Logitech - MX Creative Console Programmable Keypad with 9 Customizable Keys & Control Dial for Graphic Design, Video Editing, more - Graphite

This is very customizable for various functions. It seamlessly opens apps and displays their icons on the buttons provided. The text color customization and smooth dial control are features that I enjoy.

I got this MX Creative Control after seeing a video about it online. The more I saw it, the more I thought this might help speed up my process. It has definitely made my photo editing a little faster and even more enjoyable. This is highly recommended.

I love it, it really simplifies my workflow. Highly recommended

I’ve been using controllers for streaming and automation on my personal computers for years now, as they save time and simplify repetitive tasks like opening programs or changing settings for a stream. Not to mention controlling effects while streaming. But the one thing I’ve always wanted was a controller tool, but for work. Due to administrative restrictions, I’m limited by what applications I can install on my work laptop and most streaming focused software is excluded. But that is where Logitech comes in, as its software is allowed to support mouse and keyboards, and that also includes the new MX Create Controls! Pros: - Works with existing Logitech software, Logi Options+. - Simple guided setup. - Looks and feels professional. - Customizable per app. Cons: - Logi Options+ needs to be updated to work. - Needs more profiles such as Microsoft Suite, to work with Excel or Outlook. Setup: First off, you will need to update or install the latest version of Logi Options+ to get the MX Creative Controls to work, as without the updated software only the MX Dialpad will work but will not display in Logi Options+. Once the software is updated, everything connects, and a guided setup walks you through how each MX Create Control works along with how to customize each for your specific use. Customization: The customization options for both controls are amazing and completely customizable. Logitech created Profiles that store customizations for your MX Creative Controls, so you can switch the button mappings quickly without having to reprogram the devices manually. This will allow you to quickly swap between pre-set controls on different applications, which can be automatically controlled when you open the set application. The productivity gains are endless once you configure the controls for the applications you use the most. Logitech has set up a Profile Marketplace where they have pre-customized Profiles for specific Apps that can be downloaded and modified further. This is still in Beta, which means there are still in development features and only a small number of application Profiles currently available on the Marketplace, such as Adobe and OBS. I was looking for a Profile for Microsoft Suites, but only found an MS Teams Profile. I hope that Logitech opens up the Marketplace for User created profiles at some point in the future, to help build out the Marketplace options, as more options will be come available with more users and time to build the profiles. Using: The Keypad functioned as I would expect having used other controllers for streaming, with the 9 programable buttons customizable for both the action and visual image on the button. I did find that the resolution on the keypad was astounding, even the small text was very easy to read. With the navigational buttons, you can customize up to 15 pages of buttons, or 135 buttons. That is a lot of customization in such a small footprint, which I appreciate as desk space can be a limited commodity for many workers. The Dialpad was the surprising tool I didn’t know I needed for work. The combination of the large dial plus scroll wheel works in so many ways from photo shop to selecting options in drop downs. But what I used the most was navigating and using macros in Excel. I know, this seems pretty lame, and it is, but this little device easily shaved off hours of button pressing with how I could copy, paste, scroll both vertically and horizontally to a cell. It’s the little things that make the most impact when changed. Conclusion: If you’re a Content Creator or Professional who often does the same action multiple times, like copying and pasting across spreadsheets or adjusting brightness/color on a photo, and you’ve mostly used mouse and keyboard, then this might be the device for you to try. Even if you are not a streamer, this little device can make a huge difference in your setup, just the Dialpad can be one of your most used devices outside of a mouse. I’ll have a hard time if I must switch back and will be recommending Logitech’s MX Create Controls to my co-workers at the next opportunity.

I stream on Twitch/YouTube and also do my share of video and photo editing and I feel like you can never have enough buttons. I've used devices similar to this, like the StreamDeck and Razer Stream Controller X. The biggest thing that sets this apart is the dial pad. Will it replace my StreamDeck? Probably not. But I'll definitely use it along side it. Setup wasn't as smooth as I would have loved but I chalk it up to it being a new device and those issues should just resolve itself. The biggest thing was just how it seemed to eventually... just work. Installing the updated Logi Options+ software that was compatible with the MX Creative Console didn't just immediately make it come to life. The software just was stuck on the "connect your device(s)" screen. But eventually, after a couple software reboots and just coming back the next day, I saw a new message when I was checking for software updates (again). "New devices detected, restarted to use them". Restarting the app and they finally showed up. Settings up the devices is another task. As with any custom input device, setting up the custom controls that work best for you is the first real chore and usually a chore you evolve over time. The keypad and dial have some custom profiles set up for you for things like Photoshop and Lightroom and Premier. These activate automatically when you switch to their applications (or they should). I noticed this didn't always happen with the dial but usually the keypad would switch pretty quickly whenever you focused the application. This is usually the biggest issue I have with custom input devices. The software really needs to be tight and, as much as I don't hate Logi Options+ as much as I've hated a lot of other Logitech software, I still think it has some room to grow. On top of some software issues with profile activation, I also couldn't find an SDK readily available so I'm not crazy confident that their tiny library of plugins is going to grow very quickly. It sort of looked like it was using similar plugins as the Loupedeck software but I couldn't find any confirmation on that. Device usage is pretty good. The keypad is plugged in via USB-C and can either lay flat on your desk or be propped up with an included stand. One of the standout features of this keypad and something I wish I had on my StreamDeck is dedicated page buttons. With only 9 buttons, there's a good chance you'll find yourself with multiple pages of actions and having dedicated page buttons instead of needing to take up one or two full keys just for switching pages just makes sense. The keypad and dial pad buttons all feel good to press and the dial and scroll wheel both feel nice to move. Interacting with these devices feels good and the dial pad being wireless makes it easy to place it exactly where you can use it most effectively. I also didn't see it drop below 100% battery the whole time I was using it so I'm going to venture a guess that the batteries (not rechargeable, it takes two included AAA batteries) will last a long time. I found the Options+ software pretty OK at being able to customize keys to do what you'd like. You'll find all the basics like opening applications, controlling volumes, media keys, etc. But If you want more specialized controls that interact with specialized services and programs, you'll find the plugin library to be rather lacking. It's got the heavy hitters like a lot of the Adobe products. There's OBS and Twitch plugins. But not a whole lot more. That said, I've seen the StreamDeck and LoupeDeck softwares evolve over time and Options+ has a pretty solid foundation for such a new product. Things that were introduced down the line in the other software are already there in Options+. The biggest downside right now is just the small library of plugins. Overall, I like the devices and they'll do a good job of helping with some editing tasks and I'll even try and find some uses for enhancing my streams as well. My biggest issues are all software related which can be resolved over time. I really hope they push out (or make it more known) a public SDK so plugins can be created and the tiny plugin library can grow. Hopefully, with this being a new product, the software advances and the customization options just gets bigger because it's really hard to compete with the StreamDeck when it comes to software and customization. But I'm hopeful since this does offer extra with the wireless Dial Pad.