A profile in InputMapper is a saved set of choices: which virtual device to output, how each button and stick behaves, and which macros ride along. The controller supplies raw input; the profile decides what that input becomes. That separation is InputMapper’s most useful idea, because one DualShock 4 can behave like a plain Xbox 360 controller in one game, a keyboard-heavy setup in another, and a touchpad-mouse desktop controller in a third — just by switching profiles. This guide explains how to create a profile, name it so you can find it later, bind it to a device, build per-game profiles, and understand where InputMapper stores them on disk.
What a Profile Actually Contains
- Output device: a virtual Xbox 360 controller, a virtual DS4, or keyboard and mouse output, all created through ViGEmBus.
- Button mapping: what each physical button sends to the output device.
- Stick and trigger behavior: including dead zones and sensitivity choices covered in our lightbar, rumble and dead zone settings guide.
- Touchpad behavior: for example using the pad as a mouse, as in DS4 touchpad as mouse.
- Macros: recorded combinations, covered in InputMapper macros.
Changing a profile never changes the controller itself. Unplug the DualShock 4 and use it on a console and it behaves completely normally, because every remapping lives in the profile on the PC.
Create Your First Profile
- Connect a supported controller — a DualShock 4 or DS4 V2 is ideal — and confirm InputMapper lists it. If it does not appear, fix that first with the controller not detected guide.
- Create a new profile from the profiles area of InputMapper.
- Set the output to the virtual Xbox 360 controller. This is the safest default, because most PC games are built for XInput and will recognize it immediately.
- Leave the default mapping in place, save the profile, and test it in the Windows game controller panel before changing anything.
Start boring on purpose. A working default profile is your known-good baseline: when an experimental profile misbehaves in a game, switching back to the baseline tells you instantly whether the problem is your custom mapping or something deeper in the setup, such as the driver chain described in how to use InputMapper.
Name Profiles So Future You Can Read Them
Profile names are free text, so develop a small naming habit early, before the list grows:
- Lead with the purpose or game: “Racing – Xbox Output”, “Desktop – Touchpad Mouse”, “Shooter – Low Dead Zone”.
- Include the output type when you mix outputs. Two profiles called “Default” and “Default 2” will confuse you within a week.
- Mark experiments clearly, for example with a trailing “– test”, and delete failed experiments instead of letting them pile up.
- Keep one untouched profile called something like “Baseline Xbox 360” that you never edit. Duplicate it when you want to experiment.
This sounds fussy until you have fifteen profiles and a game update breaks one mapping. Clear names turn a troubleshooting session into a quick comparison between a working profile and a broken one.
Bind a Device to a Profile
Creating a profile does not apply it. A profile takes effect when it is bound — assigned — to a connected device. With the controller connected, select the device in InputMapper and assign the profile you want it to use. Press a few buttons and confirm the output responds as expected before launching a game.
Binding matters most with more than one controller. InputMapper’s official input list includes the DualShock 4, DS4 V2, Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers, the DualShock 3 only via a Mayflash Magic-NS dongle, PS Move Navigation via Magic-NS, and generic DirectInput and XInput devices. Each connected device can carry its own profile, so a DualShock 4 can run a touchpad profile while an Xbox controller runs a plain passthrough profile at the same time. If the wrong mapping appears in a game, check the binding first — the usual culprit is the right profile bound to the wrong device, or a leftover profile still assigned from a previous session.
Build Per-Game Profiles
Per-game profiles are where the system pays off. Different games want different things:
- A racing game may want a larger stick dead zone and gentle trigger behavior.
- A shooter may want a small dead zone and a macro or two on spare buttons.
- A strategy or desktop profile may want the touchpad as a mouse and keyboard shortcuts on the face buttons.
- An emulator profile may want a virtual DS4 output instead of Xbox 360 output, depending on the emulator — see InputMapper with emulators for examples.
Build each per-game profile by duplicating your baseline, renaming the copy for that game, and changing only what that game needs. Change one group of settings at a time and test in the game’s menus or a safe area, so you know which change helped and which one hurt.
Auto-Switching, In Concept
Players often ask for profiles that switch automatically when a game starts. Think of auto-switching as a convenience layer on top of binding: the right profile still has to exist, be named clearly, and be tested manually first. Set up and verify your per-game profiles by hand, keep names consistent, and treat any automatic switching as an optional extra rather than the foundation. A tidy, well-named library works perfectly well with a five-second manual switch before you play, and it never surprises you mid-session.
Where Profiles Are Stored
InputMapper keeps its data, including profiles, under the DSDCS folder in your roaming application data: %AppData%\DSDCS\InputMapper — in practice, the AppData\Roaming folder inside your Windows user profile. You do not need to open this folder for everyday use, but knowing it exists matters for two reasons. First, reinstalling Windows or moving to a new PC will leave your profiles behind unless you copy that folder. Second, if you ever troubleshoot with someone, this is the folder they will ask about.
Because everything you build lives there, back it up before a reinstall, a major cleanup, or a PC move. Our companion guide, back up InputMapper profiles, shows how to copy the folder, restore it on a new machine, and keep a sensible backup habit. Do that once and a rebuilt PC becomes a ten-minute restore instead of an evening of recreating every mapping from memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does InputMapper store its profiles?
InputMapper stores profiles under %AppData%\DSDCS\InputMapper, inside the AppData\Roaming folder of your Windows user profile. Copy that folder to preserve your profiles before reinstalling Windows or moving to a new PC.
Can each controller use a different profile?
Yes. A profile takes effect when it is bound to a connected device, and each device can carry its own profile. A DualShock 4 can run a touchpad profile while an Xbox controller runs a plain profile at the same time.
Should I edit my only working profile?
No. Keep one untouched baseline profile with the default mapping and Xbox 360 output. Duplicate it for experiments and per-game setups, so you always have a known-good profile to switch back to when testing.
Do profiles change anything on the controller itself?
No. All mapping lives in the profile on your PC. The controller hardware is unchanged, so the same DualShock 4 behaves completely normally when you plug it into a console.