The Selection tool is PrintMusic's universal editing tool. It can be used to select, move, delete, copy, paste, or otherwise edit any region of measures and virtually any individual item in the score.
Click on a marking to select it, such as a lyric, slur or articulation. Once selected, you can move, nudge, edit or delete it. For more advanced editing, double-click to switch to the appropriate tool. The Selection tool works on Measures (Measure tool/Edit menu/Utilities menu), Notes & Rests (Simple Entry), Smart Shapes, Expressions, Articulations, Repeats, Lyrics, Chords & Fretboards, Text Blocks, Graphics, Tuplets, Key and Time Signatures, and Clefs.
This tool is also used to select regions of your score (from a single note to the entire score) in order to edit all the selected music at once. For example, you can change any selected measures’ spacing, layer assignments, stem directions, and so on. You can also transpose or apply articulations to every note in any selected region.
You can use this tool to copy music from one place to another—even from one PrintMusic document to another. You can also use this tool for erasing selected musical elements from a region—such as articulations, chord symbols, lyrics, expressions, and so on—without disturbing the other existing elements of the music in that region. See Erasing and Copying music.
For special mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts related to selecting regions of measures, see Selecting music.
To use a Selection tool keyboard shortcut, select a region of measures and use the appropriate keystroke on your computer keyboard.
Shortcut |
Predefined effects |
4 (or Ctrl-4 with any tool that allows measure selection.) |
Apply Music Spacing command which respaces notes, lyrics, and accidentals |
6-9 (or Ctrl 6-9 with any tool other than the Selection tool that supports measure selection) |
(Ctrl-)6 for Down a Second (Ctrl-)7 for Up a Second (Ctrl-)8 for Down an Octave (Ctrl-)9 for Up an Octave |
Contextual menus are reached by right-clicking on an object. A contextual menu will be displayed where you can select various items.
Measures
Edit Measure Attributes |
Opens the Measure Attributes dialog box where you can edit measures. |
Barline submenu |
Opens the barline submenu where you can select a new barline style. |
Multimeasure Rest submenu |
Opens the Multimeasure rest submenu where you can create, remove, or editmultimeasure rests. |
Cut |
Places the selected music on the Clipboard and simultaneously removes it from the document. See Edit menu. |
Copy |
Places a duplicate of the selected music on the Clipboard. See Edit menu. |
Insert |
Inserts whatever music you've cut or copied to the Clipboard between two existing beats or measures. See Edit menu. |
Paste |
Pastes whatever music you've cut or copied to the Clipboard to paste over (replace) the selected music in the target file. See Edit menu . |
Move/Copy Layers |
Opens the Move/Copy Layers dialog box where you can move and/or copy layers. |
Clear All Items |
Clears all items in the selected region. |
Transpose |
Opens the Transpose dialog box where you can choose an interval to transpose the selected region. |
Add Measures |
Opens the Add Measures dialog box where you can choose the number of measures to add. |
Insert Measure Stack |
Opens the How Many Measures dialog box where you can choose the number of measures to insert. |
Delete Measure Stack |
Deletes the measure stack. |
Key Signature |
From this submenu, choose a key signature for the selected measure(s). |
Time Signature |
From this submenu, choose a time signature for the selected measure(s). |
Clef |
Opens the Change Clef dialog box where you can select a clef |
Alternate Notation |
Displays the Alternate Notation submenu where you can apply or clear alternate notation |
Repeats |
Displays the Repeat submenu where you can define or remove repeats. |
Articulations
menu item |
What it does |
Delete |
Removes selected articulations |
Brackets
menu item |
What it does |
Edit Bracket |
Display Group Attributes dialog box |
Delete Bracket |
Deletes selected bracket |
Chord Symbols
menu item |
What it does |
Delete |
Removes selected chord symbols |
Clefs
menu item |
What it does |
Edit Clef Definition |
Display the Change Clef dialog box |
Text Expressions
menu item |
What it does |
Edit Text Expression Definition |
Display the Text Expression Designer dialog box |
Delete |
Removes selected expressions |
Key Signatures
menu item |
What it does |
C Major |
Sets the key signature to C Major |
G Major |
Sets the key signature to G Major |
D Major |
Sets the key signature to D Major |
A Major |
Sets the key signature to A Major |
E Major |
Sets the key signature to E Major |
F Major |
Sets the key signature to F Major |
Bb Major |
Sets the key signature to Bb Major |
Eb Major |
Sets the key signature to Eb Major |
Ab Major |
Sets the key signature to Ab Major |
A minor |
Sets the key signature to A minor |
E minor |
Sets the key signature to E minor |
B minor |
Sets the key signature to B minor |
F# minor |
Sets the key signature to F# minor |
C# minor |
Sets the key signature to C# minor |
D minor |
Sets the key signature to D minor |
G minor |
Sets the key signature to G minor |
C minor |
Sets the key signature to C minor |
F minor |
Sets the key signature to F minor |
Other |
Opens the Key Signature dialog box where you can define a key signature |
Repeats
menu item |
What it does |
Create Simple Repeat |
Encloses selected measures with repeat barlines |
Create First and Second Ending |
Adds a first ending on selected measure(s) and a second ending on the measure following the selection |
Create Ending |
Opens the Create Ending dialog box where you can define a repeat ending on the highlighted measures |
Create Forward Repeat Bar |
Creates a forward repeat bar |
Create Backward Repeat Bar |
Creates a backward repeat bar |
Delete |
Deletes all repeat barlines, endings, and text repeats in selected region |
SmartShapes
menu item |
What it does |
Edit |
Displays editing handles on selected smart shape |
Delete |
Removes selected smart shape |
Make Horizontal |
(Hairpins, Dashed, Solid, & Custom Lines, and Brackets) Snaps shape into straight horizontal placement This menu item mirrors by default the Horizontal setting in the Smart Line Designer dialog box. |
Remove Manual Slur Adjustments |
(Slurs only) Slur will return to default values for placement and shape. Frozen engraver slurs will revert to engraver slur behavior. |
Shape Direction |
(Slurs and Bends) Choose from Flip, Automatic, Over and Under. Determines the direction of the slur. See SmartShape menu. |
Note: You can undo any Selection tool operation by choosing Undo from the Edit menu (Ctrl-Z) immediately afterward.
See Also:
User Manual Home |