Get joystick working in mala menu

[KevinFlynn]

Greetings programs,

I am a HS user (several years now) and I have a friend with a 7 year old who wants a simple, small arcade setup. I d/loaded Mala yesterday and got it all set up with his own customized arcade screen and about 75 Mame games, all working great. Piece of cake. 

I have an Atari 2600 USB plug-n-play joy that I will be giving him for his arcade.
Getting the joy to work in Mame was simple and it's all running perfectly.

Now, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the same joy to switch through and select a game in the main Mala menu. I've tried setting up the different settings in OPTIONS, KEYBOARD, and JOYSTICK but when the field turns gray (ready to accept my keypress) nothing happens when I push directions on the Atari joystick.

I'm sure this is an easy fix but I feel I've tried next to everything I know to try. 

Any help for this (likely simple) problem I'm having would be awesome.
Thanks, you all rock!!

[big10p]

I just tried this with a USB joypad, out of interest. I selected Controller->Joystick tab and clicked the 'Use joystick' check box. Then, in the Basic tab, I selected the inputs for each action from the drop-down menus. Worked fine here.

[KevinFlynn]

 "I selected Controller->Joystick tab and clicked the 'Use joystick' check box. Then, in the Basic tab, I selected the inputs for each action from the drop-down menus."

Yes, thanks, I tried that right off the bat, was sure that's what would do it. No luck. The arrow keys still control the game selection, etc.
I also rebooted and made sure the joy was plugged in before restarting. No luck.

[big10p]

It's when you say "but when the field turns gray (ready to accept my keypress) nothing happens when I push directions on the Atari joystick" I get confused, as you shouldn't need the joystick at all to set it up in MaLa.

Have you got a link to this Atari joystick you're using?

[KevinFlynn]

"It's when you say "but when the field turns gray (ready to accept my keypress) nothing happens when I push directions on the Atari joystick" I get confused"

When you're in options, Controller, Keyboard, Basic, you can set the 1 up, 1 down by either right clicking or left clicking the mouse. The field turns gray meaning it's awaiting your key press. Apparently the joystick presses aren't set up like key presses.

Here's a link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/151637461073?ul_noapp=true&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmtid%253D1588%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D69982082769_324272%2526itemid%253D151637461073%2526targetid%253D124340412009%2526rpc%253D0.18%2526rpc_upld_id%253D58344%2526rlsatarget%253Dkwd-124340412009%2526device%253Dm%2526mpre%253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fulk%25252Fitm%25252Flike%25252F151637461073%25253Flpid%25253D82%252526chn%25253Dps%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526loc%253D9029101%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D313895649%2526adgroupid%253D20919789969%2526gclid%253DCj0KEQiAjpGyBRDgrtLqzbHayb8BEiQANZauh0sILq2LtbD3dIM8WuYg-Za_3bf__Fhe-Uu6XqjAjmQaAkMN8P8HAQ%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D928668833864&chn=ps&lpid=82

Now that's a little long, sorry...
Here's the actual description of mine:
Atari 2600 USB Wired Joystick Controller for PC & Mac Blue LED Brand New.
Do you want an authentic classic gaming experience on PC or MACŪ The USBŪ compatible Joystick Controller for RetrolinkŪ is exactly what you've been looking for! Based on the original design of the joystick controller for the famed AtariŪ 2600 console, the Joystick from RetrolinkŪ features a similar stick and single-button layout. The nearly 6-foot cable ensures that you can play from almost anywhere in your room. Get the Joystick Controller and get back to the classics!
Compatible with PC and MACŪ
Transparent casing with internal blue LED lights that turn on when controller is plugged in
Nearly 6 feet in cable length
A new way to play games on your PC and MACŪ!

[KevinFlynn]

Here are my menu screens...

[big10p]

When you're in options, Controller, Keyboard, Basic, you can set the 1 up, 1 down by either right clicking or left clicking the mouse. The field turns gray meaning it's awaiting your key press. Apparently the joystick presses aren't set up like key presses.

Yes, that's why I got confused. For a joystick, you just select from the drop-down menu.

Have you got another USB joystick/joypad you can test with?

[KevinFlynn]

"Have you got another USB joystick/joypad you can test with?"

The closest thing I have is an Xbox 360 controller but to be honest, I never got it working with my system. And, if it matters, my computer isn't set up for Bluetooth.
I guess it's not a deal breaker but it would be really nice if I could get this joy working with the menu/game selection. Would just make the whole thing much more user friendly.

[big10p]

Bluetooth shouldn't come into it if it's a wired USB controller. If Windows sees it as a standard - and it works in MAME - I can't think why it's not working, TBH. Sorry.

[KevinFlynn]

No problem, thanks for the help. I only mentioned Bluetooth for the Xbox 360 controller. It needs Bluetooth to work with the pc, right? I guess I don't really know...

[big10p]

Oh, I see! Of course, you were talking about a wireless Xbox controller. Yes, I guess they either use bluetooth or RF. I'm not sure, myself.

[KevinFlynn]

Ok, sort of solved it...

Xpadder rocks. On the downside, I'll have to include set-up instructions for my friend who would otherwise not be comfortable messing with arcade stuff.
On the plus side, it works great.

Thank you big10p for trying to help!

[big10p]

Glad you found a fix.