External Control

External Control is the window where you decide which key, MIDI control, OSC message or HID control does what. Every button in Studio, and a few room actions such as the laser pointer or the timer, can be started from a key or a control surface, so you can run a show without touching the mouse.

What works today

Open the window

On macOS:

• Studio menu > External Control… (the Studio menu appears when you are signed in).
• Window menu > External Control.
• Settings > Control, row External Control, button Open....
• Right-click a control in Studio and choose External Control (see Assign from a control).

On Windows:

• Studio menu > External Control…, in the menu bar of the Windows layout and the Studio window, or under the Menu button in Classic (the Studio menu appears when you are signed in).
• The overflow menu of the command bar on the Room and Studio pages, External Control....
• The Settings menu in the Studio top bar, External Control....
• The ? keyboard list in the Studio top bar, button Edit shortcuts....
• Settings > Control, row External Control, button Open....
• Right-click a control in Studio and choose External Control.

The window is a single window. On macOS it is 900 by 780 points to begin with.

How a key becomes an action

A key is ignored (and passes through to the app) when:

• a text field is being edited (typing a name or searching),
• a sheet or panel is the key window,
• Lock Switching is on (Escape and Set Shift Key... still work),
• the Scene Editor canvas wants that key (arrows, Backspace, Delete, Escape),
• the key is not in the list of bindable keys.

When a binding takes a key, the key is consumed, so it does not also do what it normally does. Holding a key never fires an action twice.

Windows: only the Studio window takes keys, so Any Cliqer window adds nothing today. While the Studio search or rename box is open, keys without Ctrl or Alt pass through to the box.

The window

Toolbar

Bindings table

Columns: Trigger, Action, Status. You can select several rows; the Delete key removes them.

• Trigger shows modifier glyphs in the order Control, Option, Shift, Command, then the key as your keyboard layout names it, for example ⌘R. A new binding reads Not set. While waiting it reads "Press a key or move a MIDI control..." (on the OSC tab "Send an OSC message...", on HID "Press a button or move a control..."). A binding on the shift layer carries a small "Shift layer" tag.
• Action shows the action and its settings, for example "Preview Input 2". "+1" after it means the binding runs more actions (from an imported file). A binding without an action says "Choose an action".
• Status shows a badge when something needs attention:

An empty list says No Bindings: "Add a binding with +, or right-click any Studio control and choose External Control." A search with no hits says No Matches.

Windows: each binding is one row with the trigger, the action and the badges, and "(Shift layer)" after the action on the shift layer. A trigger not learned yet reads Not assigned and a binding without an action reads No action. Add is in the command bar, Remove is in the detail form, and the search box is Search.

Detail form

Select one binding to edit it below the table. Every change saves at once. With several rows selected it says " Bindings Selected"; with none, No Binding Selected.

Input list (for actions that act on an input): Selected Input, Preview, Program, then Input 1, Input 2 and so on for each tile in your input bar. Selected Input follows the tile you have selected. Channel list (for mixer actions): Selected Input, the inputs, then the buses.

When options:

Windows: the detail form has the same sections. Works in reads The Studio window or Any Cliqer window, and Shift layer sits under Layer. A key has no key-up on Windows, so a key offers Press (buttons) and Toggle, On and Off (switches). MIDI, OSC and HID also offer Release (buttons) and Momentary (on while held) (switches). The MIDI form has no Port, Channel or Message fields: the trigger is the control you moved while Learn waited.

Configurations

A configuration is a named set of bindings. You can keep one for a conference, another for a studio shoot, and switch between them from the Configuration list. The one you used last is remembered.

• Default is built in and read only. It has the keys listed in Keyboard shortcuts. The window says "Default is read only. Add a binding to work in your own copy."
• The first time you add or change a binding while Default is active, Cliqer copies Default into a configuration named My Shortcuts (or My Shortcuts 2, and so on) and works there.

Configuration Actions menu:

Names must not be empty, and not Default or one already in use.

Windows: the same actions are in the command bar: Add and, in the overflow menu, New configuration..., Duplicate configuration..., Rename configuration..., Delete configuration..., Import..., Export..., Set shift key... and Remove shift key. The name box has Create, Duplicate or Rename, and Cancel, and deleting asks "Delete this configuration?". The copy of Default is named My Configuration (My Configuration 2, and so on). Setting the shift key says "Press the shift key, Esc cancels", and the window shows "Shift key: " or "No shift key".

