CMSTART

Enabling the Last Loaded Control Manager Map At Bootup

Introducing CMSTART

Do you tend to play the same game exclusively?  Are you tired of getting in the game and realizing you forgot to load your Control Manager map and have to quit out of the game and go do that? Have you resisted looking into solving this situation because you hate having yet another program running in your system tray sitting around wasting your computer's resources? Well then, CMSTART is for you.

The CH Products devices on your computer are always in one of three modes (states).  These modes are controlled by CH Control Manager and are:

• Direct Mode --   Direct Mode is the default mode and each of your controllers will appear in the Windows Game Controllers  as something like "CH Products FighterStick" and axes and buttons will appear as things like "X axis", "Button 1", etc.  All the axes and buttons will appear there exactly as they exist in the physical hardware.  There is no programming interface involved or translation what-so-ever occurring if the device is in Direct Mode.  In fact, if you choose not to install the CH Products software at all, the only mode available to you is Direct Mode.  Direct Mode is also the mode your controllers are always placed in every time your computer boots up.  Even if you downloaded a map in a previous reboot, the controllers always boot up in Direct Mode.
  
  
• Off Mode -- Turns the controllers off such that they appear to be completely disconnected from your computer.
  
  
• Mapped Mode -- This is a special "programmed mode" where a "map" is downloaded to your controllers from the Control Manager program.  Mapped Mode is set either by clicking the Mapped Mode button or downloading the map in the Control Manager program.  Once your map is downloaded to the controllers they will  appear in Windows as "CH Control Manager Device 1", "CH Control Manager Device 2", etc.  If, from Game Controllers, you see these kinds of names instead of actual names  (e.g. "CH Products FighterStick") then you know your controllers are in Mapped Mode.

What is CMSTART?

CMSTART is a small utility whose sole purpose is to place CH controllers  in Mapped Mode. 

 After it has done its work, CMSTART terminates and does not remain in memory or use any further resources.  The important point to remember is CH Products devices always boot up in Direct Mode.  One easy way to tell if your devices are in Direct Mode is to look in Game Controllers.  If you see names like "CH Products FighterStick", "CH Products Pro Pedals", etc. then your controllers are in Direct Mode.  Mapped Mode devices are always named "CH Control Manager Device #".

The CMSTART program gets installed when you install the CH Products software which is usually here:

C:\Program Files\CH Products\Control Manager\CMSTART.EXE

 

How to build a CMSTART shortcut in Startup

To make CMSTART run at bootup, simply make a shortcut and place it in your startup folder.

First, right-click the Start button and select Explore All Users

Then, navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\Your User ID\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Finally, right-click in the white background of the Startup folder and select New-->Shortcut.  In the Type the location of the item: enter this line:

C:\Program Files\CH Products\Control Manager\CMSTART.EXE

Click Next and Finish which will create a shortcut in your Startup folder. 

Now, when you reboot your computer, the CMSTART program will run, place your CH Products controllers in Mapped Mode and terminate.  You will always have your controllers in Mapped Mode and ready to go when you start your game.