Saitek GM2400 User manual

GUIDE TO USING SAITEK GAMING EXTENSIONS (SGE)
Introduction
What is SGE
How We Make Game Profiles Here at Saitek
Programming Commands
Method A
Method B
Advanced Programming
Cyborg 3D USB Stick & Cyborg 3D Digital II
Shift Function
Hat Switch
Stick Axis Configuration
P750, P1500 and P2000 Pads
Shift Function
Hat Switch
Stick Axis Configuration
GM2
Hat Switch
Thumb Wheel
Shift Function
X36 Flight Controller/X45 Flight Controller
Hat Switch
Rotaries
Pinkie Switch
Mode Switch
P8000/PC Dash 2
Button Properties
More SGE Features…
Printing
Importing and Exporting a Profile
Importing
Exporting a Profile

What to do if a profile isn’t there for your controller
Advanced Command Creation
Extended Commands
Cycle Commands
Application Commands
Website Commands
Troubleshooting Your Profiles
IMPORTANT!! – PLEASE READ
The first thing to say about Saitek Gaming Extensions (SGE) is that with the exception of a
few products (GM2, GM3, P8000/PCDash 2) IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE THE
CONTROLLER WORK IN THE GAME. Most of the controllers just need to be set up and
calibrated within Game Controllers > Gaming Options in the Control Panel in Windows® in
order for the games to be able to recognise them. You then need to tell the game that you
want to use a joystick/pad/wheel from within the game’s options menus and that’s all there is
to it. Most games these days also have control configuration screens built into them where
you can set up each button on your controller to do what you want it to in the game.
The presence of such a screen in a game essentially negates the need for SGE to be used,
as SGE is just simply software that enables you to program each button on the controller to
do what you want it to in the game. Controllers that really don’t require the use of SGE include
the Cyborg USB stick, P750, P1500, P2000 and the R100 USB Wheel. The one feature of the
above products that might attract you to using SGE is the "shift" button feature that can be
found on the stick and the pads; this allows you to essentially "double up" the commands that
can be assigned to each button but this will be explained later on in the Advanced
Programming section of this guide.
The controllers that really do have to use SGE are the GM2, GM3 and the PCDash 2/P8000 -
as these rely on essentially "replacing" the keyboard. The X36 Flight Controller and X45 Flight
Controller also really need to be programmed to gain full use of all their features and their
multiple modes although, like the Cyborg stick and the pads, they operate perfectly well within
games without programming.
Introduction
What is SGE
Every game that you buy has a list of functions and commands built into it. A Flight Simulator,
for example, often has a host of commands one of which might be the landing gear. The key
on the keyboard that this command is usually assigned to is G. SGE allows you to make the
buttons on your controller emulate a key (or combination of keys – more on that later) from
the keyboard - so you could have any button on your controller perform as the key in order for
it to activate the landing gear.
However, this programmability is not limited to the buttons, every part of the controller is
programmable including the hat switches and axis movements (up, down, left and right on a
stick – even the throttle and rudder can be configured if your controller has them but they
usually don’t need to be). The rest of this guide will start with the basics of creating and
assigning commands and then move onto controller-specific sections and advanced features.
How We Make Game Profiles Here at Saitek

The product manual that came with your controller just covers the basic aspects of
programming your controller. This guide will show you how WE make a profile when creating
them for the website.
The first step is to read the guide that came with your game. As mentioned in the introduction,
every game has a list of commands that have been assigned to different keys on the
keyboard. If you don’t have a manual then you are going to need to find out what key does
what on the keyboard - the game may have a list of commands in an option menu somewhere
so you can also copy these out to a piece of paper. Either way, you need a list of commands
with the associated keyboard presses so you know what you are going to be programming.
Firstly, you need to first create a Profile within Saitek Gaming Extensions, so open up the
Saitek Gaming Extensions Window and you will see a view like this.
You need to double-click on New Game Wizard and you will start a step-by-step process for
creating a new profile. There are only two screens that you actually need to worry about
during this process.
The first screen is basically just a starter screen explaining that you are running the New
Game Wizard, so just click on Next – it will take you get to the first screen that we need to
look at.