Shift layer

A shift key turns the whole keyboard into a second layer, like a function key on a mixing console. The shift key shows in the window as "Shift key ". While you hold it, bindings with Shift layer on replace the plain binding of the same key; keys without a shift binding keep working. The Control layer action can latch the layer on and off.

Bindable keys

Letters A to Z, digits 0 to 9, the punctuation keys (equals, minus, both square brackets, quote, semicolon, backslash, comma, slash, period and backquote), Return, Tab, Space, Backspace, forward Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, the four arrows, Keypad Enter, F1 to F12 and Keypad 0 to 9, with any mix of Control, Option, Shift and Command. Escape can be used with a modifier, but plain Escape cancels learning. Modifier keys alone, Caps Lock, F13 and above and the keypad operators cannot be bound.

Windows: letters, digits, F1 to F12, the punctuation keys, Backspace, Tab, Space, Enter, Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, the four arrows and the keypad digits and operators, with any mix of Ctrl, Alt and Shift. Escape always cancels learning, so it cannot be bound.

Reserved keys

Some keys already do something in every app, and Cliqer refuses them with the message "This key already does something in every Mac app. Choose another." (on Windows, "...in every Windows app...")

Assign from a control

Right-click a control in Studio and open the External Control submenu:

Everything else is added with Add Binding and the Action list. After you bind a key, the Studio menu and the tooltips follow it: a bound Record shows its key in the menu and in the tooltip, for example "Record (⌘R)".

Windows: the right-click External Control submenu is on an input tile (Preview that input) and on a mixer channel (its Mute). Add everything else with Add and the Action list.

MIDI

The MIDI tab lists the MIDI ports Cliqer sees, plugged in or not.

An empty list says No MIDI Ports: "Plug in a MIDI controller. It appears here at once."

If your plan does not include Studio control surfaces, the tab shows "MIDI is part of Studio Control. Your plan does not include it, so no port is opened." with an Upgrade button, and the ports stay off.

To bind a control, click Add Binding on the MIDI tab, then move a fader or press a pad ("Move a control..."). The detail form for a MIDI binding has:

A trigger reads like "Note 60 ch 1", "CC 7 ch any", "CC 7 14-bit ch 1", "Program 3 ch 1" or "Pitch Bend ch 2". Button LED sends an On value and Off value; Motor Fader sends the value back so the fader follows Studio; Tally Pad sends Program value, Preview value and Off value (0 to 127). If Show back is on but the port's Feedback tick is off, the form tells you to turn it on.

Windows: the tab lists each port as its own row, named In for an input and Feedback for an output, with a switch and Connected or Not connected. An empty list says "No MIDI ports found. A controller you plug in appears here." The detail form for a MIDI binding has Learn, Feedback (None, LED, Motor fader or ring or Tally pad) and the values LED on, LED off, On Program, On Preview and Off (0 to 127). Choose the port, channel and message by moving the control while Learn waits.

OSC

The OSC tab holds the receiver settings above the list of OSC bindings.

Type an address and choose Add to allow a sender, and the minus button removes one. Without Studio control surfaces the tab shows "OSC is part of Studio Control. Your plan does not include it, so nothing listens." with an Upgrade button.

Windows: the settings are Receive OSC, Port (UDP and TCP) and Allowed sources, a box where you type the addresses (separated by commas, semicolons, spaces or new lines) and choose Apply. A line per listener reads, for example, "OSC over UDP

: listening".

Cliqer answers these addresses itself:

• /cliqer/ followed by an action id with its dots as slashes runs that action, with the action's settings as arguments in order and then its value: /cliqer/studio/preview 2, /cliqer/studio/t_bar 0.42 or /cliqer/studio/mixer/gain "mic" 0.8. An input is a number (0 for Preview, -1 for Program), an id or a title. A switch sent without a value toggles, and a level is absolute in its range. A message that cannot run is answered with /cliqer/error <address> <reason>.
• /cliqer/subscribe [pattern] [port] sends the matching state now and on every change, /cliqer/unsubscribe [pattern] stops it and /cliqer/get [pattern] answers once.

