Respell Flats as Sharps

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

The version of this plug-in that ships with Sibelius 3 and Sibelius 4 has two problems:

  • Any ties in notes that are respelled will be deleted
  • The plug-in produces incorrect accidentals for transposing instruments

This updated version corrects both of these problems.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Respell Sharps as Flats

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

The version of this plug-in that ships with Sibelius 3 and Sibelius 4 has three problems:

  • Any ties in notes that are respelled will be deleted
  • The plug-in produces incorrect accidentals for transposing instruments
  • Unison notes are not respelled correctly

This updated version corrects these problems.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Simplify Accidentals

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This updated version of this plug-in fixes the following problems:

  • user-defined beaming of notes is lost when running the plug-in
  • quartertone and other microtonal accidentals are removed

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin

Plug-in written by Peter Hayter and Michael Kilpatrick.

Respell Uncommon Accidentals

Version 01.56.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 26 Sep 2023)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

__Respell Uncommon Accidentals respells certain accidentals that are avoided in some musical styles. It will find and respell B# to C, E# to F, Cb to B and Fb to E. It can also respell double and triple accidentals. It assumes you know what you are doing in running it, and makes no judgments, but the author would like to remind the user that there are many musical situations where an E# is perfectly appropriate, and using this plug-in would produce incorrect musical notation. __You can run the Mark Enharmonic Pitches plug-in if you just want to know if you have these kinds of pitches in your score. __New in version 1.3: __This version shows both consecutive and displayed bar numbers in Sibelius 4, and has a new option to locate: write to text file or trace window uncommon accidentals without changing the score. __Updated 25 Feb 2014 to fix endless loop when processing written names in transposing instruments. Changed some dialog defaults. __ Updated 8 September 2017 to speed up the progress bar, and hopefully the entire plugin when run on large scores. __Updated 29 September 2017 speed up plus in Sib 8.3 and later changes made in a part will only affect that part __Updated 26 September 2023 Version 01.56.00. Restored coloring post Sib 8_3

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Arrange Voicings

Version 02.03.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Jazz arranger David O'Rourke has contributed this document, which describes how to create great jazz voicings using the Arrange feature and the Jazz Arrange styles in Sibelius 3 and 4.

Download Writing for Saxophone using Jazz Arrange styles in Sibelius (1.35MB)

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Arrange Brass Voicings

Version 01.12.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Jazz arranger David O'Rourke has contributed this document, which describes how to use Bob Zawalich's Arrange Brass Voicings plug-in. You will also need the Arrange Voicings plug-in by Bob Zawalich.

Download BrassVoicing.pdf (1.2MB)

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Save Folder of Scores as Sibelius 2 Files

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 16 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This plug-in batch saves all the scores in a chosen folder as Sibelius 2 files.

For Sibelius 5 use Convert Folder of Scores To Earlier Sibelius Version

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Extract Parts From Folder

Version 01.03.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 21 Feb 2020)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in extracts parts from all the scores in the selected folder.

Updated 20 Feb 2020. Version 01.03.00. Updated text used for version display.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Print Folder of Scores

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 29 Mar 2009)

For use with Sibelius 2.x, Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in prints a single copy of every score in the chosen folder.

For Sibelius 5 use shipping Print Multiple Copies

Plug-in written by Sibelius Software Ltd..

Import House Style into Folder of Scores

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 16 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is an updated version of the existing plug-in included with Sibelius 3. It replicates the functionality of the dialog that appears when you choose House Style > Import House Style, i.e. it allows you to selectively import some of the settings in the house style file into all the files in the chosen folder in a single operation.

For Sibelius 5 use the plugin that ships with Sibelius.

Plug-in written by Michael Kilpatrick.

Remove Coloring

Version 01.60.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 01 Jun 2019)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in removes all colors or a single specified color from objects in the open score, turning them back to their default color (i.e. black).

