Controller

Introduction

The V5 Controller has buttons, two joysticks, a rumble motor, and a screen. Controller blocks can be used to check button presses, read joystick movement, rumble the Controller, enable or disable configured Controller actions, run blocks when Controller events happen, or display text on the Controller screen.

Configured Controller actions are controller behaviors set in the Devices menu. Use the Controller enable/disable block to temporarily enable or disable those configured actions during a project.

Below is a list of available blocks:

Values — Check Controller button status or read joystick position.

• Controller pressed? — Returns whether a selected Controller button is being pressed.

• Controller position — Returns the joystick position along a selected axis.

Actions — Rumble the Controller, enable/disable configured Controller actions, or run blocks when Controller input changes.

• play rumble on controller — Plays a rumble pattern on a Controller.

• Controller enable/disable — Enables or disables Controller actions configured in the Devices menu for all connected controllers.

• when Controller button pressed — Runs the attached stack when a selected button is pressed or released.

• when Controller axis is changed — Runs the attached stack when a joystick’s position changes along the selected axis.

Screen — Display text and numbers on the Controller screen.

• print on controller — Displays text, numbers, or variable values on the Controller screen.

• set cursor to row column on controller — Moves the cursor to a specified row and column on the Controller screen.

• set cursor to next row on controller — Moves the cursor to the next row on the Controller screen.

• set print precision on controller — Sets how many decimal places are displayed when numbers are printed on the Controller screen.

• clear controller — Clears all rows on the Controller screen.

• clear row on controller — Clears one row on the Controller screen.

Values

Controller pressed?

The Controller pressed? Boolean block returns whether a selected Controller button is being pressed.

Controller pressed? Boolean block

    <[Controller1 v] [▲ v] pressed?>

Parameter	Description
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.
button	The button to check: ▲ ▼ ◀ ▶ X B Y A L1 L2 R1 R2

Example

When started, drives forward while the X button is pressed.

    when started
    [Drive forward while X is pressed.]
    forever
        if <[Controller1 v] [X v] pressed?> then
            drive [forward v]
        else
            stop driving
        end
    end

Controller position

The Controller position reporter block returns the joystick position along a selected axis as a number from -100 to 100.

Controller position reporter block

    ([Controller1 v] [1 v] position :: sensing)

Parameter	Description
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.
axis	The joystick axis to report: 1 — right joystick horizontal axis 2 — right joystick vertical axis 3 — left joystick vertical axis 4 — left joystick horizontal axis

Example

When started, drives forward while the left joystick is pushed up.

    when started
    [Drive forward while the left joystick is pushed up.]
    forever
        if <([Controller1 v] [3 v] position :: sensing) [math_greater_than v] [0]> then
            drive [forward v]
        else
            stop driving
        end
    end

Actions

play rumble on controller

The play rumble on controller stack block plays a rumble pattern on the Controller.

play rumble on controller stack block

    play rumble [Long v] on [Controller1 v]

Parameter	Description
pattern	The rumble pattern to play on the Controller: Long — one long rumble Short — one short rumble Pulse — a pattern of on and off rumbles
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.

Example

When the R1 button is pressed, plays a short rumble on the Controller.

    when [Controller1 v] button [R1 v] [pressed v] :: hat events
    play rumble [Short v] on [Controller1 v]

Controller enable/disable

The Controller enable/disable stack block enables or disables Controller configured actions from the Devices menu for all connected controllers.

Controller enable/disable stack block

    Controller [Disable v]

Parameter	Description
state	The Controller configured action state: Disable or Enable.

Example

When started, disables configured Controller actions while the robot drives forward.

    when started
    [Disable Controller configured actions until the drive movement is done.]
    Controller [Disable v]
    drive [forward v] for (6) [inches v] ▶
    Controller [Enable v]

when Controller button pressed

The when Controller button pressed Hat block runs the attached stack when a selected Controller button is pressed or released.

when Controller button pressed Hat block

    when [Controller1 v] button [▲ v] [pressed v] :: hat events

Parameter	Description
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.
button	The button to check: ▲ ▼ ◀ ▶ X B Y A L1 L2 R1 R2
button status	The button event that triggers the attached stack: pressed or released.

