Thoughts On Macro Keys
Posted on 19th Sep 2010 at 08:39 by Paul Goodhead with 40 comments
Macro keys on keyboards and mice are almost always aimed at the enthusiast MMO player. Their function is to allow users to execute a long chain of keyboard or mouse commands at the touch of a single button, which is a useful ability in games such as WoW. As a result macro keys are becoming a common feature on gaming mice and keyboards.
It was confusing for Clive then to hear me say that I love macro keys, even though I don’t play any of the MMO games which they are classically associated with. This is because I put my macro keys on my G15 at home to a far less entertaining use than which they were originally intended - entering common information on websites.
I thought it was a pretty logical idea that others would have thought of (I’m sure people have, but none of them are in the bit-tech offices). I’m forever having to enter long and boring lines of text into websites, be it an email address, a password or a house address, why not just map them keystrokes to a macro and enter my awkwardly long personal email address in one simple key press.
You can even map ‘tab’ keys into your macros, so you can make it enter your email address, then tab to the next line to enter your password. Take this to the next step and you can have your keyboard filling out your entire address on a delivery form for some goods you’ve bought online.
I've got copy and paste bound to the two buttons on the edge of the main buttons
Obviously there are some drawbacks. Having your password mapped to a macro button isn’t exactly secure, but if you live with people you trust it’s not a problem. The whole entering your address thing can also get flummoxed by different website layouts; some will require tabs in different places for example.
I’ve also found the macro keys useful on the CM Storm Inferno mouse I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. I liked the mouse so much I’m still using it today (let’s hope they don’t ask for it back) and I’ve mapped the buttons on the outside edge of either of the main buttons as macros. The left hand one is mapped as Ctrl+C and the right hand one as Ctrl+V giving me quick and easy copy and paste commands.
Like I said, I’m sure I’m not alone in using macro keys in this way, it just surprised me that nobody in at bit-tech HQ had thought to do the same, so I thought I’d throw it out to you guys. Do you use your macro keys to make everyday tasks quicker or do you keep them exclusively for your gaming needs? Let me know in the forums.
It was confusing for Clive then to hear me say that I love macro keys, even though I don’t play any of the MMO games which they are classically associated with. This is because I put my macro keys on my G15 at home to a far less entertaining use than which they were originally intended - entering common information on websites.
I thought it was a pretty logical idea that others would have thought of (I’m sure people have, but none of them are in the bit-tech offices). I’m forever having to enter long and boring lines of text into websites, be it an email address, a password or a house address, why not just map them keystrokes to a macro and enter my awkwardly long personal email address in one simple key press.
You can even map ‘tab’ keys into your macros, so you can make it enter your email address, then tab to the next line to enter your password. Take this to the next step and you can have your keyboard filling out your entire address on a delivery form for some goods you’ve bought online.
I've got copy and paste bound to the two buttons on the edge of the main buttons
Obviously there are some drawbacks. Having your password mapped to a macro button isn’t exactly secure, but if you live with people you trust it’s not a problem. The whole entering your address thing can also get flummoxed by different website layouts; some will require tabs in different places for example.
I’ve also found the macro keys useful on the CM Storm Inferno mouse I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. I liked the mouse so much I’m still using it today (let’s hope they don’t ask for it back) and I’ve mapped the buttons on the outside edge of either of the main buttons as macros. The left hand one is mapped as Ctrl+C and the right hand one as Ctrl+V giving me quick and easy copy and paste commands.
Like I said, I’m sure I’m not alone in using macro keys in this way, it just surprised me that nobody in at bit-tech HQ had thought to do the same, so I thought I’d throw it out to you guys. Do you use your macro keys to make everyday tasks quicker or do you keep them exclusively for your gaming needs? Let me know in the forums.
40 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyMight have to wait till tomorrow when I can test with two keyboards at work.
Never thought about putting form information on them, I find it hard to get use to using the macro keys though
Failing that, a usb number pad would have been great - who the hell came up with the idea of putting the numpad on the right of the keyboard so that you have to take your hand of the mouse to enter numbers? It used to drive me mad. And don't tell me I could use the number row at the top, because it's absolutely useless for entering lots of numbers quickly.
Lol I have a sidewinder x6 and I put my numbad on the left next to my macros ;)
I follow this same pattern for other games too. Custom keys mainly for controlling menus and functions, and rely on the main keyboard for actual game play.
Am I right in thinking that a keystroke assignment and a macro are not the same thing? I thought a macro was a sequence of actions rather than just the one.
I can think of a few RTS games I've played that've been completely ruined by Macros.
I do however use a few keys on my G15 for desktop tasks such as opening Word or Firefox etc. I do use the buttons on my mouse as well, they are great for using as the voice chat command in game.
For the record, I have a Microsoft Sidewinder Strategic Commander which has nifty macro features (and buttons which light up when assigned!) which can be handy with some games - just have to take the time to program (and remember!) those buttons...
That's about it I think.
i might just start using them now though
i use last pass, it will recognise form names and autofill information into text boxes, it will even save passwords to the cloud so i can access my passwords when i am away from my normal pc.
Lazy
Don't really use the for gaming. :-]
Yet the only macros I have assigned are a couple of voice commands in TF2, like "Z+2" (Thanks!) as my most used.
The other keys I have assigned are to control Winamp while in game, along with 2 keys to switch Eyefinity profiles and another to put all the monitors to sleep when im finished using the PC.
Ctrl+shift+tab...why haven't I found that one before? :D
You also have a way of showing two Tabs next to eachother (in Firefox)?
Minecraft summon commands
Eve FIRE THE MISSLES (before weapon groupings were added)
DotA (rebind ability keys to same layout)
Weapon quick reloading for Alien Swarm (not 100% reliable)
Tower defenses where you spawn creeps (have been known to crash game engines)
/point /facepalm WoW
Open My computer
Open Calculator
Open Notepad
Minimize to Desktop
<game specific things>
The RAT7 has been getting me into macros a bit, however. The two side buttons are always useful for mouse targetted abilties since I can aim and activate with one hand. The side scroll wheel also proves very useful for quick access macros, though I only use it for things which can't accidentally be activated more than once due to the scroll clicking many times. Its also an amazing way to switch between tabs while still retaining the forward/back buttons on the side.
Press them, you'll see :D (as long as it isn't FORMAT C:, yes, yes)
I've got several configured to rename tracks in iTunes, I've bought a fair few audiobooks and set them up with a "Title, Disc, Track#" format so they will at least play in order on my (non-apple) mp3 player (which ignores things like track number) and the macros make renaming them a snap).
I think macros can be handy for increasing productivity.
Oh well, only when my keyboard dies I will search for a keyboard with macros. About the mouse, I might use the profiles it allows me to save and switch between them for a certain task leaving a profile for gaming.