Updated 26 April 2016 to allow coloring of individual note objects

Updated 01 June 2019. Version 01.60.00. Fix processing colored rests.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Apply Named Color

Version 01.14.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 23 Jan 2024)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

__This plug-in allows you to color any selection of objects using a set of named colors. Simply select the objects you want to color, run the plug-in, and choose the desired color from the drop-down list. __Updated 13Feb2015 to respell version name; no code change, no update of version number. __Updated 14 April 2016 to allow coloring of individual note objects __Updated 26 April 2016 to allow coloring of individual note objects. __Updated 01 June 2019. Version 01.06.00. Fix processing colored rests __Updated 29 July 2019. Version 01.08.00. Add ability to set opacity/Color Alpha Channel, and to trace color and opacity of selected objects. __Updated 22 Feb 2020. Version 01.09.00. Allow white as a color. __Updated 6 June 2021. Version 01.11.00. Code restructured to allow being called by other plugins. No new features. __Updated 23 June 2021. Version 01.12.00. Bug fixes. __Updated 2 May 2023. Version 01.13.00. Fixed crashing bug when something unexpected was selected. Made “trace results” optional, adding a checkbox to the dialog. Default is to not trace the number of changes. __Updated 22 January 2024. Version 01.14.00. Made list of colors a full size list. Added ability to edit RGB values for colors.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Remove All Coloring

Version 01.02.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in resets all colored objects in the open score back to their default colors (i.e. black).

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Locate Colored Objects

Version 01.40.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 01 Jun 2019)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in creates a log file listing the location of every colored object in the selected score.

New in version 1.3:

  • When run in Sibelius 4, now handles bar number changes

For Sibelius 5 or later, you can use Find Colored Objects or Filter Colored Objects instead of generating this log file.

Updated 01 June 2019. Version 01.40.00. Fix processing colored rests

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Find Intervals From Keys

Version 01.10.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Find Intervals From Keys calculates the intervals needed to transpose from one key to another. The calculated intervals can then be used in Notes > Transpose. It also provides information on how to produce intervals that Notes > Transpose cannot produce directly.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Copy Beaming and Slurs

Added 01 Aug 2005

For use with Sibelius 2.x, Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in copies the beaming and slurs from a selected rhythmic pattern to all other instances of that rhythmic pattern (not necessarily the same pitches) in the selected passage or the whole score.

Plug-in written by François Frère.

Realize Chord Symbols and Diagrams

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 16 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is an update to the version of this plug-in supplied with Sibelius 3, fixing problems with chords being incorrectly realized when using the Piano options.

For Sibelius 5 use the shipping plugin.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Process Shorthand Drum Parts

Added 01 Aug 2005

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

The plug-in allows you to produce finished outline drum kit parts with the minimum of effort, assuming that the score is written with the plug-in in mind. After part extraction, sections consisting of "play time" are summarized by the plug-in without the user needing to write anything except: the bars he/she specifically wants to appear in the part; and textual hints indicating whether rests are intended as rests or as un-notated "time." Some clean-up remains for the user.

Plug-in written by Ewald Cress.

Find and Replace Rhythms

Added 01 Aug 2005

For use with Sibelius 2.x, Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in replaces each occurrence of a rhythm with an alternative. The notes of the replacement rhythm can be mapped to any note of the original rhythm.

To use this plug-in, select a passage and choose the plug-in from the menu. Choose whether you want to use British or American English to describe the notes in your rhythms. Choose the start position for the rhythm (Beginning of bar, Offset from beginning of bar, On each beat according to meter, eg, 4/4 would mean the rhythm could start at any quarter note position, 3/8 would mean at any eighth note position, etc.).

If offset from beginning of bar is chosen, then choose a combination of notes one at a time, (clicking OK after each selection) to indicate how far into the bar the rhythm should start. (Less common note lengths are found in the drop-down menu.) When selecting the note that completes the duration, make sure the This is the last note to be added box is chosen before clicking OK.

The next dialog allows you to define the rhythm that you want to change. Choose the duration of the first element of the rhythm. Also, choose whether it’s a note or a rest and click OK. The top of the dialog is updated with your previous choices. If you make a mistake click Undo last note, then click OK. When you’ve chosen the last note of the rhythm, select This is the last note and click OK.

The next dialog shows a summary of the rhythm you’ve entered. If it’s correct, then choose OK, otherwise select Re-enter rhythm and click OK.

