Rigonix Game UI Builder

Gamepad and keyboard navigation

Let players use your menus with a controller, arrow keys or Tab.

Console and PC players expect to use your menus with a controller or the keyboard. Rigonix sets this up for you: move between buttons with the D-pad, stick, arrow keys or Tab, press with A or Enter, and go back with B or Esc. Gamepad and keyboard navigation is part of the Max plan.

Turn it on

  1. Click an empty part of the canvas and open the Screen tab.
  2. Scroll to Gamepad & keyboard and turn on Controller & keyboard navigation (whole project).

That's often all you need. Rigonix works out which button is above, below, left and right of each other, just like Unity's automatic navigation.

Settings for the whole project

  • Highlight the first element: as soon as the screen opens, or only when the player first presses a key or button (so mouse players don't see a highlight).
  • Wrap around at the edges: pressing down on the last button jumps to the first.
  • Coming back selects what was selected last: returning to a screen remembers the player's place.
  • Hide the highlight while the mouse / touch is used.
  • B / Esc: goes Back (closes the top popup, else returns to the previous screen) or does nothing.
  • Selected look: the hover look plus an outline ring, the hover look only, or the ring only. Set the ring's colour, width, gap and corners.
  • Tab / Shift+Tab move through elements.

Settings for one screen

Selected first on this screen picks the button that is highlighted first, for example Play on the main menu. Popups have the same setting, so the pause menu can start on Resume.

Settings for one element

Select an element and look for Gamepad & keyboard in its Properties:

  • Selectable: automatic, yes or no. Use No for buttons that should be skipped.
  • Select this first on the screen.
  • Up, Down, Left, Right: leave on Automatic, choose a specific element, or Nothing (stop).

Turn on Show navigation arrows on the canvas to see the routes between elements while you design.

Try it

Press Play and use the arrow keys, Tab, Enter and Esc. In Unity it works with the old and the new Input System, and with any gamepad Unity supports.