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CriticalPoint / Remove-Steam-Guide-Button-Bind---Disable-Big-Picture-Mode

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MIT License
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Due to a recent Steam update, this project no longer works out of the box as the 'guide:xx' mapping is not present until a controller is first configured manually











The Xbox and Steam Logos together with the wording 'Steam' and 'Big Picture Mode' written across them

Stop Steam Big Picture Mode (BPM) from taking over your controller's Home (Guide) button

Annoyed by Steam forcing Big Picture Mode when I press my Xbox Guide button (as you may be too since you're here), I created a 'set and forget' script for my PC.

I did some digging to find out what's happening with Steam and the Guide assignment and arrived at a simple PowerShell script that removes all Guide button bindings when the Steam Client launches.

šŸšØ BTW, developers...
I'm looking for help that will allow everyone to have a 'double-click' setup
using an automated Scheduled Task creation tool. I'm close but stretched
for time and specific knowledge to get it over the line. Can you help?

If you're good with PowerShell, take a stab at Scheduled Task automation | XML and PowerShell

Why

You press your Guide button to access Xbox Game Bar (for example) and BAM, Big Picture Mode from nowhere.

You've tried disabling it, you've toggled different things off, then on, and back to off but you're getting nowhere... "Why isn't it working, what am I doing wrong?"

You've been set up to fail as Steam re-maps that button at launch and again at exit. It does it a bunch of other times, too (when opening specific option pages), and it just keeps coming back.

You don't need to be forgiven for thinking that switching off a COMEDY-SIZED giant button in the settings that says "Guide button focuses Steam", might do the trick, because no, it doesn't, it's not you.

A screenshot of the Steam settings page with the option 'Guide button focuses Steam' highlighted.

How it does it

Targeting the SDL config directly ('guide' is a non-Steam assignment so unlikely to ever change), the script removes all bindings (from all controllers) in your settings. It doesn't matter if you're using a PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, aftermarket, off-brand or other controller - the Guide button will no longer be bound (in Steam) after the file runs.

Everything else is unaffected and Game Bar will work as normal - it's just the Guide button assignment within Steam that's unmapped

Prerequisites

You'll need PowerShell (>v7) to use this script. To check, open up PowerShell and run the below to find your version:

$PSVersionTable

If you don't have PowerShell 7, see Installing PowerShell on Windows

Usage

1 - Grab Guide Unbind - Default Steam Install Location.ps1 and save it to C:\PS\Guide Unbind - Default Steam Install Location.ps1 (for simplicity later)

2 - Adjust your Powershell execution policy. In Powershell 7, type Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted and hit enter. Read about PowerShell execution policy.

3 - Open Steam and, (after a few seconds), run the script. You should find that BPM is no longer mapped. If so, carry on reading to implement auto-triggering of the script when Steam launches, or leave now and live with double-clicking it when needed.

your Steam install DIR is detected automatically provided that it's installed on C:. If not, edit line 11 of the script, changing "C:\" to the drive letter where Steam lives.

Automation

You can either manually just run the script some time after Steam launches (four seconds works for me, although YMMV), or you can automate it using some Windows trickery...

Computer Configuration --> Windows Settings --> Security Settings --> Local Policies --> Audit Policy --> Audit Process Tracking, configure and enable both success and failure Screenshot

Then either use the included template, or create your own task Manually

Automatically

(Right-click, open in new tab) ---> Included template - use this to create your own Scheduled Task.

Update it to match your own settings and import it into Task Scheduler...

Manually

Here's how to manually create the task yourself (within Task Scheduler...)

1. Set the Trigger

(Triggers > On an Event > Custom > XML)

<QueryList>
  <Query Id="0" Path="Application">
    <Select Path="Application">
    *[System[Provider[@Name='Application'] and (Level=4 or Level=0) and (EventID=4688)]]
    and 
     *[EventData[Data[@Name='NewProcessName'] and (Data='**C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe**')]]
     </Select>
  </Query>
</QueryList>

2. Set the Action

(Task Scheduler --> Actions --> Start a Program)

'Program/Script' pwsh

'Arguments' -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -WindowStyle Hidden -File "C:\PS\Guide Unbind - Default Steam Install Location.ps1"

This assumes the location of the script is in a folder named 'PS', on the root of C: - Update as necessary!

3. Configure the Settings

Specify these additional settings (and their values), not that almost but not all of the options are checked.

A full set of reference screenshots are available (CTRL+click to open each in a new tab) - General - Triggers - Actions - Conditions - Settings

4. Save!

You can verify the success of this by first disabling the Task and testing your Guide button in Steam. It should enter BPM.

Now exit Steam, re-enable the Task you just created, open Steam and test it again. BPM should be a thing of the past. If for whatever reason BPM opens at this point, please Raise an Issue and I will help you get set up. If issues aren't for you and you still need help, you can optionally drop into Discussions and ask for help there.

Changes to the output file

You'll find both copies of the config.vdf in the diff check of config.vfd folder - before-config.vdf, and after-config.vdf.

The final Diff Check (minus all my personal info) is also available, here Remove all Guide button binds (guide:bxx) from 'config.vdf'

Contributing

Contributions are what make the open source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are more than welcome, and greatly appreciated.

If you have a suggestion that would make this Repo better then please do contribute by either forking the repo and creating a pull request, joining in with discussions, or opening an issue with the "enhancement" tag - whatever works for you šŸ™šŸ»

Don't forget to give the project a star! Thanks again!

Issues and Bugs!

šŸŖ² Discovered a bug? Please open a Bug report so that I can fix/polish/improve it!

Disclaimer

This software is provided as-is and, although I have tested it on my machine, a couple of test VM's, in Windows Sandbox, and on my unsuspecting mates' PC, I'm afraid that I cannot accept any liability for 'damages', howsoever caused. Please understand that by using this software you do so at your own risk, and that constitutes your acceptance of the fact that I am not responsible for anything that has happened in the past by not using it, anything that may happen as a result of using it now, or by either using it, or not, in future - it's ultimately up to you if you choose to use it, regardless of how awesome it is šŸ™šŸ»

Contact

Reach me via Discussions, if you need me! šŸ‘šŸ»

Project Link: CriticalPoint/Remove-Steam-Guide-Button-Bind---Disable-Big-Picture-Mode

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.txt for more information.

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