ControllerMate (part 9 of 14). Modifiers reversed.

Note: this is not a substitute for the original and most excellent ControllerMate tutorial. I am endeavoring to save some time for those who have read it and now are eager to get things done.

Important: I strongly recommend that for the duration of this adventure you find and connect an extra mouse to your Mac – that way even if you mis-configure your target device you will still have full control.

This is part nine in a series of posts. For the full table of contents go here or here.

Having a personal modifier button opens a whole realm of new possibilities. I have a button privately known as “WIND” – it shifts the others into “window management” mode. Makes my life way easier.

We can put together a system where it matters whether you pressed #1 and then clicked #2, or pressed #2 and then clicked #1: two different sequences = two different actions:

Pretty, isn’t it?

And hauntingly familiar too. that’s because it is nothing more than the modifier diagram times two. No real innovation here, just the same algorythm mirrored and applied to the the same two buttons.

But the result is rather cute:

• hold button #1 and click button #2 – hear a Funk
• hold button #2 and click button #1 – hear a Ping

What would you do with this?

Me, I just felt on a roll and so I added another block that I described earlier: Single versus Double click handler. The result is: two buttons – four new actions (I am not even counting the standalone clicks and double-clicks. With those thorwn in we are now in the “two buttons – eight actions” territory).