The next dialog allows you to enter your replacement rhythm. This is similar to the dialog used to enter the rhythm you want to change, except there are two further options. The Tied to next option allows you to define whether the note you’re entering will be tied to the next note. The pitch option allows you to define which note of the original rhythm is to be used for the note you’re defining in the replacement rhythm. In general, this box is pre-filled with the note number of the original rhythm that has the same rhythmic position as the note you’re currently defining. However, you can use the drop-down list to select any other note number from the original rhythm. If you are defining a rest, then the plug-in ignores this value.

When the duration of the replacement rhythm is exactly the same length as the original rhythm, a summary of the replacement rhythm is given. You can choose to either continue or re-enter the rhythm. If you choose to continue, then you have the choice of selecting the voices that should be searched for the original rhythm. Once this choice has been made, press OK and any occurrence of the chosen rhythm will be re-written.

Articulation is not transferred from the original to the replacement rhythm. Lyrics will remain unaffected.

If you have a selection in 4/4 but the rhythm you want to search for could start on any quaver beat, then change the timesig to 8/8 without re-writing the following bars. Then run the plug-in choosing On each beat according to time signature for its start position, then change the time signature back to 4/4.

Plug-in written by Peter Hayter.

Apply Time Signature to Selection

Version 02.60.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 24 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in allows you to change time signature for a part of a score, and automatically switches back to the original time signature at the end of the selection.

Changes in v2.55:

  • If the chosen selection includes a tuplet, the plug-in now pops up a message advising you to choose a selection that doesn\'t include tuplets.

Changes in v2.53:

  • In previous versions, the plug-in would put a \"restoring\" time signature in the bar following the selection, and the new time signature at the start of the first bar in the selection. Now it can start the new time signature anywhere in a bar, effectively splitting the bar into two or more pieces. It will split any unselected notes in the first selected bar into a separate bar. It will apply the new time signature to all selected notes (which may cause the last bar in the new time signature to be padded with rests), and it will split off any unselected notes in the last selected bar into a separate bar. There is also an option to merge the unselected notes in the last bar with the notes that follow the selection. If full bars are selected, it will behave as the old one did: it will put an new time signature at the start of the first selected bar, and a restoring time signature in the bar following the selection.

Sibelius 5 can do this without a plugin.

Updated 2 April 2009 for internal code cleanup

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Apply Key Signature to Selection

Version 01.41.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 24 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in allows you to change key signature for a part of a score, and automatically switches back to the original key signature at the end of the selection. This plug-in can also optionally transpose the selected music into the new key.

Fixes in v1.41.00 (updated 23 March 2004):

  • now handles transpositions by intervals of a double diminished unison (e.g. C# - Cb) correctly.

Fixes in v1.40.2:

  • progress bar added
  • fixed problem with duplicated stopper key signature
  • the transpose checkbox now works; transposing can be turned off
  • will not transpose percussion staves
  • Chord symbol transposition rewritten. Handle parentheses and multi-level slash chords
  • chord validation using internal parser removed; allows more chords to be handled
  • some help text updated.

Sibelius 5 can do this without a plugin.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Find Range Plus

Added 01 Aug 2005

For use with Sibelius 2.x, Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in calculates a whole bunch of useful things about your score.

The plug-in's author says:

"I expanded the Find Range plug-in to give it artificial intelligence. You can use this to find out the secrets of Bach and Mozart. There are a lot of free MIDI files of music by these masters on the internet. Download these, notate them automatically in Sibelius and compare their statistics to your own compositions. See any differences? It's most useful to apply this plug-in to the melody."

Plug-in written by Väinö Piipponen.

Locate Highlights

Version 01.15.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 24 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in creates a log file listing the location of every highlight in the selected score. This is useful for, say, recording the changes reported by plug-ins that create highlights, such as Find Motive or Compare Staves.

