QUICK REFERENCE TABLE FOR PMX, Version 2.94, Jan 2020 Don Simons (dsimons@roadrunner.

com)

This table defines PMX command syntax. Each command starts with a single character from a non-indented
line, followed by characters from subsequent indented lines, with no internal spaces. When characters on the same
line are separated by commas, only one can be used, unless otherwise noted. Characters enclosed in brackets
[ ] are optional, but if one is used and the following line is indented and unbracketed, then one character must
be used from the unbracketed group. Several characters, chosen from different lines that are indented the same
amount, may be used in sequence. d1, d2 are single digits, so for example d1[d2] is a one- or two-digit integer.
i, i1, or i2 is any non-negative integer. x or y is any non-negative decimal number.

a,b,c,d,e,f,g Note name. Note options, continued

[0,2,4,8,1, If first digit, duration. Must in- [xi] An i-tuplet starts here. Duration
3,6,9] clude if duration not yet set in (already set) refers to total for
current input block. xtuplet. Next i−1 notes or rests
[1,2,3,4,5, If second digit, Octave number. are in xtuplet. They must have
6,7] Must include if octave not yet no duration number; may have
set in current input block. octave number or d for dot.
[d] Dot. [d] Dot first xtup note, halve next.
[+.- x] Vertical shift, \internotes. [n] Fine-tune printed number.
[+.- x] Horiz. shift, notehead widths. (blank) Don’t print number.
[d] Double dot. [f] Flip vertical location.
[f,s,n] Accidental. Repeat for double. [i] Replacement printed number.
[+,- i +,- x] Vertical shift, \internotes; horiz. [+,- i] Vertical shift, \internotes.
shift, notehead widths. [+,- x] Horiz. shift, notehead widths.
[<,> x] Horiz. shift, notehead widths. [s] Fine tune slope of bracket for
[i] MIDI-only accidental. non-beamed xtuplet.
[c] Cautionary accidental. +,- i Slope adjustment.
[+,-] Shift octave from default (default [xT] Start a 2-note tremolo. Next
is within a 4th). note is 2nd note. If starting note
[u,l] Force stem direction. has d, 2nd note must not, unless
[a] Prohibit beaming this note. If dot needs to be moved.
first note of xtuplet, prohibit [0,1,2,3] Number of main beams between
beaming the xtuplet. 2 notes.
[r] Right offset by one notehead. [0,1,2,3] Number of indented beams.
[e] Left offset by one notehead. z Chordal note. No duration al-
[.] Dot shortcut: a8.b = ad8 b1 lowed.
[,] 2:1 shortcut: a8,b = a8 b1 a,b,c,d,e,f,g Note name.
[D] In xtuplet note only, double du- [f,s,n] Flat, sharp, natural. Repeat for
ration. Reduce number of notes double flat or sharp. Shift op-
in xtup by 1. tions same as on main note.
[F] As above, and add dot. [A] (Preceding a shift) Apply shift
[S,L x] Shrink or lengthen stem length relative to PMX-computed one.
by x \internote. [+,-] Up or down one octave. may use
[:] Make it sticky. several in succession.
[S,L :] Shrink or lengthen this stem, [r,e] Right or left offset by one note-
then return to default. head.
[Ao] In main chord note, post acciden- [d] Dot. Permitted but not required,
tals in order entered. unless dot is to be shifted.
[T] Single-note tremolo (slashes [+,- x] Vertical shift, \internotes.
across stem). [+,- x] Horiz. shift, notehead widths.
[1,2,3] Number of slashes; 1 is default.
r Rest. G Grace note group.
[0,2,4,8,1, Duration. Must include if dura- [i] Number of notes in group. Not
3,6,9] tion not yet set in current input needed if 1. If >1, next i − 1
block. notes are in grace.
[d] Dot. [s] Slur to/from main note.
[p] Full-bar rest using ’Pause’ sym- [m d1] Multiplicity (number of flags or
bol (no digit). beams). Default is 1.
[mi] Multi-bar rest of i bars. [x] Slash. Single grace only.
