Skip to main content
This page covers what each kind of action actually does on the pad. It applies to both apps — where they differ, the table says so. For the step-by-step, see Change a key in Studio for Mac or in the browser.

​
The categories

A shortcut sends several keys at once, the way you’d press them yourself: ⌘C, ⇧⌘Z, Ctrl+Shift+T.The pad sends a normal keyboard combination, so it works in any app that listens for that combination — nothing runs in the background and no accessibility permission is needed.Modifiers you can combine: Command (⌘) / Windows, Control (⌃), Option (⌥) / Alt, Shift (⇧). Left and right variants are available where an app distinguishes them.In Studio for Mac you can record a shortcut by pressing it, or build it from modifiers and a key. In the browser you build it.
The pad sends the same codes regardless of the computer, so a shortcut built for macOS won’t work on Windows if the modifier differs. If you use the pad on both, put each system’s shortcuts on its own layer.
Any individual keystroke you’d find on a keyboard: letters, numbers, function keys up to F24, arrows, navigation keys, symbols, Escape, Tab, Enter, Delete.F13 to F24 are useful here — most systems leave them unassigned, so they make good triggers for your own automation software.
These work at the operating-system level, so the target app doesn’t need to be in front. Play/Pause works from your editor, your terminal, anywhere.Playback: Play/Pause, Stop, Previous track, Next track, Rewind, Fast forwardVolume: Volume up, Volume down, MuteDisplay: Brightness up, Brightness downBrowser: Back, Forward, Refresh, Home, Search
The exact list comes from your firmware. If an action isn’t in the picker, your firmware build may not include it — see Advanced customization.
A layer key changes which set of assignments is active.
If you use Switch to, make sure the destination layer has a key that gets you back — otherwise you’ll need to reconnect to the configurator to fix it.
More in Layers on Mac and Layers in the browser.
The pad has 16 RGB LEDs underneath producing an underglow. You control them with keys on the pad — press the key, watch the pad.Automatic power saving. After 30 seconds without a key press or dial turn, the lights fade out over 8 seconds and switch off. Press a key or turn the dial and they come back. Lights you switched off yourself stay off.
A profile colour in Studio for Mac is different: it temporarily overrides the colour while an app is in front, and the pad’s own colour and effect return afterwards. It won’t turn the lights on if you’ve switched them off.
Keys that manage which device the pad talks to.Full detail in Bluetooth profiles.
Clear all profiles is destructive and has no confirmation on the pad itself. Think twice before putting it somewhere easy to hit.
An Open app key opens a Mac app, or brings it to the front if it’s already running. You pick any app installed on your Mac, and the key works on Default and on every profile, over USB or Bluetooth.The pad only reports the key press. Studio for Mac does the opening, so the key needs Studio for Mac running — it lives in the menu bar, so that’s normally always — and MinimalPad firmware 0.5.0 or newer. With Studio for Mac quit, or on another computer, the key does nothing.The step-by-step is in Change a key in Studio for Mac.
Nothing means the key does nothing at all on this layer. Use it when you want a key deliberately dead.Inherit (called Transparent in the browser) means the key falls through to whatever the layer below does. This is the default for new layers, and it’s why an app profile only needs the keys that actually differ.
The dial has two inputs, and they’re not equal:
  • Pressing it is a normal key position. Assign it like any of the 16 keys.
  • Turning it can be set for each layer in Studio for Mac: volume, a scroll, zoom, light brightness or colour, or two keys of your own — see The dial. Studio for browser shows it as read-only.
On the default keymap the dial changes the volume and mutes when pressed. On the Connections & LEDs layer it changes the light brightness, and pressing it switches the lights on or off.