Setting up BOME

When you first start Bome, it will be empty. It will also show a Winrar-like reminder on startup if you havent purchased a license, but it does the job.

Step 1: Make sure your MIDI device is being detected.

Is it? Good, you can switch to it.

It isn’t? Make sure you have the correct drivers installed/reinstall them. Then restart your computer and fingers crossed🤞

Step 2: Create a new profile. Give it a name.

I called mine ‘nanopad’. I’m overflowing with imagination

💾 Do not forget to save. The first time I did this, I set everything up, then I eventually restarted my computer and noticed all my hard work was gone. Not fun.

Step 3: Create a new “translator”. Give it a name.

Step 4: Set up a keypress.

Ok, now is the moment where you decide what you want to map.

For this example we’ll start with something simple: making single-press volume controls (mute, volume up, volume down).

Most keyboards require you to hold the fn key, then press one of the F keys ( F1 , F4 , F5 on my keyboard)

and that’s annoying

Setting up a keypress involves two steps: telling the program which input should trigger it, and what the output should be.

Double-click the translator you want to edit. In the ‘Incoming’ tab, select Capture MIDI. This will automatically detect and log the pad you are pressing on your device.

Next, press the pad you want to assign to this action. Don’t be confused if two messages show up. The first one corresponds to the press, and the second to the release. Select the second one.

Finally, in the ‘Outgoing’ tab, select the action type as ‘Key Stroke Emulation’. Then, click inside the blank input box. Once, it is selected, you should press the key(s) in the sequence they should be emulated.

In this case, we want fn + F1 , so we must keep fn held down. If you mess it up, press ‘Clear’ and redo it.

Bome calls the fn + F1 combo ‘D’, but everything works as intended

Step 5: Test it.

Everything should be done. You can close this window and save 💾 (saving is important if you don’t want to be frustrated later). Press the pad and check that it works as intended.

As a final touch I got some simple icons, printed them and taped them over the pads, so I know what they do without having to memorize it.