Any other address is the trigger of a binding. A message with no argument is a press and release, and a true or false or a number is a level from 0 to 1 (a button presses at one half). To make a binding, choose Add Binding on the OSC tab, then send the message from your OSC app, or on macOS type the Address (for example /studio/cut). An address starts with / and has no spaces, and /cliqer/ is reserved for Cliqer's own addresses.

HID

The HID tab lists control surfaces such as X-keys pads, Contour Shuttle devices and foot pedals. Keyboards, mice and Stream Decks are never listed.

Column	Meaning
Device	The device name, a dot and its vendor and product id.
Status	Connected or Not connected.
Use	A tick reads this device. Known surfaces are on until you turn them off; any other device is off until you turn it on.

An empty list says No HID Devices: "Plug in a control surface such as an X-Keys pad, a Contour Shuttle or a foot pedal. It appears here at once." Without Studio control surfaces the tab shows "HID is part of Studio Control. Your plan does not include it, so no device is read." To bind a button or dial, choose Add Binding on the HID tab, then press it ("Press a button or move a control...").

Windows: the list is named HID control surfaces, each device has a switch, and an empty list says "No HID control surfaces found. A surface you plug in appears here."

Tally lights

The Tally tab drives hardware tally lights. A light shows whether an input is on Program or Preview, so it has no bindings, and the lights are shared by every configuration. Choose Add Light or Remove Light (Add and Remove light on Windows). The list shows Input, Light and Where, and the detail form has:

Field	Choices
Input	The input the light shows. It is lit red while the input is on Program and green while it is on Preview.
Type	Arduino (Firmata) or blink(1).
Serial port (Arduino)	The serial port of the board. "No serial ports found. Plug in the Arduino and it appears here."
Program pin (Arduino)	The pin lit on Program, 2 to begin with.
Preview pin (Arduino)	A switch for a second pin lit on Preview, 3 to begin with.
Serial number (blink(1))	Empty uses the first blink(1) found.

Without Studio control surfaces the tab shows "Tally is part of Studio Control. Your plan does not include it, so no light driven."

Stream Deck and Companion

Stream Deck and Bitfocus Companion are separate integrations, not bindings in this window. In Settings > Control, the Stream Deck section lists the connected decks (macOS) and says "The plugin is installed automatically when the Stream Deck app is present."; Integrations says Companion is "Installed automatically when Bitfocus Companion is present. Companion connects on port 24601." On Windows both are under Integrations. The Stream Deck plugin can also run any action in Bindable actions. Buttons on those surfaces that run Studio actions need Studio control surfaces; host actions such as stopping a share stay free.

Messages

Problems appear in a bar at the top of the window with a Dismiss button.

Message	When
Default cannot be changed. Duplicate it to make your own.	You edited the read-only Default.
This key already does something in every Mac app. Choose another.	A reserved key (Windows: "...every Windows app...").
Give the configuration a name.	An empty name.
A configuration called already exists. Choose another name.	The name is taken.
That binding or configuration is gone.	It was deleted meanwhile.
Your changes could not be saved. They apply until Cliqer quits.	The settings file could not be written.
That file is not a Cliqer control configuration.	Import failed.
The configuration could not be written there.	Export failed.
That action is not available right now.	The action cannot run at the moment.
Another app holds this global shortcut. Choose another key.	The operating system refused a global shortcut.
This key cannot be a global shortcut. Choose another.	A global shortcut that the system cannot register.

A plan refusal when the action runs shows the usual Plan Limit Reached alert, see Plans and limits.

Bindable actions

The Action list groups actions as below. Kinds: Button runs once; Switch is on, off or toggle; Level is a value on a fader. The table also lists the key each action has in the Default configuration. Your list in the app is the authority: it is read from your version of Cliqer.

Default keys are the macOS ones. On Windows Command is Ctrl and Option is Alt, Cut is Enter, Quick play is Space, and Transition slot take is Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+5. A configuration of your own keeps the keys it was saved with, so one that has Ctrl+Space and Ctrl+Enter still uses them.

