Finding a tool in the Flat editor used to mean scanning the toolbar, clicking through menus, or leaving your score to search the help center. That's over.
Quick Search is live. Press / anywhere in the editor, type what you're looking for, and activate it. Every notation tool, layout option, and instrument setting in Flat is now searchable, from the keyboard, without breaking your flow.
Here's what's new.
What shipped
- The
/keyboard shortcut. Press it anywhere in the editor (not in a text field) to open Quick Search instantly. - Toolbar search button. The search icon in the new toolbar opens the same modal.
- Recently used actions. Open Quick Search without typing to see the tools you used most on the current score.
- Free and Power badges. Every result shows what's on your plan. Activating a Power tool on a free account takes you to the upgrade page.
- Category filter tabs. Results spanning Notation, Instruments, and Layout get tabs so you can narrow down fast.
- Shortcut hints. Every result card shows the keyboard shortcut for that tool.
Quick Search searches toolbar actions: notation tools, instrument settings, layout options. Not your score library. That's coming later.
Why we built it
The Flat editor is deep. That's the point. It's what makes it capable enough for serious composition. But depth has a cost. The more tools exist, the harder it is to find a specific one, especially one you don't reach for every day.
The pattern was always the same. You'd remember a feature existed but not where it lived. You'd scan the toolbar, click the wrong section, check the help center, lose your place. New users hit this immediately. Experienced users hit it with less common tools. Composers working in a language other than English hit it every time they searched for a term Flat only recognized in one language.
Quick Search cuts all of that out. And if you prefer working without the mouse, it pairs naturally with Flat's full keyboard shortcut system - including Workflow Modes.
How it works
Open any score in the Flat editor and press /. The modal opens with your recently used tools already listed. No typing needed if what you need is already there.
Start typing and results appear immediately. Each result card shows the tool name, where it lives in the toolbar if it's nested, and the keyboard shortcut if one exists.
Try it in Flat:
- Open any score and press
/ - Type a tool name or partial word.
- Press Enter or click the result to activate it.
The modal closes. The tool fires. You're back in your score.
One thing worth knowing: if a tool isn't available in your current context, the result shows as disabled and won't fire. The badge on each card tells you in advance whether a tool needs a plan upgrade to activate.
Who it's for
Quick Search works differently depending on how you use Flat.
If you're new to the editor, you no longer need to memorize the toolbar layout. Type what you want in plain language and find it. The shortcut hints on every result card help you build keyboard fluency as you go - and the step-by-step tutorial is a good companion if you're just getting started.
If you're a keyboard-first composer, this is the missing piece. The tools you reach for occasionally are now a / and a few letters away. No mouse required. You can also customize your own keyboard shortcuts for the tools you use most.
If you compose in a language other than English, Flat's editor now understands how you talk about music. Quick Search covers 28 locales, and we're expanding based on real search data every week.
Switching from another notation tool? The keyboard shortcuts migration guide maps every shortcut difference between Flat and MuseScore, Dorico, or Sibelius.
Get started
Quick Search is live now for all Flat users on the new toolbar. No plan upgrade, no settings to change.
Not on the new toolbar yet? Switch in your editor settings. It takes seconds.
Open a score on Flat, press /, and find the tool you've been hunting for.