https://github.com/ussserrr/trackpad-joystick

Use Mac trackpad as a joystick
https://github.com/ussserrr/trackpad-joystick

cocoa joystick trackpad

Last synced: about 1 year ago
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Use Mac trackpad as a joystick

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/ussserrr/trackpad-joystick
• Owner: ussserrr
• License: other
• Created: 2019-01-15T00:02:50.000Z (over 7 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2019-02-03T20:31:39.000Z (over 7 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-10-25T20:08:11.731Z (over 1 year ago)
• Topics: cocoa, joystick, trackpad
• Language: Swift
• Homepage: https://youtu.be/0sfYmIgf8cU
• Size: 24 MB
• Stars: 4
• Watchers: 1
• Forks: 1
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

          
![title](/title.png)

![demo](/demo.gif)

Example of how to use MacBook's or Apple Magic Trackpad not for a positioning of the cursor but for getting an absolute coordinates of touches - i.e. as a joystick.

The project ([`TrackpadJoystick.swift`](/trackpad-joystick/TrackpadJoystick.swift)) is combined with a simple example ([`ViewController.swift`](/trackpad-joystick/ViewController.swift)) - sending a coordinates over an UDP socket. See [wifi-car](https://github.com/ussserrr/wifi-car) for the counterpart.

## Overview

The idea behind the application is to use a custom view - subclass of `NSView` - to receive one touch at a time. To emulate a real joystick behavior touches are allowed to begin only from the center of he trackpad - in a circle with `stickStartPositionRadius` radius. Also, after releasing a finger from the panel the stick is automatically returning to the start position.

Coordinates are retrieving in a real time on every request to the `TrackpadJoystick.centeredCoords` member.

To prevent distractions in cases when the window is losing focus the app is running itself in a fullscreen mode (use Cmd+Q to exit). Currently, I haven't found a simple way to make an `NSView` a fully transparent overlay in a fullscreen mode to place other UI elements behind it and not rely on them in the main `TrackpadJoystick` class. So if you want any additional UI components please put them in this class.

## Installation

TrackpadJoystick itself has no dependencies although the example has one - it uses [IBM-Swift/BlueSocket](https://github.com/IBM-Swift/BlueSocket) as a simple socket framework:

 - Install IBM-Swift/BlueSocket via Carthage (`carthage update`) and embed them in your build target

 - Turn on network connections (Project settings -> Capabilities -> App Sandbox -> Network)

 - Create and configure your desired UI and outlets in the Interface Builder

## Usage

See ([`ViewController.swift`](/trackpad-joystick/ViewController.swift)) to see a concept of how to instantiate and use the joystick. In two words, you need to:

```swift

// create one

@IBOutlet weak var trackpadJoystick: TrackpadJoystick!

// retrieve coordinates

let c = trackpadJoystick.centeredCoords

print("x = \(c.x), y = \(c.y)")

```

*Centered* means that the center of the trackpad is considered an origin point `(0.0; 0.0)` and the range for both X and Y axes is `[-1.0; 1.0]`. There are some another initialization and converting methods available through the `CenteredCoords` interface such as `toNormalized()`, `toScreenCoords()`.

## TODOs

Check for TODOs all over the code to get the insight of what would be great to do.