BUG: Can't Change Controller Layout Bindings If You Close Controller Settings Window Via Controller Guide Button

[Swifty Magee]

ISSUE
If you launch the Controller Layout window, change a button binding, and exit the Controller Settings window by pressing your controller's guide button, you will not be able to enter any further inputs. You'll still be able to launch Steam Overlay and navigate to Controller Settings to change bindings, but trying to change any inputs by hitting the A button on your controller or hitting the left-mouse button on your mouse does nothing.

OS
Windows 10

STEPS

1. In a game, launch Steam Overlay by pressing your controller's guide button
   
2. Click on the "Controller settings" option
   
3. On the next screen, click the "Edit Layout" button
   
4. Inside the Controller Settings window, change any button binding
   
5. After successfully changing a binding, while in this same Controller Settings window, press your controller's guide button to exit Steam Overlay
   
6. Press your controller's guide button to launch Steam Overlay again and go back to the Controller Layout window; click on "Edit Layout" again
   
7. Inside the Controller Settings window, attempt to change another binding

RESULTS
You will not be able to change any bindings. You can still navigate through menus but when you try to change a binding by confirming your selection, the confirm button on your controller (e.g., A, X,) will be unresponsive. Attempting to confirm your selection with the left-mouse button on your PC mouse will also be unresponsive.

EXPECTED
You should be able to change any button binding per usual

NOTES

• I've tested this with multiple games and the bug is always reproducible
  
• I am testing this with a Steam Controller; I do not know if other Steam compatible controllers (Xbox, PS5, Switch, etc.) or the Steam Deck are affected (UPDATE: the bug happens on Steam Deck devices as well as other controllers)
  
• This issue does not seem to happen if you use your keyboard (default key combo is Shift+Tab) to open/close Steam Overlay; exiting the Controller Settings window via Shift+Tab does not bug any controller bindings; this only seems to be a controller-related issue
  
• If you exit the Controller Settings window by continually pressing your controller's cancel/back button (e.g., B, Circle), the issue doesn't occur; the bug only happens if you try to close the Controller Layout window by pressing your controller's guide button
  
• After getting this bug, you will not be able to change bindings even if you exit the game and click on the Controller Layout option in your game's Steam Library page
  
• After getting this bug, restarting the Steam Beta Client is the only way to fix the issue so you can continue configuring your control scheme

[Swifty Magee]

I have a few more very interesting notes after a bit more testing...

• When the bug happens I can tell early because Steam Overlay response is affected; if the bug is happening, navigating through menus seems a bit slower
  
• This bug only starts in Desktop Mode; Big Picture Mode will not start the bug, but you will still have the bug if you got it in Desktop Mode and then went into Big Picture Mode
  
• You need to enable the ability to launch Steam Overlay via controller through Settings to reproduce the bug (Steam->Settings->In Game tab->switch on "Use the Big Picture Overlay when using a controller"), as that's the only way to launch Steam Overlay with your controller in Desktop Mode

If I launch Big Picture Overlay and try to replicate the bug, the bug won't occur. But here's the really weird thing: after trying to cause the bug in Big Picture Mode and failing, if I go back to Desktop Mode and try to replicate the bug, it won't occur there either! It seems like I won't get this bug anymore if I launch a game in Big Picture Mode first.

Although if I restart my Steam Beta Client and try to replicate the bug in Desktop Mode, it will happen again. So starting a game up in Big Picture Mode not only prevents the bug from occurring, it also prevents the bug happening in Desktop Mode...until you restart your Steam Beta Client and play the game in Desktop Mode only.

I've tested this out multiple times and it's always the same:

1. This bug only happens in Desktop Mode
   
2. Starting a game in Big Picture Mode prevents this bug from happening, both in Big Picture and Desktop Mode
   
3. Restarting the Steam Beta Client removes the bug, and you can encounter it again but ONLY if you play in Desktop Mode exclusively

This is definitely one of the strangest bugs I've encountered with the beta client so far.

[Swifty Magee]

This is still an issue as of today (June 20, 2023).

I vaguely remember this being a bug in the old UI a long time ago but was resolved. Then it became a bug in the new, or now current, Steam UI a few months ago and has never been fixed.

It's not a hugely critical bug, but it does make setting up controller layouts more time-consuming than they have to be. This morning I've already had to close out of a Next Fest demo and close/restart the Steam client twice because I keep forgetting to completely back out of Controller Settings instead of just hitting my controller's guide button like a usually use to do.

[Wayleran]

Still a bug and it's annoying as hell. The old UI worked perfectly fine and the new one, while being "sleek looking" is buggy as hell and even rebinding buttons and doing advanced configurations is WAY harder and less intuitive than it used to be. Steam is usually good with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and keeping things functional but this is a huge failure.

[Treee]

Just asking but how do you fix it it's happening to my steam deck and I don't know how to fix it, I can't change any controls

[Swifty Magee]

Maybe try restarting your Steam Deck if that's possible; I don't have one myself but I would think something like a hard reset would fix the issue on the device.