[nj] Put number at level j. Default is [l,u] Forced stem direction.
9, below staff is -6. Change is [A,W] Put grace just after main note, or
“sticky”. shifted as far right as possible.
[b] Blank rest, not printed (this line [Xx] Gap to main note, notehead
of music drops from sight). widths.
[o] Suppress centering full-bar rest. (first note) Must follow above options. Use
[+,- i] Raise/lower rest from middle same symbols as normal note.
line, \internotes. s,);t,} Slur/tie toggle, after note. With
[L] With AK, align rest with note to Ap, t or } causes true tie.
left. (;{ Placed before note, same as s or
[xi] Start xtup. After above options. } placed after.
See description for main note. [c] Optional ID code, 1-9 or A-Z .
o Ornament. Symbol comes after Must be first after s,t,(,{ .
note. [u,d,l] Force direction. Only allowed at
t,m,x,+,u,p, Shake, mordent, “x”, “+”, slur/tie start.
(,), ,.,>,^ pizz., strong pizz., “(” before [t] Position slur end as tie rather
notehead, “)” after notehead, than slur. With postscript slurs,
tenuto, stacc., sfz, duncecap print a true tie.
c,b Caesura, breath. [b] Dotted slur.
[+,- i] Vertical shift, \internote. [+,- i] Raise/lower start/end of slur,
[+,- x] Horiz. shift, notehead widths. \internotes.
f Fermata. Default is up. [+,- x] Horizontal shift start/end of slur,
[d] Convert to down fermata. notehead widths.
T,Tt Trill (tr) with or without wavy [+,- i] Mid-height alteration, nonzero,
line. only on termination.
[x] Length to end of wavy line, [:d1d2] Alter starting and ending slope,
\noteskips. Default is one 1-7.
\noteskip. Use oT0 for tr . [f,n,h,H,HH] Flatten, normalize, or increase
g Segno. Voice #1 only. curve. For font-based, on end
[-]n Horizontal shift, points. only. For Type K linebrk, 1st
G Smaller segno, any voice. seg if on start, 2nd if on end.
[[-]d1[d1]] Offset of segno symbol in points. [s +,- i] On start of a line-breaking type
e Editorial accidental. K slur or tie, vertical adjust-
s,f,n Sharp, flat, natural. ment of end of first segment.
[?] Editorial accidental is dubious. +,- x Horizontal tweak of end of first
? Text is dubious. segment.
C Coda. [s +,- i] Vertical adjustment of start of
[+,- i] (After setting ornament type) second segment.
Raise/lower by i \internotes +,- x Horizontal tweak of start of sec-
from default. ond segment.
[:] Repeat toggle. Must come last. [p] Local change in postscript slur or
First instance, after setting or- tie adjustment.
nament type, gives all later +,- Turn on or off automatic adjust-
notes same ornament, until o: ment.
shuts it off. s,t Adjust slur or tie.
[v] Stem slur, postscript only.
A Miscellaneous controls. Only at D Dynamics.
start of first block except i , I p,pp,...,ffff Pre-defined standard dynamics.
[i,I x] Factor on \interstaff "text" Any text string.
[d] Lower dots in lower voice of 2 on <.> Hairpin toggles.
a staff [+,- n ] Vertical shift from default,
[ax] Change afterruleskip to x \internotes.
\elemskips. Default is 1. [+,- n ] Horizontal shift from default,
[b,s] Force big or small accidentals. notehead widths.
[r] Relative accidentals. Must be set F Cancels figures in bass line (use
if transposing. with %1 in score file to make a
[e] Equalize inter-system spacing. bass part with no figures).
[S] Make some staves small. h,w If followed by number, page
c1c2... A string of specifiers 0 (normal); height or width. Only at start
-,s (small); t (tiny); one for of first input block.
each staff. x Page height or width.
[v] Toggles vshrink (initially on), [i,m,p] Inches, mm, points. Default is
which collapses pages vertically points.
when computed \interstaff
h If followed by blank or [+,-],
exceeds 20.
heading. Next input line will
[N] User-defined part file name.
print above top staff.
i1"name1" Base name to use in part i1.