When you first open this screen, the wizard immediately starts searching your computer for all
the .exe files on your computer. The .exe files are the files that actually run all of your
programs - so you will probably notice that the list of programs in here includes many
programs that aren’t necessarily games, such as WordPad or Internet Explorer. Once it has
finished searching you will see a list of possible choices. Initially, the list is in date order with
the most recently installed program at the top. However, if you click the Name bar at the top
of the list of programs, it will shuffle these into alphabetical order, which might make it easier
for you to find the game that you’re after. Either way, simply select the game you want to
create a profile for and then click Next.
The next screen checks what game you have selected and also gives you the option to
change the name of the profile or add a comment to the profile. Neither is really necessary,
especially as they can be adjusted later once you have created the profile.
The screen after this has two checkboxes. The first says Set As Default Profile, you should
usually leave this ticked otherwise the profile you are making won’t work. The other says Use
Target Directory and this should also be left ticked to ensure the profile will actually work.
The screen after is an important one – where you select the controller you want to use in the
profile. Obviously, you should select the controller you have but it is possible to select multiple
controllers by holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and then clicking on all the
controllers you want. In the example below you can see that We have selected the Cyborg
USB stick, the GM2 Pad, the P750 Pad and the X36 Controller. For now, just select the
controller you are using as you can always add controllers to your profile later, once it has
been created.

The next screen gives you the option to Disable The Buttons In this Profile that generally
you should not do so leave that alone.
The final screen is there for you to check that the profile is set up as you desire. It lists the
name of the profile, the target directory of where the game you are creating this profile for is
installed and the controllers you are adding into this profile. Just click Finish to go back to the
Saitek Gaming Extensions window and you will see the icon for your new profile appear
next to the New Game Wizard, Import Game Wizard and Default Profile.
Open up the profile by double-clicking on it and you will see the following screen.
Programming Commands
There are now two methods of programming commands to the buttons on your controller. The
first method that a lot of people use is to go straight into the 3D model of the controller and
program there. This is fine for saving time but for some controllers it is not the best way to do
things. We will illustrate this method first and then go on to describe the method we use here
at Saitek.
Method A
Double-clicking on the controller icon (in this case the Saitek Cyborg 3D Stick USB) brings up
the 3D model of the controller. From here it is very easy to program the buttons to do what
you want. Using the mouse, just click on the button you want to program and you will see it
turn light blue in colour. At the bottom of the screen you can see four drop-down menus (we
will explain these later but they are fairly self explanatory) and a bar at the bottom that has a
number in it surrounded by a red circle. All you need to do is click in that bar (this highlights
the number in blue) and then press the key on the keyboard that you want that button to be
from now on.

As you can see in the picture above we have programmed the trigger to be the Gkey on the
keyboard. Do the same for all your buttons and you have a configured stick – no need to save
the settings you have changed as they are automatically saved as you enter them. Just close
the SGE window and play the game and the buttons will now do what you tell them to.
For a controller like the Cyborg this is fine, but it doesn’t help when you are trying to create
advanced commands. In order to fully understand the Advanced Programming Section of this
guide that appears later, it will be easier if you use the following method.
Method B
Instead of going into the 3D model of the controller, open up the Command List by double-
clicking on that icon instead. In here you will see a list of DirectX Button numbers. These are
here because each button on the stick has its own unique identifying number. Leave these
alone and point to a blank area of the window and right-click (click the right mouse button).
You will get a drop-down menu appear with options in it; point to New and then click the
Command option that pops out from it.

You will then get a new icon underneath the DirectX Buttons called New Command – double-
click on it to open it and you will see a Properties window pop-up. There is a box that says
Name next to it and that will currently have the words New Command in it – simply type the
name that you want this command to be. In the example below, we are creating a command
called Punch.
You can see that there are other settings that you can adjust here, but for the time being we
just want Single Action. The others will be explained in the Advanced Programming Section
of the manual. Now you simply need to click the Action tab at the top and you will be
presented with the following screen.

