Macro Keypad
What is it?
A macro keypad is physical or touch screen keypad that maps multiple or common used shortcut keys to an individual action, think (un)mute on Zoom which by default is ALT + A
Prior Art
Implementation
There are multiple ways this can be done and a common approach is to use a Pro Micro as it has the ability to be programmed as a HID device and emulate both keyboard and mouse however I struggled to do this so ended using an ESP32 and presenting it as a bluetooth keyboard.
V1.00 - Status abandoned couldn't get Pro Micro to program
Pro micro - generic clone
3D Printed case - link from thingiverse goes here
Cherry MX clone switches - ebay link here
V1.01 - Status working ESP32-WROOM Module 3D Printed case - link from thingiverse goes here Cherry MX clone switches - ebay link here
Currently have 2 switched hooked up to ESP32 sending ALT + a to mute and unmute and ALT + v to start and stop video
Uses the blekeyboard library for Arduino from -----
#define UK_KEYBOARD 1
#include <Arduino.h>
#include <BleKeyboard.h>
BleKeyboard bleKeyboard;
// Change the below values if desired
#define BUTTON_1_PIN 23
#define BUTTON_2_PIN 22
#define MESSAGE "Hello from ESP32\n"
#define DEVICE_NAME "My Keyboard"
// Forward declarations
void bluetoothTask(void*);
void typeText(const char* text);
bool isBleConnected = false;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
bleKeyboard.begin();
// configure pin for button
pinMode(BUTTON_1_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(BUTTON_2_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP);
}
void loop() {
if (bleKeyboard.isConnected() && digitalRead(BUTTON_1_PIN) == LOW) {
// button has been pressed: type message
//Serial.println(MESSAGE);
//typeText(MESSAGE);
Serial.println("Sending Ctrl+Alt+Shift...");
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_CTRL);
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_ALT);
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_SHIFT);
delay(100);
bleKeyboard.releaseAll();
Serial.println("Sending F3...");
//bleKeyboard.press(KEY_F3);
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_ALT);
bleKeyboard.press('a');
delay(100);
bleKeyboard.releaseAll();
}
if (bleKeyboard.isConnected() && digitalRead(BUTTON_2_PIN) == LOW) {
// button has been pressed: type message
//Serial.println(MESSAGE);
//typeText(MESSAGE);
Serial.println("Sending Ctrl+Alt+Shift...");
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_CTRL);
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_ALT);
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_SHIFT);
delay(100);
bleKeyboard.releaseAll();
Serial.println("Sending F3...");
//bleKeyboard.press(KEY_F3);
bleKeyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_ALT);
bleKeyboard.press('v');
delay(100);
bleKeyboard.releaseAll();
}
}