Controller#

Introduction #

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

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

This page uses controller_1 as the example Controller name. Replace it with your own configured name as needed.

Below is a list of all available methods:

Actions — Rumble the Controller or enable/disable configured Controller actions.

rumble — Plays a rumble pattern on the Controller.
remote_control_code_enabled — Enables or disables Controller actions configured in the Devices menu.

Screen — Display text and numbers on the Controller screen.

print — Displays text, numbers, or variable values on the Controller screen.
set_cursor — Moves the cursor to a specified row and column on the Controller screen.
column — Returns the current cursor column on the Controller screen.
row — Returns the current cursor row on the Controller screen.
clear_screen — Clears the Controller screen.
clear_row — Clears one row on the Controller screen.
next_row — Moves the cursor to the next row on the Controller screen.

Getters — Read button states and joystick positions.

.pressing — Returns whether a specified button is being pressed.
.position — Returns the position of a specified joystick axis.

Callbacks — Run functions when Controller input changes.

.pressed — Runs a function when a specified button is pressed.
.released — Runs a function when a specified button is released.
.changed — Runs a function when the joystick’s position changes along a specified axis.

Constructor — Manually create a Controller object.

Controller — Creates a Controller object.

Actions #

rumble #

rumble plays a rumble pattern on the Controller. In the pattern string, periods are short rumbles, hyphens are long rumbles, and spaces are pauses.

Usage:
controller_1.rumble(pattern)

Parameter	Description
`pattern`	A string made of periods, hyphens, and spaces that represent the rumble pattern.

# Rumble the Controller with a short-short-long-long pattern
controller_1.rumble("..--")

remote_control_code_enabled #

remote_control_code_enabled is a variable that enables or disables Controller actions configured in the Devices menu. Controller configured actions are enabled by default.

Usage:
remote_control_code_enabled = state

Value	Description
`True`	Enables Controller configured actions.
`False`	Disables Controller configured actions.

# Drive forward or backward using the left joystick
remote_control_code_enabled = False

while True:
    if controller_1.axis3.position() > 0:
        drivetrain.drive(FORWARD)
    elif controller_1.axis3.position() < 0:
        drivetrain.drive(REVERSE)
    # Press A to use Controller configured actions again
    elif controller_1.buttonA.pressing():
        break
    else:
        drivetrain.stop()

    wait(20, MSEC)

remote_control_code_enabled = True

Screen #

The V5 Controller screen has 3 rows and 19 columns for displaying text and numbers.

A screenshot of the V5 Controller screen, showing the rows and columns in the printable area. Row 1 Column 1 starts at the upper left corner and row 3, column 19 are in the lower right corner.

print #

controller_1.screen.print displays text, numbers, or variable values on the Controller screen using the current cursor position.

Usage:
controller_1.screen.print(value, sep, precision)

Parameter	Description
`value`	The text, number, or variable value to display on the Controller screen. More than one value can be printed by separating values with commas.
`sep`	Optional. A string to place between values. This must be written as a keyword argument, such as `sep=”- “`. The default is `” “`.
`precision`	Optional. The number of decimal places to display when printing simple numbers. This must be written as a keyword argument, such as `precision=2`. The default is `2`.

# Print a number on the Controller screen
controller_1.screen.print(1)

# Print multiple numbers separated by hyphens
controller_1.screen.print(1, 2, 3, 4, sep="-")

# Print a number using one decimal place
controller_1.screen.print(1 / 3, precision=1)

set_cursor #

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

Usage:
controller_1.screen.set_cursor(row, col)

Parameter	Description
`row`	The row of the cursor, from `1` to `3`.
`col`	The column of the cursor, from `1` to `19`.

# Print text at row 2, column 1
controller_1.screen.set_cursor(2, 1)
controller_1.screen.print("Ready")

column #

column returns the current column where text will be printed on the Controller screen.

Usage:
controller_1.screen.column()

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Print the current column number
controller_1.screen.set_cursor(2, 3)
controller_1.screen.print(controller_1.screen.column())

row #

row returns the current row where text will be printed on the Controller screen.

