Getting Started with MidiPdfView

💾 Installing MidiPdfView

chmod +x MidiPdfView-1.1.3.AppImage
./MidiPdfView-1.1.3.AppImage

🎹 Connecting a MIDI Pedal

MidiPdfView works with any MIDI controller — dedicated MIDI footswitches, sustain pedals, expression pedals, and multi-button pedalboards. The most common connection methods are:

USB MIDI (plug-and-play)

Most modern MIDI footswitches (e.g. Yamaha FC4A, AirTurn BT-500, Logidy UMI3) connect via USB and are detected automatically by Windows, macOS, and Linux without any drivers. Just plug in and open the app.

5-pin DIN MIDI (classic pedals)

Older MIDI footswitches use a 5-pin DIN connector. You'll need a USB-to-MIDI adapter (e.g. Roland UM-ONE mk2, Focusrite Scarlett with MIDI I/O). Connect the adapter to your computer and the pedal's MIDI OUT to the adapter's MIDI IN.

Bluetooth MIDI (built-in bridge)

MidiPdfView includes a built-in Bluetooth MIDI bridge on Windows and Linux. The bridge talks to the pedal through the operating system’s Bluetooth stack, so the pedal must be paired at the OS level first — this is what gives you a stable, auto-reconnecting connection.

Windows setup

1. Put your BLE MIDI pedal into pairing mode (see the pedal’s manual — usually hold a button until an LED flashes rapidly).
2. Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Add device → Bluetooth and pair the pedal. It should appear by name in the device list once paired.
3. Open MidiPdfView and click the Settings gear icon.
4. In the Bluetooth MIDI section, choose your pedal from the device dropdown and click Save. The bridge connects immediately and reconnects automatically on every launch.

Linux setup

The Linux bridge uses the BlueZ Bluetooth stack directly. Whether OS-level pairing is required depends on the pedal — some BLE MIDI devices allow a direct connection without a bond, while others require it. If the bridge fails to connect, try pairing first via your desktop Bluetooth manager or bluetoothctl:

bluetoothctl
scan on
# wait for your pedal’s MAC address to appear, then:
pair AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
trust AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF

After that, select the device in MidiPdfView Settings → Bluetooth MIDI as normal. Linux BLE MIDI support is new in v1.1 — if you run into issues, let us know.

macOS setup

BLE MIDI pedals pair via CoreMIDI: go to Audio MIDI Setup → MIDI Studio → Bluetooth, click the pedal, and click Connect. It then appears as a regular MIDI port inside MidiPdfView — no bridge required.

⚙️ Selecting Your Device in the App

After connecting your pedal:

1. Open MidiPdfView.
2. Click the Settings gear icon (top-right toolbar).
3. Under MIDI Input, choose your device from the dropdown list. All detected MIDI ports are shown here.
4. Click Save. MidiPdfView remembers your choice between sessions.

🗺️ Default Button Mapping

Out of the box, MidiPdfView listens for the following MIDI Control Change (CC) messages. Most multi-button MIDI footswitches send CC messages and will work without any reconfiguration.

A trigger fires when the CC value is 1 or higher (i.e. when you press the pedal). Releasing the pedal (value = 0) is ignored.

🎛️ Customising the Mapping

If your pedal sends different CC numbers, note-on events, or program changes, you can remap every action in Settings:

1. Open Settings (gear icon).
2. Click Edit MIDI Mapping.
3. For each action, click Learn, then press the pedal button you want to assign. The app captures the message type, channel, and number automatically.
4. Click Save Mapping when done.

Supported message types: Note On, Note Off, Control Change, Program Change. You can also set a minimum value threshold for expression pedals.

🔍 Smart Zoom & Viewing

Most PDF viewers scale the whole page to fit your screen — which means blank margins take up display space that could show music. MidiPdfView’s Smart Zoom is different: it detects where the actual notation lives on the page and scales that region to fill your screen, making the notes as large as possible without any manual pinching.

How to use Smart Zoom

In the top toolbar, click the zoom icon to cycle through modes:

• Smart Fit — detects the notation bounds and fills the display with just the music (default)
• Fit Page — shows the complete page including all margins, useful for checking layout
• Free Zoom — pinch or use the zoom buttons to set any level you like

Each PDF remembers its own zoom mode and level between sessions, so every score opens exactly where you left it.

🔧 Troubleshooting

Bluetooth pedal not appearing in the scan list

• Make sure the pedal is in pairing / advertising mode — check its manual (usually a fast-flashing LED).
• Keep the pedal within 5–10 metres of your computer during the initial scan.
• On Linux, verify BlueZ is running: sudo systemctl status bluetooth. If it’s inactive, start it: sudo systemctl start bluetooth.
• If the scan finds nothing after 10 seconds, click Scan again — occasionally a pedal needs two discovery cycles to appear.

Bluetooth pedal keeps disconnecting

• MidiPdfView reconnects automatically whenever the pedal wakes up — no action needed if you turned it off between songs.
• If you see repeated disconnects mid-performance, try moving the computer and pedal closer together or eliminating wireless interference (Wi-Fi routers on 2.4 GHz can affect BLE).
• On Windows 11 build 22000+, if the Bluetooth MIDI indicator stays red at startup, wait 5–10 seconds for the bridge to complete its handshake before pressing any pedal buttons.

Pedal not responding

• Check that the correct MIDI device is selected in Settings → MIDI Input.
• Verify the pedal is sending CC messages (not note-on). Use a free MIDI monitor app (e.g. MIDI-OX on Windows, MIDI Monitor on macOS) to confirm.
• If your pedal sends note-on messages, remap the action using the Learn feature (see above).

PDF won't open

• MidiPdfView supports standard PDF files. Encrypted or password-protected PDFs are not supported.
• Very large PDFs (hundreds of pages) may take a moment to load — this is normal.

App won't launch on macOS

• See the Gatekeeper instructions in the install section above.
• If the app crashes immediately, open Terminal and run: xattr -cr /Applications/MidiPdfView.app to clear quarantine flags.

App won't launch on Linux (AppImage)

• Ensure the file has execute permission: chmod +x MidiPdfView-*.AppImage
• Try installing FUSE 2: sudo apt install libfuse2
• Run from terminal to see error output: ./MidiPdfView-*.AppImage --no-sandbox

Trial / license issues

• The 30-day trial starts the first time you launch the app.
• To activate after purchase, click Enter License Key in the trial banner and paste the key from your receipt email.
• License keys are valid on one machine. If you need to transfer to a new computer, contact support.

✉️ Still need help?

If your question isn't answered here, the fastest way to reach us is via the contact form. We typically reply within one business day.