New in version 1.15:

  • Handles bar number changes when run in Sibelius 4

Fixed in version 1.11:

  • handles unsaved scores better
  • issues a warning when bar number changes are present

In Sibelius 5, use the Find Highlights plugin

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Multirests and Empty Bars

Version 04.30.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 22 Aug 2019)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Multirests and Empty Bars creates a text file showing the locations of:

  • Multirests and their terminators (for the entire score; process parts as separate files)
  • Empty bars (bars without notes)
  • Empty bars without bar rests (probably notation errors)
  • Occupied bars
  • Irregular bars (whose length differs from the time signature)

This information may be useful for proofreading, for determining why multirests split, or for managing rehearsals and allocation of players to instruments. Copyists may also find it to be useful.

Changes in version 3.6:

  • Now handles unsaved scores, or scores with \"untitled\" in their filenames

Changes in version 3.16:

  • Fix to show terminators of certain 1-bar \"multirests\"
  • Added warning about multirests that are split by Auto Layout options

Changes in version 3.0:

  • A new option, Multirests in Selected Staves Only. Previously, all staves in the score were checked, and multirests were reported only when the multirest was present in all staves. This was intended to report only on multirests that could be visible at the moment that the plugin was run. To check a specific staff, you had to extract a part. With the new option (on by default), you can check individual staves in the full score. (The multirests will still not be visible in the score until you extract a part). Note that even when the Selected Stave option is selected, the system staff is checked as well, since contents of the system staff (system text like composer and title and headers) often influence the breaking of multirests.
  • Since the plug-in is used most often to check multirests, the empty bar checkboxes are now off by default.
  • A number of minor bugs have been fixed.

Changes in version 3.12:

  • When run in Sibelius 4, the plug-in makes a better determination of what terminates a multirest
  • When run in Sibelius 4, if there are bar number changes present, the log file will show both the \"displayed\" and \"consecutive\" bar numbers

Changes in version 3.1:

  • There was an error that if you choose the \"selected staves only\" option, but have no selection, it continues but only processes the system staff, with the result that the multirests are wrong. Now fixed.

Changes in version 3.5:

  • Can now detect hidden objects that do not break multirests (Sibelius 4.1 only)
  • Adds staff name to location of object breaking a multirest
  • Updated 14 July 2016. Added the ability to treat a single bar followed by a multirest as a 1-bar multirest, thus showing its terminator. This will help the common case of a single bar being split from a multirest.

    Updated 29 September 2017. Optimized progress bars to speed up processing large scores; also change log file creation to buffer writing for better speed.

    Updated 22 August 2019. Version 04.30.00. Significant rewrites to improve speed for large scores. Writes to the trace window are not buffered, and there is an option to show only totals and subtotals. New option to show bars that are empty for an entire system.

    Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Copy Signatures To New Score

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in copies all the time and key signatures from the current score into a new score.

To use the plug-in, open the score from which you want to copy the key and time signatures, choose the plug-in from Sibelius\'s menus, then follow the on-screen instructions.

Updated 21 February 2007: Can now also copy metronome marks from the current score to the new score.

Plug-in written by Neil Sands.

Split Multirests for Sibelius 4

Version 1.20
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 19 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4 and Sibelius 4.1

Split Multirest uses hidden text objects to split multirests into smaller pieces, a specified number of bars into the multirest. You can split a multirest once or several times, and specify whether to split all multirests below a certain size, or to split all multirests above a certain size.

Fixed in v1.20 (2006-07-04):

  • The plug-in was not calculating the size correctly for Multirests longer than n bars, which is now fixed.
  • The plug-in disallowed splitting all multirests into single bars, which is now fixed.

Use this version on Sibelius 3 and 4. For Sibelius 5 and later, use Split Multirests.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Make Layout Uniform

Version 02.64.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 24 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is an updated version of the plug-in supplied with Sibelius 3. It has the following improvements over the existing version:

  • clearer user interface for setting breaks on pages correct breaks used
  • faster (screen redraw turned off)
  • ability to unlock formatting
  • much improved handling of multirests in extracted parts (new in v2.20.2).
  • ability to automatically insert system breaks at rehearsal marks (new in v2.60.01)
  • option to ignore pick-up (upbeat) bars (new in v2.60.01)
  • pick-up bars are now defined to be irregular bars that are either the first bar in the score, the first bar in the selection, or are irregular bars that have bar number changes (such as pick-up bars created by Create > Time Signature). This allows the ignoring of pick-ups in the middle of multi-song scores (new in v2.64)
  • A new option to break on special barline (such as double and final barlines) has been added.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Keyboard shortcuts for text styles, lines and plug-ins

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

These plug-ins are designed to help you assign keyboard shortcuts to text styles, lines, and plug-ins in Sibelius 3. These items are identified in the File > Preferences > Menus and Shortcuts dialog by number, which makes it difficult to find the specific item you're looking for.

