INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROGRAMMING KINESIS SAVANT ELITE2 DEVICES (Includes list of actions that can be copied to configuration file)

Transcription

1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROGRAMMING KINESIS SAVANT ELITE2 DEVICES (Includes list of actions that can be copied to configuration file) The standard factory programming for Savant Elite2 devices performs at least a left and right mouse click, plus a double left click if you have a triple pedal model. The defaults for each device are shown below (Fig. 1). If you want the default actions, just plug in your device to an available USB port and it should be ready to use in seconds. If you want to customize the actions of one or more pedals or jack inputs, you must activate programming mode, which opens a virtual removable drive ( VRD ) named KINESIS FP on your computer or tablet. We recommend you then use the SE2 Config App to quickly and easily assign single key actions or program complex macros with ease. If you want to get really technical, go under the hood and edit the pedals.txt file directly and save as simple text or plain text. Please check the Kinesis website (kinesis.com) for the latest version of this document ( Language note: This device is designed to be used with the U.S. English keyboard driver when programming. See additional details under Programming by direct editing of pedals.txt. FIRST TIME USE (AUTO- INSTALLATION) On the underside of all nonwaterproof Savant Elite2 devices there is a play/program switch. Normally you want to keep the device in Play Mode (and especially the first time you plug it in to a particular USB port) except when you plan to review or change the programming. Fig. 1. Schematic drawing showing default programming of all possible inputs The first time you plug it in when it is in Play Mode, or the first time you switch it to Program Mode, the red LED will come on briefly while the automatic installation process begins. Within a short time the steady green LED will indicate installation in Play Mode is finished. If you have moved the switch to programming mode, the green LED will be flashing. The red LED should be off except when a pedal is pressed. ACTIVATING PROGRAMMING MODE There are two ways to activate Programming Mode. On non-waterproof models, you can move the slide switch accessible from the underside of the control module from Play to Program, using the tip of a pen or pencil (see Fig. 2). Fig. 2. Accessing slide switch on underside 1

2 Alternatively, on any model, you can press down a pedal briefly while plugging in the USB cable, or while rebooting your computer. Either way, a virtual removable disk (VRD) named KINESIS FP will appear on your computer or tablet. See details below for different operating systems. There will be a delay while your computer recognizes the VRD don t press any pedals or hand triggers until you see the VRD on your computer. When you see the VRD, open it as you would normally browse a folder on your computer or tablet. USING THE SE2 CONFIG APP TO PROGRAM THE SAVANT ELITE2 (recommended method) The easiest way to reconfigure your device is with the SE2 Config App. Activate programming mode, which opens the virtual removable drive, then double click the SE2 Config App icon and follow the on-screen directions. The app automatically loads and resaves the configuration file, pedals.txt. Click the Help button for additional instructions. Note for early pedal version (firmware 1.0.1): The firmware version of your device is found in the active folder in version.txt. With version 1.0.1, the SE2 Config App cannot be stored on or run directly from the VRD. However, you can download the SE2 Config App from the Kinesis website (see link on page 1) to your computer s disk drive and double click on it there. It will say can t find pedals.txt file, do you want to create a new file click yes. Then you may create a new pedals.txt file and ultimately copy it to the VRD s active folder. Or click on open another file to browse to the active folder and open pedals.txt. 2

