How to create and edit controls in BlueStacks 5

How will this help?

You can create new controls or view and edit existing controls and keymapping for your favorite games using the Controls editor on BlueStacks 5. Click on the links below to learn how to:

• Access the Controls editor
• Edit controls
• Create controls
• Use different types of controls available
• Manage control schemes

How can I access the Controls editor?

Right-click on the "Game controls" icon on the Side toolbar to open the Controls editor. You can also click the "Game controls" icon and select "Controls editor", as shown below.

How can I edit the controls?

Launch a game, open the Controls editor and follow the steps below:

• Click on any control and press the new key that you would like to assign.
• Access a control's "Advanced settings" by hovering your mouse over it and clicking on the gear icon.
• You will see the "Advanced settings" panel where you can customize the settings.
• Once you've edited the controls, click on the "Save" button to apply the changes.
• To reset your controls back to their default settings, simply click on "Reset".

How can I create/add key controls to a game?

If the game you're playing doesn't have any existing controls, follow the steps below:

• Click on the drop-down menu under "Control scheme" and select "Create a new profile". 
• Select any of the available key controls (e.g. Tap spot), drag and drop it onto the in-game control.
• You've now created a key control that you can customize to suit your preference. 

NOTE: If you are adding new controls to a control scheme that already exists, you can skip the first step.

What are the different types of key controls I can create?

You can create the following key controls. Click on any of the controls below to learn more.

NOTE: You can right-click on game control or click on the gear icon underneath them, to access its advanced settings. To learn about the advanced settings, click here.

1. Tap spot: It lets you assign a key to perform actions that require a tap on the screen. For example, to accelerate in racing games, attack your enemy and open your backpack in FPS games and more.

2. Repeated tap: It lets you perform the action of repeatedly tapping your mobile screen by pressing a key of your choice. You can also select the number of taps you would like to perform, as shown below.

3. D-pad: You can use this control to assign keys to move around in different games like Free Fire, Call of Duty: Mobile, Among Us and more. 

4. Aim, pan and shoot: You can add a custom crosshair, assign a key to use your mouse cursor to look around and customize mouse sensitivity through this control. 

5. Free look: You can use this control in games to view your surroundings. You may use it with your keyboard or mouse, as per your preference. 

6. Script: You can use this control to perform various in-game actions at the click of a button by creating/editing intuitive scripts. To learn more about how to use scripts, refer to this article.

7. Swipe: You can use this control to assign keys to perform swipe action in a game of your choice.

8. Zoom: You can use this control to zoom in and out of games that allow it. The advanced settings for this control allow you to customize the zoom speed, amplitude and more. 

9. Tilt: You can use this control in games that require you to tilt your device to perform an action such as racing games, where you have to tilt your phone to steer.

10. MOBA D-pad: You can use this control to have a full 360-degree movement using the right mouse button in various MOBA games, such as MOBILE LEGENDS: Bang Bang.

11. MOBA Skill pad: You can use this control to direct and cast skills/attacks in MOBA games. You can choose between quick, auto and manual casting. It also lets you enable/disable the stop movement function, which brings your character to a halt after casting a skill/attack.

Click on the gear icon under the control to select your options or click on "More settings" to access advanced settings.

12. Rotate: You can use this control to spin a wheel in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction like a steering wheel in a racing game.

13. Edge scroll: You can use this control to scroll around the map simply by moving the cursor and is very useful for strategy games like Rise of Kingdoms. 

14. Scroll: You can use this control to adjust the speed of scrolling through the screen in various apps.

15. Mouse wheel: You can use this control to either scroll up or down the screen or zoom in and out of the screen.

How can I manage my control schemes?

A Control scheme is a collection of game controls, that you can switch between based on your style of gameplay, the game mode you're playing and more. You can use the Controls editor on BlueStacks 5 to manage your control schemes in different ways as listed below. 

Choosing a control scheme

You can open the drop-down menu to select a control scheme from the ones available for your game.

Editing a control scheme

To edit the controls for any control scheme, press the left mouse button on the control you wish to reassign, press the new key and click on "Save".

Creating a custom control scheme

From the drop-down menu, you can click on "Create new profile" to create a new control scheme, which you can rename or copy. Here, you can add controls as per your choice.   

Update controls

By clicking on this option, default control schemes will be updated to the latest game controls available from BlueStacks.

NOTE: Any changes made to the controls in the default schemes will be reverted, once you update them. 

Importing control scheme

You can select this option to import control schemes for any game from your desktop/laptop to BlueStacks 5.

Exporting control scheme

You can select this option to transfer control schemes for any game from BlueStacks 5 to your desktop/laptop. 

Open folder

It will open the default location where all custom/updated control schemes are saved on your desktop/laptop.