Use of XKeys

[reman]

Not sure if this has been asked before. I was just started playing around with X-Keys Pro USB. I tested out the "delay" macro function and found out that the key press on X-Keys were queued up. So I press one macro which takes 20 seconds to execute, everything I press after that would get queued. I am wondering if there is a way to terminate a macro before it finishes. Perhaps press one key to start, another to end. Not sure if this is possible with X-Keys. Any help would be appreciated.

[Wilbur]

You aren't allowed to use delay functions, you run the risk of getting banned.

[kllrwlf]

You aren't allowed to use delay functions, you run the risk of getting banned.

Don't use delay, this will get your account banned. It's against the TOS... etc, etc, etc...

[reman]

I understand using delay function is against TOS. So didn't plan on using it in game. Though I am kind of curious in how would blizzard distinguish between the players who use X-Keys (or G15) without using the delay macro and the players who do use the delay macros. After all, they are all some third party programs generating keystrokes to an active window (wow).

[Wilbur]

Quite simply, players won't hit the same key every 1000ms ;-)

[Ziran]

The delay function of XKeys is essentially useless. Both because it is against the ToS and because XKeys can only play ONE macro. If you have delays all other input will happen after the macro with delays will end.

That being said the "separate press and release" function is INCREDIBLY useful.

Basically when you press a key it sends one key/combo, when you release the key it sends another combo. And since the timing of these is completely under your control it is both legal and useful. Also keeping the key pressed does not count as playing a macro so you can press and hold two keys programmed like that with expected/desired result.

To program it do this (in program mode):

1. Press the Xkey to program
2. Press the keys to play on PRESS
3. Press and hold ESC, press then release LEFT CTRL, release ESC
4. Press the keys to play on RELEASE
5. Press the Xkey to finish programming.

Another side benefit of this is that if you program in a key like that without programming in anything for release what you get is that when you press the Xkey it plays the combo and releases the key immediately like this:

Press the XKey:
CTRL is pressed
X is pressed
X is released
CTRL is released

you are still holding the XKey here.

This will happen even if you are holding the Xkey (releases). The beauty of this is that if you have two macros one say CTRL-X and another ALT-Y with two keys right next to each other no matter how hard you try pressing them both together (on one XKey unit) you will NEVER see CTRL-Y or ALT-X. That is because XKeys always plays the whole macro completely before starting another. Without programming in the "separate press and release" when you press both keys you get:

CTRL is pressed
X is pressed
ALT is pressed
Y is pressed

then releases when you release the key

This is a disaster because you never got the ALT-Y instead you got CTRL-ALT-Y which might be a completely different macro. If you program both with ESC-CTRL you get this instead:

press both Xkeys together

CTRL is pressed
X is pressed
X is released
CTRL is released
ALT is pressed
Y is pressed
Y is released
ALT is released

you are still holding both xkeys here

Useful examples (these only work if you manually space the press and release about half a second, depending on your latency):

Press: Stop casting
Release: Counterspell/Invis/Blink/Spellsteal/ice block/fire blast etc (all different macros of course)

(in theory putting in /stopcasting in a macro should work, but it does not. There is about a half second delay for the /stopcasting to register before you can cast another spell and I have had cases where the second /stopcasting would actually interrupt the spell cast immediately after it which is very bad)

Press: Toonx: /tar [target=focus]
Release: maintank: /assist Toonx
This effectively gives you the /tar partyxfocus command which is really cool.
I use the /focus (PvE) to mark CC targets and to mark kill order. with 5 focuses
(kill1, kill2, cc1, cc2, cc3) I can prearrange my kill order if I feel the need.

Press: EVERYONE stops casting (healer, DPS)
Release: tank casts taunt
(casting taunt then having a nice big fireball crit right after is bad)

Ziran