SnesPad Win2K is a program I wrote for use with Windows 2000. It allows you to use your Super Nintendo controller as a gamepad on the computer. After you've got the SNES controller hooked up to the parallel port on your computer, SnesPad can emulate keyboard and mouse input. In other words, play all your favourite games that normally use the keyboard or mouse with your SNES controller instead! Yay!

SnesPad.zip will create a SnesPad directory wherever you unzip it. There'll be two subdirectories: SnesPadExe and UserPort.

• SnesPad is my program, the program you will run whenever you want to play with your SNES controller.
• UserPort is a program downloaded from Embeddedtronics that you will need to use in order to setup your computer to use SnesPad (you only need to do this once, and it's really easy).

First, you need to build a simple adapter for the SNES controller. I know what you're thinking: "BUILD AN ADAPTER!? Are you OUT of your FREAKIN' MIND!?". Whoa. Calm down, Charlie. It's actually very simple (you just need the right parts). Here are some links that you can use to find schematics of how to hook up the SNES controller to your parallel port. (A quick Google search will also bring up lots 'o sites). Some sites will also give detailed step-by-step instructions. It doesn't really matter how you make the connections, as long as you've matched the pin numbers properly (just visit the links to see what I mean):

• http://www.embeddedtronics.com/design&ideas.html
• http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_alternatives.shtml#SNESKEY
• http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_alternatives.shtml#jump

Also try a Google search for "snes pad to parallel port". The instructions you find may be confusing at first, but you're mostly getting way more detail than you need. I plan on writing a tutorial myself on building the adapter that will include instructions on building a both "proper" adapter (some more effort) and also a "ghetto" adapter (takes 5 minutes to build and should work but will look like garbage). So keep an eye on this site until then.

After you've finished the first step, you're 99% done. Now download and unzip my program somewhere and use UserPort to set up your parallel port to work with SnesPad:

1. Copy the file UserPort.sys to %WINDIR%/system32/drivers (for example: copy UserPort.sys to WINNT/system32/drivers). This file is in the UserPort folder when you unzip SnesPad.zip.
2. Run UserPort.exe and set up the fields to look like this:
   
   
   
3. Click on Update, then click on Start. Done!

Okay! Setup's done! You'll never need to do that again! Now, plug in your SNES controller to your parallel port (the "first" one if you have two) and run SnesPad.exe. Set your keys or whatever and leave SnesPad.exe running (so it can do it's job) whenever you want to play. Fun!

• Mouse emulation is disabled by default, go to the Setup menu to enable it
• To map Mouse Movement, move your mouse into the "Mouse Pad" area with the motion you want to map
• To map right or left Mouse Clicks, click anywhere on the interface that's not a button or the Mouse Pad
• The program uses 60hz sampling by default (same as the real SNES), but you can slow this down to 30hz without any noticeable lag (save a couple of CPU cycles).
• For your personal interest:
  378-37F is the range used by your standard first parallel port (LPT1). You can take a look by going to:
  Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management->Ports->LPT1->Properties (Lookee! The Input/Output range is 378-37F!)
  That business with UserPort was to allow my program to access your parallel port, yay!

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