I use multiple displays for multiple operators on my vMix PC. I thought I had everything working well but I can't get over this little hurdle. So stay with me as I explain this in detail.

I decided to go with an X-Keys 32 button controller based on some of the threads I read on the forum. Basically it maps keyboard keys that can drive shortcuts within vMix. My keyboard doesn't have a numpad, so I mapped all the numpad keys to the XKeys controller for Program, Preview, Fade & Cut. There is no way for my other operators to "accidentally" switch my video unless they are using the XKeys unit. Works great!

The next problem arose when I started using my second monitor for Instamt Replay and Audio control. instant Replay operator uses a Shuttle Pro v2 with custom shortcuts. The 3rd operator (usually me) uses the keyboard and mouse along with a Korg Nano controller to monitor audio and drive any overlays and graphics for my production like time clock and lower thirds. With my mouse focus on the second monitor (and sometimes digging through other windows and programs temporarily, XKeys would lose the ability to control the shortcuts within vMix. For example if I opened notepad and pressed a button on the XKeys controller it would enter the corresponding Numpad number that was programmed to that key (so if numpad #4 switched to camera 4 in vMix, with notepad open it would just enter the number 4 into notepad instead.

Again I found the solution on the forums with Auto Hotkeys. With a simple script you can relay any button press (I specify my numpad buttons) to a certain program. So no matter what program or window has my focus, when you press an XKeys button it directs that command to vMix. It works great.

But here is my problem... If I open a window within vMix, for example right clicking a List input to select a certain file from my list, while that window is open I cannot control the switcher functions. When I export my Instant Replay footage to a file, while the notification is open I also can't control the switcher.

If I program the same shortcuts to my Shuttle Pro v2 it does not suffer from this problem. I'm not sure if there is another workaround to allow this to work with the equipment I have or if I need to purchase a different style controller. Any help would be appreciated.

Chuck

These alternate vMix windows are most likely modal dialogs, are they not? If so, until they are dismissed, the main interface is in a sense locked out.

What windows in vMix exactly are open when you loose control?
It may be possible for some to still be able to direct to the main gui interface.

Yes I use the find option but I had already programmed the controller memory for the specific buttons, so vMix sees it as the Numpad #. this may be another case of over complicating things on my end. Let me try to clear the program on XKeys and let vMix find the button on its own. Thanks.

Awesome Rack mounted x-Keys. I wasn't aware of that model!

I have a 128 key Pi3 Matrix board...
http://xkeys.com/xkeys/a...i3%20Matrix%20Board.html

I should try and do something with it one day, and see if it works with vMix.

Any Modal Dialog box. It's just a limitation with Auto Hotkeys. It directs the key press to vMix but then the keystroke goes to the menu that is active. If I press the "Take" key, which is the Numpad 0 key, it will scroll down in the menus as if you are pressing an arrow key.

But vMix doesn't see it Natively as other XKeys controllers apparently. I wiped the programed keys from the memory on the controller but vMix doesn't recognize any input from it...

So the XKeys 32 is directly supported but needs to be configured in "PID 1" mode.
The basic software for the XKeys should provide an option in one of the menus to do this, so have a look and let me know if this solves the problem.

Alright, I'm a little stuck. I can find a setting to change the PID, but none of the options will allow vMix to see any of the key presses on the XKEYS controller. It is listed as Device 1. The PID options are numbers 1279, 1280, 1281. But I've tried them all with no success. The PID is also referred to as Endpoints, but I'm not finding much information online about it. Any help you could give as far as what settings to select would be great.

Chuck

So today I installed the Macro Works software on my Production PC. After configuring the shortcuts in vMix to the XKeys controller Everything was working great. After shutting down the PC and restarting I lost all of the control from XKeys. The shortcuts were saved with the MIDI setting on Channel 2 note 0 for example. After the restart the XKeys was recognized as Channel 1.

I changed all the shortcuts to point to Channel 1 and saved the preset with everything working again. After shutdown and restart the controller is now listed as Channel 2 again and none of the shortcuts will work with the keys.

I also have a Korg Nano 2 that gets registered as Channel 1, but I can't find any way to change the Channel per device.

Hi Chuck,

Are you using two X-Keys devices by any chance?
The channel number is selected based on the order X-Keys devices appear in the system, so unless two are plugged in, it should always use Channel 1.

Regards,

Martin
vMix

UPDATE: I've been testing on my notebook, and I think my problem is Windows auto starts MacroWorks 3.1 on startup. When the software loads it clears my profile on the XKeys 32, the LED lighting is reset and I'm pretty sure it is creating a new profile. So I won't be able to tell for certain until tomorrow when I get back to my Production PC, but if I setup my profile and lighting on the XKeys and then make sure MacroWorks doesn't start with Windows everything works. I have also uninstalled the software completely on my notebook and I can unplug the device or restart without any problems.

But this is the exact solution I was looking for. I can switch video without worrying about window focus or keyboard command priorities. Thanks.

Chuck

UPDATE 2: after uninstalling all of the MacroWorks software I plugged in the XKeys 32 and it is working perfectly on my Production PC. Thanks for everything.