Logitech G110 gaming keyboard

(discontinued but Logitech G910 Orion Spark (9 Programmable Buttons) can be used instead

• Introduction
• Logitech Gaming Software (LGS)
• Profiles
• Macros in LGS
• Operations with macros
• LUA scripting
• LUA functions

Introduction

This is a cheaper, discontinued,  brother of  Logitech G510s Gaming Keyboard. It has less macro keys (12 instead of 18) and does not has central display. Still it one of the cheapest LUA programmable keyboard and that's great.  Build quality is good.  When it was discontinued by Logitech you can buy it for around $40 on Amazon.  Not any more.  It was replaced by G105 for ~$40, but with reduced set of features (only 6 macro keys and no media controls).

It has very convenient rotating dial for volume and can be used as multimedia keyboard too.

The keys are about the size of laptop keys. That is, about 1/3 smaller than normal. Initially they feel somewhat mushy but that feeling disappears in two to tree days and click became pretty crisp. 

Quality of lettering on keys (with the exception of F-keys and G-keys) is very bad (probably the worst I saw on any keyboard I used to own; and I used some very cheap models like Dell SK-8135 USB Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard for years). It is much worse then on Microsoft Sidewinder. Some of them like '{', "[" are not distinguishable.  But in reality this defect it does not matter much, as any IT professional who respects himself should learn blind typing.

The macro and quick key functions are easy to use, either with the macro recorder that is built into the keyboard itself, or the "key profiler" program which is installed with the keyboard.

You can create a profile and assign record macros for ANY program. Just open up the key profiler program, and select the program's EXE file, and give it a name.

Once you learn to record the TIME DELAYS with the macros, then it works beautifully (if you don't the macro goes too fast for most standard programs to respond to, as they are loading up pop-up windows for you to interact with, and there is a time delay on that.

It comes with a detachable wrist rest and has a USB port. With laptops that have underpowered USB ports, USB port on keyboard might not work with audio port simultaneously as keyboard is powered from a single USB port. You need to connect it to a USB hub with a separate power supply for that. 

It offers 12 dedicated macro keys(G keys) as opposed to  6 macro keys on the Microsoft Sidewinder X4 and X6 Keyboards .

You can use 3 different M-keys for these macro keys, totaling 36 keys on the G110. The macro recording software on the G110 is more robust than the X4. Both allow users to set time delays between keystrokes on their macros.

A volume control scroll wheel beats X4 keys.

 Logitech Gaming Software (LGS)

For all Logitech G line products configuration and macros functionality requires installation of drivers and software to function properly. The software Logitech provides is called Gaming Software or LGS. It. The Logitech Web page detects your version of Windows automatically and suggest the version on LGS to install  

Title: Logitech Gaming Software
Software Version: 8.53.154
Post Date: 17-APR-2014
Platform: Windows 7
File Size: 59MB

It provides approximately the same functionality as Microsoft Intellitype/Intellipoint with some additional limitations and worse interface. For example you can't redefine such keys as numeric pad keys, stop key for multimedia, etc. The only target assignment are G-keys. That's a very limiting architectural decision, which makes the product look amateurish in comparison with alternatives such as Microsoft Sidewinder.  

But the ability to write macros in LUA changes everything.  It is really a step forward as you can use full-fledged scripting language for generation of strings (for example various types of timestamp) text transformations, etc.

Profiles

Initially a single profile called default profile exists. Commands and macros from this profile are applicable to all the applications unless they are overwritten by application-specific profile macros.

Each application can have a profile attached to it. That means that your macros can be made application specific.  You need to  access the profile bar  in order to maintain existing profiles and create new. To do so:

• Within the Logitech Gaming Software, if you have more than one gaming device, choose the relevant one using the Device Selector on the Device bar.
• Clicking the Customize G-keys/buttons icon on the Device bar. At the very top it displays the Profiles View (by ). If not you device is configured to use "On board memory" for profiles. Get to home icon aqnd change it to "Automatic Game Detection".
• Right-click the correct profile in the Profiles area or click its arrow, and select Scripting.

Here is relevant part of Logitech FAQ that describes the creation of a new profile:

To create a new profile:

1. Open the Logitech Gaming Software:

   Start > All Programs > Logitech > Logitech Gaming Software 8.x

2. Click the glowing G-Keys.
3. Move the cursor over the "+" icon in Profiles and look for the down arrow to appear.
4. Click the down arrow under the "+" and click "Create New Profile."

   This window will pop up showing what is required to set up a profile.

   • Name - Enter a name for your new profile.
   • Description - (Optional) Add a description of the profile.
   • Select Game Executable - Locate and select the  .exe file.