To use the plug-ins, simply choose them from the Plug-ins menu and follow the simple instructions.

An additional plug-in for assigning keyboard shortcuts to all text styles, including ones created by the user, is also available. Like Shortcut-Number Text, Shortcut-Number Text 2 produces a listing of the numbers of text styles in the current score. Unlike Shortcut-Number Text, it can list both built-in and user-defined text styles. The problem is that it needs to add a piece of text to the start of the score in order to manipulate the text object and find styles, and the plug-in cannot delete the new text. So it will add a piece of text that says ~DeleteMe, and there are instructions for the user to delete the text after running the plug-in.

These plugins are not needed in Sibelius 4 or later

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Mark Enharmonic Pitches

Version 02.05.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 26 Apr 2016)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Mark Enharmonic Pitches allows you to specify a color for individual pitches, using separate colors for enharmonically equivalent pitches (such as F#/Gb). You can use it to apply a \\\"spectrum\\\" of unique colors for each pitch, or use it for proofreading and analysis.

Double sharps and flats are colored the same as an enharmonic pitch (Gx -> A) and quartertones are colored as the nearest flat or sharp. You can, however, select a color from the double/quartertone lists, and all double accidentals or quartertones will get the same color, regardless of pitch.

This plug-in can be useful for locating any \\\'mispelled\\\' accidentals, such as F# where you might expect Gb. The Sibelius filters do not allow you to distinguish between enharmonically equivalent pitches, but this plug-in will do that.

It does not explicitly generate a log file showing marked objects, but it allows you to call the Locate Colored Objects plug-in to do so. (If that option is chosen, a recent version of Located Colored Objects must be downloaded as well).

Updated 26 April 2016 to allow colors to be added to individual notes.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Move Pitches to Transposed Mid-Line

Version 02.01.65
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 03 Mar 2024)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

__This plug-in transposes music on the selected staff or staves to the center staff line and can change the style of the notehead (e.g. to create slashes). It puts the notes in the right place for transposed instruments. __Fixed in v 1.56: __Corrected to handle some enharmonic misspellings. Added the ability to move either type of slashed noteheads at the same time. __Fixed in v1.50: __Now respects partially selected bars, rather than processing them as if fully selected __Fixed in v1.20: __You can now specify any supported notehead to be the only notehead moved. Previously, only normal noteheads could be specified. __Fixed in v1.15.0: __instrument handling changed so that new instruments are dealt with automatically (3.1 instruments are handled properly) __transposition changes handled __Updated 21 Feb 2009 version 2.0: __New option to move to center line of concert score, rather than transposed score __Updated 2 April 2009 for internal code cleanup __Updated 17 October 2022. Version 02.01.00. Major code restructuring to allow plugin to be called by RunPluginEntry_cu. Added New Macro/Plugin button to generate and store RunPluginEntry_cu command lines. __Updated 24 January 2024. Version 02.01.40. Added notehead styles 27 (Large stemless slash) and 28 (Large slash with stem). Internal changes to allow better calling from other plugins using New macro/plugin. __Updated 03 March 2024. Version 02.01.65. Updated to support New Plugin button. Needs updated Execute Commands, cmdutils, and New Plugin Lib.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Split Bar Rests

Version 01.30.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 26 Jul 2020)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in converts any bar rests in the selection to rests of shorter durations. The duration of the smaller rests will be one per beat, with the beat length determined by the time signature. This can be handy if you want to see the contents of irregular bars, or for other obscure reasons.

New in v1.04:

  • The plug-in can now split bar rests into other than beat-sized units. One can now spcify the size of the rest to use as well as how to dispose of any excess.

Updated November 15, 2007:

Now properly splits all bars rests if rests are present in more than one voice

Updated June 7, 2008. Version 1.10. New option to split rests only in irregular bars.

