
Adobe XD let’s you use keyboard shortcuts and gamepad triggers to simulate native desktop applications and prototype an enriched game experience or design. When wiring a prototype, you can select Keys/Gamepad from the Trigger drop down list and assign any key. You can use these triggers with Tap, Drag, Time, and Voice to prototype for different use cases like desktop apps, games, and presentations.
You can then play back or record these animations in the preview window, web browser, or mobile applications and share them with your stakeholders for collaborative reviews. This helps you tell a better prototype story while adding a rich layer to the overall user experience.
When prototyping certain desktop apps, accessibility or shortcuts or games, you need a keyboard to interact with the prototype. With this requirement in mind, Adobe XD introduces the ability to use a keyboard shortcut as a trigger to transition across screens in a prototype.
When wiring a prototype, select Keys & Gamepad. You can then press any key on the keyboard to assign it as a trigger to either an individual object or an entire artboard. This means that you can have multiple triggers from the same artboard.
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A. Trigger set to keyboard shortcut B. Keyboard shortcut key C. Action set to auto-animate D. Destination artboard
You can also combine a key along with a modifier to define triggers using shortcuts like CMD S, CTRL R. Do note that you cannot use spacebar and other system level keys such as function, sleep, volume, and power. When you assign multiple triggers with the same shortcut on the same artboard, the last trigger is assigned and triggers during a preview.
The best way to test a game prototype is to use the actual game controller hardware. Adobe XD allows you to interact with an XD prototype in a desktop player or a web browser using a connected gamepad controller and create prototypes with gamepads as triggers to transition across screens.
Connect an Xbox One via Bluetooth or a DualShock 4 controller via Bluetooth or USB, and select Keys/Gamepad. You can then press any key on the connected gamepad to assign it as a trigger to the objects on the artboard.

A. Select trigger to gamepad B. Gamepad shortcut key C. Action set to auto-animate D. Destination artboard
You can also add these triggers to the artboards or objects that allows you to have multiple gamepad triggers per artboard. However, ensure that you use the same controller to design and preview the prototype. So, for example, you can test a prototype with an Xbox controller on desktop or web if it was designed using an Xbox controller.
XD supports keyboard gamepad support in the desktop preview app and web prototypes. If you are previewing the prototype on a mobile app or a mobile browser, you can tap to transition between artboards (since they would not have a keyboard or gamepad device attached).
Controllers |
Mac (USB) |
Mac (Bluetooth) |
Win (USB) |
Win (Bluetooth) |
Xbox One |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
DualShock 4 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Xbox One Controller |
Chrome (Mac) |
Chrome (Windows) |
Firefox (Mac) |
Firefox (Windows) |
IE |
Edge |
Safari |
USB |
Yes |
Yes |
Not recommended |
Not recommended |
No | Not recommended |
No |
Bluetooth |
Yes |
Yes |
Not recommended |
Not recommended |
No | Not recommended |
No |
DualShock Controller |
Chrome (Mac) |
Chrome (Windows) |
Firefox (Mac) |
Firefox (Windows) |
IE |
Edge |
Safari |
USB |
Yes |
Yes |
Not recommended |
Not recommended |
No |
No |
Not recommended |
Bluetooth |
Yes |
Yes |
Not recommended |
Not recommended |
No |
No |
Not recommended |
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To define an interaction, click the + button on the artboard or click + on the Property Inspector and set the following options in the Property Inspector:
- Trigger: set the trigger type to Keys & Gamepad and select any key on the keyboard or a gamepad to assign a trigger except spacebar and other system level keys such as function, sleep, volume, and power.
- Action: select any of the available options: Transition, Auto-Animate, Overlay, Scroll to, Previous Artboard, Audio Playback, or Speech Playback.
If you want to assign two actions in a single trigger such as Tap, set the first Action + button in the Property Inspector to Transition, Auto-Animate, Overlay, Scroll to, or Previous Artboard, and set the second Action + button to a non-transitional action such as Audio playback or Speech playback.
- Destination: set the destination artboard from the drop-down list.
- Animation: select the options from the drop-down list. This is applicable only if you have set an Action to Transition.
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To define more than one interaction for an object, select the object with an interaction already defined, and click the + button on the artboard; alternatively, you can also click + on the Property Inspector.
Remember that you can apply Tap, Drag, Hover, and Time triggers once, and Voice, Keys & Gamepad many times.