manual/include/control-surfaces-novation-lcxl.html

<p>
	Novation Launch Control XL is a compact control surface with 8 faders,
	24 encoders, and various keys like track selection, muting, soloing,
	and arming a track for recording.
</p>

<figure>
  <img
  	style="width:75%;"
	src="/images/novation-launch-control-xl.svg"
	alt="Novation Launch Control XL"
	class="invert-in-dark">
  <figcaption>
    Novation Launch Control XL
  </figcaption>
</figure>

<h2>Connecting the Launch Control XL</h2>

<p>
	Plug the USB cable from the Launch Control XL into a USB2 or USB3 port on
	your computer. The device will be automatically recognized by your operating
	system and will appear in any of the lists of possible MIDI ports in Ardour.
</p>

<p>
	To connect the Launch Control XL to Ardour, open the
	<kbd class="window">Preferences</kbd> dialog, and then click
	<kbd>Control Surfaces</kbd>. Tick the <kbd class="option">Enable</kbd>
	checkbox opposite to "Novation Launch Control XL" to activate Ardour's Launch
	Control XL support.
</p>

<p>
	Once the device is activated, click <kbd>Show Protocol Settings</kbd> and in
	the newly opened window select the device in the drop-down lists for incoming
	and outgoing MIDI events.
</p>

<p>
	Once you select the input and output port, the Launch Control XL will be
	ready to use. You only need do this once: once these ports are connected and
	your session has been saved, the connections will be made automatically in
	this and other future sessions.
</p>

<h2>Behavior and Configuration</h2>

<p>
	The Launch Control XL was designed for use with Ableton Live, so it has a Mix
	mode for controlling the mixer and a Device mode for controlling various
	devices. Therefore, For Ardour, only a subset of features is available out of
	the box. The vast majority of supported features are not configurable, the
	user interface exposes only one setting: making the 8th fader control the
	master bus. 
</p>

<p>
	Features supported out of the box are:
</p>

<table class="dl">
  <tr>
  	<th>Faders</th>
  	<td>Control faders of 8 tracks at the same time</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th>Track selection</th>
  	<td>
  		In the Mix mode, these buttons shifts the track focus by one track
  		allowing to control e.g. track 2..9 or 3..10 rather than the default
  		1..8.
  	</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th><kbd class="button">Mute</kbd> button</th>
  	<td>
  		Switches the Track Control row of buttons to toggle
  		the <em>mute</em> status of tracks
  	</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th><kbd class="button">Solo</kbd> button</th>
  	<td>
  		Switches the Track Control row of buttons to toggle
  		the <em>solo</em> status of tracks
  	</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th><kbd class="button">Arm</kbd> button</th>
  	<td>
  		Switches the Track Control row of buttons to toggle
  		the <em>record-arm</em> status of tracks
  	</td>
	</tr>
</table>