Sibelius - Help Center

Changes and improvements in version 1.22

Why not print this out for future reference?

The improvements detailed below are grouped into topics in alphabetical order, as in the Reference section of the User Guide, as follows:

All significant improvements since Version 1.105 are listed (with the exception of very minor changes and bug-fixes), and improvements since Version 1.2 are marked with an asterisk (*).

Menu changes (Windows only)

There have been a number of cosmetic changes to the menus within Sibelius. The most important are as follows:

Some menus have become dialog boxes instead: in the Create menu, Clef, Line, and Staff Type Change; in the Notes menu, Noteheads is now a dialog box.
Transposing Score has moved from the File menu to the Notes menu
Enforce Time Signature (Edit menu) has been removed. To achieve the same function, just delete a time signature, click No if asked if the bars should be rewritten, reinsert it at the same place, and say Yes to the bars being rewritten.
Edit Staff Types: Percussion is now called Drum set instead.
Open MIDI File dialog: MIDI commands changed to MIDI messages.
Reset Spacing (Layout menu) is now called Reset Note Spacing.
Page Setup dialog (Layout menu) is now called Document (as in ClarisWorks, Word, Quark, etc.).
The Reset Sounds button is now found in the Sounds dialog box (type I, or choose it from the Play/Flexi-Time menu). It is also still included in the Substitute Equipment dialog box for convenience.

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Files

Version 1.22 of Sibelius can open Sibelius files saved in all previous versions. In addition, Sibelius v1.2 can open files saved in v1.22. So if you're sending Sibelius files created/modified in v1.21 to another Sibelius user, please ask them to update to v1.22 if their version is before v1.2 (i.e. v1.105 or earlier).

Sibelius uses exactly the same file format on both Windows and Mac, and opening Windows scores on a Mac or vice versa is straightforward. Both file formats use UNICODE, a new standard character set, which means that special characters (like accented letters) are automatically translated between Mac and Windows. Music and text fonts are also substituted intelligently - see the Text section below for more details.

* Opening Windows files on Mac

To open a Sibelius for Windows file (which will have a .sib file extension) on Mac, simply use Open (File menu) and point to the location of the file. Note that you cannot open a Sibelius for Windows file on the Mac by double-clicking unless you change its file type -- drag the Sibelius for Windows file onto Set as Sibelius File (in the Extras folder) and you will then be able to open the file by double-clicking.

To transfer a Windows PhotoScore file to Mac, drag one or more files onto Set as PhotoScore file in the folder called Extras within your Sibelius folder.

* Opening Mac files on Windows

If you are trying to open a score created on the Mac given to you on a floppy disk, make sure the disk is formatted for Windows - although the Mac can read Windows disks, Windows cannot read Mac disks.

To open the files in Sibelius for Windows, you will have to add the correct file name extension (the three letters that follow the file's name by which Windows identifies which application it should use to open it). Before you begin, ensure that Windows is displaying file extensions, as follows:

Double-click My Computer
In the View menu, choose Folder options
A dialog box will appear; click the View tab
Switch off the option that reads Hide file extensions for known file types
Click OK

You should add the file extension .sib. You can do this by right-clicking on the file icon (in My Computer or Windows Explorer) and selecting Rename. Change the extension, and then type Return (on the main keyboard). You may be prompted that changing file types can render them unusable, because Windows assumes that you don't know what you're doing. If asked whether you are sure you wish to proceed, click Yes. Alternatively, you can add the correct file extension .sib to the name when saving the file on the Mac. You can also repeat the same procedure with MIDI files: you will have to add the extension .mid. Once you have renamed the files, you can open them in the usual way by double-clicking.

Append a Score

When using Append a Score (File menu), you may want to delete the cautionary clef, time and key signature changes at the point of the join between the two scores, particularly if the join represents a break between two movements or pieces.

For example, to remove a cautionary time signature, select the time signature at the beginning of the second piece or movement (not the cautionary itself), and delete it. When asked whether you want the following bars to be rewritten, click No. Now reenter the time signature at the same point, and switch off Allow cautionary in the Time Signature dialog box. If asked whether you want the following bars to be rewritten, again click No. Cautionary clefs and key signatures can be removed in the same way.

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Fonts

Opus and Inkpen fonts are now embeddable in Acrobat PDF (portable document format) documents.