Updated June 24, 2008. Version 1.15. If a bar is too small for a single rest of the requested size, the largest possible rest is now written, rather than skipping the bar.

Updated 2 April 2009 for internal code cleanup

Updated 28 February 2010 to optionally select entire score if there is no passage selection.

Updated 25 July 2020. Version 01.30.00. Added option to replace a bar rest with a normal rest of the same duration where possible. It will try undotted through triple dotted durations to try to match the bar size. If there is not a single-note match, the plugin will use the closest-sized single note it could find, and fill the remainder of the bar with whatever rests Sibelius finds appropriate.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Fill Up Pick-up Bar

Added 01 Aug 2005

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This plug-in changes a bar rest symbol in a pick-up bar into discrete rests. The pick-up bar must have a shorter duration than the prevailing time signature.

To use the plug-in, make a passage selection (i.e. a single box), starting with the pick-up bar, then choose Fill Up Pick-up Bar from the Plug-ins menu and follow the on-screen instructions.

Plug-in written by Peter Hayter.

Multirest Line

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in allows you to replace a selected multirest with a line, e.g. a wavy line (as used in percussion parts to indicate that the player should simply play for that number of bars).

To use the plug-in, first set the multirest display to Blank in House Style > Engraving Rules > Bar Rests, then select the multirest in which you want to use a line, and run the plug-in.

Updated 20 Mar 2009 to run in Sibelius 5

Updated 2 April 2009 for internal code cleanup

Plug-in written by Peter Hayter and Bob Zawalich.

Remove Dangling Ties

Version 02.02.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 24 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is an updated version of the plug-in supplied with Sibelius 3. This update allows you to choose whether or not to actually delete the ties (and if so, whether to color the notes where ties have been deleted), or simply to write a list of locations of suspect ties to the plug-in trace window.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Apply KidSib Font for Sibelius 3

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This plug-in applies the KidSib music font (not included with Sibelius, available for purchase separately here), which places note names inside the noteheads, a convention used occasionally in educational music. You must purchase the KidSib font to use this plug-in: it will not work without it.

Important! Copy the KidSib.lib file from within the .zip file you download into the main Plugins folder, rather than any of the subfolders.

For Sibelius 5, use the Add Note Names to Noteheads plugin and the Opus Note Names font (free with Sibelius 5).

Plug-in written by Gunnar Hellquist.

Count Notes

Version 01.05.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Count Notes counts the number and type of notes and rests in a selection, and list counts by bar and in total. It will also display the durations of the counted notes.

Updated 29 January 2007: Now has an option to display the number of notes or chords on an instrument by instrument basis.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Combine Tied Notes and Rests

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is a minor update to the plug-in shipped with Sibelius 3. It fixes a couple of problems with the plug-in dialog.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Play Loop for Sibelius 3

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 18 Aug 2011)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This plug-in allows you to choose a section of the score and have it played back as a loop. This is ideal for using Sibelius as an accompanist to practice tricky passages.

Does not work in Sibelius versions after 3.x: try the updated version instead.

Plug-in written by Brian Bargent.

Fix Tied Notes Live Playback

Version 01.02.01
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in processes notes and corrects problems with the Live Playback Original Duration in tied notes. If the Live Playback duration in a tied note has been set such that it ends either before or after the notational duration (i.e., if the note is a quarter note/crotchet, and Live Playback only plays for an eighth note/quaver), the note can playback incorrectly (the following note it is tied to will play with a separate attack). To prevent that, the Live Playback duration is set to the notational duration less the Live Start Position in those cases, so the tied note playback stops exactly at the end. A log file of changes will be written.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Check Pizzicatos

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is an updated version of the Check Pizzicatos plug-in that ships with Sibelius 3. This version fixes the problem whereby the first pizz. marking in a staff may be marked as suspect.

To use the plug-in, simply choose it from the Plug-ins menu and follow the on-screen instructions.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin.

Plug-in written by Sibelius Software Ltd..

Check Multiple Stops

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Mar 2008)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This is an updated version of the Check Multiple Stops plug-in that ships with Sibelius 3. This version fixes the problem whereby staves belonging to non-string instruments were incorrectly being analysed by the plug-in.

