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  • How to Use Your Nintendo Wii Remote with Windows 7
Technology Articles > Entertainment > Gaming Consoles > How to Use Your Nintendo Wii Remote with Windows 7

Here’s a fun trick that may or may not be useful to you: you can use your Wii Remote from your Nintendo Wii with any Windows 7 computer with a Bluetooth receiver. Using your Wii Remote, you can control your mouse pointer, left click and right click or map the WiiMote buttons to any other function with a little bit of tweaking and hacking. To get started, follow the steps below.

Before you begin, you’ll need a couple of things.
First, you’ll need a working Wii Remote. You’ll also need to have a Bluetooth receiver. Your computer may have one built-in, or you can get a USB dongle. Next, you’ll need some software. The most important piece is GlovePIE. GlovePIE is a Wii Remote scripting program that interfaces with the Wii Remote to detect movements and button presses. You can get it for free at:
http://glovepie.org/

You’ll also need a script to use along with GlovePIE. You can create your own, but Microsoft Office Labs has already made one that works well with most applications. You can get the script at:

http://www.officelabs.com/projects/pptPlex/Pages/wii_controller_setup.aspx

Now, you’re ready to begin.

Adding Your Wii Remote as a Bluetooth Device

Click the Start button and type Add a Bluetooth Device into your search field. Click Add a Bluetooth Device. Windows 7 will begin searching for discoverable Bluetooth devices.

Open the battery cover on the Wii Remote and press and release the red sync button. The Wii Remote will now be discoverable.

Within a few seconds, the Wii Remote will show up in your Add a device dialog in Windows 7. It will appear as Nintendo RVL-CNT-01. With the Nintendo device selected, click Next.

In the next screen, choose “Pair without using a code.”

Windows will now install the drivers to interface with your Wii Remote. If it fails, simply try it again. Sometimes, the Bluetooth connection is lost before Windows can finish installing the drivers.

Working with GlovePIE

With your Nintendo Wii Remote synced and installed, launch GlovePIE. Click File and choose Open. Look for the PlexMouse.txt script that you downloaded from Office Labs and open it. Once the script is loaded, click Run. Sync your Wii Remote to your Bluetooth receiver if you lost the connection. Now, if the connection is successful and GlovePIE detects it, the fourth and first blue LED lights along the bottom of the Wii Remote will be illuminated.

Creating a Nintendo Wii Sensor Bar

At this point, you should be able to use the A Button as your left click and the B Button as your right click. But in order to see the mouse pointer on the screen, you’ll need a Wii Remote Sensor Bar. The best option is to use a battery-powered Wii Remote Sensor Bar and place it in front of your monitor. But if you do not have a wireless Wii Remote Sensor Bar, you can use any two sources of bright light as a sensor bar. The only requirement is that it has to be brighter than the screen itself. You can use two flameless tea lights set about 12 inches apart or two actual tea lights set about 12 inches apart.

Once you have your light sources set up, you should be able to point at the screen and control the mouse. If the mouse pointer is faint or wobbly, try placing the lights closer together near the center of the screen or using brighter lights.

Now, you should be able to use your Wii Remote to control your mouse in any application in Windows 7. Have fun!