Understanding the functionality of the Guide button within Steam, especially in relation to Xbox controllers and Steam Input, can significantly enhance your gaming experience. This article explores what the Guide button focuses on Steam, providing a step-by-step guide to customizing its behavior.
The key focus here is on disabling the Guide button’s default action in Steam, specifically when using an Xbox controller with Xbox Extended Feature Support enabled. The goal is to prevent Steam from activating Big Picture Mode (BPM) when the Guide button is pressed, allowing for more customized control schemes.
Configuring the Guide Button: A Step-by-Step Approach
Here’s a method to disable the Guide button’s default action within Steam, focusing on retaining other controller functionalities.
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Initial Setup: Ensure you have Xbox Extended Feature Support installed. If already installed, reset the configuration. This involves uninstalling the support, rebooting your system, reinstalling the support, and rebooting again.
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Verify BPM Activation: Confirm that the Guide button activates Big Picture Mode (BPM). This is the default behavior you’re aiming to change.
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Copy the Controller Configuration: Access your controller configuration within Steam Input. Copy the entire configuration string to your clipboard. This string defines how each button on your controller is mapped.
Example Configuration String:
03005d085e040000000b000011056800,*,a:b0,b:b1,back:b4,dpdown:b12,dpleft:b13,dpright:b14,dpup:b11,guide:b5,leftshoulder:b9,leftstick:b7,lefttrigger:a4,leftx:a0,lefty:a1,rightshoulder:b10,rightstick:b8,righttrigger:a5,rightx:a2,righty:a3,start:b6,x:b2,y:b3,paddle1:b15,paddle2:b17,paddle3:b16,paddle4:b18,crc:085d,platform:Windows,Alternative Text: An example controller configuration string showing mappings for various buttons including ‘guide:b5’.
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Edit the Configuration String: Paste the copied configuration string into a text editor. Locate the section that defines the Guide button mapping (usually
guide:b5). Remove this section entirely from the string. This effectively unbinds the Guide button from its default Steam action. -
Paste the Modified Configuration: Within Steam Input, click ‘Setup Device Inputs‘ and then ‘Paste From Clipboard‘. This will apply the modified configuration, where the Guide button is no longer mapped to BPM.
Alternative Text: The “Setup Device Inputs” option within Steam Input settings, used for pasting controller configurations from clipboard.
Why This Method is Preferred
This method is advantageous because it specifically targets the Guide button without altering other controller settings. By removing only the guide:b5 mapping, you retain all other default functionalities. An alternative method of manually mapping buttons and skipping the Guide button can lead to a less complete configuration.
Important Considerations
- The initial 32 characters of the configuration string might be specific to your controller. Ensure you copy your own configuration string to maintain compatibility.
- This process is designed to prevent Steam from capturing the Guide button press. It doesn’t inherently assign a new function to the button; it simply disables its default action.
Conclusion
Understanding “what does guide button focus steam do” and how to customize it empowers users to tailor their gaming experience. By following the outlined steps, gamers can effectively disable the Guide button’s default behavior, achieving a cleaner and more personalized controller configuration within Steam. This allows for more flexibility in assigning the Guide button to other functions or simply preventing accidental activation of Big Picture Mode.
