Selecting music

Selecting regions of measures is required whenever you want to copy music from one place to another or apply changes to a region of music using one of Finale's many editing functions. Although the Selection Tool is the primary tool for selecting and editing music, regional copying and editing can be performed at any time as long as one of the following tools is selected:

Selection Tool $image\Selection_Tool.gif$
Staff Tool $image\Staff_Tool.gif$
Measure Tool $image\Measure_Tool.gif$
Key Signature Tool $image\Key_Signature_Tool.gif$
Time Signature Tool $image\Time_Signature_Tool.gif$
MIDI Tool $image\MIDI_Tool.gif$
Clef Tool $image\Clef_Tool.gif$
Repeat Tool $image\Repeat_Tool.gif$
Mirror Tool $image\Mirror_Tool.gif$

Note: In addition to selecting and editing regions of measures, the Selection Tool can also be used to select individual musical elements for moving or editing. For details, see Selection Tool.

Finale includes two distinct types of regional selection:

Regions including full or partial measures, but not full measures in all staves. This is the most common type of selection. Edits to these regions are generally focused on editing the entries and items attached to entries or measures without changing the measure-specific information itself (e.g. key signatures, barline styles, etc.). These are regions edited within the existing measure structure. For example, copy and insert a region including partial measures (or full measures in some but not all staves) to push subsequent music to the right the number of inserted beats. See Copying music. Here are some examples of this type of selection:

or or

Full measures in all staves, or "Stacks." A stack selection is indicated by highlighting between staves. Edits to these regions can also include entries and items attached to entries or measures, but can also include measure-specific information (e.g. key signatures, barline styles, etc.). See Edit Filter dialog box. Additionally, stacks can be treated as autonomous units. For example, copy and insert a stack to push all subsequent measures to the right. See Copying music. Here is an example of a stack selection:

A one measure stack is one measure as played by all the instruments in the staff—in other words, a one-measure vertical slice of a score. (Generally, the term measure in the Finale manual refers to one measure of one staff.) A stack can include any number of full measures.

A full measure selection in a system with a single staff is also a stack selection indicated by highlighting above and below the staff (see below).

Most of Finale's editing commands work with partial measure selections. However, if you try to use a full-measure–only command after selecting only part of a measure, Finale will let you know; you’ll have the choice of canceling the command, or applying the command to all measures that are even partly selected.

To select a region of measures

Mouse click or keyboard command	What it does
Click a measure	Selects the full measure
Click and drag diagonally across any measure region (partial or whole measures)	Selects the measure region When you select a partial measure, Finale highlights an area from the left edge of the first selected note to the right edge of the space after the last selected note, to help reinforce the fact that you’re actually selecting a stretch of musical time.
Shift-click and drag diagonally across any part of a measure	Selects full measures only
Shift-click before or after a selected region	Extends the selection to wherever you click
Hold down Shift and press the left or right arrow keys	Expands or contracts the selected region in entry-by-entry increments ...measure-by-measure increments if the measures are empty. Specify you want to adjust the beginning or end of the selected region by pressing the left or right arrow key first respectively.
With the Selection Tool $image\Selection_Tool.gif$ selected, double-click any partial measure selection Or, Alt-click any partial measure selection with any tool that permits regional selection (The selection can include any number of measures starting and/or ending with a partial measure)	Expands the selection to include full measures.
With the Selection Tool $image\Selection_Tool.gif$ selected, double-click a full measure Or Alt-click any full measure selection with any tool that permits regional selection	Expands selection to include the full stack.
Click to the left of the staff	Selects an entire staff
Shift-click to the left of a staff	Extends the selection from any other staves you've selected
From the Edit Menu, choose Select All or press ctrl-A	Selects the entire document
Hold down Ctrl-Shift and press the left or right arrow keys	Expand or contract the selected region by full measures
Hold down Shift and press the up or down arrow keys	Expands or contract the selected region vertically (staff-by-staff)
Hold down the shift key and press End, Home, PageUp, and PageDown	Select all measures right, left, above, or below a selection

To select a large region without scrolling

From the Edit Menu, choose Select Region. The Select Region dialog box appears.
Enter the staff, measure, and beat with which you want to begin and end the selection. For example, you can select the Flute staff, measure 4 beat 2, through the Bass staff, measure 10 beat 1. See Select Region dialog box for more information. The important thing to remember is that this feature lets you select music without having to scroll to it (and wait for the screen to redraw). You can even select music that’s not on the screen.
Click OK (or press enter).