Docs/Rack FX
The tablet remote
The rack on an iPad or Android tablet, plugin windows included - you walk the room and still have everything at hand.
Walk to the stage, the front of house or the monitor world with the rack in your hand: Shadow Rack shows up on any iPad or Android tablet, just like on the Mac – plugin windows included. There's nothing to install. The tablet opens an address in its web browser, and a finger works as the mouse.
The audio never waits for the tablet. If the Wi-Fi drops, the rack keeps playing; the tablet reconnects by itself when it can.
Switching it on#
- Open Setup > Tablet (or View > Tablet...).
- Click TABLET REMOTE: OFF so it reads TABLET REMOTE: ON.
- Put the tablet on the same network as the Mac.
- Point the tablet's camera at the QR code on the page, or type the address shown under OPEN ON THE TABLET into its browser - for example
http://192.168.1.20:8765/, or the Mac's name,http://Studio-Mac.local:8765/. - Enter the PIN shown on the Mac.
While it's off (the default), nothing listens on the network at all: the page says Switched off - nothing listens on the network. If the Mac has no network, it says This Mac isn't on a network.
The PIN#
A tablet has to enter the 4-digit PIN once before it can see and control the rack. After that the tablet is remembered – the page shows how many there are: Asked once on each tablet (2 remembered).
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| PIN ASKED / PIN NOT ASKED | Whether a PIN is needed. Not asked: anyone on the network can use the rack |
| NEW PIN | A new PIN for tablets from now on; tablets already remembered stay in (use FORGET TABLETS for those) |
| FORGET TABLETS | Every tablet has to give the PIN again; those connected now are dropped |
After five wrong PINs, entry is locked for a while - longer each time, up to a minute.
What the tablet shows#
The tablet shows Shadow Rack's own windows. Along its top:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Window tabs | The rack, plus a tab for each plugin you opened in its own window |
| ON TABLET | The rack on the tablet's own screen (below) |
| MENU | All of the app's menus in one pop-up - a tablet has no menu bar |
| ⌨ | The tablet's keyboard, for names and searches |
| ESC | The Escape key |
| ⇧ ⌥ ⌘ ⌃ | Work on the next touch – tap twice to keep one on (⇧ gives fine adjustment in many plugins) |
| FIT | Back from zoom |
| ⛶ | Full screen |
On the right, a status read-out: VIDEO, PICTURES or MIRROR (how the screen comes over), and the round-trip time.
Touch#
| Gesture | Works as |
|---|---|
| One finger | The mouse: tap = click, drag = drag; lists scroll like on a phone |
| Hold, let go | Right-click |
| Two fingers | Scroll (the mouse wheel) |
| Pinch | Zoom in; then two fingers move around, FIT goes back |
A card with these appears the first time a tablet connects; tap it to close.
Mac pointer follows (on by default) moves the Mac's own pointer to where the tablet touches, because some plugins ask the pointer where it is. Switch it off if someone uses the Mac's mouse at the same time.
ON TABLET: the rack on the tablet's own screen#
Usually the tablet mirrors what's on the Mac's screen. When you press ON TABLET, the rack window moves to a screen of its own, the tablet's size, and comes to the tablet as smooth, sharp video. The Mac's screens stay free - for an analyser, for example. Menus, pop-ups and plugin windows open on the tablet too.
Setup > Tablet then says The rack is on the tablet's own screen - not on this Mac's. To have it back on the Mac:
- click Shadow Rack's icon in the Dock, or
- View > Show the rack on this Mac, or
- RACK BACK ON THIS MAC in Setup > Tablet.
A rack that was in full screen leaves it while on the tablet and goes back to full screen when it returns.
Network notes#
- The tablet and the Mac must be on the same network. A small router of your own at the desk is the most reliable; a venue's guest Wi-Fi often keeps devices from seeing each other.
- The address uses port 8765. If another program has taken it, Shadow Rack uses another port (the page shows the right address) and takes 8765 back as soon as it's free.
- CONNECTED NOW lists each tablet with its address, round-trip time, pictures per second and data rate; dropped ... lines say why a tablet dropped off.
- File dialogs (open, save) appear inside the rack window while the rack is on a tablet, so you can use them there.
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