Usage:
controller_1.screen.row()

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Print the current row number
controller_1.screen.set_cursor(2, 3)
controller_1.screen.print(controller_1.screen.row())

clear_screen #

clear_screen clears the Controller screen and moves the cursor back to the starting position.

Usage:
controller_1.screen.clear_screen()

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Print text, then clear the Controller screen
controller_1.screen.print("VEX V5")
wait(2, SECONDS)
controller_1.screen.clear_screen()

clear_row #

clear_row clears one row on the Controller screen.

Usage:
controller_1.screen.clear_row(row)

Parameter	Description
`row`	Optional. The row to clear, from `1` to `3`. If no row is provided, the current cursor row is cleared.

# Clear row 2 on the Controller screen
controller_1.screen.clear_row(2)

next_row #

next_row moves the cursor to column 1 on the next row of the Controller screen. The next printed value will appear on that row.

Usage:
controller_1.screen.next_row()

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Print on two rows
controller_1.screen.print("VEX V5")
controller_1.screen.next_row()
controller_1.screen.print("Controller")

Getters #

.pressing #

.pressing returns whether a specific button on the Controller is currently being pressed. This method must be called on a specific button object, such as controller_1.buttonA.

True — The specified button is being pressed.
False — The specified button is not being pressed.

Usage:
One of the available button objects can be used with this method:

The front and back side of the V5 Controller with the buttons highlighted in yellow. On the surface of the controller are up, down, left, and right arrow buttons on the left, and X, A, B, Y buttons clockwise from 12 o'clock on the right. On the back side of the controller are L1, L2, R1, and R2 on the left and right sides respectively.

Button	Command
`buttonA`	`controller_1.buttonA.pressing()` — The A button
`buttonB`	`controller_1.buttonB.pressing()` — The B button
`buttonX`	`controller_1.buttonX.pressing()` — The X button
`buttonY`	`controller_1.buttonY.pressing()` — The Y button
`buttonDown`	`controller_1.buttonDown.pressing()` — The Down button
`buttonUp`	`controller_1.buttonUp.pressing()` — The Up button
`buttonLeft`	`controller_1.buttonLeft.pressing()` — The Left button
`buttonRight`	`controller_1.buttonRight.pressing()` — The Right button
`buttonL1`	`controller_1.buttonL1.pressing()` — The L1 button
`buttonL2`	`controller_1.buttonL2.pressing()` — The L2 button
`buttonR1`	`controller_1.buttonR1.pressing()` — The R1 button
`buttonR2`	`controller_1.buttonR2.pressing()` — The R2 button

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Turn right while L1 is pressed
while True:
    if controller_1.buttonL1.pressing():
        drivetrain.turn(RIGHT)
    else:
        drivetrain.stop()

    wait(20, MSEC)

.position #

.position returns the position of a joystick axis as a number from -100 to 100.

This method must be called on a specific axis object, such as controller_1.axis1.

Usage:
One of the available axis objects can be used with this method:

A VEX V5 Controller with the axes around the joysticks labeled. Axis 1 and 2 are around the right joystick, and Axis 3 and 4 are around the left.

Axis	Command
`axis1`	`controller_1.axis1.position()` — The right joystick’s horizontal axis
`axis2`	`controller_1.axis2.position()` — The right joystick’s vertical axis
`axis3`	`controller_1.axis3.position()` — The left joystick’s vertical axis
`axis4`	`controller_1.axis4.position()` — The left joystick’s horizontal axis

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Turn with the left joystick
remote_control_code_enabled = False

while True:
    if controller_1.axis4.position() > 10:
        drivetrain.turn(RIGHT)
    elif controller_1.axis4.position() < -10:
        drivetrain.turn(LEFT)
    else:
        drivetrain.stop()

    wait(20, MSEC)

Callbacks #

.pressed #

.pressed runs a function when the specified button is pressed. Once it is used, the function will run automatically each time that button is pressed.

