Main controls
| Control | Default action |
|---|---|
| Round Tap pad | Tap a tempo, then display BPM. Hover to preview its pulse. |
| Waveform button | Detect tempo from the selected audio layer. Dimmed when BPM has not found selected audio, but still clickable. |
| Subdivision chips | Choose spacing for the next grid. 1/1 is selected initially. |
| Lay grid | Write an even grid of comp markers. |
| Snap | Move selected layers so their in points align with the nearest markers. |
| Sequence | Arrange selected layers in stack order along the markers. |
| Split | Cut selected layers at interior marker times. |
| Keys | Move selected keyframes to the nearest markers. |
| Detected tempo chips | Use a candidate and return to subdivisions. The first candidate is applied automatically. |
| X beside detected tempos | Return to subdivisions without changing the current tempo. |
The editing guide defines marker priority, source limits, cut boundaries, and key collisions.
Tempo gestures
| Gesture on the pad | Result |
|---|---|
| Click in rhythm | Estimate tempo from recent taps. |
| Space while hovering | Tap without clicking. Held-key repeats are ignored. |
| Drag right or up | Raise tempo, one BPM per three combined horizontal and vertical pixels. |
| Drag left or down | Lower tempo at the same rate. |
| Alt held before dragging | Adjust by 0.1 BPM per drag step. |
| Scroll up / down | Raise / lower by 1 BPM. |
| Shift-scroll | Adjust by 10 BPM. |
| Alt-scroll | Adjust by 0.1 BPM. Alt takes priority over Shift. |
| Right-click | Open the numeric input. |
| Enter or click away while typing | Apply the input. |
| Escape while typing | Cancel the input. |
| Hold still for 550 ms | Run the current Lay grid variant. |
The supported range is 40 to 240 BPM, with one decimal place. Dragging or scrolling without a tempo starts from 120. A short movement of up to four pixels remains a tap or hold.
Subdivisions
| Label | Spacing | At 120 BPM |
|---|---|---|
| 1/1 | Every beat | 0.5 seconds |
| 1/2 | Every half beat | 0.25 seconds |
| 1/4 | Every quarter beat | 0.125 seconds |
| 1/8 | Every eighth beat | 0.0625 seconds |
| Bar | Every 3, 4, or 6 beats, according to Time Signature | 1.5, 2, or 3 seconds |
Button modifiers
Alt is the Option key on macOS. Cmd/Ctrl means Command on macOS or Control on Windows.
| Button | Modifier | Hover label | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lay grid | Shift | On layer | Write the grid on the first selected unlocked layer. |
| Lay grid | Cmd/Ctrl | Peaks | Write comp markers at detected onsets. |
| Lay grid | Alt | Clear | Remove BPM markers throughout the comp and unlocked layers. |
| Snap | Shift | Snap out | Move the whole layer to align its out point. |
| Snap | Alt | Trim out | Change only the out point to the nearest valid marker. |
| Sequence | Shift | Reverse | Sequence from the bottom selected layer upward. |
| Sequence | Alt | Place | Keep lengths while positioning layers. |
| Sequence | Shift + Alt | Place | Reverse the order and keep lengths. |
For Lay grid, Alt takes priority over Shift, then Cmd/Ctrl. Shift and Cmd/Ctrl together write an even layer grid, not layer peaks. For Snap, Alt takes priority over Shift. Split and Keys have no modifier variants.
The same grid modifiers work when holding the pad. Take care with Alt: Alt-drag fine-tunes tempo, but an Alt-hold without dragging runs Clear.
Layouts
BPM starts at half width. Narrow slots keep the pad above the controls. Buttons can show icons without words; hover to read their tooltips.
Resize the slot in Edit layout to give labels more room. All four editing actions remain available.
Wide slots place the pad beside the controls.
Very short, wide slots use a single row, with smaller icons.
At larger square sizes, a bottom hint explains the hovered control and its current modifier. In very narrow layouts, Lay grid can become a corner icon beside the pad. The actions still have their tooltips.
Feedback
Successful actions show counts in temporary button badges and a message beside the tool. Replacement grids report how many old markers were replaced. Layer edits and Clear report locked layers skipped.
During a host action, the waveform and action buttons are disabled. Detection also shows a ring around the pad. Refused actions show a short badge when there is enough room, plus the full reason in a message. Troubleshooting explains those messages.
When BPM opens with no tempo, it can read the saved tempo from the first recognized comp marker. It does not recover tempo from layer markers, or replace a tempo you have already set in the panel.