If you don't have software installed, then the configuration of the gamepad is entirely defined by the game. What this means is that while there's no limitation on the hardware and it's behavior, the actual game determines what inputs it accepts. So, if the game is only designed to see the analog sticks and the buttons, but not the D-Pad, that's what it will do.
To make our gamepads more convenient, we've included that MODE switch. What this does is swap the D-Pad and the left analog stick to circumvent games that only recognize one input (IF you prefer to use the other left-directional input). MODE cannot combine these functions, only swap them.
To add additional functions, you can download the Logitech Profiler application from the support link at the top of the page. The profiler will let you customize buttons in the gamepad to issue keystrokes, so that you can "force" the game to recognize inputs on the gamepad that it's ignoring. How you do this is go into the game, and assign keystrokes to be the functions you want, then open the profiler application. In here, you can assign a profile to the game, then configure these extra keystrokes to, say, the D-Pad of the controller. Thus, you can trick the game into behaving in the way that you want.