Example

When the R1 button is pressed, drives forward for 200 millimeters.

    when [Controller1 v] button [R1 v] [pressed v] :: hat events
    [Drive forward when R1 is pressed.]
    drive [forward v] for (200) [mm v] ▶

when Controller axis is changed

The when Controller axis is changed Hat block runs the attached stack when a joystick’s position changes along the selected axis.

when Controller axis is changed Hat block

    when [Controller1 v] axis [1 v] is changed :: hat events

Parameter	Description
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.
axis	The joystick axis to check: 1 — right joystick horizontal axis 2 — right joystick vertical axis 3 — left joystick vertical axis 4 — left joystick horizontal axis

Example

When the joystick’s position changes along Controller axis 3, drives forward for 200 millimeters.

    when [Controller1 v] axis [3 v] is changed :: hat events
    [Drive forward when the joystick's position changes along axis 3.]
    drive [forward v] for (200) [mm v] ▶

Screen

print on controller

The print on controller stack block displays text, numbers, or variable values on the Controller screen at the current cursor position.

print on controller stack block

    print [VEXcode] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

Parameter	Description
value	The text, number, or variable value to display on the Controller screen.
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.
expanding arrow	Expands the block to include and set cursor to next row, which moves the cursor to the next row after the value is printed. If this option is not used, the next printed value appears immediately after the previous value on the same row.

Example

When started, displays a message on the Controller screen.

    when started
    [Display a message on the Controller screen.]
    print [Hello, robot!] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

set cursor to row column on controller

The set cursor to row column on controller stack block moves the cursor to a specified row and column on the Controller screen. The next printed value will appear at that position.

set cursor to row column on controller stack block

    set cursor to row [1] column [1] on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

Parameter	Description
row	The row to move the cursor to on the Controller screen.
column	The column to move the cursor to on the Controller screen.
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.

Example

When started, prints text at row 2, column 1 on the Controller screen.

    when started
    [Display a message on row 2.]
    set cursor to row [2] column [1] on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    print [Ready] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

set cursor to next row on controller

The set cursor to next row on controller stack block moves the cursor to column 1 on the next row of the Controller screen. The next printed value will appear on that row.

set cursor to next row on controller stack block

    set cursor to next row on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

Parameter	Description
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.

Example

When started, prints two rows on the Controller screen.

    when started
    [Display two rows of text.]
    print [Row 1] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    set cursor to next row on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    print [Row 2] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

set print precision on controller

The set print precision on controller stack block sets how many decimal places are displayed when numbers are printed on the Controller screen. This setting applies to numbers printed after this block is used.

set print precision on controller stack block

    set print precision to [0.1 v] on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

Parameter	Description
precision	The print precision to use: 1 — no decimal places 0.1 — 1 decimal place 0.01 — 2 decimal places 0.001 — 3 decimal places All Digits — all available decimal places
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.

Example

When started, displays 1/3 with two decimal places on the Controller screen.

    when started
    [Display 1/3 with two decimals.]
    set print precision to [0.01 v] on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    print ([1] [math_division v] [3]) on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

clear controller

The clear controller stack block clears all rows on the Controller screen and moves the cursor back to the first row.

clear controller stack block

    clear [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

Parameter	Description
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.

Example

When started, prints text, waits, then clears the Controller screen.

    when started
    [Clear the Controller screen after printing.]
    print [This will disappear...] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    wait [2] seconds
    clear [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

clear row on controller

The clear row on controller stack block clears a single row on the Controller screen.

clear row on controller stack block

    clear row [1] on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer

Parameter	Description
row	The row to clear on the Controller screen.
device	The Controller to use, configured in the Devices window.

Example

When started, clears row 1 on the Controller screen.

    when started
    [Clear one row on the Controller screen.]
    print [Row 1] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    set cursor to next row on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    print [Row 2] on [Controller1 v] ▶ :: custom-controller-inertial-timer
    wait [2] seconds
    clear row [1] on [Controller1 v] :: custom-controller-inertial-timer