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Using The App

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Riqqqque edited this page Aug 2, 2026 · 2 revisions

Using The App

OpenLaunchDeck keeps editing, testing, and live hardware use separate so configuring a pad does not accidentally trigger it.

Main Window

Area Purpose
Header Shows the active profile/page, connection state, and shortcuts for reconnect, MIDI Debug, soundboard, and updates
Deck Library Selects profiles and pages; creates, duplicates, deletes, imports, and exports them
Launchpad Grid Displays the active 8x8 page and selects a pad for editing
Button Editor Changes the selected pad's label, color, state, notes, action, and action settings
Status Bar Shows device state, current profile/page, last pad, last result, Simulation mode, and update state

Selecting Is Not Running

  • Click an on-screen pad to select it.
  • Press the physical Launchpad pad to run it.
  • Click Test Action to intentionally run the selected button from the editor.

Physical presses and Test Action use the same action runner, confirmation rules, result handling, and lighting feedback.

Button Editor

Every button has:

  • ID from A1 through H8
  • Label
  • Color
  • Enabled state
  • Dangerous confirmation option
  • Notes
  • Action type and action-specific settings; fixed option sets use drop-downs
  • Optional icon reference
  • Optional active, success, and error colors in the profile format

Disabled buttons stay visible in the editor but do not run. Dangerous buttons need a second press within five seconds.

The Hotkey action uses modifier controls plus a searchable key drop-down. Switch Page lists the pages in the current profile. Names that come from an external system, such as an OBS scene or source, remain text fields because they must match that external application exactly.

Editor Commands

  • Test Action runs the selected button.
  • Clear replaces it with an empty button.
  • Copy stores its full configuration in the app clipboard.
  • Paste applies the copied configuration to the selected pad.

Grid Display

Each pad can show its ID, label, action name, configured color, disabled state, dangerous armed state, and sound-playing state.

Choose a grid density in Settings:

  • Compact for smaller windows
  • Comfortable for normal editing
  • Large for a bigger second-monitor view

Use View > Focus Launchpad Grid to hide the editor and sidebar and give the grid more room. This is an in-app focus view, not exclusive monitor fullscreen.

Profiles And Pages

  • A profile is a complete deck setup.
  • A page is one 8x8 layout inside a profile.
  • A button is one pad configuration on one page.

Changing the active page updates the on-screen grid and refreshes Launchpad lighting. Use a Switch Page action on a grid pad for physical page navigation.

See Profiles, Pages, and Macros for safe organization patterns.

Menus

File

  • Import Profile
  • Export Profile
  • Quit

Edit

  • Copy Button Config
  • Paste Button Config
  • Clear Button

View

  • Focus Launchpad Grid

Device

  • Connect
  • Disconnect
  • Reconnect
  • MIDI Debug

Profiles

  • Profile Manager

Soundboard

  • Open Soundboard Panel
  • Stop All Sounds

Settings

  • Settings

Help

  • Check for Updates
  • Open Logs Folder
  • Copy Diagnostic Info
  • About OpenLaunchDeck

Soundboard Panel

The panel shows active sounds, the selected output route, global volume, and stop controls. Use Stop All Sounds when a loop or overlapping clip needs to end immediately.

System Tray And Background Use

When Minimize to tray is enabled, closing the window can keep OpenLaunchDeck running so hardware, sound playback, and microphone routing stay available.

The tray menu can reopen the window, show the current profile/page, reconnect MIDI, stop all sounds, check for updates, or quit.

Use File > Quit or the tray Quit command when you want the process to stop completely.

Startup And External Layout Tools

OpenLaunchDeck is single-instance and supports these launch flags:

OpenLaunchDeck.exe --show
OpenLaunchDeck.exe --background
  • --show or --focus asks the existing instance to display and restore its window.
  • --background or --start-minimized starts without taking foreground space.

External startup or window-layout utilities should use one of these explicit modes rather than starting multiple independent copies.

Status Messages

The status bar reports the last action result. A failure there is meant to be actionable; open the logs when more technical detail is needed.

Use Help > Copy Diagnostic Info before filing a report. Review the copied text and remove sensitive information.

Next Pages

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OpenLaunchDeck

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