Using a Generic Control Surface

You can configure up to five generic MIDI control surfaces to work with the VEGAS Pro interface.

For information about your specific device, please refer to the manufacturer's documentation.

For more information about setting up a control surface, see Using a control surface

NOTE

  • If you have a MIDI controller that includes buttons and knobs or faders, you can use the device as an external control device. For an example of how you can set up a generic control surface to control tracks in your project, see Configuring a Generic Control Surface

  • Effects parameters cannot be adjusted with a generic controller.

IMPORTANT A generic control surface can control either trim or automation settings. In order to control automation settings, you must assign a button to place the control surface in automation mode, and the Automation Settings button on the track or bus you want to edit must be set to Automation Write (Touch) or Automation Write (Latch).

Customizing your control mappings

Use the External Control & Automation tab in the Preferences dialog to select the control surfaces you want to use and adjust their configuration.

  1. From the Options menu, choose Preferences to display the Preferences dialog.

  2. Select the External Control & Automation tab.

  3. Double-click the Generic Control entry in the Active control devices list to display the Configure Generic Control dialog.

  4. To add or change a function do the following:

    1. Choose a setting from the View function group drop-down list.

    2. Select the Learn check box.

    3. Select an command in the Host Command list and activate the control on your control surface.

    4. You can click the Edit button to fine-tune the MIDI message settings.

  5. Repeat step 4 for each command you want to make available on your control surface.

    TIP

    If you want to control audio and video tracks with your MIDI controller, you'll need to assign buttons to place the controller in Audio and Video mode.

    From the View function group drop-down list, choose Assign and then assign a MIDI message for the Set Audio Mode and Set Video Mode commands.

    You can then choose Audio Channels from the View function group drop-down list to configure controls for audio tracks, and choose Video Channels from the View function group drop-down list to configure controls for video tracks.

  6. To remove a function, select an item in the Host Command list and click the Reset button.

  7. To remove all functions, click the Reset All button.

  8. Click the Save As button to save your updated configuration file.

Loading a control mapping file

  1. From the Options menu, choose Preferences to display the Preferences dialog.

  2. Select the External Control & Automation tab in the Preferences dialog.

  3. Double-click the Generic Control entry in the Active control devices list to display the Configure Generic Control dialog.

  4. Click the Open button and browse to the mapping file you want to use.

  5. Click OK to apply your changes and return to the Preferences dialog.

  6. Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.