Macro Deck

Pushing two buttons at the same time is hard, and I’m lazy... So I created an entire device to just push one instead.

Not really an extra challenge, but this time I tried to use hardware I already had in stock because I didn't want this project to drag on for weeks waiting for parts.

As the device was mainly designed for music use, the screen was supposed to display the Spotify app, but even if you resize the window, it never really fits properly. Speaking of the screen, I used an old screen from which I removed the touchscreen layer. While this made it less reflective and the colors more vibrant, it turned into a dust and fingerprint magnet. You win some, you lose some.

I used the app Deej to control the main volume, but it could easily be changed to control any specific app. Knowing what I know about the screen now, I would have preferred to add more volume sliders instead.

The keys are mapped as F13 to F24, and the AutoHotKey software remaps those to functions or macros. Having modeled the keycaps, I can easily remodel one with an icon (and color), as I did with the four shown in the pictures according to their functions.