eyoControl Server is an optional, free Mac OS X application connecting eyoControl and your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software together. It is not required if you are configuring eyoControl to use the native MIDI capabilities of the iPad and/or using Windows. Otherwise, it provides greater flexibility over the MIDI port assignments between eyoControl and your DAW.

eyoControl Server requirements

  • a Mac computer (Intel/PPC). Requires Mac OS X v. 10.5 or later.
  • a local WIFI connection through which the iPad running eyoControl can connect to your Mac computer running eyoControl Server.

eyoControl Server is not currently compatible with Windows.

To learn about the pros and cons of using eyoControl Server vs. native MIDI, please read the eyoControl Connectivity page.

If you are not using Mac OS X or prefer using the native iPad wireless MIDI capabilities, please check the eyoControl set up page.

eyoControl Server has the following features:

  • routes up to 128 eyoControl instances to independent virtual MIDI ports.
  • for each connected eyoControl instance, displays the connection state, instance name, controller type, controller name.
  • while running, remembers the virtual MIDI ports used by eyoControl instances so those can be assigned the same MIDI port when reconnecting.
  • can save persistently the current assignments of MIDI ports and eyoControl instances so those can be restored at a later time.

eyoControl Server is intended to be used with eyoControl for iPad only, it will not be any useful to you in another context!

Installation

After having downloaded the dmg file, mount it and Install the eyoControl Server application on your Mac by drag and dropping the eyoControl Server icon in your Application folder (or any other folder).

Usage

It is recommended to launch eyoControl Server before your DAW so the virtual MIDI ports it is creating will be initially visible from your DAW software.

The main window of eyoControl Server displays a list of virtual MIDI ports (created by eyoControl Server) and associated instances of eyoControl (“Controller” column). Two virtual MIDI ports are created by default, one to accept a controller of type “control surface” (such as Surface), and another one to accept a controller of type “Instrument” (such as Pad or Keys). Many other virtual MIDI ports can be created automatically (up to 128) if more instances of eyoControl are connecting to the server. Refer to the paragraph on virtual MIDI ports/controllers associations to learn more about the logic being used to allocate new MIDI ports or reuse existing ones.

From the eyoControl Server toolbar can be selected the default DAW type to use when an instance of eyoControl is connecting to the server. This is currently only useful for control surface controllers, instrument controllers are not impacted by the default DAW type. To determine which DAW type to select function of the DAW software you are using, please refer to the DAW support page.

Selecting a default DAW type will make eyoControl Surface support this DAW when connecting to eyoControl Server. If Surface is already connected, changing the default DAW type will not change the DAW type of a currently connected instance of Surface. You can change the DAW type of a particular connected Surface instance by accessing the “DAW type” column of that instance in the eyoControl Server’s main window list of MIDI ports and associated controllers.

Virtual MIDI ports/controllers associations

When you first run eyoControl on your handheld, it requests to enter a name to associate this instance of eyoControl with. If you don’t enter at name at that point, a random name will be generated, and you can change the name later on through the eyoControl Preferences. This name is used by eyoControl Server to make associations between virtual MIDI ports and eyoControl instances.

The association rules when a new controller is connecting to eyoControl Server is made as follows:

  • if an instance of eyoControl with the same name has already been connected to a given virtual MIDI port since the server was started, or if this name is part of a set of loaded associations, the newly connecting eyoControl instance will be associated to this same MIDI port.
  • if the connecting instance name is not know by the server (which means this instance hasn’t connected to the server since it was started, or is not part of a previously opened association set), then the newly connecting instance will be associated to an available virtual MIDI port of the same type (type being Instrument or Control Surface), even if the MIDI port has previously been used by another instance of eyoControl.
  • if the connecting instance name is not know by the server (which means this instance hasn’t connected to the server since it was started, or is not part of a previously opened association set), and there is no free virtual MIDI port for the connecting controller type, a new virtual MIDI port will be created and the connecting instance will be associated to it.

Use the “File/Save associations…” menu to save the current state of MIDI ports/controllers associations into a file, which can be restored later on using the “File/Open associations…” menu. This way you can keep a large number of associations between virtual MIDI ports and instances of eyoControl, ensuring each eyoControl instance will reuse the same MIDI port it has been assigned to regardless of the order of connection to the server. If you associated a virtual MIDI port to a specific instrument on your DAW, this will ensure a given eyoControl instance will be playing the same instrument when reconnecting to the server.

eyoControl Server Preferences

Preferences are accessed from the “eyoControl Server/Preferences…” menu. Preferences enable to:

  • change the UDP port the server is listening on, if the default port value doesn’t suit your environment. You usually don’t need to change this value. If changing the listen port value, make sure instances of eyoControl connecting to this server have also been configured to connect to this same port number (check eyoControl Preferences view).
  • set up the maximum number of virtual MIDI ports eyoControl can create as controllers are connecting in. The maximum value for this field is 128.

Limitations

eyoControl Server does not currently enable to connect several instances of eyoControl to a same virtual MIDI port. Support for this feature is planned for a future version.