Game controllers
Panels reads keyboard input, not game controller input. You can use a game controller in one of two ways:
- Controllers with a keyboard mode, such as the 8BitDo Micro. You can map each button to a key or a Panels shortcut. This gives you the most control.
- Any other controller, such as a Joy-Con, an Xbox controller or a PlayStation controller, through iOS and iPadOS Switch Control. See Accessibility options.
8BitDo Micro
8BitDo Micro is a tiny controller that fits in one hand and has a true keyboard mode. You can map its buttons to page turns, zoom, menus and more.
1. Switch to keyboard mode
Set the switch on the bottom of the controller to K (keyboard). The other two modes, S and D, are game controller modes and won't work with Panels.
Then pair it in Settings → Bluetooth.
2. Map the buttons
Install 8BitDo Ultimate Software on your iPhone or iPad. Open Buttons, assign a key to each button, then tap Sync to device. The mobile app only works in keyboard mode.
Here is a layout from a Panels user that covers reading one-handed:
| Button | Key | Use in Panels |
|---|---|---|
| D-pad ← | Shift + ← | Previous page (next page when reading right to left) |
| D-pad → | Shift + → | Next page (previous page when reading right to left) |
| D-pad ↑ | + | Zoom in (hold with L) |
| D-pad ↓ | - | Zoom out (hold with L) |
| A / B / X / Y | ↑ / → / ← / ↓ | Move around the page when zoomed in |
| R | Enter | Confirm |
| R2 | Esc | Show or hide page thumbnails |
| L | Shift + Win | Zoom modifier (= Shift + ⌘) |
| L2 | Win | ⌘ modifier |
Mapping the D-pad to Shift + ←/→ instead of plain arrows means pages still turn when you are zoomed in, and in Fill screen, Adjust to orientation and Panels View. If you read with a vertical scroll direction, map those buttons to Shift + ↑/↓ instead.
To open a comic from the library, select it and press Space. In the library, Enter renames the selected item.
Known limitations
- ⌘ shortcuts don't work from a single button. The 8BitDo app calls the ⌘ key Win, and a button mapped to Win + another key doesn't trigger the shortcut on iPad. As a workaround, map Win (⌘) to its own button and hold it while you press the other key. That's why L and L2 are modifiers in the layout above.
- No shortcut for closing the reader. There's currently no keyboard shortcut that closes the reader and takes you back to the library, so tap the screen for this.
Nintendo Joy-Con and other controllers
A single Joy-Con fits easily in one hand, which makes it a good remote. Joy-Cons don't have a keyboard mode, so use them through Switch Control.
With a single Joy-Con, the directional buttons and the face buttons are recognised, but L / ZL aren't. Assign your page-turn actions to the directional buttons.