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Keybindings Reference

Complete reference for all keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls in anupars.

Playhead Movement

KeyActionDescription
hMove LeftMove playhead 1 step left
jMove DownMove playhead 1 step down
kMove UpMove playhead 1 step up
lMove RightMove playhead 1 step right
Ctrl+hAim Left (preview)Hold to preview a left jump, press any movement key to commit
Ctrl+jAim Down (preview)Hold to preview a down jump, press any movement key to commit
Ctrl+kAim Up (preview)Hold to preview an up jump, press any movement key to commit
Ctrl+lAim Right (preview)Hold to preview a right jump, press any movement key to commit
Option+h / Alt+hLeap LeftJump 5 steps left
Option+j / Alt+jLeap DownJump 5 steps down
Option+k / Alt+kLeap UpJump 5 steps up
Option+l / Alt+lLeap RightJump 5 steps right

macOS: Option+hjkl produces Unicode characters (˙, , ˚, ¬) which are automatically mapped.

Playhead Area Adjustment

KeyActionDescription
Shift+h / HScale LeftDecrease area width by 1
Shift+j / JScale DownDecrease area height by 1
Shift+k / KScale UpIncrease area height by 1
Shift+l / LScale RightIncrease area width by 1
Shift+Option+h*Scale Left (Large)Decrease area width by 8
Shift+Option+j*Scale Down (Large)Decrease area height by 8
Shift+Option+k*Scale Up (Large)Increase area height by 8
Shift+Option+l*Scale Right (Large)Increase area width by 8
⚠️

macOS only: Shift+Option combinations produce Unicode characters (Ó, Ô, “, Ò) for large scale adjustments.

Grid Configuration

KeyActionDescription
11×1 GridSingle cell (no splits)
22×1 Grid2 vertical splits
33×1 Grid3 vertical splits
44×1 Grid4 vertical splits
54×2 Grid4×2 grid (8 cells)
64×3 Grid4×3 grid (12 cells)
74×4 Grid4×4 grid (16 cells)

Playback Control

KeyActionDescription
SpaceToggle Play/PauseStart or stop playback
Ctrl+fToggle ForwardEnable forward playback mode
Ctrl+rToggle ReverseEnable reverse playback mode
Ctrl+dToggle RandomEnable random playback mode
Ctrl+pToggle PendulumEnable pendulum playback mode

Modes

KeyActionDescription
Ctrl+aToggle ArpeggiatorEnable/disable arpeggiator mode
Ctrl+uToggle AccumulationEnable/disable queue accumulation
Ctrl+eToggle Event OperatorEnable/disable event operators
Ctrl+nToggle Drain QueueEnable/disable queue draining
Ctrl+sToggle SweepEnable/disable sweep mode
!Toggle Sweep MovementEnable/disable independent sweep crosshair direction (requires Sweep mode)
Shift+|Cycle Sweep Row ModeCycle sweep row filter: Normal → Odd → Even → Random
Ctrl+tCycle Tilt (TLT)Cycle sweep crosshair angle: | → / → \
Ctrl+oToggle DroneEnable/disable drone mode
Ctrl+yToggle Dynamic LengthEnable/disable dynamic length mode
Ctrl+zToggle FreezeLock active position; retrigger matched cell at current DIV rate

Drone Mode Controls

KeyActionDescription
Ctrl+oToggle DroneEnable/disable drone mode; line starts at left edge of playhead area
iMove Drone LeftShift drone line one column left (within playhead area)
pMove Drone RightShift drone line one column right (within playhead area)
ICycle Drone Channel DownPrevious MIDI channel (1–16, wraps); shown as O<ch> in status bar
PCycle Drone Channel UpNext MIDI channel (1–16, wraps); shown as O<ch> in status bar

Tempo & Timing

KeyActionDescription
>Increase BPMSpeed up tempo
<Decrease BPMSlow down tempo
}Increase RatioIncrease timing ratio
{Decrease RatioDecrease timing ratio

Scale & Musical Settings

KeyActionDescription
Shift++ / Shift+PlusCycle Scale Mode UpNext musical scale (applies to active keyboard)
Shift+_ / Shift+UnderscoreCycle Scale Mode DownPrevious musical scale (applies to active keyboard)
= / EqualIncrease Root NoteNext root note (applies to active keyboard)
- / MinusDecrease Root NotePrevious root note (applies to active keyboard)
~Toggle Spatial KeyboardSwitch between top keyboard [ ∧ ] (x-axis) and left keyboard [ ∨ ] (y-axis)
(Cycle Left Keyboard Scale DownPrevious scale for left keyboard specifically
)Cycle Left Keyboard Scale UpNext scale for left keyboard specifically
9Decrease Left Keyboard RootPrevious root note for left keyboard specifically
0Increase Left Keyboard RootNext root note for left keyboard specifically

UI & Navigation

KeyActionDescription
Ctrl+bShow MenubarDisplay/access menu
EscToggle Input ModeSwitch between regex input and canvas
qQuitExit application

Mouse Controls

ActionDescription
ClickSet playhead position to clicked location
Click+DragAdjust playhead area size by dragging

Queue System Operators

KeyActionDescription
PPushPush current playhead position (or front event) onto OPQ
SSwapSwap the top two items in OPQ
OPopExecute and remove the front item from OPQ
DDuplicateDuplicate the top item in OPQ

Event Operators

KeyActionDescription
cChordTrigger a triad chord
hHold NoteSustain the note
rRatchetRe-trigger the note

Platform Notes

💡
  • macOS: Option key (⌥) is used for leap and large scale adjustments
  • Linux/Windows: Alt key behaves similarly to Option on macOS for leap functions
  • Cross-platform: Vim-style hjkl keys work consistently across all platforms
  • Arrow keys have been removed in favor of vim-style navigation
  • Minimum playhead area size is enforced (1×1) to prevent overflow errors