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* Internet Publishing

The procedure for saving your score as a Scorch web page is now as follows:

First, choose Catalog Info (File menu) and enter some information about your piece - the Title and Composer fields are included on the web page by default.
Click Save As in the File menu
Set Save as type to Scorch web page, and enter a filename.
You are asked to choose a template web page to insert the score into - you may like to design your own (see below). You can also adjust the width and height of the score within the web page. If you don't feel ambitious, just leave the default settings and click OK. Setting a larger Width makes the page and hence the music bigger; there's no need to enter a Height value if you want the page to be the same shape, which is a good idea.
Sibelius then saves two files in the chosen location: an HTML file (with the file extension .htm), and a Sibelius score (with the extension .sib).

You will need a very basic knowledge of HTML (or an HTML-speaking friend) to add the web page to your website. You must include the actual Sibelius score file, saved in the usual way, in the same folder as the web page - the HTML in the web page refers to the Sibelius file.

Some web browsers may not display Scorch web pages, or may warn that a suitable plug-in could not be found. This is because they don't recognize Sibelius's .sib file extension. Although you could change the .sib extension to .bin, we don't recommend this as the .bin extension may cause problems on Macs (it normally means MacBinary compressed files).

Instead, if there are problems viewing scores on your website, copy the htaccess file from Sibelius's Resources folder to each folder on your website which contains .sib files. Then rename it to .htaccess (which is not a legal Mac or Windows filename), or if there is an .htaccess file there already, add the contents of htaccess to the end of it. This should make the server deal with .sib files correctly.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Although Sibelius is identical on Mac and Windows, due to certain differences in keyboard design and operating systems, keyboard shortcuts are not completely the same on both systems. As a general rule, the Command key on Mac keyboards is equivalent to the Ctrl key on Windows keyboards, and the Option key on Mac is equivalent to the Alt key on Windows. As a result, most shortcuts are interchangeable as long as, for example, Command is substituted for Ctrl as appropriate.

There are a few exceptions where Mac and Windows conventions differ - for example, to view the properties of an object, type Command-I on Mac and Alt+Enter on Windows.

* Some of the other standard shortcuts (i.e. common to most programs) are also different - check the keyboard shortcut tower.

Keypad layout Most laptop computers do not have separate keypads. Keypad functions can be accessed on many laptops by holding down a key marked Fn and other keys on the keyboard. Sibelius also has some alternative shortcuts built in: hold down Option (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt (Windows) in conjunction with the keys shown in the diagram on the left.

Note that not all keypad buttons have alternative shortcuts; for those you will need to click the keypad on the screen using your mouse.

Some Mac keyboards do not have an End key, so the shortcut for moving right by a screenful does not work. If this affects your computer, you can use Shift-Home instead. Similarly, the shortcut for moving to the end of a score (Command-End) does not work -- use Shift-Command-Home to go to the last page

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* MIDI Equipment (Mac only)

Two new Mac only options have been added to the Equipment dialog box (Play/Flexi-Time menu):

QuickTime bypasses OMS tells Sibelius to talk to QuickTime directly without using OMS. This should be switched on by default - see the User Guide reference section OMS.
Show other music programs as devices allows Sibelius to send its output to other music programs as if via MIDI input. This should be switched off by default - only switch it on if you want to send Sibelius' playback to another program rather than to your playback equipment.

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* OMS (Mac only)

OMS now only needs to be installed if you have one or more external MIDI devices connected to your computer. If you plan to use your computer's built-in sound hardware, you don't need to install OMS, as QuickTime Music will be automatically detected and used by Sibelius.

You should use OMS Studio Setup (within the Play/Flexi-Time menu) to specify the model of all your external MIDI devices, so that Sibelius knows which sounds are available. As a general rule, you need only use the Equipment dialog box to tell Sibelius which device to use - it will automatically work out which sounds are available based on the equipment specified in the OMS Studio Setup application.

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* Plug-ins

Four new plug-ins are included with v1.22 of Sibelius, as follows:

Add Cautionary Accidentals: adds cautionary accidentals to any passage in a single key.
Delete Chord Notes: provides a front end to some of Sibelius' more complex Filter options
Quartertone MIDI playback: automatically inserts the correct MIDI commands to playback quartertone accidentals
Tessitura: calculates the highest, lowest and average pitches in a score

* Printing

New printing options have been added on both Mac and Windows to fix bugs in certain printer drivers:

The Mac version now includes two Substitute options in the Print dialog box (File menu): switch on the Braces option if you have experienced problems with braces printing in the wrong position. The Lines option, switched on by default, should be switched off if you have problems with staff lines not appearing on your printouts.
On Windows, there are now three Substitute options: Lines (switched on by default; switch off if staff lines do not print correctly); Braces (switched off by default; switch on if you have problems printing braces, particularly the brace on the bottom system of the page); and Arpeggios, gliss., etc. (previously called Fix Angled Symbols; switched off by default).

