Pikatea Macropad GB1 User Guide
Introduction
Congratulations on receiving your Pikatea Macropad from Group Buy 1! This quick guide will walk you through how to use it.
What’s in the box
- (1) Pikatea Macropad
- (1) micro SD card
- (1) USB micro SD card reader
- (1) USB Mini Cable
- (2) Screws
Mounting
Mounting can be done with the included screws or the doubled sided tape already attached. Remove the red plastic to reveal the adhesive part of the mounting tape. Align the Macropad to the underside of your desk or monitor and press firmly for 10 seconds. The bond will grow stronger over time. Be careful not to cover up any monitor buttons. More mounting tape can be bought on Amazon or we can ship some for a small fee.
Programming and Usage
The Pikatea Macropad uses an SD card to load the configuration onto the board. This makes it so the only software required is a basic text editor (Mac OS X should use VSCode) like Notepad.exe. Configuration is simple, Just follow these steps:
- Remove the SD card from the Macropad.
- Place the SD card into the USB SD card reader and plug in into a computer.
- Open the file "Config.txt" with a text editor.
- Edit the Text file - (More details below).
- Save the file and remove the SD card.
- Place the SD card back into the Macropad.
- Press the small button on the backside to reload the configuration to memory.
Details on Editing the Text File
The configuration text file is used to tell the Pikatea Macropad what to do after each each button press, hold, or knob rotation. Use the starter configuration and examples to get started.
The configuration for each button (or knob) is defined after the equals sign on each line. To edit button 1, for example, change the text after 'Button1='.
Hotkeys or a combination of key presses
Each button press, hold, or knob rotation configuration can include a combination of keys that will be pressed all at once*. Using the table below, specify each action with a '+' sign in between them. Examples and a starter configuration are listed below:
Starter configuration - download starter configuration
KnobButton=Mute
KnobCW=VolumeUp
KnobCCW=VolumeDown
Button1=
Button2=
Button3=Previous
Button4=PlayPause
Button5=Next
Button1Hold=
Button2Hold=
Button3Hold=
Button4Hold=
Button5Hold=
Example configuration
KnobButton=Mute
KnobCW=ScrollRight
KnobCCW=ScrollLeft
Button1=Ctrl+Alt+t
Button2=Alt+g
Button3=LeftCtrl+RightShift+1+v
Button4=1+2
Button5=Ctrl+R+Alt
Button1Hold=Backspace+q
Button2Hold=Alt+Tab
Button3Hold=VolumeUp+VolumeUp+VolumeUp
Button4Hold=Space+u
Button5Hold=1+2+3+4+5+6
All Keys and the correct definition for the configuration file
| Key | Defined in the Config | Notes/Example |
| Up Arrow | UpArrow | |
| Down Arrow | DownArrow | |
| Right Arrow | RightArrow | |
| Left Arrow | LeftArrow | |
| Volume Up | VolumeUp | KnobCW=VolumeUp |
| Volume Down | VolumeDown | KnobCCW=VolumeDown |
| Backspace | Backspace | |
| Space | Space | the space character |
| + | PlusSign | Button3=Ctrl+PlusSign |
| Tab | Tab | Button1Hold=Alt+Tab |
| Return | Return | the enter key |
| Escape | Escape | |
| Insert | Insert | |
| Delete | Delete | |
| Page up | PageUp | KnobCCW=PageUp |
| Page down | PageDown | KnobCW=PageDown |
| Home | Home | |
| End | End | |
| Caps lock | CapsLock | |
| Play/Pause | PlayPause | Plays or pauses the current music/media |
| Next | Next | Plays the next song/media |
| Previous | Previous | Play the previous song/media |
| Mute | Mute | Sets the volume to zero |
| Left Shift or Shift | LeftShift or Shift | Button1=LeftShift+2 |
| Left Ctrl or Ctrl | LeftCtrl or Ctrl | Button4=Ctrl+p |
| Left Alt or Alt | LeftAlt or Alt | Button5=Alt+Tab |
| Left Menu or Menu | LeftMenu or Menu | Windows Menu or Mac Command Key |
| Right Shift | RightShift | |
| Right Ctrl | RightCtrl | |
| Right Alt | RightAlt | |
| Right Menu | RightMenu | WindowsMenu or Mac Command Key |
| F1-F12 | F1, F2, F3, etc | Button4Hold=Ctrl+F11 or Button2=Alt+RightShift+F5 |
| Left Mouse Click | MouseLeft | |
| Right Mouse Click | MouseRight | |
| Middle Mouse Click | MouseMiddle | |
| Scroll up | ScrollUp | scrolls the mouse wheel at a slower speed |
| Scroll down | ScrollDown | scrolls the mouse wheel at a slower speed |
| Scroll up fast | ScrollUpFast | scrolls the mouse wheel 3x faster |
| Scroll down fast | ScrollDownFast | scrolls the mouse wheel 3x faster |
| Scroll Right | ScrollRight | Scrolls up while holding the shift key for you |
| Scroll Left | ScrollLeft | Scrolls down while holding the shift key for you |
| Any other charactor | a, b, c, d, -, &, #, etc | presses the character |
| Type a word or sentence | This is a sentence for example | types 'This is a sentence for example' (NOTE: the configuration file and the Pikatea macropad has a maximum memory size. We would highly recommend not trying to type out entire paragraphs of text) |
Example Uses
This is a list I've generated of useful ways and programs to use the Pikatea Macropad with. This is just an example. In reality, the possibilities are endless.
- Music control - My favorite way to use the Pikatea Macropad. We usually configure 3 buttons for Play/Pause, Next and Previous songs. We use the Dial to control volume. This works well with Spotify.
- Screenshots - Configure a button to press LeftMenu+LeftShift+s to create open up the screenshot tool on windows 10.
- SoundSwitch - This is an amazing computer program that makes it very easy to switch audio devices. I've setup my first button to switch between my headphones and speakers when held. Button1Hold=Ctrl+Alt+F11
- In conjunction with AutoHotkey - AutoHotkey is a powerful scripting language that can do automated tasks. It can be triggered by a hotkey press so it's perfect to use with the Pikatea Macropad
- Streaming - Configure OBS or other streaming platforms to change scenes or camera angles. We like to have a button to blank my display.
- Video Editing - Program the knob to press the correct keys to move the timeline back and forth for any video editing program.
QMK Programming
The Pikatea Macropad can be programmed with QMK firmware. Please note that programming with QMK will override the firmware provided. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO BACK.