Customizing accessory or page turner shortcuts

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Use an accessory’s physical controls or gestures to perform common forScore tasks and access your favorite features. Popular examples include using a foot pedal to turn pages, double tapping the Apple Pencil 2 to switch annotation tools, or sending a program change message from a MIDI controller to open a specific score. To create your own shortcut, first connect your accessory to your iOS device—this differs depending on each accessory:

  • Connect standard Bluetooth accessories by visiting the Bluetooth section of iOS’ Settings app
  • Certain Bluetooth Smart accessories (like AirTurn PED) connect directly to the app through forScore’s Devices panel
  • Many USB accessories—including standard computer keyboards—can usually be connected using your iOS device’s port and an adapter, if needed
  • MIDI devices must be physically connected to your iOS device (a USB or MIDI adapter may be required) or configured to use a network MIDI session
  • Apple Pencil 2 pairs automatically when you attach it magnetically to the side of your iPad

Once your accessory is configured and connected, open the Tools menu, select Settings, and choose “Page Turners & Shortcuts.” Tap a command in the list provided to begin “listening” for a signal, then activate one of your accessory’s buttons, gestures, or controls. If it’s compatible with forScore, the corresponding characters, keystrokes, or MIDI code(s) will appear to the right of the command in the settings panel.

When you’re done, leave this panel and return to forScore’s main view. Repeating the accessory action at this point will invoke the corresponding command, if available (some commands are unavailable in certain situations and may not always respond). Tap the “x” button next to a saved command to remove it and restore its default setting.

Note: Some commands respond to certain keystrokes by default and shouldn’t need to be changed to function as expected. The “previous page” and “next page” commands, for instance, respond to left/right arrow keys, up/down arrow keys, and page up/page down keys (most page turners send these by default). Unless you’ve customized a command you’ll see its default keystrokes in light gray, where applicable.

Tip: If you’re using a computer keyboard and an iPad, press and hold the “command” key to see all currently available keyboard shortcuts, including any you’ve configured using the process described above.

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