Hotkeys
Settings → Hotkeys — bind global keyboard shortcuts to mixer actions: mute a channel, nudge a fader, recall a scene, start the engine. These work even when Aura Mixer isn't focused — anywhere in Windows, while you're in a game or another app.
Hardware volume keys
Redirect Vol+ / Vol- / Mute — instead of controlling the system volume, your keyboard's or headset's hardware volume keys can control one specific Aura bus (defaults to Main L+R). Off by default.
Turn it on and three more options appear:
- Target bus — which bus the keys control.
- Use percentage steps — linear percent per press, matching how Windows' own volume keys feel. Off uses dB steps instead, which is how the rest of the mixer measures level but can feel uneven near the quiet end (each press moves loudness by the same ratio, not the same amount).
- Step per press — how far one key-press moves the bus: 0.5–25% in percent mode, or 0.1–12 dB in dB mode.
Adding a hotkey
Click + Add hotkey. Every hotkey binds one action to one key combo:
- Action — pick from the catalog below, grouped by category.
- Target (and sometimes Source / Destination) — which channel, bus, or group the action applies to, if it needs one.
- Value or Step (dB) — an absolute number or a relative nudge, for actions that need one.
- Mode — for actions that support it (see Toggle vs. Hold below).
- Key combo — click Click to set…, then press the keys you want (any combination of Ctrl/Alt/Shift/Win + a key). Press Esc to cancel a capture in progress.
The action catalog
| Category | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Mute / Unmute | Mutes or unmutes a channel, bus, or VCA group. Supports Hold. |
| Mixer | Solo / Unsolo | Solos or unsolos a channel, bus, or VCA group. Supports Hold. |
| Mixer | Set Fader (absolute) | Jumps a fader straight to a dB value you set. |
| Mixer | Adjust Fader (relative) | Nudges a fader up or down by a dB step — safe to hold down and auto-repeat, it's clamped to the fader's range. |
| Mixer | Clear All Solo | Un-solos everything in one press — the same as the monitor bar's CLR SOLO. No target needed. |
| Routing | Bus Route On/Off | Turns a bus→bus route on or off in the routing matrix. Supports Hold. |
| Routing | Channel→Bus Send On/Off | Turns one channel's send to a specific bus on or off. Supports Hold. |
| Routing | Channel→Bus Send Level (absolute) | Sets a channel's send level to a bus, in dB. |
| Scenes | Recall Scene | Loads one of your saved scenes. |
| Engine | Start / Stop Engine | Starts or stops the audio engine — the same as the monitor bar's ▶/⏹. Supports Hold. No target needed. |
Toggle vs. Hold
Actions marked Supports Hold above can bind in two modes:
- Toggle (default) — one press flips the state (e.g. mute ⇄ unmute).
- Hold — push-to-talk or push-to-mute style: the action fires the moment you press the key down, and the opposite action fires the moment you release it. Pick Turn ON while held (e.g. mute only while the key is down — classic push-to-mute) or Turn OFF while held (push-to-talk: unmuted only while held, muted the rest of the time).
Managing your hotkeys
Every saved hotkey shows its action, target, mode badge (Toggle/Hold), and key combo in the list. From there, the toggle switch enables or disables it without deleting it, Edit reopens the form with everything pre-filled, and Delete removes it.
If a hotkey's target was later deleted (a channel or bus removed from the mixer), its row is marked (missing) — the binding is harmless, it just won't do anything until you either restore the target or edit the hotkey to point somewhere else.
Free includes up to 4 hotkeys — enough to cover the basics (mic mute, engine start/stop, a favourite scene). Premium removes the limit entirely. The volume-key redirect itself isn't limited on either tier. See Accounts & Premium.