3 Antivirus warnings Some antivirus systems may warn about or even prevent a removable drive from appearing on the system. It that happens, either tell the antivirus to ignore the VRD, or temporarily disable the antivirus program. If you are concerned about the contents of the VRD, you could format it the first time you open it, then download the Programming Guide and SE2 Config App from the Kinesis website. The basic pedals.txt and version.txt files will be recreated by the firmware of the device after formatting and power-cycling the device. What if I don t see the VRD? Different operating systems display removable drives in different ways. Windows: Normally you get a popup menu for a removable drive asking What do you want to do. Select VIEW FILES. If you don t see this option, look at the tray at the bottom of your screen, or go to My Computer and look for the removable drive named KINESIS FP. To ensure that the popup menu appears when you activate the VRD, go to the control panel and select autoplay. Macintosh: A drive icon named KINESIS FP will appear, normally on the right side of your monitor. Double click to open it. Pedals.txt must be in Active folder Only a simple text file named pedals.txt, located in the Active folder, can serve as the configuration file for your device. Copies of pedals.txt with different names, or other small text files may be placed in that folder and will not affect the operation of your device. In fact it is a good idea to make a copies of any edited files, saving them with different names. These can be stored inside or outside the active folder but it is recommended to store backups on your computer s disk drive. Important file storage note Do not use this drive for general file storage. If the firmware version is 1.01 (see version.txt in the active folder on VRD), don t load the SE2 Config App onto the VRD. Just use the VRD for the SE2 Programming Guide and the active folder where pedals.txt, version.txt and backup text files can reside. Later versions support 2MB of storage, so you can store and run the SE2 Config App directly on the top level of the VRD. Check for updates on the Kinesis website It is a good idea to check the Kinesis website ( for the latest version of the User s Manual, Programing Guide, SE2 Config App, and default pedals.txt file and download these. Auto-restore feature & backup recommendation If pedals.txt is and/or version.txt is not present in the active folder when pedal unit is plugged in, it will be recreated automatically using default values. If you edit and re-save pedals.txt or copy a new pedals.txt file into the active folder, you must move the slide switch to play mode or unplug and reconnect your device to a USB port to make the new actions active. Mouse actions do not work in Programming Mode In Programming Mode (when the VRD is visible), the pedal will operate with its previously programmed keyboard actions but mouse button actions are temporarily disabled. New actions are not active until pedals.txt is saved into the Active folder and the virtual disk drive is closed by sliding the switch to Play Mode or by power cycling the device. 3

4 Special considerations for Mac usage When selecting what actions to assign to pedals and/or jacks, keep in mind that OS X doesn t allow one USB device to modify another. Therefore modifier key actions (Command, Option, Control, Shift) assigned to a pedal will not modify a keyboard action unless it is also produced by the same Savant Elite2 device. Mac disconnection error message. When you close the VRD by moving the switch to Play Mode or by re-plugging the device, the OS X will report Disk Not Ejected Properly. Eject KINESIS-FP before disconnecting or turning it off. However, as long as you saved the pedals.txt file before closing the VRD, you can ignore this message as the device was designed not to need the ejection process. Also, if you use the Savant Elite2 on a PC after using on a Mac, you will see previouslyhidden files that were created by the Mac OS. These files can be safely ignored or deleted. Programming in Linux, Android, Chrome The appearance of the removable drive named KINESIS FP will vary by device and operating system. In Android look for it in Computer Settings, while in Chrome look in Files. Hard reset feature (and fixing lockups) If you experience a problem where the red LED stays on, the pedals don t perform the actions designated in the pedals.txt file, or the VRD will not open, you will need to perform a hard reset. Warning: this will erase any customization of the pedals.txt file. Before plugging in the unit, hold two pedals down briefly while connecting the USB plug, then release the pedals. Alternatively, reboot the computer while holding two pedals down briefly. For jack-equipped modules, if a second pedal is not available, contact Kinesis Tech Support for assistance. After a hard reset, the green light should be on normally and the pedals should perform mouse button actions. Open the VRD (hold one pedal while plugging in, or move the slide switch to program. ). If there are documents (e.g. SE2 Programming Guide, backup files) you wish to save, copy them to your HDD. Then format the VRD using the format command appropriate to your operating system. ADVANCED PROGRAMMING (DIRECT EDITING OF PEDALS.TXT) If you wish to reprogram your device, you can do so without installing any special drivers, regardless of the operating system. Activating Programming Mode creates a virtual removable disk (VRD) named KINESIS-FP on your computer or tablet. That disk contains a copy of this Programming Guide, plus an Active folder in which a tiny text file named pedals.txt resides. Pedals.txt contains the complete configuration instructions for your Savant Elite2 device. For help and a dictionary of available actions and sample macros, read PROGRAMMING YOUR SAVANT ELITE2 (page 2).Tips for accessing the VRD in different operating systems is provided below. Using virtually any word processing (text editing) program, you can edit one or more of the seven inputs available on various Savant Elite2 products. Each pedal or jack can produce one or more keyboard or mouse actions or combinations of mouse and keyboard actions. 4

