MIDI Device with Bitfocus Companion

This tutorial explains how to use a MIDI device to control Companion (by Bitfocus) using ShowCockpit

Connnecting one or multiple MIDI devices to Bitfocus Companion

1. Add Companion element to ShowCockpit

On the Elements section, click the Add button to add an Companion element to the project:

• Other > Bitfocus > Companion

Review the element options

Check the Companion application for the IP address and the port.

They both should match on the element options, even if both applications are running within the same computer.

Enable the Element

Click the toggle button on the element to enable it.

2. Add MIDI device element

Use the Add button again to add your MIDI device element through External Control > MIDI. Currently, ShowCockpit has out-of-the-box support for multiple MIDI devices - check out the complete compatibility list here.

If your device is not listed, you will need to use the Generic MIDI driver and map your device controls manually.

When using a specific MIDI device driver, you can skip to Step 4.

Set Element Options

After adding the element, make sure that the correct device is selected under both Input Device and Output Device options.

Enable the Element

Finally, click the toggle button on the MIDI device element to enable it.

3. Learn MIDI Controls (Generic MIDI only)

In case you selected the Generic MIDI driver, now you need to "teach" this driver what controls (faders, buttons and encoders) your device has. For the officially supported MIDI devices, controls are automatically mapped, so you can skip to the next step.

Double-click the Generic MIDI element to open its window - you will start by mapping the Faders. Click on Enable Learn on the top-right to start listening to MIDI input.

• Move, one-by-one, all Faders on your MIDI device. They will be added to the Faders list.

• To map the Buttons, click on Buttons (above the table) and repeat the procedure now for all your device buttons.

• Finally, map your Encoders by clicking on Encoders and repeat the procedure for all the encoders.

You can now close the Generic MIDI window by clicking Back to Elements or clicking on any menu button.

4. Mapping

To start mapping the MIDI element to Companion buttons, drag a new connection from the output (right side) of the MIDI element to the input (left side) of the Companion element.

This will bring you to the Mapping section. This section is divided into 3 columns, from left to right:

• Functions

• Parameters

• Controls

On the left, you should have the Companion element selected on the Functions column and you should be able to select a function (for example, "Button Control"). When you select the function, the function button will be highlighted and the second column will have the parameters for the function. In this case, you can select which button you want to control and from which page.

Example mapping button 2 of the first Companion page

On the right side (Controls column), you should have your MIDI device element. Open the Buttons list and click on one of the buttons to assign the function.

If you now press the mapped button, you should see the function being triggered in Companion, acting exactly as if you pressed a button in the Elgato StreamDeck.

Repeat the process for all desired buttons.