Settings Reference
Open Settings with ⌘, (PXR MIDI Player → Settings). Everything is tidied into tabs, so you only see the controls for one area at a time. There is no Save button to remember: your choices are saved automatically as you make them.
Note
Some of the more technical settings have a dedicated page explaining what they do and when to use them. Where a setting name is a link, click it for the full explanation.
General#
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| MIDI Library Folders | Add the folders your MIDI files live in so PXR can read companion files (cover art, MT-32 setups) without asking each time. Add to grant access, Remove to revoke it. |
| Performance Mode | Enables Performance Mode, the on-screen keyboard for playing along. It is an experimental, work-in-progress feature. |
| Keep Mini Player Always on Top | Keeps the Mini Player floating above other apps. |
| Show Track Start Notifications | Shows a macOS notification as each track begins. |
| MIDI Device Notifications | Notifies you when a MIDI device is plugged in or removed. |
| Language | Sets the interface language (System Default or a specific language). Changing it needs a restart. |
| Updates | PXR checks for updates automatically every seven days. This shows your version and when it last checked; Check Now looks immediately. Prefer to hear about new versions elsewhere? The What's New page has an RSS feed. |
MIDI Output#
This is where you decide what actually makes the sound, from your Mac's built-in synth to a rack of hardware. See MIDI Output & Devices for the full walkthrough.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Custom Port Presets | Build, edit, delete, and reorder multi-port setups that route channels across devices. |
| Built-in Software Synth | Play through your Mac using the Built-in GS Lite Synth, a Roland Sound Canvas-derived bank (Apple DLS) that supports GS as well as General MIDI. |
| MIDI Devices | The list of hardware ports; click to connect. An unreachable device is dimmed and marked Offline. |
| Hardware test | A small play button beside the Connected to row sends a short test pattern to your hardware, so you can confirm the connection without loading a track. Stopping it silences every note. |
| SoundFont | Load, change, or clear a .sf2 or .dls sound set for the built-in synth. |
| Master Volume | Overall level for the built-in synth. |
| Apple DLS Reverb | Reverb amount for the built-in synth when no SoundFont is loaded. Custom SoundFonts carry their own per-channel reverb instead, set by the file or the Mixer. |
| Auto-route by Format | Automatically switch to the chosen device when a file's format is detected (GM, GS models, XG, MT-32, with a Fallback). |
| Route Ch 1 to Separate Port (Experimental!) | Send all channel 1 data to a dedicated port (useful for single-channel hardware). Available when auto-routing is off. |
| Hardware Polyphony | Tell PXR how many notes your external synth can play at once. |
Playback#
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send GM Reset Before Each Track | Sends a General MIDI reset before each file, for a clean start. |
| Use SC-55 Instrument Map for GM Files | Reads GM files using the Roland SC-55 sound set, if that suits the file better. |
| Instrument Map for Native GS Files | Forces a specific Roland GS model's sounds for GS Native files. |
| Prioritise Note Timing | Favours exact note timing on dense files. |
| Let Reverb Tails Ring Out | Lets the final notes ring out instead of cutting off at the end. |
| Show PXR Logo on External Hardware | Shows the PXR logo on compatible Roland SC and Yamaha MU displays when idle. |
| Sleep Timer | Set a default duration, and optionally Start automatically when playback begins. See the sleep timer. |
Display#
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Window Size | Scales the whole interface. |
| LCD Theme | LCD colour theme: Auto, Blue, Green, Dark Green, Orange, or Black. |
| LCD Right Side | Show Time Progress or Activity Meters on the right of the LCD. |
| Center Display | Choose the main visualiser style: Piano Roll, Meters, or Keyboards. |
| Piano Roll Colours | Classic (single colour) or Multicolour (a colour per channel). |
| Frame Rate | Auto (runs at up to 60 FPS) or 30 FPS to reduce CPU usage on slower Macs. |
| Beat Ring | Show the pulsing ring around the play button. |
| Speaker Visualiser | Show the animated speaker cabinets. |
| Speaker LCD Panels | Add LCD readouts to the speaker windows. |
| Remember Effect Window Positions | Reopen effect and monitor windows where you left them. |
| Show SysEx Details | Echo the decoded SysEx messages in the Presentation View header. On by default, turn it off for a cleaner capture. |
MIDI Input#
This tab is about what PXR listens to, rather than what it plays. See MIDI Input. Pick the device PXR listens to for Performance Mode and playing along. Refresh rescans for newly connected devices.
Sync#
If you want PXR to follow another device's timecode rather than run its own clock, this is the tab for it. See External Sync (MTC). The main toggle is Wait for MTC (slave to external timecode); below it you pick the MTC input device, set a Time offset for current song and frame rate, and under Advanced adjust the Drop-out timeout and Coast window. There is also a Reset sync settings button. This tab is experimental.
Stats#
Curious about what you actually listen to? This tab controls the play history PXR keeps. See Listening Stats. Record listening stats turns play-history recording on or off. You can also see the Listening stats database size, Export a backup, or Wipe all stored stats.
Support#
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Wiki | Opens this wiki in your browser (Open the Wiki). |
| Support the Project | Opens the donation page (Donate on Ko-fi). |
| Follow the Creator | Links to the project's social accounts. |
| Reset to Defaults | Returns every setting to its factory state. Use this as a clean slate. |