Downstage Show Builder support

Lay out your Bitfocus Companion pages on a picture of your Stream Deck, then send them straight to Companion. Your first page takes about five minutes.

Download for Mac About the app All app support

Build your first page

Set it up.

Before you start

A Mac with Apple Silicon
Companion 5, on this Mac or on your network
For switcher keys, a Blackmagic ATEM connection already set up in Companion

Steps

Download Show Builder, open the disk image, and drag it to Applications.
Open it and press Open when macOS checks with you. The app is signed and notarized by Apple.
Allow Local Network access if macOS asks, and Documents access so your shows save there.
Type your Companion's address in the header, such as 192.168.1.20:8000, and choose Refresh ATEM names. On the same Mac, use 127.0.0.1:8000.

A green dot means you're connected, and your switcher's source names appear.

Build your first page.

Choose your Stream Deck from Deck type, above the keys.
Open ATEM > Sources, then choose an M/E and a Recipe.
Click a source, then click a key on the deck.
In Output, choose Send to Companion, and pick an empty page or a new page at the end.
Choose Open in Companion to see it there.
Name it in Show name and choose Save. Next gig, open the show, change what's different, and send it again.

Recipes.

A recipe is what happens when you press a source. The source stays a blank slot, so one recipe works on every input.

Recipe	What a press does
PVW	Puts the source in preview. Nothing changes on air.
HOT	Puts the source straight on program.
CUT	Puts the source in preview, waits briefly, then cuts to it.
AUTO	Puts the source in preview, waits briefly, then runs the transition.

Select + beside the recipes to build your own.

Combine keys.

Build a multi-step key in seconds. Hold Option, click keys in the order they should run, and let go.

Timing: steps run one after another, 300 ms apart. Change the waits or choose All together.
Reorder: select the key and drag its steps into a new order. Waits stay where they are, so choose One after another to even the spacing. It resets all waits to 300 ms.
Add steps: keep the key selected, hold Option, click more keys, and let go.
Undo: Cmd-Z undoes it.

Saved shows.

A show keeps a whole gig in one .dsshow file: every deck and page, the show's settings, and the custom recipes it uses. It doesn't hold your Companion connections, and it doesn't change Companion until you send its pages. Shows start in the Downstage Shows folder in your Documents.

Questions.

My switcher's source names don't appear.

Check the address, then choose Refresh ATEM names. With more than one ATEM connection, pick one from the ATEM connection menu.

The page already has keys.

You hold a button for 2 seconds to replace them.

I changed a key in Companion and sent the page again.

Sending replaces the page. Make your last edits in Companion, or keep them on a separate page.

How do I add gear other than an ATEM?

The Connections tab has the presets from every connection on your Companion. Presets need Send to Companion, because page files leave them out.

How do I update?

The app tells you when there's an update, and nothing installs until you press Update now.