Simply click in the white bar at the top and then press the key on the keyboard that activates
the command that you are trying to create. You should see it appear in that bar, much like it
did in the example in Method A.
Now click Apply and then OK and you will be back at the Command List. You will see your
new command is now called what you renamed it to. If at any point after creating your
command you come back here and it is still called New Command then simply press F5 on
the keyboard to refresh the screen and it should then change to what you called it. Now, using
the same method, create all the commands you want to program in and you will end up with
something like below (obviously your command names will be different unless you are using
the same game as we are in the example).

In the column on the left, click on the icon for your controller and this will bring up the 3D
model again. Using the mouse, click on the button you want to assign and then, instead of
clicking in the bar at the bottom, click the drop-down list on the right of the screen, underneath
the 3D view, as indicated in the picture below.

You can see that in that drop-down list all the commands that you created are present, so
simply scroll through the list until you find the command that you want to assign to this button.
As soon as you do so you will see that in the bar at the bottom of the screen the key press
you assigned to that command appears.

You can now go and program all your buttons in the same way. Initially this may seem like a
more laborious method compared to Method A but the benefits will really become clear when
we move onto Advanced Programming features like the hat switch or axes of a controller.
Also, it helps if you create all of your commands first as you can then make sure that they are
all present.
Advanced Programming
Now that we’ve covered the basics of creating commands in the command list and then
assigning them to buttons, we can move on to the more advanced parts of the controllers.
This section will lead off with the Cyborg Stick, as it essentially contains all the features that
the other controllers have to a greater or lesser degree. The sections that follow afterwards
will address specific controllers and the way in which configuring these functions differs but
will otherwise refer directly back to the explanation in the Cyborg Section. For example, all the
controllers (with the exception of the R100 USB Wheel) have a shift function which is
programmed in much the same way. There are some differences that occur because of other
features on the controller and these are addressed in the controller-specific sections.
Finally, a section will follow that addresses advanced command creation – the SGE software
is not just limited to single keystrokes for a command, as will be seen.
Cyborg 3D USB Stick & Cyborg 3D Digital II
Shift Function
To enable a shift button to act as a shift you need to bring up the 3D view of your controller
and double-click on the shift button on the 3D model. You will see a Properties screen like
the one below.

Simply change the Attribute of the button at the bottom from Action to Shift, as illustrated.
You will see that the Action tab at the top of the window changes to Left Shift. Clicking on
this brings up the following screen;
This enables you to change the way the shift button operates. As the description at the
bottom of that screen says, if you set the shift to operate as a Latched Shift it works much
like the Caps Lock key on your keyboard. When you press it enables the shifted functions
until you press it again at which point it will return to Unshifted functions. If you leave it as a
normal shift it will only enable the shifted functions whilst held down and return to unshifted
functions when released.
Programming shifted functions to your buttons is very similar to programming normal
functions. Now that you have enabled the shift button to act as a shift you will find that things
are a bit different when you open up the properties of the other buttons on the controller – like
in the picture below.

As you can see, the drop-down commands menu next to Left Shift is now no longer greyed
out like the Right Shift is and we can select a command from our drop-down list, just like we
did for the normal commands earlier on in this guide. Also, we can assign a different
command from the one that operates when the button is in its unshifted state. If we were to
also enable the Right Shift button on the controller as a shift rather than an action button you
can see that we could effectively assign a third command to every button. This can bring the
number of assignable commands on the stick up from a basic 10 to a potential of 24
commands! (58 commands if we include the 8 directions of the hat switch but this is not very
feasible because of the difficulty of selecting a specific hat switch position when using the
controller).
Hat Switch
The hat switch can be assigned shifted functions in a similar way but its properties screen will
look slightly different - as shown.
If you click the Unshifted tab then you will see that you can set the hat switch’s attributes as
illustrated earlier in the manual and can now see when you click on the Left Shift or Right
Shift tabs a check box that says Use Unshifted Attributes.

