Style guide
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All text is to be written in sentence case. This includes all paragraphs, headings, and page titles.
Proper nouns and abbreviations should be capitalized according to the prevailing form used on the Wikipedia page of the topic in question.
Import the MusicXML file. MusicXML is capitalized
Customize the user interface (UI). UI is capitalized and user interface is not
Available in braille and Modified Stave Notation. MSN is capitalized and braille is not
Contractions of everyday speech should not be capitalized.
A quarter note (aka crotchet) is a musical duration. aka is not capitalized
When writing instructions for the user, text that appears in MuseScore's user interface should be copied verbatim, including any capitalization, and highlighted in bold without enclosing quotation marks.
Press the Not now button. Not now is bold and capitalized like in the application
Where appropriate, hyperlinks may be added to key words or phrases in ordinary text, which should be written to make sense without the link. In general, the full URL should not be displayed.
Plain domain names should be captalized like the brand name. The top-level domain (TLD; e.g. .com
, .org
, .co.uk
, etc.) should be omitted unless there's a good reason to include it.
Keyboard shortcuts should be formatted as follows:
Modifiers should be written in this form and in this order for each platform:
In Linux-specifc instructions, the Win key should be written as Super.
Keys that type printable characters should be represented by that character.
All non-printing keys should be referenced by their (possibly abbreviated) name rather than by a symbol.
Typed sequences should usually be formatted as inline code
, even if it's just a single character.
Occassionally, it may be preferable to show the actual keys pressed, formatted as keyboard shortcuts rather than as inline code.
Page titles should be relatively short. Ideally the title should fit on one line in the Summary on the left of the screen, although this may not always be possible. Bear in mind that page titles may be significantly longer when translated to other languages besides English.
Tips to keep page titles short:
Avoid saying "score" (e.g. "Selecting elements", not "Selecting elements in the score")
Avoid saying "MuseScore" (e.g. "Upgrading", not "Upgrading MuseScore Studio")
When subpages are used, only one level of subpages may be used. Never create a subsubpage.
Parent pages should have very short titles because its title appears in the URLs of all its subpages.
Groups should have very short names. This is because the group name appears in the URLs of all pages within the group.
It is possible to edit the group slug to make it shorter than the actual group name. However, in general, this should not be done. Instead, the group name should be made as short as possible.
Watch the . Text makes sense without the link
Watch the tutorial . Text wouldn't make sense if the link was removed
Watch it at . Don't show the URL
Find us on and . Omit .com TLDs for these popular sites
Listen on . TLD is part of the website's branding
Visit . TLD is necessary to distinguish from MuseScore.com
Download the installer from . Referring specifically to the website
Get the sounds in . Referring to the app (but linking to the website)
Press Shift+1—9. en-dash indicates range
Press Ctrl+Shift++/- (Mac: Cmd+Shift++/-). slash indicates alternatives
Windows & Linux: Win+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Fn+…
Mac: Ctrl+Cmd+Option+Shift+Fn+…
. , ; ' [ ] / \ - = ` etc.
Space Backspace Del Ins Esc Return Up Down Left Right PgUp PgDn Home End Menu Caps Lock
To enter a double flat, type bb
. Inline code (single element)
To enter a double flat, type B B. Keyboard keys (space between each key)
You're currently viewing the page, which is a subpage of .
In general, we prefer to use rather than subpages, to avoid nesting in the Summary.