     NOTE: Some games use launcher .exe applications, so make sure the profile is associated with the game's .exe file and not the launcher's. Other games use separate .exe files for single and multiplayer modes (for example, Call of Duty). If your profile isn't working, check Task Manager after the game has launched to determine if it's associated with the correct .exe. (See 28140 for more information.)
      

   • Lock profile while game is running - Sometimes, background applications may jump to the "top" and disrupt your profile from activating. If this happens, you can select this check box to lock the profile so it's active regardless of the "top" application. Locking a profile may also help where the profile works when the game is launched, but stops working afterward.
      
   • Copy from an existing profile - If you prefer, you can base a new profile off one that already exists. This is useful when you're making profiles for games with both single and multiplayer .exe files.

     NOTE: If you have a G-Series keyboard with an LCD screen installed, you'll see a slightly different window with an additional option.
      

   • Select using GamePanel display - Select this option if you're having trouble associating a profile with the correct .exe (see 28139 for more information).
      
5. Click OK to finish setting up your new profile.

Your new profile should now be visible in the Profiles area at the top of the window. If the Logitech Gaming Software was able to detect an icon for the application before, it should appear with your profile

You can print profile using print icon on the profile bar. That provides convenient cheat-sheets.

Here are some additional links from Logitech FAQ

Managing profiles for the G510s Gaming Keyboard using Logitech Gaming Software -

Macros in LGS

In "G-screen" software displays the G-keys and profile bar. If you hover the mouse on the particular G-key, the key is highlighted and the down arrow appears. Clicking of it brings menu which consist of several items, which corresponds to multiple ways to create your macros:

• Keystroke - Assign a single key press, or a key press with modifiers, such as Ctrl, Shift or Alt.
• Multi Key - Assign a "macro'd" series of keystrokes. (NOTE: You can set up these macros to function both with and without recorded time delays.)
• Text Block - Create a block of text to be typed out when the key is pressed (either with or without Unicode support).
• Mouse Function - Assign a G-Key on your keyboard to use any of the available mouse button functions.
• Media - Set a key to function like a media key.
• Hotkeys - Use a pre-defined keystroke command.
• Shortcut - Assign a key to launch a file/folder/drive on your computer.
• Function - Assign a key to act like a Microsoft function key (ex. to open your web browser).
• Ventrilo - Assign a key to have a function in Ventrilo, if Ventrilo is installed on your PC

After you select the function to assign the key, click OK. This will apply the new function and you'll see it named with the name you have chosen over the key in the window (for example the key will be labeled as "Forward", "Back", "Left", and "Right", etc).  To unassigned a G-Key, either right-click and select "Unassign", or drag the command from the key to the trash icon in the LGS window.

See Programming gaming keyboard G-Keys using Logitech Gaming Software - Logitech FAQ

You can record macros on the fly and assign them to selected G-key:

• Creating macros using the MR key
• Troubleshooting Logitech G-keyboards macros

A unique feature is the ability to write macros in LUA language. That make Logitech G-keyboards a class of its own and here you can really implement complex macros to raise you productivity. 

The macro and quick key functions are easy to use. They can be assigned to profiles for individual programs, for example Frontpage. Macro recorder allows recoding intervals between key presses. There are two ways to record macros:

• using the macro recorder button on the keyboard
• using the "key profiler" program which is installed with the keyboard.

You can create a profile and assign record macros for ANY program. Just open up the key profiler program, and select the program's EXE file, and give it a name.

Operations with macros

There are several operations with macros that are possible in LGS:

• Creation of the macro
• Assigning macro (binding macro to the particular G-key)
• Unassigning macro  (unbinding macro from G-key)
• Editing macro
• Moving macro (from on G-key to another)
• Deleting macro (this is different from unassigning and destroys the content of the macro)

Macros can be moved with the profile by dragging them with the mouse to a new G-key.

As command list on the left side contains all created macros unassigning macro from the key does not delete it. It can later be assigned.

Unfortunately you can't move macros between profiles.

LUA scripting

Each profile can have one script attached to it. You can access the script editor in order to maintain scripts from the main Gaming Software window. To do so:

• Within the Logitech Gaming Software, if you have more than one gaming device, choose the relevant one using the Device Selector on the Device bar.
• Clicking the Customize G-keys/buttons icon on the Device bar. At the very top it displays the Profiles View (by ). If not you device is configured to use "On board memory" for profiles. Get to home icon aqnd change it to "Automatic Game Detection".
• Right-click the correct profile in the Profiles area or click its arrow, and select Scripting.

The built-in Script editor window is displayed. You can use its menus and features to perform a range of tasks, including the creation and saving of new scripts, and the importing and exporting of scripts.

