Can I double bind keys?

[MobstrLobstr]

In the controls setup I have seen the red multiple bind warning circle.
Can I do that on purpose?
When I add a previously bound key it removes the other bind. I have edited the control diff LUA and can see the duplicate binds, but I don't get a warning circle, so DCS is ignoring it.
Why would I want to do this? I have about 7 cockpit lighting rheostat controls in the Mi-8, in addition to flood lighting. I'd like to have these bound to just a few keys for easy use. Yeah its cool that they modeled the exact lighting setup in these aircraft, but you never need to adjust your lighting like that on the PC. I have been mapping all these separately and then stacking them under a voice command. Just trying to simplify the key setups between all my aircraft.

[Kagetora]

You can bind several commands to a key, however each different command requires a modifier to use. IE, if you have "Guns" on the main trigger, and also want "wheel brakes" (just an example) You would need a modifier + the main trigger.

Depending on the controller you are actually using, there are many videos on youtube about setting them up.

[MobstrLobstr]

My problem is that for 7 rheostats, thats 14 separate key bind combos I need. It's a complete waste of effort if all I want is to raise or lower all 7 at once. Huey has 6 I think, F5e 4. Every aircraft is different. Since I am using simple voice commands like "red up" or "red down" across all aircraft I'd love to be able to put in one key command for each action, instead of a key command stack.

[bingbean]

I thing to make this work you have to modify the default.lua file in main game folder/Mods/aircraft/MI-8/Input/MI-8-pilot/keyborad. It can be a little bit tricky to orientate in this file, but perhaps you can handle it. After you successful modify the file make a backup because every new update rewrite the file in to default state.

[MobstrLobstr]

Thanks, I am able to get the duplicate key controls to load from the default.lua for the aircraft, as well as the Keyboard.diff.lua in the save area. I can see them all loaded in the controls menu, but only the first entry is used in game.
DCS actively prevents you from doing in the control menu what I'm trying to do, so it's probably not possible.

[Noobiecanoobie]

It's a technical limitation that is disappointing. I wanted to do exactly the same thing for the same reason, turn up all cockpit light panels with one input binding.

I think the only practical work around is external software that can emulate things like this. Programs like Joystick Gremlin and keyboard macro software allow you to bind many separate controls in game, then trigger them with one physical button or key. The buttons to bind in game may be eg. F13- F22 which ware keys not physically found on most keyboards, or joystick buttons 32-64 created with vJoy, or other buttons, but with unused modifiers.

I wish the module developers put extra usability inputs in such as 'all lights' and 'open cover and activate' etc. Some do, but there are not enough, or any consistency to them.

[Xupicor]

You can do "Open cover and activate" via default.lua -- for that I would say use "DCS Input Command Injector by Quaggles" (https://github.com/Quaggles/dcs-input-command-injector) and "DCS Community Keybinds" (https://github.com/Munkwolf/dcs-community-keybinds) so that updates don't wipe your stuff out.

I'd have to look up an example, as I don't quite remember what module I used two functions on a button in, but you can do that. You can also assign a function on "release" - say, of a On-Off switch (you can't bind an "off" side in Controls the normal way).

[MobstrLobstr]

The command injector looks very useful, thanks. Are there threads where people post how they are using it? That would be a good place to look for examples of different ways to modify the control setups.

[Xupicor]

Not sure, but you've got a lot of bindings already added by the DCS Community Keybinds linked above.
The way you add bindings in the Injector is almost the same as you would in the default lua files.

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/270080-lua-editing-for-additional-key-binds-tutorial-no-discussion-here-please/

Read through the pdf first to get some details on how to edit them, you can also see some binding sets posted there. The pdf will probably be more useful, though.

[Emme]

You can use the modifier function in the controls tab. For example you can use a button as pressed or as switched to double / triple / multiple bind keys.

[MobstrLobstr]

That PDF is very informative. Someone really put some effort into putting that together.
It appears that the trick to doing multiple actions tied to one key is using the up / down / pressed control mechanic to perform a series of commands with one action. Very useful for configuring custom actions to match your specific controller setup.
It's a bit of work to set that up though. I just went ahead and created key binds for all the lighting options I wanted to execute, then stacked them under a voice command.