If you unpick this then you can set the hat switch to use different actions than that in the
unshifted mode, make it emulate a mouse or a D-pad or just operate as a normal POV (point-
of-view) switch – just like you could in Unshifted mode.
Stick Axis Configuration
As mentioned briefly in the opening paragraph of this Cyborg section, you can configure the
stick itself to operate in a different manner. Note: Please do bear in mind that it is not normally
recommended that you attempt this; it is usually best to leave the stick itself operating as it
normally does. If you are ever unsure, just set the attribute for the stick back to analogue in
the Properties window for each axis. To do this you will need to open the 3D view of the
controller up in your profile in SGE. Then click on the middle drop-down menu, look for x-axis
in there and click on it
When you do you will get the x-axis properties window on-screen. Click the Unshifted tab at
the top and you will see that you have some attributes to adjust, much like you get when you
open up the hat switch properties. If you leave the attribute as analogue then the stick itself
will operate exactly as if you had not programmed it – this is the default attribute for any axis.
As you can see, there are other attribute options available. In our first example, we will look at
the mouse option.

If we choose Mouse we get the option of what mouse axis we want to assign the currently
selected axis to. In our example, we are adjusting the x-axis of the stick (left/right movement),
so we would logically assign it to emulate the left/right motion of the mouse. If we configured
the y-axis to emulate the up/down mouse motion then we would have a stick that operated
like a mouse so you could effectively use it in games that don’t actually include joystick
support like strategy games.
The banded mode is slightly different. If you select it you get a button called Edit Bands.
If you then click on this button you get the following screen.

This screen with increments from 0 – 100 describes the movement of the joystick across its
current axis. The red line indicates where the stick currently is positioned (at rest in the
centre). If you now move your stick you will see that the red line moves to correspond with the
movement of the stick. If you move the stick fully left the red line goes to zero and if you move
the stick fully right the red line goes to 100. If we were adjusting the y-axis the red line would
move to zero if you pulled the stick back and up to 100 if you pushed the stick forwards.
What we can do here is set it up so that when the stick reaches a certain position it activates
a command that we have set up. First though, we have to "split" this axis.
There are two ways of doing this. One way is to move the stick so that the red line is at the
point where you want the command to start and click the Split At Axis Position button. The
other way is to use your mouse and point to the position where you want the command to
start and then click the right mouse button. You will get a drop-down menu from which you
can choose the option Split Band. Either way, you will get something that looks like this.

Obviously, the split will appear at whatever position you chose. We now want to create a
second split so that we end up with three sections that say No Command in them. Once that
is done, we can click the Space Evenly button to get them to a nice equal size. The reason
for creating three sections is that we need to have a section that covers the middle of the axis’
movement that has no command assigned to it. This way the stick will have a position where
it is "at rest" and therefore not continually issue commands, as would have been the case had
we just created two sections by splitting at the 50 mark.
Once you have your three sections you simply choose the section you want to assign a
command to and then choose the command from the drop-down list at the top of the window
that says Deflection xx-xx (where xx is the number that it is on your screen – it will vary
depending on where you set your splits up on the 0-100 scale). Do the same for the other
section (remembering to leave the middle section blank) and you will end up with something
like the following.

