The Behavior page offers several workflow settings and other default values to use while you are working on music, such as the Default stretch mode to use whenever audio stretching is asked for.

This includes Audio Import Settings, which determine the way that audio samples are analyzed and prepared when dragged into a project. The first setting determines whether beat markers are added in order to Play at Original Speed of the audio file, or to Stretch to Project Tempo.

Note

This setting is the default option for audio that is dragged into a project from either the Browser Panel or your operating system's file manager. While dragging audio in, the window footer will also show modifier keys that can be held to either Toggle tempo-matching behavior (for the alternate behavior), or to Insert Audio as Raw (without any stretching or beat detection). This setting is also available within the preview player of Bitwig's browsers, where it also has influence over how audio is previewed when browsing (see Preview Player).

The second setting determines whether to Detect Tempo Changes, letting the program decide whether the audio should be treated as fixed-tempo material (as are many tracks made on the computer), or to insert matching beat markers for any detected tempo changes (which is more common in live recordings). The other option is to skip the idea of tempo changes and Assume Fixed Tempo for audio imports.

The third and final setting affects the alignment of the new clip created when audio is dragged in. The options are to either Insert Clip from First Beat (which makes use of the beat detection), or to Insert Clip from Sample Start (which simply starts at the beginning of the audio file).

This page also offers general settings, such as what to Open on start, whether a Template project should be used whenever you create a new project, and whether you want to be told about "Early Access" releases.

The Audio page defines a number of important settings for audio operation, including defining your audio interface and its inputs and outputs, as well as details such as the Sample rate and Block size.

To configure your audio hardware for the first time, begin by selecting the proper Audio System for your interface. The options available here vary based on your platform. If you are unsure of what to set, try the first option available (there may be only one option).

The Input Device and Output Device settings specify which audio interface you will be using for bringing audio signals into and out of the system, respectively. Whether you plan on using audio input or not, you must set the Output Device in order to hear anything out of Bitwig Studio.

Once the Output Device is selected, a section of the window is added with the same name. (In the image above, the driver's output device is named Ausgang (integriert) so a section also labeled Ausgang (integriert) follows.) Bitwig Studio will have created a stereo output pair that is mapped to the first two audio outputs of your interface. In the example shown above, the stereo output created by Bitwig Studio was named Stereo Output and is shown under the Output busses header.

	Note
	Names defined in the Output Busses and Input Busses sections will be used across Bitwig Studio to indicate audio routings. These names can be changed here at any time. For more information, see Multichannel Audio Interface.

The Output Device selected in our case above has only two available audio outputs, and both of those are being used by Stereo Output, as indicated by the checked boxes labeled 1 and 2. The fact that both boxes are checked means that they are being used for the Stereo Output path, which will be available in the program under that name.

Finally, each output path has an assignable Role. The Stereo Output path has been defined as Speakers, making it an option for audio monitoring. The other Role settings are Headphones (also a monitoring option) and Output, which covers anything other than speakers or headphones.

If an Input Device is selected, a Stereo Input will be similarly created from the first two inputs.

Finally, the x button at the far right of each listed buss will delete that path. So if you create a buss by mistake, just click this button.

The Controllers page allows you to designate and configure any MIDI controllers that you will be using with Bitwig Studio.

The global Takeover mode setting determines how individual controls and their associate software parameters interact before their values match. Options include:

In the Controllers sections, the top row represents ways of adding controllers to your setup. The toggle with circular arrows represents auto-add mode. Enabled by default, this mode will automatically add any detected controller to your Bitwig Studio setup if a device-specific controller extension is also found.

The Add button allows you to add controllers manually. Clicking it calls up a menu of various controller manufacturers, each containing a submenu of models. If you do not find your device here, you can choose the top menu item, labeled Generic, and select the model best approximating your controller. Choices include:

As shown in the above image with the Korg padKontrol entry, you may see one or more unfilled rectangles with an Add button at the right. These entries appear when a controller that was previously setup and then manually deleted has been recognized by the computer. Since auto-add is not available in these cases, the manual Add button is here to let you quickly restore the device.

Below this top line are entries for individual controllers that are configured, usually named in their title bar with the controller manufacturer and the name of the extension (often matching the controller model). The "power" toggle at the title bar's left edge allows you to disable messages from the controller and extension without removing it. And the x icon at the right is for deleting the controller altogether.

Just below the title bar is a puzzle piece icon with the name of the controller extension (or extension) following it. In the case that you have multiple extensions on your computer that work with this controller, this line becomes a menu, allowing you to swap one extension for another.

On the right side of each entry are menus for MIDI input and output ports (respectively) that the controller extension requires. If a device has gone offline or been disconnected, these ports may need to be set again before the power toggle can be enabled.

Finally, the bottom left of each entry contains a row of buttons related to the controller's performance (see Controller Visualizations, Takeover Behavior, and Documentation).

The Synchronization page provides options for both controlling Bitwig Studio from external sources and for transmitting messages to synchronize other platforms/hardware to Bitwig.

The Transport Sync (IN) section allows you to select the Sync Method in use. The following three options are available:

Finally, both the MIDI Clock and Ableton Link options add a dedicated button to the Bitwig Studio window, between the transport and display sections of the menu/transport area (see The Window Menus/Transport Area). These buttons allow you to toggle the selected sync method on and off on the fly, and the Link button also reflects the number of other participants in the current Link session.

The MIDI Sync (OUT) section lets you set for each output path whether to:

And similar to the MIDI Input offset value, a MIDI Out Clock Offset can be set to fine tune each outgoing path separately. And a global setting for the MTC Rate can be set here as well.

The Shortcuts page allows the reconfiguration of Bitwig Studio's keyboard commands and the use of MIDI controller mappings to trigger these commands.

On this page, you can Edit shortcuts for both the computer Keyboard and via MIDI Controller.

To define a command mapping: locate the command you wish to map, and then click the + button to the far right of the command. You will then be prompted to trigger the desired mapping.

As can be seen in the image above, multiple mappings can be defined for each command.

To remove a command mapping: click the x button at the right of the mapping.

Once settings have been adjusted, the Choose mappings menu becomes a text entry box where new mapping sets can be named and a Save button appears.

	Note
	When this manual refers to keyboard shortcuts, it is referencing the program's default shortcuts. Once you begin using your own shortcuts, the shortcuts in this document may be inaccurate for your use.

All other pages of the Settings tab are listed here in order.