Hotkey shortcuts¶
Hotkey shortcuts are among the most important basics you need to learn in order to navigate your KNULLI device and play your games. This section will give you an overview over the available hotkey shortcuts.
The Power button¶
When your device is turned off, the power button can be used to turn on your KNULLI device as explained in the manual of your device. Once your Knulli device is turned on
- tap the power button once to switch into sleep mode (depending on your device, there might still be a lot of power consumption in sleep mode).
- hold the power button for 2 seconds (until the device vibrates) to do a normal shutdown.
- All system settings you made since you last booted your device will be saved automatically.
- If you are playing a game with a RetroArch core, your game will be saved automatically.
- If you are playing a game with a standalone emulator your game will not be saved automatically.
- hold the power button for 5 or more seconds to cut the power off, overriding the normal shutdown.
- Nothing will be saved - this is meant as a last resort when your device is frozen!
- hold the Function button and tap the power button to switch between LED modes:
- LED always on (default)
- LED turns off while playing (LED blinks to confirm)
- LED always off
- The LED mode will reset to default after each reboot/shutdown.
Clamshell lid¶
If your device is a clamshell device with a lid (e.g., Anbernic RG35XX SP), you may
- close the lid to enter sleep mode.
- open the lid to return from sleep mode.
The Function button¶
Each KNULLI-driven device has a dedicated button we refer to as the Function button. Depending on your device, the Function button can be in different places. E.g., for the Anbernic RG35XX H, the button is located at the top right of the device, indicated by the letter F. (Sometimes, the Function button is also referred to as the "menu" button, the "FN" button, the "F" button, or the "hotkey".)
The button can be used to trigger a number of shortcuts which will help you control the currently running emulation core.
When playing with Bluetooth controllers without a Function button, the Select button often can be used as a substitute. However, be aware that in this case the default select action of the respective context is also triggered when you press the button.
The face buttons¶
Most KNULLI-compatible handhelds have a set of face buttons - usually on the right side of the device. On most devices, you have four face buttons. Depending on your device and/or controller, the buttons may have different labels.
KNULLI mostly follows the labeling system known from SNES and the Anbernic devices. However, the buttons are sometimes also referred to by their respective directions to avoid confusion for users of PlayStation or Xbox controllers.
Face buttons on different systems¶
KNULLI | Location | Direction | PS | XBOX |
---|---|---|---|---|
X | North | △ | Y | |
A | East | ○ | B | |
B | South | ✕ | A | |
Y | West | ◻ | X |
By default, KNULLI follows the control scheme of Nintendo devices in all menus: A for OK/confirm and B for cancel/back. However, if you feel more familiar with the PlayStation scheme, press Start to bring up the main menu, go to System settings and find Frontend Developer Options. Here you will find a toggle to Switch confirm & cancel buttons in EmulationStation.
Hotkey shortcuts¶
All hotkey shortcuts follow the same pattern: Press and hold the Function button and press another key to call the respective action as indicated by the table below.
If you forgot a shortcut: Don't worry! KNULLI comes with an on-screen manual. At the home screen, press Select to bring up the Quick access menu. Here, you will be able to View user manual, which contains a list of all shortcuts.
Shortcut | Action |
---|---|
Function + Start | Quit the game and return to EmulationStation |
Function + Select | On devices without analog sticks: Toggle between mapping either the D-pad or an analog stick to the D-pad (e.g., for playing N64) |
Function + | Open the emulator menu of the current core |
Function + | Quick save in the currently selected save slot |
Function + | Quick load from the currently selected save slot |
Function + | Next save slot |
Function + | Previous save slot |
Function + | Fast forward |
Function + | Rewind |
Function + L1 | Take a screenshot |
Most hotkey shortcuts work for most cores. Even though only savegames from RetroArch cores are integrated into the EmulationStation GUI and can be loaded directly from the menu, most other cores also provide save game slots which can be accessed by the same shortcuts.
If you are collecting Retro Achievements in hardcore mode, all save/load fast foward/rewind actions are disabled by definition. However, for regular RetroAchievements, saving/loading etc. is enabled.
Games from the PortMaster library are not emulated and therefore do not respond to emulation shortcuts. Do not panic if your PortMaster games do not react to your hotkey shortcuts - this is expected behavior. To find out how to save, load, and exit your PortMaster games, please refer to the game's manual.