In this post I’ll walk through the configurations I currently use with my Stream Deck 15 key.

(Last updated 2022-03-14)

Background

For those of you who are not familiar, the Elegato Stream Deck is a device that helps automate keyboard shortcuts as well as offer integrations with many popular content creation platforms or streaming services (ex. OBS, YouTube, Twitch, XSplit, and more). Currently it is available in 6 key, 15 key, and 32 key combinations. Each of the keys is a mini LCD screen that you can customize with text, images, or even dynamic content through developer extensibility. On top of that you can nest folders within folders for additional use cases.

My Configuration

My “homescreen” is split up into the following folders (with sub-actions) and actions.

• Folders
  • Time zones
    • (5 different time zones corresponding to various teams that I work with regularly)
  • Recording
    • OBS Studio
    • Clipchamp
    • Descript
    • Carnac (app to show keystrokes on screen)
    • Scene switcher for OBS Studio (3x)
    • TikTok
    • File Explorer launch to folder for editing videos
    • Record (start / stop)
  • Community call admin
    • (various hotkeys and launchers related to community calls I co-host)
  • Media
    • Spotify
    • Windows Weekly (locally downloaded episodes)
    • Player.fm (podcatcher app)
    • Xbox Cloud Gaming
    • Goodreads
    • Play / pause control
    • Mute / unmute control
  • OneNote
    • (links to various OneNote notebooks I use through my week)
  • Text snippets
    • (multiple text snippets that I use on a regular basis)
  • Microsoft Teams
    • (keyboard shortcuts to control Microsoft Teams meetings / presentations / etc.)
    • Sysinternals ZoomIt (draw on screen, zoom screen, timer, and more)
• Home screen actions
  • Microsoft stock ticker (custom app)
  • Dice Roller (for fun)
  • Elegato Key Light controls (on / off, brightness +/-)

Plugins

I primarily use out of the box (or installed by default) actions, but there are a few useful plugins that I do use (all from the same developer BarRaider. You can search for these and more in the Stream Deck Store as part of the configuration app.

• Plugins
  • Advanced Launcher (BarRaider)
    • Launch Microsoft Store apps and additional customizations for launching processes
  • Games (BarRaider)
  • Stock Ticker (BarRaider)
  • World Time (BarRaider)

Extra tips

Launch browser profiles

For many years I have been using browser profiles in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Firefox. Each implements them slightly differently, but the general idea is that you can have different “profiles” for different personas. This includes a separate instance of saved credentials, home pages, favorites, and more. I use these extensively to test out Microsoft 365 sandbox tenants as various users, personal vs. work profiles for myself, and more.

Thankfully my friend Paul Schaeflein already blogged about launching browser sessions with different profiles. Read more on his post How I use Stream Deck – Browser Profiles.

Conclusion

In this post I overviewed the general configuration I use with my 15 key Stream Deck. I I’ve only been using my Stream Deck for a few months, but hopefully this post gives you a few insights into what / how you can use your own. Depending on future configuration changes I will update this post for major updates.

-Frog Out