To use the plug-in, simply choose it from the Plug-ins menu and follow the on-screen instructions.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping version of this plugin.

Plug-in written by Neil Sands.

Add Note Names And Pitch

Version 02.02.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 24 Jun 2012)

For use with Sibelius 3.x

This plug-in is based on the Add Note Names plug-in included with Sibelius 3. It has a number of additional options, namely:

  • Ability to add octave (e.g. C4) and /or MIDI pitch (C4(72)) to a note name
  • New "font" option "Alternate Up-Down" that puts alternate note names above or below the staff. This is helpful for the octave/MIDI pitch options, which tend to overlap pretty quickly.

For Sibelius 5, use the shipping Add Note Names plugin.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

German Chord Names

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 2.x, Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in converts chord symbols text in your score between the German (B = B flat, H = B) and standard (Bb = B flat, B = B) conventions for chord symbols. This is useful when e.g. wanting to transpose German chord symbols (convert them to standard chord symbols, transpose, then convert them back to German chord symbols).

Updated August 9, 2008 to handle alternate flat symbol in Sib 5.

Updated 20 October 2014 to mark them as usable through Sibelius 7.5. No code changes were made. Note that the plugin will only work with Legacy Chord Symbols, and that the Engraving Rules-Chord Symbols-Language feature is a better way to show German chord symbol names.

Plug-in written by Gunnar Hellquist.

Find Empty Text Strings

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 19 Nov 2011)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

This plug-in finds empty text strings and adds text to them so they can be found and deleted. (The plug-in is unable to delete them itself). It will optionally color the found text.

Once the plug-in runs, you can use Find or filter the new text (which should be unique), and then delete the selected text.

It will work on a selection, but is probably most useful run on an entire score - either have no selection, or select the entire score with Edit > Select > Select All.

For Sibelius 5, use the Delete Empty Text Strings plugin.

This plugin will run in Sibelius 6, but should rarely be needed.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Add or Replace System Text

Version 01.86.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 28 May 2018)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in can write up to three items of system text (e.g. Title, Copyright, Composer, etc.) to all the scores in a folder. It is able to replace any existing text if required.

Updated May 22, 2008 to work with user-defined styles in Sibelius 4 and 5.

Updated 2 April 2009 for internal code cleanup

Updated 7 June 2012 to add quiet opening checkbox to open scores from earlier versions with default options.

Updated 28 May 2018. Internal code cleanup. No new features.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Reverse Text

Version 02.00.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 23 Apr 2018)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Reverse Text reverses the order of text in each selected Text, Lyric, or System Text object. It will not reverse the orderof a sequence of objects, but just the text within single objects. If you want objects in the system staff (like Title Text) reversed, create a system (double blue box) selection.

One use for this might be to reverse Hebrew or Arabic text.

This plug-in does not handle multi-line text well; it is best to split such items into separate text objects for each line. (Multi-line items will reverse, but the line separator will be lost).

Updated 22 April 2018. Now handles line feeds, and adds several new options for reversing letters, words, or lines.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

French Chord Names

Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 2.x, Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

This plug-in converts chord symbols text in your score between the French (sol-fa) and standard (Bb = B flat, B = B) conventions for chord symbols. This is useful when e.g. wanting to transpose German chord symbols (convert them to standard chord symbols, transpose, then convert them back to French chord symbols).

Updated 20 October 2014 to mark them as usable through Sibelius 7.5. No code changes were made. Note that the plugin will only work with Legacy Chord Symbols, and that the Engraving Rules-Chord Symbols-Language feature is a better way to show French chord symbol names.

Plug-in written by Tim Watson.

Multirest Text

Version 01.81.00
Added 01 Aug 2005 (last updated 17 Jun 2015)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Multirest Text builds a text string out of 2 user-typed pieces of text and the optional multirest number, so you can add text like \\\\\\\"Play 3 times\\\\\\\" automatically to a multirest.

There are a number of centering options possible (see the Help screen for details), but it generally works best with text styles that are defined as centered. There are 2 \\\\\\\"built-in\\\\\\\" styles (Lyrics and Lyrics(chorus)), and you can also type in the name of any text style you wish.