5 Pedals.txt contains basic instructions, but more details (as well as examples which can be copied and pasted into pedals.txt) are included in this Programming Guide. Just be sure to save it as plain text or simple text when you are done editing. Accessing pedals.txt on a PC under Windows Normally in Windows 7 when programming mode is activated, the removable drive autoplay pops up, offering the option of Open Folder to View Files. If you don t see this, look in your tray or in My Computer for the virtual removable disk named KINESIS-FP. In Windows 8.1, the My Computer screen will probably open. Hereafter the virtual removable disk will be referred to as the VRD. Accessing pedals.txt on a Mac (OS X, 10.5 or newer) On a Mac, when a connected Savant Elite2 is switched to Programming Mode the VRD is called a removable volume and is named KINESIS FP. When the Savant Elite2 is in programming mode, you will find the KINESIS FP on your desktop (typically upper right) and also in My Computer. Select a text editor which has the ability to save the pedals.txt file as plain (simple) text. Most or all keyboard and mouse actions should be supported. Editing pedals.txt After editing and saving pedals.txt, the changes don t go into effect until you exit programming mode. To do this, slide the switch back to PLAY, wait a few seconds (your computer may play one or two disconnect tones). If you entered programming mode by holding a pedal down while plugging in your device, you must unplug and reconnect it, or restart your computer, to activate the changes you have made in the newly-saved pedals.txt file. Language note: The computer must be using the English (US) keyboard layout to edit the pedals.txt file. Other language drivers use different codes/positions for certain keys important for programming, such as [ ] and { }. If you want to use the pedal to produce text output using a different language, you will need to translate certain keys in the dictionary below in order to get the desired output. For example, for keys that change between English and your desired language, type that key with both drivers to make yourself a custom language dictionary. Then use the English version of that key in the pedals.txt file. If macros are played while a different keyboard layout is active, some key actions will be changed. In the future it should be possible to find conversion information for some non-us keyboard layouts on the virtual removable drive or at kinesis.com/support. Compatible text editors for programming Savant Elite2 devices. Always use a plain text editor if possible, and if not, be sure to select the plain text or simple text format when saving the pedals.txt file. It is a good idea to rename and save a backup outside the active folder or on your hard drive. Listed below are commonlyavailable text editors for different operating systems: Windows: Notepad provides simple text only. If you use another text editor or word processor, save as plain text or simple text. Mac OS X: TextEdit is the default editor. Under TextEdit Preferences select plain text as the format. Normally if you open a plain text file, it will save it in the same format by default. Linux: For Ubuntu the default text editor is Gedit, which is similar to Notepad. 5

