Device Mode

The Device Mode page sets how the FrenschPress works: as a QLab remote (QLab Mode), with your own macros (Custom Mode) or as a surface for Bitfocus Companion (Companion Mode).

Switching mode takes effect immediately. The LED Brightness slider sits beside the settings of the active mode. Save Settings saves the form settings of the active mode. On the device itself, you change mode with a button combination.

QLab Mode

In QLab Mode the FrenschPress controls QLab: via MIDI Show Control (MSC) over USB, or via OSC over the network.

LED colours in QLab Mode:

• All three buttons light white (#FFFFFF) by default. Set the colour under LED Color.
• PAUSE lights orange while paused. This also applies with MSC.
• GO lights green while cues are running. This needs OSC feedback from QLab, so it requires a network connection.

USB connection (MIDI MSC)

The FrenschPress is plug and play: connect it to the QLab computer over USB and it works. Both USB ports carry MSC while they run as MIDI device ports. With USB 2 in host mode, that port is not available for MSC.

Field	Meaning
LED Color	Colour of the button LEDs in QLab Mode
Device ID	MSC target ID. 0–126 addresses a specific device, 127 is All-Call.
Checkboxes on STOP and PAUSE	Disable the button or enable it again

Apply changes with Save Settings.

Network connection (OSC)

Requirements:

• OSC is enabled in QLab. The QLab documentation explains how. Without OSC in QLab, neither OSC mode nor the scan works.
• A target exists for the QLab computer, plus a second one for the backup computer if you use one (see Network Targets & Plugins).

Manual setup:

1. Enable Network Control.
2. Pick the target for the master system in the dropdown.
3. Optionally pick a second target for the backup system.

In OSC mode the button LEDs show the cue state (Playing, Paused) as feedback.

Automatic setup (QLab/GoButton Scan)

1. In the Tools menu, choose Tools & device → QLab/GoButton Scan. A blue running light shows the scan is in progress.
2. Green flashing: setup succeeded. Red flashing: no suitable QLab host was found.
3. If the workspace needs a passcode or workspace ID, enter it on the relevant target afterwards.

Alternatively, in QLab Mode, hold the encoder for five seconds. This switches between MSC and OSC. Switching to OSC starts the search; if no host is found, MSC stays active. If you only want to search again without switching transport, use the scan in the Tools menu.

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Custom Mode

In Custom Mode you map every button and every encoder gesture yourself, with up to three mappings per control (button sets). Save complete layouts as a preset and load them again.

The web interface shows the FrenschPress as a picture of the device: the encoder with its LEFT, RIGHT and PUSH gestures, and the three buttons with their LED frames. Clicking a button or an encoder gesture opens the mapping dialog. Mapping on the Streamdeck page follows the same principle.

Controller view

Area	Function
Preset picker in the right column	Pick a preset, Save as Preset and Update Preset (see Presets)
Default Target	Pre-selected target for new network commands, with Manage targets beside it (see Single command)
SET A / SET B / SET C	Switches the device's active button set. The active set is highlighted.
Device picture	The eight controls: < LEFT, RIGHT >, PUSH + LEFT, PUSH + RIGHT, PUSH, STOP, GO and PAUSE

Each control shows its name and, below it, the macro mapped to it in the active set, or Unassigned. STOP, GO and PAUSE carry a frame in their LED colour for the active set.

Mapping by click

1. At the top, pick the set you want to edit: SET A, SET B or SET C. The device picture then shows that set's mappings.
2. Click a button or encoder gesture. The dialog opens, titled with the control and the set, e.g. GO · Set B.
3. Pick a macro and, for STOP, GO and PAUSE, set the LED colour.
4. Confirm with Save.

The dialog always maps the active set.

Field	Function
Macro	The same macro picker as everywhere else: pick an existing macro or create one via Quick Create / Multi-Step (see Creating commands)
LED colour	STOP, GO and PAUSE only. The colour shows live on the button while you pick it. Save keeps it, Cancel restores the previous colour.

Live view

The view mirrors what happens on the device:

• Held buttons (STOP, GO, PAUSE, PUSH) light up for as long as they are pressed.
• Encoder turns flash briefly on the matching direction, or on PUSH + LEFT / PUSH + RIGHT while the encoder is pushed.
• Mappings and set changes made on the device, the Stream Deck, over OSC or from grandMA3 appear immediately.

Special states

State	Display
Opposite pair	When < LEFT and RIGHT > form a pair (up and down of the same value), both fields get an accent-coloured frame and a line runs from each towards the encoder. The same applies to PUSH + LEFT and PUSH + RIGHT.
Lighting macro on PUSH	With an Art-Net or sACN macro on PUSH, turning is a master fader. < LEFT and RIGHT > are then locked and open no dialog.

