Applies to FLpad and FLpad Mini
Novation Components is a software tool used to manage a range of Novation hardware, including the FLpad. In Components, you can update the firmware, create custom modes and configure the device.
You can access Components either through the standalone application or the web app in browsers that support Web MIDI, such as Chrome, Opera and Edge.
Connecting your Device
When you open Novation Components with your FLpad connected, you will see the following. Click on Manage FLpad to edit and send custom modes to the FLpad.
If the FLpad is not detected on this page please see:
Custom Modes
Custom modes can be set up to allow further control over software or hardware devices that the FL Studio control script does not affect.
Custom modes are built up through various widgets that can be arranged on the 8x8 grid by dragging and dropping. Once you have created your custom mode, this can either be saved to Components to edit later or sent to the FLpad.
All MIDI controls in custom modes can either be set to a dedicated MIDI channel, or to follow the global MIDI channel that the FLpad is set to.
Keystrokes
Keystrokes are a 1x1 tile that can be programmed to mimic the behaviour of pressing a single key or combination of keys on a computer keyboard.
These can be used to add a hardware button to commonly used keyboard shortcuts within FL Studio, such as Undo, Redo or Save.
Faders
There are 2 types of fader widgets that can be added to a custom mode: Unipolar and Bipolar. These are also available as both vertical (1x8 tiles) and horizontal (8x1 tiles) widgets
Faders can be mapped onto any MIDI CC and send on a dedicated MIDI channel or follow the global settings.
Unipolar faders start from 0 and rise up to the max value of 127. This is ideal for mapping to volume controls.
Bipolar faders start in the centre with a value of 64, and a range of 0-127. This is ideal for mapping to a pan control where, by default, this is centred.
Notes
There are 4 types of note widgets that can be added to a custom mode: Chromatic Keyboard, Scale Keyboard, Drum Grid and MIDI Note.
Chromatic Keyboard widgets are a 2x8 tile that represents a traditional 12 note piano octave, with the bottom row being the white keys and the top row the black keys. The octave for this keyboard can be set in the widget.
Scale Keyboard widgets are a 1x8 tile that represents 8 notes within the set scale. The root note, scale type and octave can be set for this widget.
Drum Grid widgets are a 4x4 tile that is mapped to 16 sequential notes. This is ideal for mapping to samplers to play 16 different drum sounds. Both the starting note of the drum grid and the octave can be customised.
MIDI Note widgets are a 1x1 tile that can be assigned a dedicated note. The MIDI note can be assigned a note value and octave.
Control Buttons
There are 2 types of note widgets that can be added to a custom mode: Program Change and CC Button.
Program Change widgets can be set to send a specific program change message, ideal for changing presets on a synth during a performance.
CC button widgets can be set to send out MIDI CC messages. Each MIDI CC button will have an on state value and off state value which can be used to switch between 2 states. This can be configured to act as a toggle, momentary, or trigger control.
Updates
When your FLpad is connected to Novation Components, you will be prompted to run any firmware updates if available.
You can also check to see if the device is fully up to date and the release notes for each update by going to ... > Updates.
If this article hasn't helped you, please feel free to search again at the top of this page or, to contact support, please click here.