In the example above, the Bank Left Ailerons command will be activated as soon as you
move the stick past the point where that "band" starts. Obviously you can assign any
command you want to these banded areas. You might find it useful for games that only
include keyboard support so you can assign the movement keys from the keyboard to these
positions and the stick will then work in the game because it is "pretending" to be the
keyboard.
Remember that every axis on the stick, including the throttle and rudder can be configured in
this way.
Finally, if we go back to the properties screen of the axis we can see that just like with the hat
switch there are options for the two shifted modes at the top of the window so we could have
the stick operating differently for each shift mode.
P750, P1500 and P2000 Pads
Everything that can be done on the Cyborg stick can be done on the P-Series pads and in
exactly the same way. There are just some minor differences that need clarifying.
Shift Function
Because of the way the controllers’ configuration changes when you change from Analogue
to Digital control the shifted function is slightly more complex on the P-series pads. In the
picture above you can see a typical Properties screen of a button when the shift button has
been enabled as a shift function for the P2000 Tilt Pad. The P750 and P1500 obviously would
not have the extra options for the tilt + etc. as they do not have a tilt function. You can see
here that we could have 8 different assignments for the one button depending on what mode
the pad is in. This obviously isn’t required and in practice you will find that you only need to
make sure that the shifted functions have one command assigned to them and the unshifted
commands have another command assigned to them like in the picture below. This will avoid
confusion.

In the example above we can see that the shifted commands are Extend Flaps Fully and the
unshifted commands are Lights On/Off. Using this, we avoid confusion by ensuring that no
matter what mode we are in, a shifted command is always going to be the same and the
same for the unshifted commands.
Hat Switch
Obviously, when the pad is in Digital Mode the hat switch is no longer a hat switch but
replaces the stick as the controller and this can lead to some possible confusion when
programming it. The hat switch can be programmed just like it can on the Cyborg stick (choice
of Actions, D-Pad (default in Digital mode), POV (default in Analogue mode) and mouse).
Again, just like the buttons (explained just above) you should generally keep shifted
commands the same as each other and do the same for unshifted commands (with the
obvious exception that the hat switch’s attribute should be set to D-pad for any digital modes
so that you still have movement control in the game. The different combinations of Digital,
Digital+Shift etc. can be accessed by clicking on the tabs at the top of the Properties window
and if you can’t see a tab you want then click the little arrows at the top-right of the screen to
scroll across to the tab you want.
Stick Axis Configuration

You have exactly the same options as you do on the Cyborg stick, except you have the same
complications caused by the multiple modes of the pads, like with the buttons and hat switch
above. Otherwise the axes can be programmed in exactly the same way, which of course
also includes the Throttle Wheel on the pads.
GM2
The GM2 Action Pad is one of the controllers that needs to be configured fully before it will
work correctly. A common mistake that is made is for people to forget about using SGE,
enable joystick control within the game they are using and reassign the buttons to do what
they want from within the game. This causes a few problems. First of all, the hat switch on the
GM2 pad that is commonly used for movement in games can only be assigned to 4-way
movement. As soon as you try to get diagonal movement (forwards and left, backwards and
right etc) the character you are controlling will just stand still because no command is
assigned to the diagonal positions of the hat switch.
You will also find that if you enable joystick control within the game that it then picks up the
Thumb Wheel on the GM2 pad and it usually picks it up as the y-axis (up/down movement) on
a joystick. Consequently, whatever you are controlling will immediately run forwards as soon
as you get into the game (the assumption here is that you are using the GM2 with a first
person shooter game such as Quake 3 Arena). Also, you will not be able to configure the
Thumb Wheel as you can using SGE.
The first lesson is to disable joystick support in the games you will be using the GM2 with, as
the GM2 is just a keyboard replacement that will be programmed with keyboard commands.
Assigning commands to the buttons on the GM2 is the same as that for any other SGE-
supported controller and has already been described in the basic section of this manual so we
will examine the trickier aspects of the pad, using the example of a first person shooter game
like Project I.G.I. from Eidos Interactive.
Hat Switch
The hat switch on the GM2 pad is most commonly used for movement control but there is an
important point to note when you do so. As mentioned above, you must have diagonal
movement commands. This is easily done – you just create 8 movement commands in your
profile’s command list, one for each "compass direction" of the hat switch (Forwards,
Forward+Right, Step/Strafe Right, Backwards+Right, Backwards, Backwards+Left,
Step/Strafe Left and Forwards+Left). For example, the Forward and Right command in
Project I.G.I. would look something like this.