Start.
Change the two Slack rows
- You: Open WhatsApp's Settings, find its keyboard shortcuts, and set the bottom face button to its search key and D-pad up and down to its chat switching keys.
- InputConfig: Sends WhatsApp's keys from the next press.
- Check: Press D-pad down and the next chat opens.
Set this up once, before you hand the controller over.
Set it up for someone else
- Dictation and send. A Start Dictation row on a bumper, Return on the top face button.
- Spoken feedback. Each button can say its job aloud while they learn: Speak a phrase in the row's Options.
- A slower pointer. The Pointer speed slider on the preset's page, and Ramp-up on the pointer rows so the pointer starts gently.
- The whole Mac. The built-in Easy Browse preset is a calm layout for everything outside WhatsApp. The older parent guide walks through it.
The goal is a message to the family without anyone having to help.
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 WhatsApp 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 Telegram layout?
Yes, it has the same rows as the Telegram layout. Check each app's own keys for search and chat switching.
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