Slides and presenters

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Click	Button	Direction: left or right
Control mode	Button	Mode: focused, power_point, keynote, google_slides or v_mix
Laser	Switch
Clear drawings	Button
Share stop	Button

Timer

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Timer	Button	Action: start, stop, reset, +1, +2, +5, -1, -2, -5, preset 5, 10, 15 or 20
Timer NDI toggle	Button

External Control

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Control layer	Switch
Control configuration	Button	Name (text)

Takes and transitions

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Preview	Button	Input	1 to 9 and 0 for Input 1 to 10
Program	Button	Input, Fade Ms	Shift+1 to Shift+0, cut straight to Program
Cut	Button		Return
Quick play	Button		Space
Transition slot take	Button	Slot	Command+1 to Command+5
Take	Button	Effect: fade, morph, wipe, slide, zoom or alpha_fade; Duration Ms, 0 to 5000; Direction: default, left, right, up or down
Set tbar curve	Switch
T bar	Level
Fade to black	Switch		B
Go	Button	Input
Stinger	Button	N, 1 to 8

Inputs

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Set loop	Switch	Input
Live pause	Switch	Input
Pause inputs	Button

Effects

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Input effect: chroma, luma, matte, color, lut	Switch	Input
Input effect: similarity, smoothness, spill, lut intensity	Level, 0 to 1	Input
Input effect: saturation	Level, 0 to 2	Input
Input effect: hue	Level, -180 to 180	Input
Input effect: temperature, tint	Level, -1 to 1	Input
Input effect: mirror h, mirror v, deinterlace, sharpen	Switch	Input
Input effect: sharpen amount	Level, 0 to 1	Input

Media and lists

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Media play, Media pause, Media restart	Button	Input
Media seek	Button	Input, Ms
Media speed	Level, 25 to 400	Input
List select	Button	Input, Index
List next, List previous	Button	Input
Play list start, stop, next, previous	Button

Timeline

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Timeline play, Timeline pause, Timeline stop	Button	Input
Timeline seek	Button	Input, Ms

Timeline stop pauses and goes back to 0. Over OSC, Timeline seek is /cliqer/studio/timeline_seek <input> <ms>: the input as a number or an id, the time in whole milliseconds. See Inputs and the Timeline editor.

Automation

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Auto switch	Switch
Triggers	Switch
Macro run, Macro stop	Button	Name (text)

Overlays

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Overlay toggle	Button	Channel 1 to 8, Input	Option+1 to Option+8, the selected input
Overlay preview	Button	Channel, Input
Overlay off	Button	Channel

Scenes

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Input duplicate	Button	Input
Live edit	Switch
Reset Corner Pin	Button	Scene id (text), Layer id
Layer blend	Button	Scene id (text), Layer id, Blend: normal, add, screen, multiply, subtract, darken, lighten, overlay or difference
Layer enter	Button	Scene id (text), Layer id, Effect: off, fade, slide, wipe, zoom, spin or alpha_fade; Duration Ms, 0 to 5000; Direction: default, left, right, up or down; Curve: default, linear, ease_in, ease_out, ease_in_out, smooth or overshoot
Layer exit	Button	The same settings as Layer enter
Undo, Redo	Button

Audio

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Mixer: gain	Level, 0 to 2	Channel
Mixer: pan	Level, -1 to 1	Channel
Mixer: muted, afv, to program, to monitor, solo	Switch	Channel
Mixer: to bus a, to bus b	Switch	Channel
Mixer send	Level, 0 to 2	Channel, Bus, Pre (before the fader)
Audio on	Switch	Input	M, the selected input
Solo mode	Button	Mode: afl or pfl
Headphones gain	Level, 0 to 4
Master gain	Level, 0 to 2
Bus: gain	Level, 0 to 2	Bus (a, b or the bus id; the Windows action editor lists buses by name)
Bus: muted	Switch	Bus (a, b or the bus id; the Windows action editor lists buses by name)
Bus add	Button	Kind: group or return, Name
Bus remove	Button	Bus
Bus rename	Button	Bus, Name
Bus move	Button	Bus, Index (place in the mixer order)
Bus set	Button	Bus, Gain, Muted, Feed (master or off)
Mic mode	Button

Callers

These are the video call actions. They take a person's internal id as text, so they are of limited use from a keyboard.