[+,- i] Alter height from default,
[i2"name2"] Base name to use in part i2.
\internote
[...] Continue with other parts as de-
sired. I MIDI controls. Only at start of
[T] Use Col. S’s broken brackets for an input block.
non-beamed xtups. [tx] Set tempo to x beats per minute.
[p] Activate postscript slurs. [px] Insert a pause of x quarter notes.
l Activate special adjustments for [ii1i2...in] Specify noinst MIDI instru-
line-breaking slurs and ties. ments. i1,i2...in are integers
h Input Type K postscript header between 1 and 128 or 2-letter
at start of every page, so pages abbreviations. Consecutive in-
can be separated e.g. with dvis- tegers must be separated with
elec. ":".
[+,-] Turn on or off global slur or tie [vi1:i2:...in] Specify noinst velocities (vol-
adjustments, or halfties. umes), 1≤i≤128.
s,t,h,c Switch slur, tie, halftie, or [bi1:i2:...in] Specify noinst balances
ratchet curvature. 1≤i≤128, 64=center.
[R] Read in normal include file. [T] MIDI-only transposition.
filename File name, may include path. +,- i1 +,- i2 Amounts of transpositions in
[K] Activate special rules for rest ... +,- in \internotes, noinst values.
positions in 2-staff keyboard [gi] Internote gap in midi tics. De-
scores. fault = 10
[cl,c4] Set vert. and horiz. page sizes [MRi] Start recording macro i.
and offsets for letter or a4 pa- [M] Stop recording.
per. [MPi] Playback (insert) macro i.
[V +,- n1 +,- Vertical skips, \internotes, be- K Key signature change and/or
n2] fore and after next \eject. transposition.
B Toggles default stem direction for [n] Suppress printing naturals.
middle line of bass clef. (intial [i i] Applies only to instrument i.
direction is up). +,- i Amount of transposition in \in-
ternotes. Use -0 to transpose
C Clef change.
by 1/2 step to same-name key.
t,s,m,a,n,r, treble, soprano, mezzo-soprano,
+,- i New key signature.
b,f,8 or 0-8 alto, tenor, baritone, bass,
[i i]... Applies to another instrument i.
French violin, octave treble
l Next input line is a text string to P Start page numbering in this
appear below top staff. page. Voice #1 only. Start of
Li Force a line break at line i. Voice input block only.
#1 only. Start of block only. [i] Starting page number. Default is
[Pi] Force a page break at page i. 1.
[M] Movement break. Must follow P [r,l] Margin for starting page number.
if present. Default is ’r’.
[+i] Extra vertical space, [c] Centered header on each page.
\internote. Must be last option in symbol.
[ix] New indent, decimal fraction of Default text is instrument name
line width. [text] Text with no blanks
[c] Continue bar numbering, do not ["text"] Text with blanks
reset. R Repeat or doublebar. Voice #1
[r +,-] Force or suppress reprinting in- only. Doublebars at start of bar
strument names. only.
[ni] Change to i instruments. l,r,lr,d,D,dl Left repeat, right repeat, l-
d1d2...di Numbers of instruments. Pre- r rpt, doublebar, doubleBAR,
cede 2-digit numbers with : doublebar-left repeat.
c1c2...ck Clef symbols. Enter one for every z Blank barline at next system
staff in new lineup. break.
[Sx] Shorten this system to fraction X b Single bar (end of movement or
of orig. piece).
LCy After LiSx and after gap, short Si Reset total number of systems to
segment of length fraction y to i. Only at start of first input
end of system. block. Only useful with \%j for
[n] Suppress bar number at start of automatically generated parts.
2nd segment [Pi] Force total number of pages to be
m Meter change. Voice #1 only. i.
