HID = Human Interface Device
Free Windows app that allows the keyboard lying in your drawer to be useful again.
- Features
- UI
- Usage
- Settings
- Profiles
- Key names
- Similar Tools
- Troubleshooting & Support
- Disclaimer
- License
- Key -> Combo: Press a single key to send a combo like
Ctrl+C. - Key -> Text: Press a single key to send a text like
¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Supports control keys like{ENTER}! - Key -> Run: Press a single key to run a command like
explorer.exe C:\Some\Path. - Profiles: Switch between different sets of key bindings easily.
- Any USB keyboard: No matter how old or cheap.
- Unicode support: Emoji, math symbols, katakana? No problem.
- No drivers required: Just run the
.exe. - Portable: No installation required.
- Minimal UI: Just the essentials.
- Configuration in
.ini: Simple format, set and forget.
(Granted, the last two features can be viewed as lack of features by the "glass half empty" folks, but I like to think of them as simplicity.)
- Plug in a second (third, fourth, etc.) keyboard.
- Download the latest release from Releases and extract it.
- Run
HIDeous.exe. - Press a key, a key code will appear in one of the rows.
- Note down the "Device Hash" of that keyboard.
- Edit
settings.iniin the application directory. - Done! 🎉 Changes are applied automatically.
All settings are stored in settings.ini in the same directory as the app.
This is my actual settings.ini that I use at home, I just added comments to explain each section.
; ❌ Don't touch Global settings, unless something is broken.
[Global]
; When `1`, it will create `debug.log` in this directory with debug info.
; ⚠ Can be a lot of data, keep this disabled when not needed.
Debug=0
; How long to give the app to register a key, in milliseconds.
; If the app keeps missing keys, try increasing this.
KeyWaitTime=30
; ✅ Edit this section to name your keyboards.
; Left side = Any name you want to give your keyboard.
; Right side = Its Device Hash, find it in the UI.
[Devices]
Main_Keyboard=9CC297
NumPad=1A5553
; ✅ Edit this section to set bindings for a specific keyboard.
; This section configures my main keyboard.
;
; `text:` prefix will send a text. Use {KEY} for special keys, e.g. text:Hello{ENTER}World.
; `keys:` prefix will send a key combination.
; `run:` prefix will run a command.
;
; ⚠ Never include a comment in the same line as a key binding. ⚠
[Main_Keyboard]
MULTIPLY=text:×
; ✅ The same, but for my external numpad.
[NumPad]
Numpad0=keys:WIN+F10
Numpad1=keys:WIN+F1
Numpad2=keys:WIN+F2
Numpad3=keys:WIN+F3
DECIMAL=keys:WIN+F11
ENTER=keys:WIN+F12
Numpad7=keys:CTRL+SHIFT+F9
Numpad8=keys:CTRL+SHIFT+F10
Numpad9=keys:CTRL+SHIFT+F11
ADD=keys:CTRL+SHIFT+F12
MULTIPLY=text:×
Numpad4=run:explorer.exe C:\data\ShareX\Screenshots
; Switch to the `settings.Secondary.ini` profile.
ESCAPE=profile:Secondary
; That's it! Save the file and the app will reload automatically.By default, only key bindings from the main settings.ini file are active.
To use a different set of key bindings, create a new .ini file in the same directory as the app, e.g. settings.Secondary.ini.
To switch to that profile, either select it from the UI or add a key binding with the profile: prefix, e.g. ESCAPE=profile:Secondary.
This allows you to have different sets of key bindings for different tasks or applications.
Example of the settings.Secondary.ini file:
; https://github.com/dero/HIDeous
; --------------------------------------------------------
; CHANGES TO THIS FILE ARE AUTOMATICALLY RELOADED BY THE APP
; --------------------------------------------------------
; Don't repeat the [Global] and [Devices] sections, they are always
; loaded from the main settings file.
[NumPad]
; Remap the 0 key to a key combination different from the main profile.
Numpad0=keys:CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+F1
; Switch back to the default profile.
ESCAPE=profile:DefaultYou can mostly just use the intuitive name of the key, like A, F1, SHIFT, etc. To find out key codes for more obscure keys, you can use the UI. Press a key and its code will appear in one of the rows.
And if that's not enough, you can find the long list of key codes baked into the app in the source code.
Sometimes, virtual key codes (like NUMPAD2) change depending on the system state (e.g. NumLock). If you want to bind a specific physical key regardless of what the system thinks it is, you can use Scan Codes.
The syntax is SC<decimal_number>, for example SC80.
How to find a Scan Code:
- Open the HIDeous UI.
- Press the key you want to map.
- Look at the Scan Code column in the device list (e.g.,
SC80 (0x50)). - Use the
SC80part in yoursettings.ini.
Example:
; This will trigger on the physical "2" key on the Numpad,
; regardless of whether NumLock is ON (Numpad2) or OFF (ArrowDown).
SC80=text:Hello WorldYou can also use scan codes on the right side of the binding:
; Pressing F1 will simulate pressing the Enter key (Scan Code 28)
F1=keys:SC28How's this different from AutoHotkey or HIDMacros?
It can tell apart individual keyboards. AHK can't easily do that.
It can print Unicode strings, which is something HIDMacros struggles with.
Then there's LuaMacros, which is a great tool, but it can be a bit hard to wrap your head around.
And it's newer, lighter and simpler than all of them. ⚖
- Rapid Toggle Key Usage: If you map a text macro to a toggle key (CAPSLOCK, NUMLOCK, SCROLLLOCK) and press it very rapidly, the toggle state might get out of sync (staying ON or OFF incorrectly) due to timing conditions. This is a known limitation.
Try running the app as an administrator.
If that doesn't help, it'd be great if you took the time to create an issue on GitHub. I'll do my best to help you out and you'll be helping make the app better for everyone.
Make sure the "Run on startup" toggle in the UI is off, then just delete the app directory.
This is essentially a keylogger. It doesn't do any shenanigans with your data, but thanks to access to your system, it could. Same as any other software you download from the internet.
If you can read and compile C++, you can check the source code and produce the binaries yourself. If you can't, either trust me or don't use this.
Also, I'm actually a web engineer, not a C++ developer by trade, so the code might be a bit rough around the edges. Constructive criticism is welcome. 🙇♂️
Want to build it yourself? Check out CONTRIBUTING.md for build instructions.
Do whatever you want with this. MIT License.
Attribution and nice words are appreciated, but not required. 🙂