The ButtonPad is a grid of colored buttons in the center of the screen. These are the same buttons configured in AutoCast — carts, promos, sweepers, jingles, text cards, stream relays, and more. They look the same, work the same, and do the same thing.
When CastAway connects, AutoCast sends the complete list of buttons — ID, label, color, type, and search tags. CastAway draws them. When you click one, CastAway sends the button ID back to AutoCast, which executes the action. CastAway never needs to know what a button does — it just reports which one you pressed.
This means every button type works identically in CastAway:
| Button Type | What Happens at AutoCast |
|---|---|
| Hot Button | Plays an audio file |
| Cart | Plays a rotating audio file by keyword |
| Text Button | Displays text content in the MessagePad |
| Index Card | Displays rotating text content by keyword |
| Stream | Starts or stops a stream relay |
| Input Source | Activates a live audio input |
| Switcher | Sends a command to the hardware switcher |
| Run | Executes an external script or application |
| AutoVision | Plays an AutoVision media clip |
Each button type has its own color and ghost icon, matching AutoCast's appearance. Your station engineer can customize button colors in AutoCast's button_colors.txt file — those custom colors automatically appear in CastAway.
In the bottom-right corner of the ButtonPad area you'll see a small magnifying glass icon. Click it to expand a search field. Start typing and buttons filter instantly — only buttons whose label or tags match your search are shown. Click the magnifying glass again (or clear the field) to collapse the search bar and reset the view back to all buttons.
This collapsible design keeps the ButtonPad clean and uncluttered when you don't need to search, while still being one click away when you do.
This is especially useful when your station has many buttons. Your station engineer can add tags to buttons (in AutoCast's button configuration) to group them. For example, tag all your football remote buttons with "ballgame" and type "ballgame" to see only those buttons.
Ask your station engineer to set up tagged button groups for your regular remote broadcasts. Click the magnifying glass, type "fair" at the county fair, "football" at the game, "cafe" at the morning show — and your custom button set appears instantly.
Buttons are displayed in a five-column grid that scrolls vertically. The buttons are square with rounded corners, and they scale to fill the available space. On a tablet, they're large enough to tap comfortably with a finger.