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DMX Core

Configuring a Surface

Open a surface from Control & Integrations > Control Surfaces to edit it. The editor shows the live device connection status at the top, and is organized around three concepts: banks, sections, and assignments.

Control surface editor with banks, sections, and the assignment grid

Sections

A section is a physical region of the device — a pad grid, a row of knobs, a fader strip. A Stream Deck +, for example, has three sections out of the box: Buttons (8 pads), Knobs (4 controls), and Knob Presses (4 pads).

Each section has:

  • Label — a name for the region
  • Widget type — Pad (buttons) or Slider (levels)
  • Columns — the grid layout, plus a Reversed option for devices numbered the other way
  • Bank-scoped — whether the section participates in banks (see below)

Banks

Banks multiply the addressable controls on a small device: each bank holds its own set of assignments for every bank-scoped section, and switching banks swaps them all at once. A 8-pad device with 4 banks gives you 32 buttons.

  • Each bank has a name and active/inactive colors, used for bank indicator feedback (and shown on the Stream Deck + LCD strip)
  • Sections marked pinned (not bank-scoped) keep the same assignments in every bank — ideal for a master volume knob or a global stop button
  • Bank switching is itself an assignable action (Next Bank / Switch Bank), and on the Stream Deck + you can also swipe the LCD strip

Assignments

Click a control in the section grid to edit its assignment:

  • Label — the text shown on LCD keys and in the operator view
  • Action — what the control does. Available action types: Apply Ambient Preset, Apply Preset, Control Value (set / up / down), Fade Out, Fire Output Event, Next Bank / Switch Bank, Play Cue, Play Sound, Play Timeline, Run Script, Step Effect, Stop Playback, Tap Tempo, Toggle Mute, and Toggle Schedule
  • Press mode — Normal, Toggle on/off, or Flash (hold)

Appearance and LED feedback

Each assignment also controls how the button looks and how its LED behaves:

  • Icon — an icon name (e.g. play, stop); leave empty for text-only buttons
  • Font size — negative values render bold; set to 0 with an icon for icon-only keys
  • Background — Active — shown while the action is engaged (preset playing, schedule on, mute on) or briefly during a tap-flash
  • Background — Inactive — shown while the action is at rest

Colors accept names (Blue, Red, Green, …) or hex codes (#FF0000). On devices with simple LEDs (like the KD-WP8), the active/inactive colors map to the nearest LED state.

Testing Your Layout

You don’t need the physical device in hand to build a layout — click Operate at any time to drive the surface from the browser. See Surface Operator.