6 DEFAULT CONFIGURATION IN PEDALS.TXT This is what the configuration looks like in the default pedals.txt: [lpedal]>[lmouse] {mpedal}>{lmouse}{125}{lmouse} [rpedal]>[rmouse] [jack1]>[lmouse] [jack2]>[rmouse] [jack3]>[bspace] {jack4}>{-shift}{t}{+shift}{h}{a}{n}{k}{space}{y}{o}{u}{.} Note that the middle pedal and jack 4 perform macros, so they use { } before and after the > and show the down (-) and up (+) action for the modifier {shift}. Also, the double click happens to require a 125 millisecond delay so it includes {125} between the two actions. BASIC PROGRAMMING OF YOUR SAVANT ELITE2 DEVICE (HOW TO EDIT PEDALS.TXT) Below the instructions is a dictionary listing all available actions that can be copied and pasted to the pedals.txt file. Programming a single key or mouse action Use square brackets [ ] around the pedal, then > (shifted period), then square brackets again around the desired keyboard or mouse button action. Example: The left pedal will perform the letter a. [lpedal]>[a] Note: [lpedal]>[a] and [LPEDAL]>[a] both produce the same lower case a output. Example: The middle pedal will perform the shift action. [mpedal]>[shift] Usage note: After the pedal has been programmed, the lower case action of letter keys will always be produced unless keyboard's Capslock is on when pedal is pressed. For all alphanumeric keys, the unshifted action will be produced unless keyboard's Shift key is held while pedal is pressed. However, a macro can be created which combines Shift and another key to produce the shifted action automatically (see Programming a Macro below). Programming a macro (sequence of actions) When programming a macro, the pedal or jack name as well as each action must be surrounded by braces { }. NOTE: A macro can produce up to 250 key actions including spaces, but other non-alphanumeric actions like shift or enter will reduce the maximum macro size. If the size limit is exceeded the macro will not play back correctly. When using modifier keys (e.g. a Shift action), a down action (e.g. shift) must precede the key being modified, and an up action (e.g. +shift) must follow the modified key. Longer macros can be tedious to write so use the SE2 Config App first, then make changes, if necessary, by directly editing the pedals.txt file. Also take advantage of existing macros and examples as templates which can be edited. 6

7 Note: Macros normally play when the pedal is pressed, without waiting for release. If you want the macro to play only when the pedal is released, use the special feature below, Different actions on pedal press & release. Note for Mac OS X: Modifier keys by themselves are not useful to assign to a pedal because the Mac operating one USB device cannot modify another (modifiers are shift, command, option, control). Macro examples Example 1. Left pedal plays the word go : {lpedal}>{g}{o} Example 2. Left pedal plays left mouse double click (this macro normally requires a 125 millisecond delay): {lpedal}>{lmouse}{125}{lmouse} If this doesn t work for you, try adjusting the double click timing in your control panel, or use two delays. Example 3. Using modifiers within macros, playing Hi Joy!" by pressing the right foot pedal: {rpedal}>{-shift}{h}{+shift}{i}{space}{-shift}{j}{+shift}{o}{y}{-shift}{1}{+shift} Example 4. Macro plays 1+2=3 using the right pedal: {rpedal}>{1}{-shift}{=}{+shift}{2}{=}{3} ADVANCED PROGRAMMING FEATURES FOR MACROS Several special features can be incorporated into macros. A different action can be produced on the press and on the release of the pedal. Also delays can be programmed within a macro, and slower output can be selected if necessary. Different actions on press and release Place braces with a single space, { } (not {}) in between the press and release actions. Example 1. Press produces F1 function key and release produces F2 function key: {lpedal}>{f1}{ }{F2} Example 2. Pressing pedal acts just like pressing and holding ctrl-alt-4, and releasing is just like releasing ctrl-alt-4: {lpedal}>{-ctrl}{-alt}{-4}{ }{+4}{+ctrl}{+alt} Please note that the 4 needs a down (press) code {-4} and an up (release) code {+4} in this case. Fast (normal) and Slow output Macro playback is normally fast. Slower playback can be created placing {slow} just before the macro commands where you want the playback speed to slow down. Using {fast} returns output to the normal fast rate if {slow} has been used previously in that macro. Example 1. This left pedal macro plays back the phrase "fast & slowly" where the word slowly is typed at the slow speed. The {slow} output command only affects the remainder 7

