A free gamepad-to-keyboard mapper for Windows.
PadAdder v1.3 (Jan. 2015) - now based on SDL 2.0
PadAdder v1.2 (July 2014)
For a more advanced gamepad mapper, try Paddle.
PadAdder converts gamepad input to keyboard presses. Its main use is to add gamepad support to keyboard-only games, but you can also use it to control music or other software.
Features:
Many games directly map a gamepad input (eg. button #5 or axis #2) to a keyboard key. This forces you to reconfigure whenever you change controllers. PadAdder adds an intermediate stage which translates raw inputs to specific actions (eg. right trigger pressed, D-pad up) so you can change controllers seamlessly.
PadAdder can automatically change profiles when specified games are launched. You can leave PadAdder hidden in the background, and it will enable/disable itself as necessary.
Default configurations for some gamepads (such as XBox 360) are included.
Simple interface. Plug in a gamepad, launch a game, and play.
Limitations:
Only one controller is supported at a time (typically the first one you plug in).
There is no advanced sequence, mouse, or timing control. (However, you can map a gamepad action to multiple output keys.)
You can also try Paddle, a more advanced gamepad mapper which does not have these limitations. Paddle supports multiple players and can map to mouse control, auto-repeating keys, and key sequences (such as Alt+Enter
, a common hotkey to toggle fullscreen).
Here are some example profiles for a few games:
Right-click and choose 'Save As' to download them.