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Rehearsal marks

To write a weird rehearsal mark that is not in sequence with anything, such as the word START in a box, go into Text (within the Create menu) and choose Edit Text Styles. Click Rehearsal marks, and then click New to create a new text style based on the rehearsal marks style. Call it something meaningful, and then enter a new mark in your score at the desired point using this style. Bear in mind that this rehearsal mark won't automatically update itself if you change other markings - it may look just like the real thing, but it's just a text object.

Hint: This same procedure can also be applied to producing unusual time signatures - simply select Time signature instead of Rehearsal marks in the Edit Text Styles dialog.

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* Scanning

PhotoScore Lite for Mac is now available as a separate download in addition to the update to version 1.22 of Sibelius.

Windows users can also download an update to version 1.7 of PhotoScore Lite. This includes a number of bug fixes, including improved support for Agfa SnapScan scanners.

The Mac version of PhotoScore Lite differs from the Windows version in several respects, as follows:

Because PhotoScore Lite for Mac is a stand-alone program (and not a plug-in, as with the Windows version), there is no Scan button on the Sibelius toolbar. To use PhotoScore Lite, you must double-click the program file (by default installed in a folder called Neuratron Photoscore Lite in the root of your hard disk).
Before you scan, make sure you Select Scanner (File menu). Your scanner must have fully TWAIN-compliant drivers installed, or it will not appear here. If your scanner does not appear in the Select Scanner dialog box, contact your scanner manufacturer.
To scan a page of music, click Scan on the PhotoScore Lite toolbar, then follow the instructions in the Scanning section of the User Guide.

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* Symbols

The Symbols dialog box now includes handbell symbols.

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Text

The file Font equivalents in the Resources folder (within your Sibelius folder) contains lists of 'equivalent' fonts, which Sibelius will substitute if a required font is missing (e.g. "Times" = "Times Roman" = "Times New Roman"). You can edit this file yourself.

If a font used in a score is not available on your computer, the font substitution file is scanned for the first mention of this font. The missing font is then replaced by the first available font listed on the same line of the substitution file. If no replacements are available, the file is scanned for the next mention of the font, and so on.

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Transferring Sibelius

Transferring the saving function of Sibelius from one computer to another is now far easier than it was in previous versions (before v1.2).

Let's assume you have Sibelius installed and registered on a desktop computer, and want to transfer the saving function to a second copy installed on a laptop:

Do not uninstall Sibelius from the desktop computer!
Install Sibelius on the laptop (if it isn't already installed), run it, and type in your serial number just as you did when you first installed Sibelius on your desktop computer
The Sibelius program on the laptop is not registered and so will not save. However, we're now going to transfer saving across from the desktop computer
Choose Transfer Saving Out from Sibelius' Register/Transfer menu (within the File menu) on the desktop computer. It asks for a Computer Number.
Choose Transfer Saving In from the Register/Transfer menu (within the File menu) on the laptop. Make a note of the Computer Number given in the dialog box.
On the desktop computer, type in this Computer Number (which starts with a C). It doesn't matter if you don't type the spaces.
Click OK and you're given a Transfer Number (which starts with a T). Make a note of it very carefully (and check it). Saving is disabled on the desktop computer. If possible, don't close this dialog box until you have successfully entered the Transfer Number into the other machine in case you wrote it down incorrectly.
Type the Transfer Number into the Transfer Saving In dialog box on the laptop computer. Saving is now enabled.

The desktop computer copy will still have Sibelius on it but this will no longer save. Later you can transfer saving back to it from the laptop in exactly the same way.

When transferring Sibelius between computers, don't contact Sibelius Software to re-register Sibelius - it should only be necessary to register Sibelius once.

The Computer Number for each copy of Sibelius normally stays the same, so you can transfer saving between two computers miles apart without having to keep checking the Computer Number. If you make any major change to your computer, such as installing new memory or hardware, updating the operating system, or reinstalling Sibelius, the Computer Number may change - if in doubt, look it up in the Transfer Saving In dialog box from the Register/Transfer menu (within the File menu).

