Command Palette in Guitar Pro 8

The Command Palette in Guitar Pro is a powerful tool designed to streamline your workflow, enabling you to edit and manage your score efficiently. By entering a command, you can perform actions quickly, from adding musical elements to adjusting score settings. This section provides a clear guide to using the Command Palette, helping you enhance your score editing process with ease.

Accessing the Command Palette

To open the Command Palette, select Tools > Show Command Palette from the menu or press Ctrl+E. The palette appears above your score, just below the tab bar, ready for your input.

How the Command Palette Works

When you open the Command Palette, it starts empty, prompting you to type an action. A helpful message appears: “Type ? to show the commands list, up or down to browse the command history.”

To view all available commands, enter ?, or start typing a prefix, such as “chord” or “print”, to filter the list dynamically. As you type, the palette updates to display matching commands.

Navigate the alphabetically sorted list using the Up or Down arrow keys. Active commands appear in white, while greyed-out commands require a selection first, for example, “Set palm mute” needs selected notes to be applicable.

Each command includes a prefix on the left to activate it and a description on the right for clarity. Some commands execute instantly, while others prompt for additional options to complete the action.

Quick Commands

Quick commands execute immediately without additional input, functioning like a single-click action. For example, to add a palm mute, type “palm”, select palm-mute > Set palm mute using Tab, Enter, or a click to fill the command.

Press Enter or click to apply the palm mute. If a palm mute is already set, the palette prompts to remove it. Another example is typing “print” to access Print > Print Score for instant score printing.

Explore the 32 quick commands listed below for rapid score editing.

Advanced Commands

Advanced commands require additional steps, offering more control for complex tasks like adding bars or editing bends.

Adding Bars to Your Score

To add bars, type “add”, select add-bar with Tab, Enter, or a click.

When prompted with bar-count in italics, enter a number, such as 20.

Confirm add-bar 20 with Enter or a click to insert 20 bars into your score.

Repeating Bars

For repeating bars, select repeat bar(s), enter a number like 10, and confirm. The selected bars will repeat 10 times.

Editing a Bend

To edit a bend, type “bend”, select bend, then specify a value by typing “bend 2” and pressing Enter, clicking a preset like “Full”, or using arrows to scroll and confirming with Enter.

The bend is applied to the selected notes.

Expanding Commands with the Tab Key

Commands marked with a ↹ icon offer additional options. Press Tab to explore them.

Editing the Clef

To change the clef, type “clef”, select Set clef, and press Tab to cycle through options like treble or bass.

Continue tabbing to adjust further settings, such as octave shifts, then press Enter to confirm.

Commands and Patterns

Certain commands use patterns, such as pickstroke sequences, to format your score precisely.

Adding a Pickstroke Pattern

With the cursor on a bar, type “pickstroke”, select pickstroke, and respond to the pattern prompt.

Use d for down, u for up, or Space for none. Enter a sequence like “dduddud” (down-down-up-down-down-up-down) and confirm.

Applying a Pattern to a Selection

Select bars, then apply a pattern, such as “ud” for a brush effect across all beats.

Refer to the pattern table below for detailed options.

Smart Searches and Filters

As you type, the Command Palette narrows the list dynamically to match your input.

You don’t need to know exact prefixes: typing “ff” finds dynamic > Set dynamic for fortissimo, while “xml” reveals export options.

Summary

• Access the Command Palette via Tools > Show Command Palette or Ctrl+E.
• Type ? to display all commands. Command availability depends on your selection.
• Search by typing part of an action to see suggestions, use prefixes to activate commands, complete them with Tab, Enter, or a click, and apply with Enter or a click.
• Quick commands, like “palm-mute”, require only a prefix, while advanced commands, such as “add-bar 20”, need additional options.
• Use Tab to explore more settings, and apply patterns, like “ddu”, for specific formatting. English commands, searchable in your language if supported.

Quick Commands List

Advanced Commands List

Expression Text

The Expression Text tool, accessible via Tools > Expression Text or Shift+Cmd+E, or by typing > in the Command Palette, allows you to add musical elements without using prefixes.

You can add chords, dynamics, key signatures, octave signs, clefs, or directions. For example, type “ff” for fortissimo or “G maj” for G major, select the desired option, and press Enter to place it on your score.

Action List

The Action List, accessible via Tools > Action List, Alt+Cmd+E, or by typing **@** in the Command Palette, provides direct access to menu actions from categories like File, Edit, Track, and more.

For instance, type “fretboard” to trigger View > Show Fretboard View, or “multitrack” to toggle the multitrack setting, executing menu commands efficiently.

Pattern Commands Table