Multiple button approach question

Projects General Guidance
1

First thing first. I am a bit of a newbie to this, so forgive me if explain anything in an odd way.
The Big picture: I want to build an external controller for a piece of software. The software utilizes no keyboard commands, It is purely a GUI interface with "buttons" for mouse clicks. I would need 82 buttons to make the controller. I have a copy of the API for the software.

Proposed approach: I am thinking of using the Arduino Mega 2560 with a 9X10 button matrix. From there I would write a script that would send the appropriate commands across the USB connection.

Questions: On this forum i have seen many discussions on other methods of using multiple buttons. What are the pitfalls of a matrix this large? Are there better ways to approach this problem?
and in general, does anyone see any other pitfalls that i may encounter on this project.

2

I don't understand what you want. A GUI does not deserve mechanical buttons, instead a mouse is used or a touch screen.

If you want mechanical keys, get a complete keyboard or at least a keyboard controller, to keep the circuit small.

3

The need of an external control is because the software is a live production video switcher. I need my eyes up on several video monitors and not looking for GUI buttons. The keyboard controller sounds interesting though. Could I use it to trigger scripted events and not simply be a keyboard emmulator?

4

It depends on the outputs of the keyboard controller. Some are designed for a stand-alone keyboard emulation, others for use with further controllers. I just got a new complete PC USB keyboard for $3, with many DIY options :slight_smile: