Controller actions
You can bind each action below to a key on a supported controller or a standard keyboard. To assign a key, see Connect a controller.
Supported hardware
| Device | Notes |
|---|---|
| Preh KeyTec | Programmable key panel. Import a .mwf layout file to show the legends of the physical keys in the assignment view. |
| Launchpad | Grid pad. Keys for Hot button or Hot button at page position show the colour of the hot button. Go to page keys show which page is on the screen. Other actions use a custom Pad color. |
| Standard keyboard | USB or Bluetooth. You assign its keys the same way as controller buttons. |
On a Stream Deck or a Preh KeyTec panel, each key can also show its own Label.
Dedicated hardware controllers are available on Audio and higher plans. Keyboard binding is available on all plans. See Plans and limits.
Steps
A key can run more than one step. The Actions card of a key lists the steps, also when the key has one step. A step is one of the actions on this page.
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| + Add step ▾ | Opens a menu of the actions, in groups: Hot buttons, Views, Playback, Sequences, Perimeter, Overlays, Sound and streams and Lighting and show control. |
| Handle | Drag a step to change its place in the list. |
| Row | The number, the kind and the detail of the step. + release shows on a step that also sends a message on release. Pro required shows on a Send OSC step below Pro. |
| ✕ | Deletes the step. |
| STEP n | The editor of the selected step, below the list. |
A push runs the steps in list order, with no delay. A key with 2 or more steps shows a count in the layout. Multi-step keys follow the plan rules of controllers: keyboard on all plans, hardware on Audio and higher.
Key settings
The Key card (Pad on a Launchpad) holds the settings of the key itself. They do not depend on the action.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Label | The text on the key. An empty Label shows the name of the action. |
| Display | Tile, Picture or Color, on a Stream Deck. |
| Key color / Pad color | The color of the key. Hot button color follows the hot button. |
| Clear key… / Clear pad… | Removes the actions and the look of the key. The app asks you first. |
The settings are disabled, with the text Choose an action first, until the key has a step. The look stays when you delete or move the first step.
Send OSC
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Send OSC | Sends an OSC message to a target. With Also send on release, it sends a second message when you release the key. | Target, Address, Arguments, Also send on release |
This action is available with a Pro licence. Below Pro, the + Add step ▾ menu shows Pro required for the action, and a Send OSC step that you made before does not send. See OSC control.
Hot button
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Hot button | Fires the hot button. A second press while the hot button plays stops and rewinds it. | Hot button |
| Hot button at page position | Fires the hot button at this row and column of the page on the screen. After you change the page, the same key fires the hot button of the new page. | Row, Column |
Stream
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Take stream | The first press shows the stream on the full canvas and the next press removes it. The key is lit when the stream is on air. When you disable the stream, the take ends. When you remove the stream, the key loses its binding. In Tile mode, the key shows Label, or "Stream" if Label is empty. | Stream, Canvas, Label |
This action needs a Pro licence. Below Pro, the assignment dialog does not show it, but ArenaDirector keeps any binding you made before.
Page
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Go to page | Changes the grid to a specific page. | Page number |
| Next page | Next page. | — |
| Previous page | Previous page. | — |
View
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle view | Changes between the hot button grid and the other main view. | — |
| Go to view | Opens a specific view by its number. | View number |
Sequence, by name
You make one binding for each sequence. After you select the action, the Sequence picker appears and you choose the sequence there.
| Action | Does |
|---|---|
| Start sequence | Starts the sequence from the beginning. |
| Stop sequence | Stops the sequence. |
| Next step of sequence | Moves to the next cue. In step mode, it moves a lane one step. |
| Pause sequence | Pauses the sequence. |
| Previous step of sequence | Moves back to the previous cue. |
| Select sequence | Moves the selection in the Sequences view to this sequence. |
Sequence, whichever is selected
These actions work on whichever sequence is selected in the Sequences view, so one set of keys controls every sequence without new bindings.
