Here comes another article about the Steam deckIn the past we have covered some curiosities, such as How to manage screenshots or how to install Windows on it. What we're going to do here is talk about some tricks that will make things easier for us when using Valve's console/handheld computer. We must not forget that we won't always be able to use the device as we would like, but there are solutions for almost everything.
The Steam Deck has a 7.4″ screen in the OLED version and 7″ in the LCD versionSome say it's "huge" for a laptop, but I think it's fine... and not always. Many games are designed to be played on large screens, and it's possible and even likely that it will be difficult to read the text. The first of the tricks tells us about the magnifying glass, a tool integrated into the game mode that is really useful.
Use the Steam Deck magnifying glass
Many of us who have a Steam Deck are a little over 15 years old. Currently you can get la 64GB OLED for 369€, which will be over €400 because, let's be honest, you'll have to replace the hard drive with a larger one. It's not an amount that any teenager can afford, and it's common for them to opt for a Chinese console with Android and settle for emulation.
Why am I explaining this? Because eyesight eventually fails with age. You may think you see everything better than an eagle, until the day comes when you look at your phone and have to move it away or increase the size of the text. Valve has thought of this, and the game mode includes a magnifying glass. We will access it with the Steam + L1 key, and the image will enlarge without animation or anything. In theory, it will remain enlarged until we release one of the keys.
Using RS (right analog stick) or the right touchpad, which are the ones that usually move the pointer, we will move the screen. By default it is enabled, and is configured by pressing the Steam button/Settings/Display/Advanced Settings and, at the time of writing this article in English, «Magnifier Scale». The default is 150%, which is sufficient in most cases, but the value can be increased up to 300%.
Using the mouse in applications outside of Steam
I have a "friend", see and understand the quotation marks, who seems to have a philosophy with games: those who do not me he doesn't like them at all, he just quits them; a high percentage of the time there are some that he likes enough to quit, but not enough to cheat at all — look at guides —; and then there are some that he loves and finishes on his own even if he has to play for 0 hours.
In the middle ground it may be necessary to pull from YouTube, and the best application out there to watch videos from the most popular platform is Free Tube (Related Archive Article). Of course, you can take the mobile and watch the guides on it, but also on FreeTube in game mode. To do this, you first have to add the app to Steam, and it is worth adding images to it. Then you can open the game, the video in FreeTube and access multitasking with the Steam button.
I explain all this because, by default, to use the applications in game mode you have to use the touch screen and on-screen keyboard. The example of FreeTube is the best I could think of because fast-forwarding and rewinding videos is difficult with your fingers; it is better with the touchpad. And to be able to use it, you just have to remember hold the steam button. That's how it moves.
Move the virtual keyboard to the top
El on-screen keyboard It's great. It allows you to write without having to use a physical keyboard. But there's a problem: if it's down and what you're typing is down, you won't be able to see if you're typing correctly. For example, in a messaging app like Telegram.
Because yes, I have Telegram added as an app outside of Steam. If I'm playing something that doesn't have me fully focused, I can respond to a conversation directly from the Steam Deck. But with the keyboard down, it's not visible. This has a solution: the button that says "Move" is usually used to hide it, but if we press the left trigger (Shift), that button will move it up if it's down and down if it's up.
Add images to non-Steam apps and games
If you add games and apps that are not from Steam, a grey card with the name will appear by default. You can add images using SteamGridDB, available in Decky Loader, or you can do so manually. You can do this from the Steam client in desktop mode, from the Library tab and then scrolling down to the All section.
- The background image and logo are set by right clicking on the banner elongated void.
- The icon is placed from the properties, in the empty square that appears next to the name.
- The card images are displayed in the library overview: if it is vertical, the vertical one is displayed. If it is horizontal because it is the last game, the horizontal one is displayed.
Put the desktop in Spanish
It's not the best if you want to follow tutorials in English, but it's the best if you like to see things in the language of Cervantes. The default desktop mode is in English, but you can set it to Spanish by opening "System Settings", searching for "Language" and choosing Spanish from the options that appear.
Install Windows on Steam Deck to remove restrictions
This is just a tip, and we're not going to go into too much detail because We already wrote a detailed articleThe idea is this: we create a windows-to-go with Windows 11, and we use that operating system when we want to play titles that do not work well on SteamOS. For example, some from EA or others that require anti-cheat.
These are simple tricks that will make things easier when using the Steam Deck, and they are worth doing. If we come up with another one, we will update the list and add it.