You can literally multiply your command power over the standard 4 button use with your Fragpedal or Omnipedal if you use the (3) Virtual buttons to set 2 shift buttons and load a macro to shift the buttons from the keyboard. You can give each of the 4 (or 2 if you have a Dual) buttons 3 additional swappable command outputs on top of the standard assignment.

For those of you new to the IDI™ Shift function, (it’s covered in more depth in another post) it acts like the Shift key on the keyboard.  While a shift key is held down, all the other keys have a second, shifted output.  Your pedals support 3 shift states, for a total of 16 different shiftable button commands. See more here and there is a complete and detailed explanation of how the Shift function and alternate shifted button commands work in the IDI Device Configuration Guide starting at page 40.

The Breakdown

Here’s how our example of shifting the pedals from the keyboard works.  The shift macro that you will need (F11-12 FP Shift Toggle) is already in the example macros available from the Configurator Macro Library if you have updated to the most recent version of the Configurator (v.1.0.7.) If you haven’t, you can get it here.

What you will do:

• Choose a configuration to set up with the shift states.  It can be your home (desktop) or any other configuration; you might create a new one for it.  Just be aware shift state assignments are only by configuration, they are set for each configuration, like the other settings, individually. 
• Register your keyboard with the IDI Device Manger. This is a one-time registration that enables the Virtual button technology in the pedals. The procedure to register your keyboard is covered in detail in section 7 of the IDI Device Configuration Guide (pg 26). One update to this procedure is that with current device firmware, the pedals do not appear in the display when you select the keyboard for registration.
• Assign Virtual button 1 to Shift.  It will automatically be set to Shift 1.
• Assign Virtual button 2 to Shift. It becomes Shift 2
• Assign the F11-12 FP Shift Toggle macro to Virtual button 3.
• Make assignments for the physical buttons for each of the shift states. Detailed instructions for setting and making shifted button assignments, as mentioned above, are covered in section 9 (Setting up SHIFT States) of the IDI Device Configuration Guide (pg 40). Your Configurator should look the same except your pedals (rather than the Omnimouse) will be displayed.

How the macro will work: 

The macro enables the F11 and F12 keys to toggle Shift states 1 and 2 respectively.

• Tap the F11 key and the pedal button 5 is electronically “held down”, initiating Shift 1, and enabling the Shift 1 button assignments. The Onscreen display will pop up the message:”Set Shift 1” for 3 seconds, and a female voice will say “Set Shift 1” This feedback enables you to know with certainty your shift state status when shifting the pedals.
• It’s a toggle, so another tap releases Shift 1, with this action echoed both by voice and display feedback. Pressing the key results in continuous setting and releasing of pedal button 5, Shift 1.
• Tap the F12 key and the same events happen for pedal button 6, Shift 2. Shift 3 is set when both the Shift 1 and 2 buttons are down, (or set), so shifting to Shift 3 is simply a matter of setting both Shift 1 and Shift 2 on at the same time.

Macro feedback: 

As noted, the F11-12 FP Shift Toggle macro has script for both audio and visual feedback for using the shift functions.

• If you do not hear the voice audio, check your IDI Device\sound directory for files.  If there are no files, you can download the IDI Device sound library here. However, you should already have the sound files if you installed the latest Configurator update (v 1.0.7.) and you will need this update as it includes the F11-12 FP Shift Toggle macro.  If you don’t see this macro in the Macro list, or have any sound files, you should instead just update the Configurator here.
• The Onscreen Display window should pop up over any windowed game or app.  It will not appear currently over games in full screen mode.  There are a few apps that do not manage the video as expected, and the Onscreen display window may pop up behind the window.  For these, you might try displaying the app window slightly smaller than the full screen display for the proper pop up behavior of the Onscreen display. The display window only appears for a few seconds, however the display time  is editable in the macro.

What if I want to use other keys besides F11 and F12?

Yes, of course, there is a good chance you don’t have these particular keys free in the app or game you’d like to use the Shift with. The keys you use for the Shift function should not have a game or app function assigned by default, otherwise you will also invoke these commands when you shift the pedals, and very likely have unintended confounding effects.  You should use keys that have no function assigned by the game or app. You can edit (hack) the macro with a text editor (instructions follow) to change the keys used OR you can call or email Customer Service and we’ll revise the macro for the keys you specify and send it to you via email.

Hack the macro

This assumes you know nothing about programming and just want to change the keys in the macro, and aren’t a programmer type who would know what to edit.

No problem, there is a help file for this macro that appears when the macro is selected, and this file shows you precisely what to change in the macro to change the keys it will work with.

1. Select the macro and then view the help file. If you already have assigned the macro to a pedal button, click on the button and select “Show Button Help”. If for some reason it does not display, you can go to your \html folder and double click on the file, (C_F11-12 FP Shift Toggle.html ) which will open it in your browser, and you can view it that way.  The help file shows the actual text of the macro and color codes the text that you would change to change the keys. Check out this info, it tells you specifically what text to change only to change the keys.

3. Next open the actual macro file using a simple text editor like Notepad, and find the text that is highlighted in the help file display. What you will be changing are 2 numbers that represent the keyboard keys to be used. The numbers are the decimal version of the keys’ “Keyboard Useage ID”. This table Keyboard Usage IDs in the Index  (page 63) of the IDIScript Reference Guide which contains a list of all the keyboard keys with their decimal and hexadecimal IDs. Check this list and substitute the decimal key ID for the keys you wish to use for the key IDS in the macro. As long as you edit these numbers only and then save the file, you should be set.  You should also rename the macro so that it refers to the keys you have used.

BTW, this table is very helpful for editing any other macros such as ones you may make with the MacroBuilder.  You can change the key IDs in the macro using this reference and sometimes that’s all you need to create a new macro.

Also, there is a short chapter in the Configurator help system that covers the process to edit and test macros.  To access this, with the pedals plugged in and the Configurator open, click on mouse or keyboard from the button assignment menu, and then select one of the choices. This will pop up the related help text. Now, click on the Home link in the upper right corner of the help screen to take you to the Help Home Table of Contents where you can then click on the “How to Edit Macros” subject, to view this help material.

Get customized macro from Customer Service

Just call (510) 845-5151 from 9-5 M-Sat or email at Office@goodworksystems.com with the keys you would like to use to shift the pedals, and we’ll email you a macro that does that. Also, feel free to call or email with any other questions that might arise, and we’ll be happy to get you set.