Usage:
One of the available button objects can be used with this method:

Button	Command
`buttonA`	`controller_1.buttonA.pressed(callback, arg)` — The A button
`buttonB`	`controller_1.buttonB.pressed(callback, arg)` — The B button
`buttonX`	`controller_1.buttonX.pressed(callback, arg)` — The X button
`buttonY`	`controller_1.buttonY.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Y button
`buttonDown`	`controller_1.buttonDown.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Down button
`buttonUp`	`controller_1.buttonUp.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Up button
`buttonLeft`	`controller_1.buttonLeft.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Left button
`buttonRight`	`controller_1.buttonRight.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Right button
`buttonL1`	`controller_1.buttonL1.pressed(callback, arg)` — The L1 button
`buttonL2`	`controller_1.buttonL2.pressed(callback, arg)` — The L2 button
`buttonR1`	`controller_1.buttonR1.pressed(callback, arg)` — The R1 button
`buttonR2`	`controller_1.buttonR2.pressed(callback, arg)` — The R2 button

Parameter	Description
`callback`	A previously defined function to run each time the specified button is pressed.
`arg`	Optional. A tuple containing arguments to pass to the callback function. See Using Events with Parameters for more information.

# Drive forward when A is pressed
def drive_forward():
    drivetrain.drive_for(FORWARD, 100, MM)

controller_1.buttonA.pressed(drive_forward)

.released #

.released runs a function when the specified button is released. Once it is used, the function will run automatically each time that button is released.

Usage:
One of the available button objects can be used with this method:

Button	Command
`buttonA`	`controller_1.buttonA.released(callback, arg)` — The A button
`buttonB`	`controller_1.buttonB.released(callback, arg)` — The B button
`buttonX`	`controller_1.buttonX.released(callback, arg)` — The X button
`buttonY`	`controller_1.buttonY.released(callback, arg)` — The Y button
`buttonDown`	`controller_1.buttonDown.released(callback, arg)` — The Down button
`buttonUp`	`controller_1.buttonUp.released(callback, arg)` — The Up button
`buttonLeft`	`controller_1.buttonLeft.released(callback, arg)` — The Left button
`buttonRight`	`controller_1.buttonRight.released(callback, arg)` — The Right button
`buttonL1`	`controller_1.buttonL1.released(callback, arg)` — The L1 button
`buttonL2`	`controller_1.buttonL2.released(callback, arg)` — The L2 button
`buttonR1`	`controller_1.buttonR1.released(callback, arg)` — The R1 button
`buttonR2`	`controller_1.buttonR2.released(callback, arg)` — The R2 button

Parameter	Description
`callback`	A previously defined function to run each time the specified button is released.
`arg`	Optional. A tuple containing arguments to pass to the callback function. See Using Events with Parameters for more information.

# Drive backward when A is released
def back_up():
    drivetrain.drive_for(REVERSE, 100, MM)

controller_1.buttonA.released(back_up)

.changed #

.changed runs a function when the joystick’s position changes along the specified axis. Once it is used, the function will run automatically each time the joystick’s position changes along that axis.

Usage:
One of the available axis objects can be used with this method:

A VEX V5 Controller with the axes around the joysticks labeled. Axis 1 and 2 are around the right joystick, and Axis 3 and 4 are around the left.

Axis	Command
`axis1`	`controller_1.axis1.changed(callback, arg)` — The right joystick’s horizontal axis
`axis2`	`controller_1.axis2.changed(callback, arg)` — The right joystick’s vertical axis
`axis3`	`controller_1.axis3.changed(callback, arg)` — The left joystick’s vertical axis
`axis4`	`controller_1.axis4.changed(callback, arg)` — The left joystick’s horizontal axis

Parameter	Description
`callback`	A previously defined function to run each time the joystick’s position changes along the specified axis.
`arg`	Optional. A tuple containing arguments to pass to the callback function. See Using Events with Parameters for more information.

# Play a sound when the left joystick moves
def tada_sound():
    brain.play_sound(SoundType.TADA)

controller_1.axis4.changed(tada_sound)

Constructors #

Controller #

Controller creates a Controller object. Manually creating a Controller object is only needed when configuring a controller outside of VEXcode.

Usage:
Controller(controller_type)

Parameter	Description
`controller_type`	Optional. The Controller type to create: `PRIMARY` for the primary Controller connected to the Brain or `PARTNER` for the second Controller connected to the Brain.

# Create the primary Controller
controller_1 = Controller(PRIMARY)

# Create a partner Controller
controller_2 = Controller(PARTNER)