I came back to the Stream Deck after using Loupedeck for a while, and I realized there was a Stream Deck Plus feature I had mostly missed: the knobs can do more than just flip through pages or profiles.
The trick is using the Stream Deck Plus dials with an Action Wheel. Once I set it up, it opened up a cleaner way to launch apps, trigger shortcuts, control lights, and keep common actions available without filling every button on the Stream Deck itself.
Quick Answer
On the Stream Deck Plus, add an Action Wheel to one of the dials. Inside that Action Wheel, add actions like Open Application, keyboard shortcuts, lighting controls, or shortcut-based apps. Then you can turn the dial to scroll through those actions and press the dial in to run the selected one.
This is especially useful if you already use your Stream Deck buttons heavily and want a compact way to group related actions, like social sharing, desktop shortcuts, or smart lighting controls.
What I Was Doing Before
My existing setup already used one of the Stream Deck Plus dials to switch through different pages in a profile. That part is pretty common. You turn the knob, move between pages, and get access to more Stream Deck buttons without changing the whole profile manually.
What I had not really paid attention to was that the dials can also hold an Action Wheel. That means the dial itself can become a scrollable launcher instead of only being used for navigation.
How The Action Wheel Works
In the Stream Deck app, you can assign an Action Wheel to a dial on the Stream Deck Plus. Once you go into that Action Wheel, you can add multiple actions inside it.
Those actions are scrollable. Turn the dial left or right to move through them, then press the dial in to activate the one currently selected. In my case, I used Open Application actions, but the important part is that the Action Wheel is not limited to one type of task.
You can use it for app launching, shortcut launching, sharing workflows, lighting controls, or other Stream Deck actions you already rely on.
- Add Action Wheel to a Stream Deck Plus dial.
- Open the Action Wheel settings.
- Add actions inside it, such as Open Application.
- Turn the dial to move between actions.
- Press the dial to run the selected action.
Launching Shortcuts Faster
One useful tip is how to handle Apple Shortcuts. You can run shortcuts directly in different automation tools, but in my experience that can feel slower.
The faster approach is to turn the shortcut into a small app. In the Shortcuts app, right-click the shortcut and choose Add to Dock. That creates an app-style shortcut that appears in the Dock while it is running.
From there, you can right-click it, choose Show in Finder, and find the shortcut app. Then reference that app from Stream Deck using Open Application. That gives the Stream Deck something direct to launch, and it feels quicker than going through the Shortcuts app every time.
Good Uses For Dial Groups
The main benefit is organization. Instead of spreading related actions across several Stream Deck buttons, you can put a group of actions behind one dial.
For example, I have one dial area set up around sharing actions. It can pull up items I use for posting, including workflows related to my latest YouTube video. That keeps those actions available without taking over the whole Stream Deck layout.
Another setup I use is for desktop shortcuts. A separate dial can hold quick actions I want nearby, while the normal Stream Deck buttons stay available for other tasks.
I also use this idea for lighting. One Action Wheel can hold controls for different lights, like fan lights or other room lights. I even used ChatGPT to make small custom icons so the controls are easier to recognize at a glance.
- Social sharing actions
- Shortcut-based desktop tools
- App launchers
- Lighting controls
- Custom icon-based controls
Why This Is Useful
The Stream Deck Plus already gives you buttons, pages, profiles, and knobs. The Action Wheel makes the knobs feel much more useful because each dial can become a small menu of actions.
That matters because Stream Deck setups can get crowded fast. Once you start adding app launchers, shortcuts, lights, media controls, and workflow buttons, it is easy to run out of clean space.
Using dial stacks or Action Wheels gives you another layer without making the layout feel messy. You can group related tasks together and still keep the main button grid focused.
The Main Limitation
This tip is specifically about the Stream Deck Plus because it depends on the physical dials. Elgato has other Stream Deck options, including mobile and virtual versions, but the dial-based Action Wheel workflow makes the most sense on the Plus model.
Also, the usefulness depends on how intentional your groups are. If you throw unrelated actions into one dial, it can become harder to remember what is there. The best setups are grouped by purpose: sharing, lights, shortcuts, apps, or a specific workflow.
Key Takeaways
- The Stream Deck Plus dials can do more than switch pages or profiles.
- An Action Wheel lets one dial hold multiple scrollable actions.
- Turn the dial to select an action, then press the dial to run it.
- For Apple Shortcuts, adding a shortcut to the Dock creates an app you can launch from Stream Deck.
- Dial-based groups work well for app launchers, sharing tools, lighting controls, and desktop shortcuts.
- Keep each dial focused on one category so the setup stays easy to use.
Watch the Video
The video above for the full walkthrough inside the Stream Deck app, including where the Action Wheel lives, how the dial scrolls through actions, and how I’m using it in my own setup.