A few do's and don'ts: although the Transfer Saving feature is straightforward, if you're careless there's the danger that you may lose the ability to save. So:

Don't just delete your copy of Sibelius and think you can just reinstall it - you will have lost the saving feature. For instance you might want to delete Sibelius to reformat your hard drive. Instead...
Install Sibelius on a different computer, and use Transfer Saving Out to transfer saving to it temporarily. Later you can transfer it back again.
If you regularly transfer saving between two computers, such as at home and at work, all you need to do is make a note of the CD's Serial Number and each computer's Computer Number. But watch out that the Computer Numbers may change if you make big changes to the computer or to the copy of Sibelius.
You can't transfer saving between two copies of Sibelius on the same computer. You have to transfer to another computer, then back again.
You can only transfer saving between copies of Sibelius which were installed with the same serial number (on the back of the Sibelius CD case).

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View and Window Menus

The Preferences dialog (File menu) now has an option to set the default zoom factor (i.e. zoom factor used when you open a score). The most useful values are 100% and 75%.

* The View menu now has a Scroll Bars option. This adds vertical and horizontal scroll bars to the main score editing window. It's best not to use these, as scrolling around your score using the navigator is far quicker and easier.

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Word menus and special characters (Windows only)

When entering text in foreign languages, you may need to enter accented letters. Sibelius uses UNICODE, the new standard character set, which means that special characters like accented letters are automatically translated between Mac and Windows.

There are shortcuts to common accented characters at the bottom of most word menus. On Windows, these also have shortcut keys assigned to them, as follows:

Ctrl+Shift+A = à
Ctrl+Shift+E = è
Ctrl+E = é
Ctrl+Shift+I = ì
Ctrl+I = '
Ctrl+Shift+O = ó
Ctrl+O = ò
Ctrl+Shift+U = ù
Ctrl+U = ú

To enter other accented letters in Windows:

Locate the program Character Map, a standard Windows utility that can usually be found in the Start Menu. Click Start, go into Programs, then into Accessories (and, on Windows 98, into System Tools), and click Character Map. You should see the following dialog box:

Select the font you are using in Sibelius to enter the desired text using the Font drop-down menu. The large grid in the main window pane will display all the characters in the font
If you click a character in the grid, it will be enlarged so you can see it more easily. When you have found the character you are looking for, either:
- make a note of the code following Keystroke: in the bottom right-hand corner of the
  Character Map window
- switch back to Sibelius and at the insertion point where you want to enter the character, perform the correct keystrokes. Generally they will be of the form Alt+0XXX, where X denotes numbers that must be typed on the numeric keypad.

Or, within Character Map:

click Select, then Copy. This copies the character to the clipboard
switch back to Sibelius and at the insertion point where you want to enter the character, type Ctrl+V to paste the correct accented letter.

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Web links

The Help menu includes links to different parts of the Sibelius web site. By clicking these menu items, you can find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs Online), discuss Sibelius with other users (Sibelius Users' Web Site), and find out about available upgrades (Upgrade Online).

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Bug fixes and known problems

This update to Sibelius fixes a number of minor bugs and problems. Some of these include:

chord symbols now transpose correctly
various printing problems now fixed, including problems with Hewlett Packard printers and Adobe Acrobat PDF creation (Windows only)
Save as EMF (Windows only) no longer crops the exported image
work-arounds for problems with various printer drivers that prevented Sibelius from printing correctly (Mac only)
guitar tab now displays and prints correctly (Mac only)
choosing sounds from the Sounds dialog box when using MIDI equipment with very large numbers of sounds no longer causes the program to crash (Mac only; due to a limitation in MacOS)
instruments not recognised when opening certain MIDI files fixed
large bank numbers embedded in text ~P... commands are now interpreted correctly (as before)
problems with inserting a time signature with pickup bar at the very end of a score fixed
notes with accidentals sometimes not sounding when entered with the mouse fixed
can now close About Sibelius dialog box (Help menu) by clicking anywhere in it to avoid problems with Windows 98 hanging (Windows only)
figured bass word menu characters now appear correctly again (Windows only)

The following are known problems with this version of Sibelius:

notes can become beamed incorrectly under certain circumstances when editing
music fonts do not display correctly on Korean versions of Windows

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Piracy

Thank you for buying your copy of Sibelius legitimately. Please respect our efforts in developing Sibelius by ensuring that no-one attempts to make illegal copies of it.

Piracy deprives software companies of the revenue needed to improve their programs and develop new products. In some countries, piracy is so widespread that some companies are unable to justify distributing software at all.

If you know of anyone copying Sibelius, please contact Sibelius Software or email piracy@sibelius.com with full details.

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