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Caller NDI	Switch	Caller (text)
Caller hang up	Button	Caller (text)
Caller invite	Button	Presenter (text)
Caller stage	Switch	Caller (text)
Caller talkback	Switch	Caller (text)
Talkback all	Switch
Caller accept, Caller decline	Button	Presenter (text)
Caller chat	Button	Caller (text), Text (text)

Outputs

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Input room	Switch	Input
Input NDI	Switch	Input
Program to room	Switch
Program NDI	Switch
Snapshot	Button
Multiview NDI	Switch

Router

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Remove destination	Button	Id (text)
Destination on	Switch	Id (text)
Destination lock	Switch	Id (text)
Output grid	Switch	Id (text)
Output mirror: mirror h, mirror v	Switch	Id (text)

Output grid is the Adjust on Output switch of a display output (an alignment grid on other outputs). Output mirror flips the picture of that output left to right (mirror h) or top to bottom (mirror v), for a beam-splitter prompter or a confidence monitor. It is free on every plan. See Outputs.

Recording and streaming

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Record	Switch		Command+R
Stream	Switch		Command+Shift+L
Stream destination on	Switch	Id (text)
External	Switch

Show

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Show new	Button
Show open	Button	Path (text)
Show save	Button	Path (text)
Show last	Button

MultiCorder

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Iso	Switch
Iso input	Switch	Input
Iso program	Switch

Teleprompter

Each action takes the Input: the Teleprompter's number or id. Other settings are on the Teleprompter page. All of them need Studio titles except pausing.

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Prompter play	Switch	Input
Prompter reverse	Switch	Input
Prompter speed	Level	Input. 0 to 1000 pixels per second
Prompter speed step	Button	Input, step: faster or slower
Prompter seek	Level	Input. 0 is the top, 1 the end
Prompter move	Button	Input, by: line_back, line_forward, page_back or page_forward
Prompter home	Button	Input
Prompter jump section	Button	Input, to: next or previous
Prompter go section	Button	Input, section 1 to 999

Screens

These need Studio screens. See Screens and Mix.

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Screen Preview	Button	Screen, 1 to 16; Input (none clears it)
Screen Program	Button	Screen, 1 to 16; Input (none is black); Fade time in ms, 0 for a cut
Screen Cut	Button	Screen, 1 to 16
Screen Take	Button	Screen, 1 to 16
Screen Take Slot	Button	Screen, 1 to 16; Slot, 0 to 4

Replay

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Replay	Switch
Replay mark in, Replay mark out, Replay save	Button
Replay play	Button	Seconds, 1 to 300; Speed: full, three quarters, half or quarter; Target: preview or program

PTZ

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
PTZ move: pan, tilt, zoom, focus	Level, -1 to 1	Input
PTZ stop, PTZ home	Button	Input
PTZ auto focus	Switch	Input
PTZ speed	Level, 0.05 to 1	Input
PTZ recall, PTZ store	Button	Input, Preset, 1 to 16

Audio processing

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Audio dsp: high pass, eq, gate, compressor	Switch	Channel
Limiter	Switch	Bus: master, bus a or bus b
Capture delay	Button	Input, Frames, 0 to 10

Background

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Segment	Switch	Input
Segment mode	Button	Input, Mode: remove, blur or replace
Segment blur	Level, 0 to 1	Input

Titles

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Title field	Button	Input, Field (text), Text (text)
Title show	Switch	Input
Title next row, Title previous row	Button	Input
Title select row	Button	Input, Row

Web

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Web navigate	Button	Input, Url (text)
Web reload	Button	Input

Go live

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Go live	Switch
Comments read	Switch
Comment next, Comment off	Button
Captions	Switch

Stream inputs

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Stream input restart	Button	Input

Monitoring

Action	Kind	Settings	Default key
Safe areas	Switch
Centre cross	Switch

Plans

• The External Control window opens on every plan.
• Keyboard bindings work on every plan. The action a key runs meets the same plan check as its button.
• MIDI, OSC, HID and Tally need Studio control surfaces (included from the Pro plan up). Without it no port is opened, nothing listens and no device is read.

See Plans and limits.

Related

Keyboard shortcuts

Every default key, for macOS and Windows.

Logs

Show Control Monitor lists each key press, MIDI message and OSC message Cliqer sees and what it did.