Phones

On a phone, the device picture and the mapping dialog remain usable. Settings sit below the controller view. Use SET A / SET B / SET C to choose the set you are editing, just as on a computer.

Mapping straight from the Stream Deck

With a Stream Deck attached, you can map STOP, GO, PAUSE and the encoder without a browser: pick MAP in the on-deck menu, then press the button or turn the encoder on the device.

Presets

A preset bundles the macro mappings for all buttons and the encoder, optionally with LED colours. Load presets from the preset picker, export and import them, or save the current layout as your own user preset.

Applying a preset to a set (A/B/C)

If a preset contains fewer than three button sets, a set picker dialog asks which slot it goes into when you apply it. The mappings of the other sets stay as they are.

Preset contains	Dialog options
1 set	Set A · Set B · Set C. The preset is copied into the chosen slot.
2 sets	A+B · B+C. The preset starts at the chosen slot.
3 sets	No dialog. All three sets are overwritten directly.

tip

Presets from the plugin repository (e.g. TC Master Clock) often contain only one or two sets. The set picker lets you add them to an existing layout without losing the rest.

Button sets (A / B / C)

Every button and every encoder gesture has three mappings: button sets A, B and C. What a button triggers depends on the active set. Function and LED colour are set per button and per set.

In the controller view, switch sets with SET A / SET B / SET C. The device picture then shows that set's mappings and LED colours. To switch sets from the device or over OSC, see Switching button sets.

Default LED colours in Custom Mode:

Button set	Default colour
Set A	Gold #ffb300
Set B	Cyan #00c0ff
Set C	Magenta #ff00c3

Available command types

Protocol	Commands
MIDI	Note, Control Change, Program Change & SysEx via USB and RTP-MIDI (Apple MIDI)
OSC	Open Sound Control, optionally with QLab passcode
HTTP	GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
TCP	OSC, MIDI, RAW socket
Art-Net	DMX values with universe/channel, optional fade, unicast/broadcast
sACN	DMX values with universe/channel, optional fade, unicast/multicast
Delay	Wait time between macro steps in milliseconds
Snapshot	Art-Net/sACN DMX recorder for up to 10 universes
TimeCode	MTC transport or internal timecode (see Timecode)
Switch Set	Switch selected device controls to Set A/B/C
Variable	Writes a variable on the device, multi-step editor only

Checking a snapshot (Snapshot Monitor)

A snapshot macro records the Art-Net/sACN values that are live at that moment. The Snapshot Monitor shows what ended up in it without firing the snapshot. Use it before a show to check that the snapshot holds what it should.

1. In the macro library or the macro editor, click Monitor next to the snapshot macro.
2. At the top, pick the universe if the snapshot recorded more than one.
3. Optionally enable Non-zero only. Channels at 0 are hidden, leaving just what the snapshot actually drives.

See Snapshots for setup, recording and selective edits.

The encoder as a master fader

When the encoder push carries an Art-Net or sACN macro (a normal one or a snapshot), turning becomes a master fader for exactly that macro. Pushing still switches the macro on and off.

There is no setting for this; it follows from the mapping. Put a lighting macro on the push and turning is a level. Take it away and turning does whatever it is mapped to again.

Behaviour
The level belongs to the macro	Switching button set does not change the level you set.
After a restart	Every macro comes back at full.
Turning while it is off	Nothing changes on the wire, but the level is remembered. The next time the macro comes on, it goes to that level.
Turning during a fade	The fade keeps running and the master scales it.
Other macros on the same channels	HTP still applies: a dimmed macro loses against a brighter one.

Art-Net and sACN are missing from the turn dropdowns

Because the turn gesture is taken, Art-Net and sACN macros do not appear in the encoder turn dropdowns. The two turn fields are greyed out as soon as a lighting macro sits on the push. Push + turn stays freely assignable; that is a different gesture.

A macro already stored on a turn field stays visible and can still be removed.

The same applies to the encoders of a Stream Deck +. There, the matching key can show the level as a fade bar.

Switching button sets

The Switch Set macro switches between button sets. Assign it to any button and choose whether it switches individual buttons or all of them. A suitably configured encoder push can rotate through the three sets: A → B → C → A.

OSC works too: send /fpress/set "B" to the FrenschPress IP (see OSC).

Creating commands

1. In the device picture, click the control you want.
2. In the dialog, open the Macro field. The library appears.
3. Pick an existing macro or create a new one via Quick Create.
4. In Quick Create, choose the protocol and create a single command or pick a multi-step macro.

Actions on an entry

Clicking the entry itself assigns the macro to the control you opened the picker for. Each entry carries small buttons on its right:

Button	Effect
Edit	Opens the macro in the editor that fits it
Duplicate	Makes a copy and opens it for editing. Only on your own macros under Custom.
Test	Runs the macro once without assigning it
Delete	Deletes the macro

Duplicating a macro

Duplicate is the short route to a variant of an existing macro, such as the same sequence on a different channel or for a different target.