8 of the macro in which it is placed. If you want to speed up output in the same macro after the slow command, insert a {fast} command: {lpedal}>{f}{a}{s}{t}{slow}{space}{-shift}{7}{+shift}{space}{s}{l}{o}{w}{l}{y} Note: If a macro word-wraps to the next line in your pedals.txt file, but sure that there are no spaces or Enter actions embedded unintentionally within the macro contents. Adding delays to macros Macros can have one or more internal delays. Both 125 and 500 millisecond (ms) delays are available and either or both can be combined. To insert a delay, use braces around the delay time: {125} or {500}. Example 1. Middle pedal macro plays a then delays 500 ms, then plays b : {mpedal}>{a}{500}{b} Example 2. Middle pedal macro plays F1 then delays one second (1000 ms), then plays F2: {mpedal}>{f2}{500}{500}{f2} TROUBLESHOOTING If a pedal is pressed while programming mode is being established, the device may become inactive. If that happens, it may be necessary to unplug and reconnect the device. If the red LED is on continuously even though a pedal is not pressed, the unit is not working correctly. Try unplugging, waiting 30 seconds, then reconnecting the unit. If incorrect syntax or language is used, the pedal will usually resort to a default action which may differ from actions shown on page 1. In some cases pressing a pedal that has invalid programming may disable the unit and cause the red LED come on. If unplugging and reconnecting the unit fixes the problem but pressing a pedal causes it to re-occur, it is most likely due to an error in the pedals.txt file. In that case, activate Programming Mode and delete pedals.txt (or cut and paste to a location outside the Active folder). Then power cycle the device to create a new (default) pedals.txt file. Re-edit the new pedals.txt file as desired. DICTIONARY OF AVAILABLE MOUSE & KEYBOARD ACTIONS & COMMON SHORT MACROS Numbers and letters are sorted in alphanumeric sequence, while other keys are listed in familiar keyboard groupings. You can copy/paste from this list directly to your pedals.txt file (just remember to change [ ] to { } if you are pasting to create a macro). Note: The text shown below must be copy/pasted or typed (inside square brackets) into the Assigned Actions section of the pedals.txt file. For example, use [pdown] for the Page Down key and [down] for the Down arrow key. [lmouse] [mmouse] [rmouse] Double click Left mouse button click Middle mouse button click Right mouse button click See macros, Mouse double click [escape] 8

9 [F1] [F2] [F3] [F4] [F5] [F6] [F8] [F7] [F9] [F10] [F11] [F12] [pause] [prtscr] [scroll] Function keys, F1 through F12 Pause/break Print screen Scroll lock [1] Number row key actions. To perform the shifted action, hold keyboard Shift [2] while pressing the pedal. To make a pedal perform the shifted action without [3] holding Shift, use a macro combining Shift with the number row key (see [4] Sample Macros below). [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [0] [=] This is the = + key in the number row. [hyphen] This is the number row hyphen (the shifted action is underscore, _). [a] Letter key actions (both a and A produce the same lower case output). [b] To get the shifted version to play after programming the pedal, either turn on [c] Capslock or hold the Shift key on your keyboard while pressing the pedal. To [d] make a pedal perform the shifted action without holding a Shift key, use a [e] macro combining Shift with the letter key (see Sample Macros below). [f] [g] [h] [i] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [o] [p] [q] [r] [s] [t] [u] [v] [w] 9