Start of input block only. [mi] Change musicsize to i.
o,d1[d2] True numerator of meter. Use o T Title string. Only at start of first
if full value is exactly 1. If d1=1, input block.
numerator is 10+d2. t[d1[d2]],i,c Title of piece (centered), instru-
d1[d2] True denominator. ment (left justified), or com-
o,d1[d2] Printed numerator of meter. Use poser (right justified). Follow-
o as above. ing line is the text. Tt may be
d1[d2] Printed denominator. followed by a number (\inter-
d1[d2]/ (Alternate syntax) true numer- notes) to add vertical space be-
ator low entire title block. Tt must
d1[d2]/ true denominator come after Ti and Tc for this to
d1[d2]/ printed numerator work.
d1[d2] printed denominator text\\text Make a line break in the title
M Macro. If alone, ends recording string.
or saving. V Toggle for Volta. Voice #1
[R,S,P] Record (store and execute), save only. Start of bar only. For
(store but do not execute), or scor2prt, only allowed one per
playback. input block, and it must come
i Macro ID number, from 1 to 20. at start of block.
[text] Text for start of volta. May not
be “b” or “x”.
b,x At end of volta, boxed end or
horizontal (no box).
W Set new minimum horizontal ][ Between two notes in a forced
space between noteheads. beam, decrease multiplicity to
. Decimal point (required). 1, then immediately increase.
d1 Tenths of notehead width. De- Treated as a single symbol, set
fault is 3. off by spaces.
x Floating figure (offset to right). ]-[ Between two notes in forced
d1 Number of note-length units of beam, end one segment and
offset. start next of a single-slope beam
d2 Note-length unit. Same code as group
for note durations. ( Placed before a note, equivalent
2,3,...,9, Characters for floating figure, ar- to s after note.
#,-,n,0d1 ranged as in normal figure. ) Equivalent to s .
X Shift or insert hardspace. { Placed before a note, equivalent
[-]x Distance. Default units are note- to t after note.
head widths. } Equivalent to t .
[p] Units are points. ? Arpeggio start/stop. Comes af-
[:] Begin shift (if number ter note.
also present), end shift (if [-x] Shift left by x notehead widths.
no number),
\,\\,\\\ Start a literal TEX string before
[S] Single-note shift (S).
next note, before \startmuflex,
[P] Use only in part, not score.
or before first \notes group of
[B] Use in both score and part.
current input block.
2,3,...,9,#,-,n Normal figure. Combine charac- Text\ TeX string and terminator. May
ters as needed. See manual. have more than one TeX com-
[v] Start vertical shift for this line. mand, strung end-to-end.
[+,- i] Vertical offset, \internotes. --- (3 minus’s) Toggle for multiline TEX block.
0 (zero) Continuation figure. Must start on first line. All lines
x Length in \internotes. until next --- will be copied
(underscore) Placeholder figure, to lower the verbatim to top of TEX file.
next one.
[|] Bar line. Only used for checking,
[+i] In any figure, raise by i \inter-
except required after end-of-bar
notes.
inserted hardspace.
[s] (With 2,4,5,6,9) add slash. Must
have font cmrj. / Terminate input for a staff in this
input block.
[ Start a forced beam.
[j] Continue an existing staff- // Terminate first line of music on
jumping beam. this staff for this input block,
[u,l] Direction of forced beam. start a second line of music on
[f] Flip beam direction. same staff.
[m d1] Forced multiplicity. d1 = 1 - 4. % Comment line.
[h] Force horizontal beam (zero [h]text Scor2prt will put text into the
slope). part whose hexadecimal number
[:] After this forced beam, con- is h.
tinue forced beaming over the [!]text text will be put in all parts by
same interval until next explicit scor2prt.
forced beam or end of input [%] Following line will be ignored by
block. scor2prt.
[+,- i] Vertical offset, \internotes. . Detatched dot-form shortcut.
[+,- i] Change slope from default. note command Note will have 1/3 duration
[+,- i] Distance to raise or lower beam, of prior note. See note name
beam thk’s. command.
] End forced beam. , Detatched 2:1 shortcut. Note
[j] Keep beam open, prepare to note command will have 1/2 duration of prior
jump to other staff note. See note name command.
" Lyrics. See pmx294.pdf section
text" 2.2.15 for details.
[@] Set a vertical offset
a,b Above or below the staff
+,- i Amount of offset, \internotes