Package: plover-controller
🎮 plover_controllerThis plugin was designed for use withOpen Steno Project's Plover.
With only a video game controller, you can harness the power of machine stenography, a shorthand writing system that's been proven effective since its inception in 1879.
To this day, stenography is trusted for use in live captioning and court reporting, due to its high speed and accuracy.Table of ContentsLearning ResourcesInstallationUsageExamplesSetupMapping ButtonsThe Default MapLeft JoystickRight JoystickButtonsLearning resourcesTo get started with controller steno, check out these fantasticlearning resources on the Plover wiki!
Need assistance or just want to chat about steno? Join the lively steno community on thePlover DiscordInstallationWe recommend installation via Plover's built-in Plugins Manager.
For manual installation, followthe step-by-step guide in the Plover documentation.UsageStenography is a phonetic/mnemonic shorthand writing system.
It is predominantly written based on sound in Plover theory.Plover processes the keys in the following order, known as "steno order":STKPWHRAO*EUFRPBLGTSDZ.In the default configuration:The left joystick handles the beginning consonantsSTKPWHR-The shoulder buttons and triggers handle the vowelsAOEUThe right joystick and ABXY buttons handle*and the ending consonants-FRPBLGTSDZ.To see which characters are being registered, open thePaper Tapewindow in Plover.ExamplesLet's say you wanted to write the word "cat".
In Plover theory, cat is written likeKAT.
To write "cat" with your controller, do the following simultaneously:Move the left joystick down and to the left for the starting consonantK-Press the left trigger button for the vowelAPress the X button for the ending consonant-TFinally, release the joystick, trigger, and X button, which should output "cat".Here's a slightly more difficult one, "straps".
Do the following, keeping at least one button pressed or joystick moved before releasing to end the stroke:Press the left joystick forS-Move the left joystick up and to the left forT-Move the left stick to the bottom right forR-Press the left trigger forAMove the right joystick to the top for-PPress the A button (Xbox layout A) for-SRelease to end the stroke, and you should get the outputstraps.SetupOnce the plugin is installed and Plover has been restarted, Plover'sMachineselect box should now have aControlleroption.The settings forplover_controllercan be found in the Plover Configuration under theMachinetab.Mapping buttonsThe default configuration was created for use with an Xbox Elite controller.
If you are using any other controller, you will likely have to change the default key mapping in the Plover Machine settings.Any problems will most likely be due to your button map. The best way to resolve these issues is to:Open the PloverMachineConfiguration menu.Move the joystick or press the button causing problemsObserve the text output in theLast axis eventandLast other eventfields at the bottom of theOptionssection, and compare it to the text in theMappingfield. Make changes as needed.Default mappingLeft joystick-----------------
      /   \             /   \
     /     \    P-     /     \
    /       \         /       \
   /   T-    \_______/    H-   \
  /          /       \          \
 /          /         \          \
 +---------|     S-    |---------+
 \          \         /          /
  \          \       /          /
   \   K-     \_____/     R-   /
    \        /       \        /
     \      /    W-   \      /
      \    /           \   /
         -----------------Right joystick-----------------
      /   \             /   \
     /     \    -P     /     \
    /       \         /       \
   /   -F    \_______/    -L   \
  /          /       \          \
 /          /         \          \
 +---------|     *     |---------+
 \          \         /          /
  \          \       /          /
   \   -R     \_____/     -G   /
    \        /       \        /
     \      /   -B    \      /
      \    /           \    /
         -----------------ButtonsButton (Xbox Labels)Maps ToLeft Trigger / Paddle 4ALeft Bumper / Paddle 3ORight Bumper / Paddle 1ERight Trigger / Paddle 2USelect*Start#X Button-TA Button-SY Button-DB Button-Z