10 [x] [y] [z] [tab] [caps] Capslock [space] [/] Forward slash (the shifted action is?) near the right Shift key [\] Backslash (the shifted action is, commonly known as pipes) ['] Apostrophe (the shifted action is quotation marks, ") [`] Accent (the shifted action is tilde, ~) [;] Semi colon (the shifted action is colon :) [,] Comma (the shifted action is less than, <) [.] Period (the shifted action is greater than, >) [obrack] Open bracket [. The shifted action is open brace or curly bracket, { [cbrack] Close bracket ]. The shifted action is close brace or curly bracket, } [bspace] Backspace (called Delete on Mac) [enter] Enter is called Return on Mac (different code than keypad Enter) [insert] Insert performs Help on Mac [delete] Delete (called Forward Delete on Mac) [home] [end] [pdown] Page down [pup] Page up [right] Right arrow [left] Left arrow [up] Up arrow [down] Down arrow [alt] [ctrl] [shift] [win] [lalt] [lctrl] [lshift] [lwin] [ralt] [rctrl] [rshift] [rwin] If you don t care whether right or left alt is assigned, just use [alt]. Left Alt key Left Ctrl key Left Shift key Left Windows key Right Alt key Right Ctrl key Right Shift key Right Windows key NUMERIC KEYPAD ACTIONS [kp=mac] Mac keypad = key (On a PC this key does work. Use PC number row =). [numlk] Numlock [kpdiv] Keypad divide [kpmult] Keypad multiply [kpmin] Keypad minus [kpplus] Keypad plus [kpenter] Keypad Enter [kp1] Keypad 1 [kp2] Keypad 2 10

11 [kp3] Keypad 3 [kp4] Keypad 4 [kp5] Keypad 5 [kp6] Keypad 6 [kp7] Keypad 7 [kp8] Keypad 8 [kp9] Keypad 9 [kp0] Keypad 0 USEFUL COMMON MACROS A macro is a multi-action sequence triggered by a single pedal action. Typically these are keyboard action sequences, but multiple mouse actions can be combined also (see Default double click macro sample below). Keyboard & mouse actions can be combined where supported by the operating system. For example, ctrl-click may be useful. Note: If the pedal is held down, macros do not repeat like a single key would. Default double left mouse button macro (middle pedal, mpedal ) This left mouse button double-click macro is in the default pedals.txt file, assigned to the middle pedal. It includes a 125 millisecond delay between clicks, which is typically required. For more information on inserting delays into macros, see ADVANCED PROGRAMMING FEATURES FOR MACROS above. {mpedal}>{-lmouse}{+lmouse}{125}{-lmouse}{+lmouse} Macros for standard shifted actions of keys Number row shifted actions are often useful macros. Note: requires US English keyboard driver. Examples shown are for left pedal. The Shift action is placed on either side of the key action to be shifted. You can copy and paste these examples to the pedals.txt file. Note: Either the number row hyphen and + keys or the keypad minus and plus keys may be used as the down action and release indicator. ~ Tilde (Shifted accent, ` ) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{`}{+shift}! Exclamation point (Shifted 1) symbol (Shifted 2) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{2}{+shift} # # symbol (Shifted 3) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{3}{+shift} $ $ symbol (Shifted 4) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{4}{+shift} % Percentage symbol (Shifted 5) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{5}{+shift} ^ ^ symbol (Shifted 6) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{6}{+shift} 11

12 & & symbol (Shifted 7) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{7}{+shift} * Asterisk symbol (Shifted 8) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{8}{+shift} ( Open parenthesis (Shifted 9) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{9}{+shift} ) Close parenthesis (Shifted 0) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{0}{+shift} _ Underscore (Shifted hyphen, -) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{-}{+shift} Note: this macro contains a hyphen + Number row + (Shifted equals,=) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{=}{+shift} { Left curly bracket or left brace (Shifted left square bracket) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{[}{+shift} Note: this contains [ followed immediately by }. } Right curly bracket or right brace (Shifted right square bracket) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{]}{+shift} Note: this contains ] followed immediately by }. Pipes character (Shifted forward slash, \, near the Enter key) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{\}{+shift} Quotation marks (Shifted apostrophe) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{ }{+shift} : Colon (Shifted semi-colon) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{;}{+shift} < Less than symbol (Shifted comma) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{,}{+shift} > Greater than symbol (Shifted period) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{.}{+shift}? Question mark (Shifted backslash, /) Macro: {lpedal}>{-shift}{/}{+shift} Kinesis Corporation TH AVE SE, SUITE 102 BOTHELL, WA USA sales@kinesis.com tech@kinesis.com March 4,