Some sample text styles are defined in the included MultirestTextStyle.lib house style. Import the text styles from this house style, and two new entries will appear in the built in style list (Multirest center (Times) and Multirest center (Inkpen). You can also define your own styles, named Multirest center3 through Multirest center6, and these will also show up in the list. They are assumed by the plugin to be centered in both directions.

You can use uncentered styles and make adjustments by clicking on the Advanced button and using the fields in that dialog.

Updated 19 April 2009 to fix failure to handle custom text styles in Sib 5.

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Calculate Golden Sections

Added 09 Aug 2005 (last updated 03 Sep 2005)

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

In the author's own words:

This plug-in calculates where the Golden Sections in a score are. It shows them in a window and marks them to the score to 6th level. This can be used to study compositions and to help you to make your pieces proportionally pleasant. For example, create an empty score and let this put down where te division points should be. Then just start to compose. (Finally, remove the marks from the score!)

Plug-in written by Väinö Piipponen.

Quiz Plug-ins

Added 20 Aug 2005

For use with Sibelius 3.x and Sibelius 4

The plug-in's author says:

"I created a template for writing little musical games in Manuscript. With it, I wrote these three quiz-games - these can be used for testing your (or your students) knowledge or just for fun. You can easily write more games or tests by using one of these as a template. There are clear instructions in the Run method of each of these plug-ins. Preferably create a new folder for these in the plug-ins folder and put these there. Name it Quiz or whatever you want."

Plug-in written by Väinö Piipponen.

Chord Symbol No Superscript

Version 01.35.00
Added 12 Jan 2006 (last updated 19 Feb 2019)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Changes the numeric characters, flat, or sharp symbols in chord symbols to a font of your choice in which the characters are not superscripted. The most likely replacement font choices are Opus PlainChords or Inkpen2 Text, but you can type in any font you like. There is no way for the plug-in to validate the existence of the font, so please type carefully!

Only single numbers will be changed, not stacked digits. Do not use the \\\'flat\\\' option if you are using lower case \\\'b\\\' characters that are not flat symbols, as all lower case \\\'b\\\'s will be changed.

By default, all numbers and accidentals will have the font applied. If you need more control over which characters change, use Advanced Options, which allows you to have, for example, only numbers or accidentals not in extensions un-subscripted. So as an example, you could have Abmaj7b5, and in Opus Chords font all the numbers and accidentals are superscripted. By applying various options, the b following the A can be normal, but the b following the 7 can be subscripted; the 7 can be un-subscripted, while the 5 can be subscripted.

The resulting text objects can have multiple fonts; if you add new chords, they changes will not be applied, but the plug-in can be re-run as needed.

Since any font can be typed in, you can choose different fonts with the proper characteristics to add superscripts rather than removing them, and other options as well.

While this does work in Sibelius 5, it should rarely be needed. Its function is taken by the Chords(superscript root accidental) Word menu in the Chord Symbol text style.

Updated 1 Feb 2015 to respell menu name. No code change.

Updated 18 February 2019 changed version number on download page to match file (01.35.00)

Plug-in written by Bob Zawalich.

Extract PhotoScore Lyrics

Added 22 Nov 2006 (last updated 23 Nov 2006)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4 and Sibelius 4.1

This plug-in manipulates lyrics in scores that have been imported from PhotoScore Professional.

Plug-in written by Peter Hayter.

Trombone Slide Positions

Version 02.02.00
Added 21 Apr 2008 (last updated 21 Feb 2020)

For use with Sibelius 3.x, Sibelius 4, Sibelius 4.1, Sibelius 5, Sibelius 6, Sibelius 7.1, Sibelius 7.5, Sibelius 8.x, Sibelius 18.x, Sibelius 19.x, Sibelius 20.x, Sibelius 21.x, Sibelius 22.x, Sibelius 23.x and Sibelius 24.x

Adds possible slide positions for selected Bb/F trombone notes in the range from F an octave below the bass stave to the Bb an octave above it.

You can specify which voices should be marked.

Plug-in written by Ian Cugley.