Using CuePads
2 min readDesktop App
CuePads give you a grid of instant-trigger buttons bound to cues — fire by click, keyboard, or MIDI. Learn banks, fire modes, and the warning badges.
What CuePads Are
CuePads (Create group, shortcut 3) give you a grid of instant-trigger buttons, each bound to a cue. Use them to fire cues on demand during a live show — by clicking, pressing keyboard keys, or sending MIDI from a controller. Available in all editions.
The Screen
- Bank rail (left edge) — a scrollable list of banks. Each bank is an independent grid of pads; click one to switch to it. Right-click any bank for the management menu (rename, duplicate, resize, lock, set color, delete).
- Pad grid (main area) — the matrix of pads for the selected bank. Each pad shows its assigned cue name and color, and lights up when it fires.
- Bank selector (bottom) — numbered tabs for quickly switching banks.
Pads can show warning badges:
- Circuit-breaker badge — the underlying output connection has tripped; the cue won't send until the connection recovers.
- Stale-cue badge — the pad's cue was deleted; reassign or remove the pad.
Common Tasks
- Trigger a pad — Click it, or use the keyboard (row 1 =
1–8, row 2 =Q–I, row 3 =A–K), or send a MIDI Note On from a controller — the pad fires on note-on and releases on note-off. - Set a pad's fire mode — Right-click → Mode:
- Trigger — fires once on press, no hold behavior.
- Toggle — first press fires, second press releases (use for held states like a strobe).
- Hold — fires on press and releases the moment you let go.
- Assign a cue to a pad — Drag a cue from the Cues screen onto a pad, or right-click the pad → Assign Cue.
- Manage banks — Right-click a bank to add, rename, duplicate, resize, lock, or color-code it. Locked banks can't be edited accidentally mid-show.
Tips & Gotchas
- Circuit-breaker badges mean the connection is down. Output to that device is suspended until it recovers automatically — check the Devices status.
- Stale-cue badges appear when a referenced cue is deleted. Right-click the pad to reassign or clear it.
- Keyboard coverage is limited to a 4×8 area. Pads beyond 4 rows × 8 columns can't be triggered from the keyboard; a hint banner appears when coverage is incomplete. Use MIDI for larger grids.
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