Command and control in Sibelius

It’s time to get back to basics — Sibelius basics, that is. You might be accustomed to using certain keyboard shortcuts in Sibelius, but there’s a certain logic to some of the most often-used ones.

In Sibelius, typing the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) key in combination with another key often means “do this, but bigger.” In other words, pressing the other key without Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) performs the operation normally; adding the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) key performs a bigger version of the operation.

Don’t take my word for it — I’ve copied that straight out of the Sibelius Tutorials that come with the software. Back to basics, indeed!

There are many instances where this is not the case, but here are the instances I can think of where it applies. If I’ve missed any, please let me know in the comments!

When a note is selected

Up/Down Arrow: Move a note up/down diatonically by step
With Command or Ctrl: Move a note up/down by an octave

Left/Right Arrow: Select the previous/next note in the bar
With Command or Ctrl: Select the first note of the previous/next bar

Alt + Up/Down Arrow: Select the previous/next note in the chord
With Command or Ctrl: Select the nearest note in the previous/next staff

Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Make a passage selection up to the previous/next note in the bar
With Command or Ctrl: Make a passage selection up to the beginning/end of the bar

Alt + Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Adjust the note spacing incrementally
With Command or Ctrl: Adjust the note spacing by a greater amount

When an object (text, symbol, line) is selected

Arrows: Adjust the position of the object (or endpoint) incrementally
With Command or Ctrl: Adjust the position of the object (or endpoint) by a larger amount

When a barline is selected

Return: Add a system break
With Command or Ctrl: Add a page break

When a staff passage is selected

Delete: Erase the contents of the selection, replacing it with rests
With Command or Ctrl: Completely delete the entire bar for all staves

Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Extend a passage selection up to the previous/next note in the bar
With Command or Ctrl: Extend a passage selection to the previous/next bar

Alt + Shift + M: Make the selected bars into a system
With Command or Ctrl: Make the selected bars into a page

Alt + Up/Down Arrow: Move the selected staff or staves up/down incrementally
With Command or Ctrl: Move the selected staff or staves up/down by a larger amount

When nothing is selected

Click a bar: Select the bar for that staff only (“blue” selection)
With Command or Ctrl: Select the bar for all staves (“purple” selection)

Double-click a bar: Select all bars on the system, for that staff only (“blue” selection)
With Command or Ctrl: Select all bars on the system, for all staves (“purple” selection)

Triple-click a bar: Select all bars for the entire score, for that staff only (“blue” selection)
With Command or Ctrl: Select all bars in the entire score, for all staves (“purple” selection)

Home/End: Go left/right a screenful
With Command or Ctrl: View the beginning/end of the score

Page Up/Page Down: Go up/down a screenful
With Command or Ctrl: Go to the top/bottom of the page

Left/Right Square Bracket: Move the playback line incrementally
With Command or Ctrl: Move the playback line to the beginning/end of the score