FOOTSW.INI, Footswitch configuration, Live setup

Hello, I’m German and new to this forum. Google Translate did the English translation for me. I bought the BeatBuddy used. I’m using it with a cheap 2-way switch (AMPERO SWITCH).

I wanted to program it for live performances so that it performs the following tasks (starting a song via the BeatBuddy button):

Button 1:

  • Song is playing, button 1 is pressed: Stop the song.

  • Song is stopped, button 1 is pressed again: The BeatBuddy’s song list should display the previous song.

  • Song is paused (by button 2), button 1 is pressed: Stop the song.

  • Song is stopped (by button 1 or the BeatBuddy button), button 1 is pressed: The BeatBuddy’s song list should display the previous song.

Button 2:

  • Song is playing, button 2 is pressed: Pause the song.

  • Song paused, button 2 pressed again: Song should resume playing.

  • Song stopped (by button 1 or BeatBuddy button), button 2 pressed: BeatBuddy’s song list should display the next song.

This configuration has proven effective. To implement this, I configured the “FOOTSW.INI” file, which BeatBuddy reads at system startup and which can be found on the SD card under “PARAMS”, as follows:

[INFO]
FW=…
ID= …

[FOOTSWITCH_ACTIONS]
#BUTTON 1 (LEFT)
PRIMARY_STOPPED=4 ; Stopped → Previous Song (4)
PRIMARY_PLAYING=4 ; Playing → Stop (4)
PRIMARY_PAUSED=4 ; Pause → Stop (4)

#BUTTON 2 (RIGHT)
SECONDARY_STOPPED=11 ; Stopped → Song FORWARD (11)
SECONDARY_PLAYING=3 ; Playing → Pause (3)
SECONDARY_PAUSED=3 ; Paused - > Play (3)

[PLAYER_BEHAVIOUR]
INTRO_FILL=1 ; Auto fill before intro
OUTRO_FILL=1 ; Auto fill before ending

#======== ACTION_ID REFERENCE: ============================
#3 = Pause (Play → Pause)
#3 = Pause (Pause → Play)
#4 = Ending
#5 = Half-Time / Half-Time End)
#11 = Song forward

#====== Copy of settings in case of changes =====================
#[FOOTSWITCH_ACTIONS]
#AMPERO SWITCH - BUTTON 1 (LEFT)
#PRIMARY_STOPPED=4 ; Stopped → Song BACK (4)
#PRIMARY_PLAYING=4 ; Playing → Stop (4)
#PRIMARY_PAUSED=4 ; Pause → Stop (4)

#AMPERO SWITCH - BUTTON 2 (RIGHT)
#SECONDARY_STOPPED=11 ; Stopped → Song FORWARD (11)
#SECONDARY_PLAYING=3 ; Playing → Pause (3)
#SECONDARY_PAUSED=3 ; Paused → Play (3)

#[PLAYER_BEHAVIOUR]
#INTRO_FILL=1 ; Auto Fill before Intro
#OUTRO_FILL=1 ; Auto Fill before Ending
#======================================

The “FOOTSW.INI” file can be edited on a PC (a backup should be made beforehand). If you use different projects, the file should be copied into each project folder if you want to use the settings in other projects as well.

Text after the “#” character is a comment and is not read by BeatBuddy. It appears at the beginning of the line.

Comments are also marked with “;”. However, comments marked this way appear after a statement.

The lines below [INFO] in your FOOTSW.INO file should not be changed. These lines indicate the firmware version and BeatBuddy ID of your BeatBuddy.

I found very little information about FOOTW.INI in the forums. Perhaps my post is unnecessary, but perhaps it can help other users. Of course, I can’t say whether the file works on all BeatBuddys. On my BeatBuddy, at least, with firmware “FIRM-4.1.7”, it works as expected.

2 Likes

Thank you for sharing. Can you not achieve the same thing by adjusting the remote foot switch settings using the BeatBuddy (BB) pedal settings?

Thanks for asking.

Yes, that’s the simplest way. I finally figured out the functionality I wanted through trial and error. However, BeatBuddy doesn’t save all the settings in the FOOTSW.INI file. For example, the settings for Switch 2 aren’t saved in the INI file. Despite this, it strangely retains the settings for Switch 2. I wanted to understand which parameters triggered which functions. But mainly, I wanted a file that I could quickly move to other projects to maintain the switches’ functionality as I wanted them to work. I work with various projects, such as German pop, rock, Christmas carols, etc. I was tired of having to readjust the parameters on BeatBuddy itself every time I used the SD card with a different project. The way I’m handling it now is advantageous, at least for me. If all the projects were on one SD card, it would become very confusing.

Perhaps other users see it differently; I just thought I’d share my experience in case it might be of interest.

Best regards
Stratoc

1 Like

Not a complaint or an issue—just curious as to what motivated you to document your file settings. I was not aware that the remote foot switch settings were no longer being saved to the FOOTSW.INI file.

I recall the days when I saved the PARAMS folder to my desktop so I could copy it to the SD card because macOS BeatBuddy Manager (BBM) users could no longer synchronize projects with the SD card; we had to reestablish our remote foot switch settings on the BeatBuddy (BB) pedal every time.

Perhaps this is something that the developers can look into. @Support, support@singularsound.com

Appreciate both your sharing and explaining why. I’m sure that other users will be able to take advantage of your findings and contribution.