Xpadder

Pros

• Use any gamepad with your PC
• Remap buttons and movements
• Large database of known controllers

Cons

• Not updated for Windows 10

Xpadder is a Windows program that lets you use and customize practically any gamepad with any application regardless of built-in support.

Xpadder is a paid program with a modest cost that has a place in the toolbox of any Windows user who owns a gamepad or game controller. Windows doesn’t play nicely with all controllers and particularly older controllers that don’t receive updated drivers. Furthermore, many programs and even games have no gamepad support even if Windows does support a particular device. Xpadder is the solution to both of those problems, and it provides a broad selection of presets and customization options.

A very convenient aspect of Xpadder is that it doesn’t require installation. You can launch directly from a Zip file. That means that you can maintain it on a USB flash drive or SD card and take it with you wherever you game. That portable archive will include all of the custom data you’ve generated. The program also supports many languages, and you can have whatever language files you need in that archive as well.

Xpadder provides full keyboard and mouse emulation support, which is how it supports any gamepad. The program maps gamepad movements and events to mouse movement, mouse clicks, keyboard button presses and so forth. So, even if a program doesn’t support gamepads, Xpadder provides user inputs that it does support. This allows for gamepad support even for emulated games, DOS games and Web-based games. It even allows support for non-games. Use a controller for presentation software, video players, surfing the Internet, spreadsheets and whatever else you can imagine.

The mapping of gamepad events to keyboard and mouse events are maintained in profiles. You can create, save, and load profiles. Have multiple profiles for controllers and games. Xpadder comes with a large database of profiles for known controllers. It even has pictures for all of those controllers so that you can match your gamepad to an image if you don’t know the name. Create a custom profile. Share your profile so that others can use it, or download a profile that someone else has shared.

Xpadder provides a visual guide for mapping elements of a controller, which makes it easy to map any aspect of your controller to any aspect of your mouse or keyboard. You can even map buttons to multimedia controls so that you can, for instance, adjust music volume on the fly as you play a game. Even rumble and advanced tune options are supported, and the app has a test bed so that you can evaluate behavior before using the profile in an actual game.

The biggest issue with Xpadder is that it hasn’t been updated for Windows 10. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. It does via compatibility mode, but that’s an unnecessary step. Additionally, the UI aesthetic doesn’t mesh well with the new look and since much of the UI is custom, an update may far off.

Pros

• Use any gamepad with your PC
• Remap buttons and movements
• Large database of known controllers

Cons

• Not updated for Windows 10