Kerning with a video game controller - my setup!

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Hello everyone :slight_smile:

So, I’ve been wanting for a while to gamify the process of kerning, as I find it not particularly the most fun aspect of type design :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I’ve been looking into controllers you could remap the buttons of, in order to use one with Glyphs, making use of shortcuts. This isn’t a new idea in the slightest, I believe there is even already another thread on here regarding this method, however if I’m not mistaken it includes code; I’m very grateful for the inspiration I’ve got from other designers, this is such an awesome idea!

My sister gifted me for my birthday a controller whose buttons you can remap: the wonderful Micro from the brand 8bitdo. It’s super small, and the reason I got this controller in particular is to be able to use it one handed, for use with the keyboard or mouse. It fits in the palm of your hand! A lot of people use it for Anki cards, I believe.

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Another cool thing about this controller is that the software used to remap buttons, Ultimate Software, from the brand 8bitdo itself, is really super easy to install and use. You link your controller, choose your shortcuts, sync, and it’s ready to use on Glyphs. You can also have several Profiles, so for instance you could have one for spacing, and one for kerning. Really cool stuff.

There is also the Enjoyable software I believe to use the controller as a mouse, which I’ve actually had great luck using with the pen tool on Glyphs to create really weird shapes, but the Ultimate Software is in my opinion more suited for kerning specifically.

I’ve played around a lot with the buttons remap configuration, and I think I’m starting to settle into a workflow that is working for me. Here is a screenshot of the Ultimate Software with basically what the setup looks like for the Micro, with each button having a specific use (I have an AZERTY keyboard, but it is using QWERTY):

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I completely understand if this approach is not your thing, and I admit it takes a little bit of getting used to, but personally, I find it unbelievably satisfying, and so much faster, to use this controller, and I would recommend you trying it out! No coding needed as far as I know, everything works basically out of the box. And once you get the hang of it, you just feel like you’re playing a really special video game!

I would love to hear your suggestions to improve this workflow please, or see your own setups! I’m still experimenting with the minus, plus, and star buttons configurations; for example I would like to test having the star button being the shift cmd C combo, in order to quickly add glyphs. I am still a little bit confusing the directional keys between left and right, but I also mistake right for left and vice versa since childhood :grin:

Thank you very much!

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Very fun to see, best of success with your boss battle!

@Tosche

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8bitdo is a fine choice for this job, though I would personally want two joysticks for mouse movement and scrolling (though I am not sure which driver allows for that nowadays).

When I was doing kerning, I used to assign L1, L2 as -1 and -10, and D-pad for cursor movement which feels more intuitive to me. I’d also suggest that you make very good use of Sample Texts when kerning, and buttons to cycle through sample texts.

If you allow me to show off my hardware, I reached the logical conclusion and made my own keyboard for ultimate kerning experience, complete with a new key caps typeface :slight_smile:
I always thought kerning should be done using a slider or dial, and two dials were non-negotiable.

The sad reality is that I still need to type numbers and characters a lot while kerning, so my ultimate kerning device also has to turn into a keyboard instantly.

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Hi! I’ve seen here and there people using controller for this exact use, and your post is one of the most comprehensive one so far​:index_pointing_at_the_viewer::star: Thank you! I have nintendo and xbox controllers, but haven’t yet figured out which software to use for mapping the keys… Any ideas? Thanks in advance​:front_facing_baby_chick:

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This is FREAKING AMAZING. And beautiful! You are kerning’s biggest fear, haha! Thank you so much for sharing your setup; I actually gave your post some thought, and ordered another controller from 8bitdo, a dual handed one with more buttons and directional joysticks, in hopes to kern even faster. Great point about sample text cycling, excited to try that!

Your post makes me want to build a macropad with dials. I’m very curious to look into what’s possible! But I agree with you, I find that I still need a keyboard on top of my controller, unfortunately. Really wondering what are the limits of controllers for this use though, so I’ll look into refining my setup :slight_smile:

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Hey! Thank you so much for your kind words :grin:

Actually, there might be a solution for your case :smiley: I reached the same conclusion as you when I tried to use my third party Switch controller. It basically looks visually like a GameCube controller, but it has modern connectivity and functions. And to set it up, I used Karabiner-Elements! Which is the software I recommend to you. As far as I understand, it’s free, and though it does require a little bit of coding to set it up exactly as you wish, it’s SUPER powerful, and I was able to use without issues with the Switch controller I mentionned. The only downside is that you have to keep Karabiner Elements running in the background when you plug in the controller. But it basically can remap any controller if I understand correctly!

And also, on this topic, I experimented with Karabiner a function where you can simulate a repeated press of a button with a single button on the controller, and it works! So for instance, if you have the button mapped to the shortcut for 1 unit kerning on the left of your glyph, you can simulate pressing the button 5 times in a row, which makes it basically so that when you press the button one time on the controller, you can kern 5 units by 5 units, which I believe is not possible natively on Glyphs (but please correct me if I’m wrong). Couple this trick with the Shift button, and you can for instance basically go 50 units by 50 units, it’s awesome - endless possibilities :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

I’m very much looking to improve my setup, I’ll update this post once I receive my second 8bitdo controller I ordered, the SN30 Pro! I’m curious notably about the joysticks capabilities, because technically I think you could use them to move the mouse, but for kerning I’m sure there are better uses :grin:

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Oooo! I will definitely follow up on this guide! Thank you so much for the kind & detailed infos :slight_smile: The joystick is indeed a big question I have for myself, because I can imagine that I could be faster…? (And possibly procrastinate less). Thank youuuu :heart:

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I just wanted to mention that I was using Karabiner Elements as well; in the absence of Controller Mate, it was the best driver. Combining with a macro pad with a dial/knob, it can be a great kerning device too.