Questions
How to control a Mac with a game controller
Anything a keyboard or mouse can do on a Mac, a controller can do, once something translates. InputConfig is that something: every button, stick, and trigger sends keys, clicks, pointer movement, scrolling, media keys, or system actions like volume and Mission Control. What you get depends on the preset, and the built-in ones cover the common jobs.
As a media remote
The Media Controller preset: play and pause on the big button, next and previous track on the shoulders, volume on the D-pad, mute on a stick click. It works in Music, Spotify, VLC, the TV app, and YouTube in a browser, because it sends the Mac's own media keys. The couch guide adds browsing and reading.
As a browser remote
Web Browsing: pointer on the left stick, scroll on the right, back and forward on the face buttons, tabs on the D-pad, click on the trigger. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and anything else.
For presentations
Presentation Remote: next and previous slide on the shoulders, a laser pointer on the stick, black screen and start on the face buttons. Keynote, PowerPoint, and Google Slides.
For the whole Mac
Desktop Navigation puts Mission Control, the app switcher, Spotlight, and window tiling on the pad, alongside the pointer. With dictation on a button, it is a Mac you can run without touching the keyboard, which is the point of the Mac without a keyboard guide.
Switching jobs automatically
Each preset can list the apps it belongs to, and the app switches presets when one of them comes to the front: the media layout in Music, the browser layout in Safari, the slides layout in Keynote, with no button pressed.
Questions
Can I use a PS5 or Xbox controller as a TV remote for my Mac?
Yes. The Media Controller preset in InputConfig sends the Mac's media keys, so it works in every player.
Can a controller run the whole Mac, not just games?
Yes. Pointer, clicks, scrolling, every key, Mission Control, dictation. People use it as their main input.
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