1. Press Duplicate on the macro you want.
2. The copy opens straight away in the editor that fits it: the single-command dialog or the multi-step editor.
3. Adjust it and save. The copy only exists on the device once you save. It is then assigned to the button, encoder or deck key you opened the picker from.

Property	What the copy carries
Name	<name> Copy, with a number appended if needed, so no name occurs twice
Contents	Every step, parameter and sequence (On Press, On Next Press, On Release) identical
Counters	Use count and "last used" start at zero. The copy is a new macro, not a continuation.

Not available everywhere

Duplicate appears only on your own macros in the Custom category. Device libraries are curated collections; a copy belongs in your own macros. Snapshot macros have no Duplicate either: their recorded DMX values are tied to the macro ID, which a copy cannot carry.

Single command

1. For network macros, pick the target on the left.
2. On the right, under Select device, choose an installed plugin or a custom command. The plugin shows the relevant fields and fills in the values it needs.
3. Optionally test the macro straight away and set a "Time between Go". It prevents accidental double triggers.
4. Press Save Changes in the editor and confirm the name.

The macro is now assigned to the button and stored in the library under Custom. The former blueprint picker no longer exists. Commands & snapshots explains every field.

Default Target: the target chosen here is pre-selected when you create commands. If a Default Plugin is also set for this target, it is pre-selected as well.

Multi-step macro

1. In the dialog, enter a name and description for the new macro.
2. Build the sequence of steps in the step editor below. Reorder steps by drag and drop.
3. Save with Save Changes.

The macro is assigned to the button and stored in the library under Custom or under the device name you set.

Sequences: Press, Next Press, Release

A multi-step macro can hold three separate step sequences. Only On Press is mandatory; you add the other two with a checkbox in the editor.

Sequence	When it runs	Typical use
On Press	On a normal button press	The default case
On Next Press	On every other press, alternating with On Press	Toggle: on/off, lights up/down, mute/unmute
On Release	When the button is released	Button-up actions, cleanup, momentary behaviour

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Companion Mode

In Companion Mode the FrenschPress acts as a satellite surface for Bitfocus Companion. Labels and colours then come from Companion.

1. In Companion, check that the Satellite listen port is 16622. The web interface uses this fixed port.
2. Connect: either enter the Companion IP and save it with Save Settings, or set up the discovered FrenschPress under Surfaces in Companion.
3. In Companion, set the surface's start page and assignments.

Connection setup in the web interface walks through the connection again step by step.

LEDs: while no Companion host is connected, the LEDs flash red. Once connected, they show the colours from Companion. Without feedback from Companion they stay off (black).

The controller preview shows the button text arriving from Companion:

Display	Meaning
Waiting for Companion	No text has arrived yet.
No text label	Companion supplies no text for this control.

The preview is a display only. Assign your own macros in Custom Mode. A connected Stream Deck can work locally regardless, or be handed to Companion with Stream Deck as Companion surface (see Stream Deck as a Companion surface).

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Timecode & Timeline

MTC Master, the MTC bridge between the USB ports, Art-Net timecode and the time-driven Timeline have their own section:

• Timecode Overview: MTC Master as a macro step, bridge, live display, LED feedback
• Art-Net Timecode: enabling, health monitor, quick tuning, transport
• Timeline: firing macros frame-accurately from timecode

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Stream Deck

With a Stream Deck attached to the USB host port, a dedicated Streamdeck page appears. Key mapping there uses the same macro picker as Custom Mode, but has no button sets: one macro per control. See Configuring the Stream Deck.

You can also map keys right on the deck: hold an unassigned key for 2 seconds, or pick MAP in the on-deck menu.

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HID Mode

Instead of a MIDI device, the FrenschPress can enumerate as a USB keyboard and mouse. While HID Mode is active, USB MIDI and macros are disabled. See HID Mode.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Scan flashes red	No suitable QLab host found	Enable OSC in QLab and scan again. Otherwise set up the targets manually.
MSC stays active after holding the encoder	No host was found when switching to OSC	As above: check OSC in QLab, then switch or scan again
GO does not light green while cues run	No OSC feedback, e.g. with MSC over USB	Set up the network connection (OSC)
LEDs flash red in Companion Mode	No Companion host connected	Check the Companion IP and the Satellite port 16622 in Companion
Companion is skipped when changing mode on the device	No Companion host entered	Enter the Companion IP and save with Save Settings
< LEFT and RIGHT > open no dialog	An Art-Net or sACN macro sits on PUSH; turning is the master fader	Intended. For a different mapping, remove the lighting macro from the push.
Buttons send no MIDI and trigger no macros	HID Mode is active	Disable HID Mode in Settings