| Action | Does |
|---|---|
| Select next sequence | Selects the next sequence in the list. |
| Select previous sequence | Selects the previous sequence. |
| Start selected sequence | Starts the selected sequence. |
| Stop selected sequence | Stops the selected sequence. |
| Next step of selected sequence | Moves the selected sequence to the next cue. |
Overlay
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Change overlay value | Adds a quantity to a field. Use a negative quantity to count down. | Field + amount |
| Set overlay value | Sets a field to a fixed value. | Field + value |
| Overlay timer | Controls a timer field: start, stop, toggle, or reset. | Timer + operation |
| Show or hide overlay | Shows an overlay, hides it, or toggles it. | Overlay + operation |
| Report penalty | Starts a penalty for the team. With a player number, the penalty is for that player. With None, it is a team penalty. | Team, Player number, Penalty |
| End penalty | Ends one active penalty of the team. Shortest ends the penalty with the least time left of the penalties that the rules let end early, and does nothing if the team has no such penalty. Oldest ends the penalty that was reported first, of any kind. | Team + Shortest or Oldest |
| Record player stat | Adds one to a stat of the player, for example a goal, or the Step. A goal or a point also adds to the score of the team. A stat with a time also starts a penalty. With None, the key does nothing. | Team, Player number, Stat, Step |
| Pick stat | Selects a player stat for a record with two keys. With Any team, the stat is for a player of any team. | Stat, Team (optional), Step |
| Pick player | Selects a player for a record with two keys. | Team, Player number |
| Switch possession | Gives possession to the next team in the list. After the last team, it gives possession to the first team. If no team has possession, the first team gets it. | — |
| Spotlight player | Puts the player in the spotlight. With Clear, it removes the player that is in the spotlight. | Team, Player number |
| Undo last record | Cancels the last penalty or player stat that you recorded. | — |
| Next period | Starts the next period. The team stats that reset each period or each half reset to their start value. It does not ask you to confirm. | — |
Step shows only for a stat that scores in steps, for example +1, +2 and +3 for the points in basketball. The key label then shows the step, for example "Points +2". Without a Step, a key adds 1.
Only these penalties can end early: the minor and the double minor in ice hockey, the 2-minute penalty in floorball and the red card in futsal. When more than 2:00 remain on a double minor, ending it cuts it to 2:00, its second minor, instead of ending it; Oldest still ends it.
Record with two keys
Push a Pick stat key and a Pick player key, in either order, to record the stat for the player. These rules apply:
| Event | Result |
|---|---|
| You push the second key in 5 seconds or less | The app records the stat for the player. |
| 5 seconds go by after the first key | The app cancels the first key. |
| You push a second key of the same action | The new key replaces the first key. |
| The Team of the Pick stat key is not the team of the player | The app cancels the two keys and records nothing. |
| The team has no player with the number | The app cancels the two keys and records nothing. |
While the app waits for the second key, the first key shows it is waiting: a Stream Deck key shows a frame and a Launchpad pad flashes. The Players section of Live values shows Waiting for a player… or Waiting for a stat…. A record with two keys counts as a Record player stat record, so Undo last record cancels it.
The fields of team stats, for example nhf.timeouts, work with Change overlay value
and Set overlay value. Values that the app calculates, for example
nhf.on_court, stay as they are.
Record player stat, Spotlight player, Pick stat, Pick player and a player number on Report penalty need the Pro plan. Below Pro, Report penalty reports a team penalty.
Rotation
| Action | Does |
|---|---|
| Start rotation | Starts the rotation that you selected last in the rotation editor. If you did not select a rotation, or if you deleted it, the first rotation starts. |
This action needs a Pro licence.
Audio
| Action | Does | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Mute bus | Mutes the bus, or unmutes it. Without a Bus, it mutes the first bus. The bus shows Muted on its output card and next to its Volume. The mute stays until you push the key again or change the volume of the bus. A restart also unmutes the bus. | Bus (optional) |
Global
| Action | Does |
|---|---|
| Fade out all | Fades all active sources to silence and black. |
| Pause all | Pauses all playing sequences. |
| Stop all | Stops all playing sequences and all active hot buttons. |
| Blackout all | Makes all canvases black immediately. |
Bind Stop all and Blackout all to keys that are easy to identify in stage lights and hard to push by accident. These actions affect everything at once.