All profile scripts are activated when the profile is activated and deactivated when the profile is deactivated.
There is Lua support material available, describing how scripting works, the functions available, and so on, as well as some samples and other documentation. This documentation is accessible from the Help menu of the Script window.

LUA functions

The functions available to you in Lua fall into two categories:

1. G-keyboard LUA API: functions added to the Lua engine by Logitech. These are documented in the Scripting API that can be accessed via the script editor Help menu.
2. LUA built-in functions. Functions that came with the Lua engine (i.e. built-in functions defined by the LUA language specs). These are documented in the Lua Online Reference that can be accessed via the script editor Help menu.

All basic built-in functions described in the Lua Online Reference are available in Logitech's implementation, with the exception of the following packages: file.*, io.*, os.*, package.* and possibly debug.*. In logitech forum was reported that debug.traceback() will crash the software, but other debug functions may work.

No functions built into Logitech implementation of Lua that give you direct access to Windows DLLs and Logitech doesn't provide any wrapper functions for that breaks portability:  any such code wouldn't work on the Mac version of the software.

See also Logitech G-keyboards LUA Scripting

NEWS CONTENTS

• 191127 : Decent for gaming, but not worth the money ( Decent for gaming, but not worth the money, )

Old News ;-)

Decent for gaming, but not worth the money

RTang

Layout and Typing: This was deal breaker #1 for me. The G110 has smaller-than-standard keysize within a cramped design, and I have large, muscular hands with pudgy fingers. I was getting many more typos typing with the G110 than with the X4, which has large, spacious keys. The G110 keys are also full-height, while the X4 keys are half-height. While this means that hitting the wrong key on the G110 is supposedly harder (this is negated by the above statement), it also takes more time and effort to press keys on the G110 than on the X4. In FPS games, being able to easily press keys is especially important. If I can switch between the W and A keys easier, then it could mean I dodge behind cover in BF3 a split second faster. Also, the G keys on the G110 are the exact same shape as the other keys, making it harder to recognize if you're not looking at your keyboard. The macro keys on the X4 are sunken in at a lower height than the other keys, making them much, much easier to identify by feel. The only complaints I have about the X4 is that the Esc and F-keys are tiny and hard to find, and the keys on the X4 type much louder than the G110. All in all, if you have large hands and large fingers, then stay away from the G110. It's a typing nightmare for guys like me. If you have slender hands and fingers, you may not mind the layout as much.

On a side note, there is an additional issue I would like to clear up about "ghosting". The G110 features a true anti-ghosting feature around the WASD cluster of keys. This means that if you hold more than 4 keys at the same time, none of the keys register. This is to prevent the keyboard from registering a random extra key that has no relation to the keys you pressed. For example if I hold W,A,S,D and F at the same time, the keyboard might type the K key instead. The only problem with this, is that if you actually need to press 4 keys or more in a game at the same time, those keys won't register at all. The X4 claims it has "anti-ghosting", but what it really means is Key Rollover. Key Rollover refers to how many keys you can press simultaneously and still have the keyboard recognize the combination. For the X4, it allows up to 26 keys to be pressed at the same time, and the system will recognize all of those keys. This can be useful for FPS games, where you might be moving forward, strafing left, crouching, and tossing a grenade all at the same time. On the flip side, it doesn't prevent ghosting.

Build Quality: Deal breaker #2. The build quality of the G110 is crap. The keys have the exact same typing and flimsy feel as Logitech's $10-$20 entry level keyboards, the body is made of the same light plastic, and the keyboard is suspiciously light compared to the X4. The volume control wheel also feels like a baby toy. The impression it gives me every time I type with it is that they're trying to sell a keyboard that costs only $5 to make for $80. EIGHTY EFFING DOLLARS! Seriously, Logitech, if you're going to charge people 80 bucks for a keyboard, at least put in better materials than your bottom line budget models. The X4, which goes for $20 cheaper, feels more solid. The keys are tighter, the frame is heavier and feels more durable, and the handrest isn't a cheap, thin, flimsy piece of crap like on the G110. I personally would not pay ANY more than the 40 dollars I got the G110 for.

Bottom Line: If you play RTS/RPG games that demand a large number of macros, think that the additional inputs and functions I listed on the G110 are very useful, and don't mind small keys, the G110 fulfills all your needs at a price point lower than competing boards with the same feature set, albeit at the cost of a very cheap build quality. Otherwise, this is not the board for you.

The most important lesson I learned from this purchase: ALWAYS TRY OUT GAMING KEYBOARDS IN THE STORE FIRST!!!

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Last modified: November, 26, 2019