Hi there,
I am trying to implement a button to open a specific software in Windows.
So, pressing a button would open Steam, for example.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe
I found the NicoHood/HID (GitHub - NicoHood/HID: Bring enhanced HID functions to your Arduino!) library but could not find any way to set a button to do that.
I am not sure if that is possible or how to do it. Can anyone help me?
By the way, I am using an Arduino Zero.
Thanks
A button on the Arduino side or a button on the computer side ?
I assume a button on the computer side.
A program or script should run on the computer to read the special keys and open Steam.
The more expensive mouse and keyboards come with a driver that has often a program that can assign tasks to buttons. You need such a program.
There are standard buttons: Open the browser, Start mediaplayer, Sleep mode, and so on. I don't know if they all are supported on every computer.
Here is a list of those special keys: https://github.com/NicoHood/HID/blob/master/src/HID-APIs/ConsumerAPI.h.
Hi Koepel,
Thank you for your reply.
A button on the Arduino side.
I am using a small keypad that I will connect to a PC USB and use to activate some Windows shortcuts. Like media Play/Pause, etc...
I would like also to open a specific software (for example Steam, Spotify...) and checking the ConsumerAPI, I could not find any way to do it.
The idea would be
send < ctrl >< esc >; this will open the start menu
type (send) run
type (send) the full path to the executable; e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe
You don't need any special libraries, only the standard Keyboard.h. And you need an Arduino that supports HID functionality (e.g. Leonardo, Micro).
Hi sterrejte,
Thank you for your reply.
It seems an excellent idea. I will try to implement that with the HID library, since I will have to use it for other media functions.
I will come back with the results.
Thank you so much.
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