[Treee]

Thank you! I forgot to respond but that worked

[Swifty Magee]

I'm glad I could help out! Hopefully this issue gets a permanent fix sometime in the future.

[lagamemnon]

Edit: This seems to be an unrelated problem. It's happening again, but I can still edit layouts.

When you first open the controller settings, it shows a layout of the controller with the mappings around it. The "Controller settings" button at the bottom is highlighted.

When the bug is in effect, I've noticed that navigating away from "Controller settings" un-highlights that button but doesn't highlight any other mappings. "Controller settings" will light up if I navigate back to it.

It's possible to select the other mappings by pressing (A), but the bug is in effect so (A) and (X) don't do change anything.

[Swifty Magee]

Originally posted by lagamemnon:

Edit: This seems to be an unrelated problem. It's happening again, but I can still edit layouts.

When you first open the controller settings, it shows a layout of the controller with the mappings around it. The "Controller settings" button at the bottom is highlighted.

When the bug is in effect, I've noticed that navigating away from "Controller settings" un-highlights that button but doesn't highlight any other mappings. "Controller settings" will light up if I navigate back to it.

It's possible to select the other mappings by pressing (A), but the bug is in effect so (A) and (X) don't do change anything.

Yeah, I JUST got this particular variation of this bug just a moment ago. I was about to restart the Steam client and then I saw that your comment was posted, so I thought I'd read it to see if there are any updates to this bug getting fixed.

I really hope someone from Valve has noticed this thread, or similar threads like it. I know that there's a priority list to fix issues, but It would be nice if a bug that was reported over three months ago finally got fixed. Or at least verified by a moderator that someone is taking a look at it.

[Swifty Magee]

Just wanted to say that as of today (October 7, 2023) this bug is still in effect. To temporarily fix it, you still have to restart your Steam client.

And the bug is still preventable if you do all of your controller layouts in Big Picture Mode, as for whatever reason BPM will not get this glitch, and you still will not get this glitch if you go back to Desktop Mode after going through the steps to replicate the bug in BPM.

At this point, I'm just waiting for the UI interface and architecture of BPM to fully integrate with the Desktop Mode of Steam client. Years ago I thought it was best if the two modes were separate but for months now it seems like the BPM version of Steam runs so much smoother than the Desktop version that I hope BPM just takes over the whole client.

[JohnkerJohnson]

Originally posted by Swifty Magee:

Just wanted to say that as of today (October 7, 2023) this bug is still in effect. To temporarily fix it, you still have to restart your Steam client.

And the bug is still preventable if you do all of your controller layouts in Big Picture Mode, as for whatever reason BPM will not get this glitch, and you still will not get this glitch if you go back to Desktop Mode after going through the steps to replicate the bug in BPM.

At this point, I'm just waiting for the UI interface and architecture of BPM to fully integrate with the Desktop Mode of Steam client. Years ago I thought it was best if the two modes were separate but for months now it seems like the BPM version of Steam runs so much smoother than the Desktop version that I hope BPM just takes over the whole client.

BPM did not work for me.

[Swifty Magee]

Originally posted by Johnker Johnson:

BPM did not work for me.

Don't know what to say; the bug doesn't occur for me if I intentionally try to replicate it in Big Picture Mode. But it always happens in Desktop Mode. Unless the latest patch added the bug in BPM and I haven't noticed yet, configuring controller layouts in BPM is the safest route.

This is the part where I normally type "hopefully it will get fixed soon", but I would just be lying to myself. Honestly, it's a bug you can live with, but it's just so annoying that it exists.

[JohnkerJohnson]

Originally posted by Swifty Magee:

Originally posted by Johnker Johnson:

BPM did not work for me.

Don't know what to say; the bug doesn't occur for me if I intentionally try to replicate it in Big Picture Mode. But it always happens in Desktop Mode. Unless the latest patch added the bug in BPM and I haven't noticed yet, configuring controller layouts in BPM is the safest route.

This is the part where I normally type "hopefully it will get fixed soon", but I would just be lying to myself. Honestly, it's a bug you can live with, but it's just so annoying that it exists.

Can't live with it for playing Deadly Premonition LOL.

[Swifty Magee]

I guess if you just keep mentally telling yourself, "just hit B" to close the layout window instead of hitting the guide button, you should be okay. Personally, I just start whatever game I'm playing in BPM and hope for the best. Although with my copy of Deadly Premonition, it tends to crash if I sneeze in it's direction, so good luck!

[JohnkerJohnson]

Originally posted by Swifty Magee:

I guess if you just keep mentally telling yourself, "just hit B" to close the layout window instead of hitting the guide button, you should be okay. Personally, I just start whatever game I'm playing in BPM and hope for the best.

I got it to work. I just completely deleted the controller folder and started from the beginning for setting up controller in BPM. now it works out of picture mode too