Default keybinding

[peirof]

Hi,

 

I think made a mistake, explain me.

 

As I did not like the control mapping that it had, I have decided to start from 0 and redo it, but I would have liked to keep the original key mapping, but I don't think so ... since in the key mapping panel I have pressed CLEAR ALL and it has cleared all the assignments, I thought it would go back to DEFAULT, but it seems not.

How can I get the original key assignment?

Thanks

[Sarge55]

Try using repair.  It should replace the default settings.

 

I usually start from scratch as well when setting up my controllers etc.  I clear one column at a time.  Select the top cell under joystick for example then choose clear contents. Never clear the key bindings, as you've discovered.  You can change them though if you need to.

[LeCuvier]

In Options/Controls there is a button above the columns (the leftmost one) labelled "Reset category to defaults". Unfortunately, the button is not wide enough so you see only "et category to defa" (might depend on screen size). You have to select a column (i.e.device) before you push the button. It will come back asking if you really want to reset all assignments for that device. If you confirm and the exit with the OK button, it will restore the defaults.

[Tippis]

It also helps if you get familiar with your %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\DCS\Config\Input directory. This is where your binds are stored for each aircraft, and 11 times out of 10, this is where you need to go to fix issues with them as opposed to try to do anything with the base install. The only time you ever need to try anything in the base install (and that includes things like running repairs) is if a module has just outright broken, or if the module has so massively changed its bind scheme that you've ended up with a screen full of red-coloured binds. And even then, you still have to fiddle with the input directory to fully solve it.

 

In this case, the easiest way to get back every single default is to remove (or just move, so you can later restore anything you might have actually liked) the F-5E directory. If you want to be more precise, you can either kill/move one of the subdirectories to get rid of keyboard, mouse, headtracking and/or joystick (and other USB devices) binds specifically, and of course, you can go down yet one more layer and remove specific devices. The next time you start the game, the defaults will be back for whatever you removed.

 

The reason it works like this is that DCS doesn't necessarily store specific binds set to specific buttons — it stores differences from the default binds. That's why the files have the extension .diff.lua. So getting the defaults back is simply a matter of removing those stored differences, which can always be done by just getting rid of the relevant bind files in one way or another. You can delete them, move them, or rename them depending on what your goal ultimately is. Either way, DCS will find that there is no longer a .diff.lua file for a given device and will therefore quite simply not overwrite those defaults.

 

You can use this to quickly mass backup and restore binds: by keeping proven and safe copies of those input directories, you can just copy the appropriate file back into place if you screw up your binds and want to go back to a known state. Or if you add a new control device (say if you get a modern programmable stick from the likes of VKB or Virpil), you can figure out how DCS names the input file for that device, and simply rename your old settings to match the new name, instantly getting your binds back… well, assuming the actual button assignments match, that is.

 

 

So, tl;dr:

Study your Saved Games\DCS\Config\Input directory.

Back it up every time you make a bind change that you're happy with.

Clear out files that break down or that you feel you have screwed up completely.

 

It is far faster, more reliable, and more universally applicable than doing anything in-game or using the DCS installer.