Pause key in Retroarch

[starfiretbt]

How do I press the [pause] key in retroarch? I’m playing a game called “Total Annihilation” (1997) in windows 98 emulated through the dosbox pure core and in order to pause the game you need to press the [pause] key. However when I press the [pause] key nothing happens.

I think the problem is I’m using a laptop and in order to use the key I need to press the [funcition] key first then [pause] and that’s doing something else in retroarch.

[hunterk]

Are you using “game focus mode”? it’s mapped to ‘scroll lock’ key by default and it sends all keyboard and mouse input directly to the core.

[starfiretbt]

Yes, I’m using game focus. The pause key isn’t working. Are you saying the pause key is sending another signal to retroarch? Because wouldn’t game focus prevent that?

[md2mcb]

There’s a chance that your keyboard is not sending the correct signal. Sometimes it happens with laptops, which tend to cram lots of functions behind an activator key. If you have an usb keyboard at hand, you could do a quick test to see if the problem is within RetroArch or not.

[zoltanvb]

Can you check using the keyboard test screen in Remote Retropad?

• open the built-in core (last element in Load Core)
• in core options, change screen to keyboard test
• restart core (via menu or “h” button)
• press the combination for Pause and see if the Pause key lights up, or one of the small indicators in the bottom (should also generate a message with the keycode in this case).

[starfiretbt]

I don’t have an extra keyboard attachable by usb.

[starfiretbt]

Where is the core options? I see [Options] under [Quick Menu] but I don’t see a keyboard test. And yes, I did find the Remote Retropad and I was looking for the options while that core was loaded up.

EDIT: Manage Core Options also doesn’t have anything in it except a “Reset Options” option.

[zoltanvb]

It is Start Screen, set it to Keyboard Tester. It was added in 1.19.0, in case your RetroArch is older.

[starfiretbt]

I’m confused by what you mean by “It is start screen.” Remote pad doesn’t have a keyboard tester in options.

Do you mean the start screen in dosbox pure? The one with “START MENU” and “CONTROLLER MAPPER” in brown on the bottom? The controller mapper doesn’t have a keyboard test screen option and neither does [options] in [quick menu] when dosbox pure is loaded.

There is under Main Menu/Quick Menu/Options/Input/Enable On Screen Keyboard. Mine is set to [ON] and it says it is activated when I press L3 on my gamepad but my gamepad only has two L buttons. Can I change that?

[md2mcb]

What he means is:

1. Have no content or core loaded, just like when you open RetroArch.
2. Select Load Core > Start Remote Retropad (it’s on the end of the list)
3. Open the Quick Menu
4. Select Core Options
5. Inside the options, select Start screen > Keyboard tester
6. Restart the core and you’ll be greeted with a virtual keyboard that you can use to check if it detects the proper key strokes from your physical keyboard.

[starfiretbt]

That’s what I tried the first time.

But there is no core options under quick menu. There’s a regular options and under that there’s a manage core options but I don’t see a start screen option in either.

I see in settings there is a core option and there is a core option categories option that I have as on.

I think I have retroarch verson 1.9.12 because I see that number at the bottom left. Am I just out of date?

[sonninnos]

4 years is very much out of date, yes.