Control Manager GUI
As described previously, the Control Manager operates by allowing you to
define the relationship between the axes and buttons on your real CH
controllers and the axes and buttons on the Control Manager Devices that
Windows sees. Additionally, you can program the buttons or axes to send
characters or to control the mouse. This definition is done via a "map"
file. The primary function of the Control Manager GUI is
to define the map and what function each axis or button on your
controllers will have. The GUI also gives you control over the Control
Manager itself and provides facilities for switching modes, calibration,
etc. as well as the map-creation functions. This section describes the GUI
and the available functions in detail.
Starting the GUI
Sart the Control Manager GUI is only a matter of running the CHCtlMgr.exe
file that was installed when you installed the Control Manager. This is
available via the "Start" button. Click the Start button, select
"Programs". Assuming you took the default Program Group during the
installation, you can access the GUI by clicking the "Start" button,
selecting "Programs" then working your way through:
CH Products -> Control Manager -> CHCtlMgr.exe
You can also create a shortcut to the EXE file. By default, it's located
in the:
\Program Files\CH Products\Control Manager
folder but if you chose a different location during installation, then
that's where you will find it. The shortcut can be created on the desktop
and (optionally) dragged down onto the task bar for convenient access. The
GUI can also be started from the CMCC if you're using that utility. See the
CMCC Users Guide for more information.
If you are new to the Control Manager, the GUI screen may seem a little
confusing when it initially starts. Only the buttons at the top are visible
and most of those are disabled. This is because no controllers have been
added to the map and so there's not much that the GUI can do. Things will
liven up a bit once at least one controller has been added. Have a look at the
Adding Controllers section for more information on how
to do this.
Getting Help
This guide is always available while you're working with the Control
Manager GUI. You can access it by clicking the "Help" button at the top
of the screen:
Additional help on any item on the main GUI screen is also available by
first clicking the "What's This?" button:
The button will "stick down" and you can then left-click on the item
that you want help on. This will bring up a popup box with a brief
explanation of what that item does. At the bottom of the popup screen
is a [More Info] link. Clicking on that will bring you to the section
of this guide where the selected item is discussed. Clicking anywhere
else will simply close the popup box and allow the "What's This?" button
to return to its normal position. For help on another item, you need to click
the "What's This?" button again. For more information on using the
available help, see the section on Help Buttons.
Character Suppression
One thing that may be a little misleading when you're first starting
out is the fact that when the GUI is active any
characters that are sent as a result of the Map file being active will
be suppressed. This is done so that if you download a map and then click
a button, it won't inadvertently enter the character into your map. It's
mentioned here since downloading a map and may actually be successful
and still not generate visible characters, which could be misleading.
The suppression is not in effect when either the KeyTest applet
is active or when the primary GUI screen does not have Windows "focus".
This is done so that the KeyTest applet is usable and so that if you
switch over to some other application, NotePad for example, characters
you send with the Control Manager will be generated normally. It's only
when the GUI itself has the system focus that the suppression is in
effect.
