App preset
Maxon ZBrush: controller layout for Mac
Maxon ZBrush can be driven from a game controller, a MIDI pad, or an adaptive controller on a Mac. InputConfig sends real keyboard and mouse events, so the app sees an ordinary keyboard and mouse. This is the layout the app's Smart Preset Maker builds for it: 3D sculpting, draw and transform with brush, navigate the canvas.
Get the preset in two clicks
- Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Maxon ZBrush and pick it. The layout below 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.
The full button map
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Left stick left moves the cursor left over the canvas |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Left stick right moves the cursor right over the canvas |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Left stick up moves the cursor up over the canvas |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Left stick down moves the cursor down over the canvas |
| Right stick left | Scroll left | Right stick left scrolls left, which ZBrush reads as canvas zoom |
| Right stick right | Scroll right | Right stick right scrolls right, which ZBrush reads as canvas zoom |
| Right stick up | Scroll up | Right stick up scrolls the document up |
| Right stick down | Scroll down | Right stick down scrolls the document down |
| Right trigger | Left click | Right trigger holds left mouse to sculpt, draw, or rotate on the canvas |
| Left trigger | Alt / Option (Left) | Left trigger holds Alt so a left drag pans or scales the view |
| A / Cross | W | A presses W for Move mode |
| B / Circle | R | B presses R for Rotate mode |
| X / Square | Q | X presses Q for Draw mode and the brush |
| Y / Triangle | E | Y presses E for Scale mode |
| LB / L1 | [ | Left bumper presses [ to shrink the draw size |
| RB / R1 | ] | Right bumper presses ] to grow the draw size |
| L3 (left stick click) | S | Left stick click presses S to open the Draw Size slider |
| D-pad up | F | D-pad up presses F to fit the mesh to the view |
| D-pad down | Ctrl (Left), O | D-pad down presses Ctrl+O to open a project |
| D-pad left | Ctrl (Left), Z | D-pad left presses Ctrl+Z to undo |
| D-pad right | Ctrl (Left), Shift (Left), Z | D-pad right presses Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo |
| Back / Share / Select | Ctrl (Left), N | Back presses Ctrl+N to clear the canvas |
| Start / Options | Ctrl (Left), S | Start presses Ctrl+S to save the project |
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 labelled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Tips
- Hold the right trigger to sculpt or rotate, and hold the left trigger to turn a drag into a pan or scale of the view.
- ZBrush has no fixed zoom hotkey, so the right stick is wired to the scroll wheel, which ZBrush reads as canvas zoom.
Make it yours
Nothing here is fixed. Rows can be re-scanned to a different control, given hold and double-tap actions, chords, turbo, macros, haptic or spoken feedback, and per-binding deadzones and sensitivity curves. The binding editor guide covers every option, and the controller map shows what each control is called.
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