# Standard Pinball Key Assignments

Visual Pinball uses the key assignments shown below by default. The basic functions (flippers, plunger, Start Game) are the same in almost all other PC pinball programs.
1e (1) Start Game 1f (2) Extra Ball (Buy-In) 22 (5) Coin In 21 (4) Coin In (second coin slot) 23 (6) Coin In (fourth coin slot) (VPinMAME) 28 (Enter) Plunger/Launch Ball 29 (Escape) Exit to menu (PinballX/HyperPin front ends) 14 (Q) Quit to editor (within VP) E1 (Left Shift) Left Flipper E5 (Right Shift) Right Flipper E0 (Left Ctrl) Left MagnaSave E4 (Right Ctrl) Right MagnaSave 17 (T) Mechanical Tilt Bob 4A (Home) Slam Tilt (VPinMAME) 2C (Spacebar) Forward Nudge 1D (Z) Left Nudge 38 (/) Right Nudge 4D (End) Open/Close Coin Door (VPinMAME) 24 (7) Cancel/Exit Service Button (VPinMAME) 25 (8) Down/"-" Service Button (VPinMAME) 26 (9) Up/"+" Service Button (VPinMAME) 27 (0) "Enter" Service Button (VPinMAME) 2E (=+) VP Volume Down 2D (-_) VP Volume Up

#### Notes

- You probably won't want to assign any of the nudge keys (Spacebar = forward nudge, Z = left nudge, / = right nudge) if you're using the accelerometer for nudging. The nudge keys are used to produce fake nudges during desktop play where real nudging is impossible. The accelerometer is better for cabinet play because it lets you nudge the cabinet the natural way rather than by pushing buttons, and it senses the intensity and direction of the nudge.
- Keys marked "VPinMAME" are actually interpreted by the ROM emulator rather than Visual Pinball, so these aren't as universal with other pinball programs besides VP.
- The Escape key is usually used with a "front end" menu system like PinballX or HyperPin. The menu system will intercept this key to shut down the pinball program and return to the game selection menu. VP has its own "exit" button, set to "Q" by default. It's usually best to keep the front end exit key different from the VP exit key so that there's no confusion about which program should read the key.

## Joystick buttons

Visual Pinball also lets you use joystick buttons, but there aren't any "standard" mappings for those. Instead, you have to manually assign the button numbers in VP's Keyboard Preferences dialog. Note that other pinball emulators might not support the joystick buttons at all, so if you're going to use multiple pinball programs, it's easier to set everything up using keyboard keys.