> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xbox.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# IGameInputDevice::GetUsage

> Gets the HID usage that describes the primary purpose of the input device.

Gets the HID usage that describes the primary purpose of the input device.

## Syntax

```cpp theme={null}
void GetUsage(
    GameInputUsage* usage
);
```

### Parameters

*usage*   \_Out\_\
Type: [GameInputUsage](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/structs/gameinputusage.md)\*

Receives the HID usage page and usage ID of the device.

### Return value

Type: void

## Remarks

The usage is a two-part HID index, made up of a usage page and a usage ID, that describes what the device is. For example, a gamepad typically reports the Generic Desktop usage page (0x01) with the Gamepad usage ID (0x05). If the device doesn't report a usage, both members of *usage* are set to 0.

The usage doesn't change for the lifetime of the device object. To determine which kinds of input GameInput can read from the device, use [IGameInputDevice::GetSupportedInput](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getsupportedinput.md) instead.

In GameInput v3 and earlier, this information was available from the `usage` member of the [GameInputDeviceInfo](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/deprecated/structs/gameinputdeviceinfo.md) structure returned by [IGameInputDevice::GetDeviceInfo](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/deprecated/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getdeviceinfo.md).

## Requirements

**Header:** GameInput.h

**Library:** gameinput.lib

**Supported platforms:** Windows, XBOX One family consoles and XBOX Series consoles

## See also

[Overview of GameInput](https://docs.xbox.com/build/core-features/common/input/overviews/input-overview.md)\
[IGameInputDevice](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/igameinputdevice.md)\
[GameInputUsage](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/structs/gameinputusage.md)\
[IGameInputDevice::GetSupportedInput](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getsupportedinput.md)

## Version History

| Version | Changes |
| - | - |
| **v4** | Introduced. |


## Related topics

- [IGameInputDevice (Interface contents)](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/igameinputdevice.md)
- [IGameInputDevice::GetSupportedInput](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getsupportedinput.md)
- [IGameInputDevice::GetDeviceFamily](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getdevicefamily.md)
- [IGameInputDevice::GetDeviceId](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getdeviceid.md)
- [IGameInputDevice::GetXInputDeviceIndex](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/input/gameinput/interfaces/igameinputdevice/methods/igameinputdevice_getxinputdeviceindex.md)