Here is a list of keyboard shortcuts available in Unify. Keyboard shortcuts are quick ways to access alternative functions by holding down one or more “modifier keys” on your keyboard while clicking a GUI element with the mouse.

The mouse:

• Most computer mice have at least two buttons: left and right.
• “Click” (aka “single-click”) means “left-click” unless otherwise specified
• “Right-click” means to click with the right button instead of the left one
• “Double-click” means click the left button twice in rapid succession.
• “Drag” means press the left button down and hold it down while moving the mouse.

Modifier keys aka “shortcuts”:

• ALT is called “Option” on the Mac; CTRL and SHIFT are the same on both Mac and PC
• We don't use the Mac CMD (“command”) key, because the corresponding “Windows key” on a PC is technically equivalent, in practice it is hijacked by Windows to open the Start Menu, and hence not available for other uses.
• We don't distinguish between the SHIFT/ALT/CTRL keys at the left and right ends of the keyboard.

Ordinary single-clicking (without holding down any key) is used to select items in a displayed list, activate an on-screen button, or to open a pop-up menu.

• It is even more commonly used as the start of a “drag”, where the left button is held down while the mouse is moved, e.g. to adjust on-screen knobs/sliders, or re-order plug-ins on a layer.

Right-clicking (clicking the right mouse button instead of the left one) is always a shortcut to the “most common” operation, e.g.

• Right-clicking on menu icons (i.e., right-clicking in a place where a left-click would open a menu) selects the most common menu choice, without even displaying the menu.
• Right-click operations are always harmless, and usually open some kind of pop-up window.

CTRL + Click (hold down the CTRL key while left-clicking) serves as an alternative to “right click” because

• Many Mac users have a traditional single-button mouse, and
• Users with limited hand mobility find the right-click operation difficult

ALT-click (PC) or Option-click (Mac) is most commonly a “power-user shortcut”

• On menu icons, selects a non-harmless operation, e.g. removing a loaded plug-in.
• If you're not absolutely sure what holding down ALT/Option will do, check this list first!

Third-party plug-ins

• The shortcuts described here apply only in windows which are created by Unify itself, e.g.
  • The main Unify window
  • Linked-parameter windows
  • Built-in (as opposed to bundled) plug-ins
• Third-party plug-ins (including all the bundled ones like OB-Xd, Digits, etc. have been programmed by other people, and most have their own entirely different shortcut conventions, over which we have no control.

• ALT + Click the INIT button to delete all INST layers except the first
  • (Useful when working with PolyBox

The upper half of the patch browser is called the selector.

• Right-click or CTRL + click the “…” button beside the library-menu, to access the list of available library subset presets without having to first go to the Library Selector.

The lower half of the patch browser is called the chooser.

• Click (no modifiers) any patch to load that patch, replacing any previously-loaded patch
• Right-click or CTRL + click any patch to pop up a menu of available operations (shortcuts below provide quick access to some of these)
• ALT + Click any patch to add its layers to the current patch
  • Not all layers will be added
  • The new patch's Master Effects layer will never be added
  • INST and AUX layers will be added, up to the point where Unify's layer limitsare reached.
  • CTRL + ALT + Click adds ONLY the INST1 layer to the current patch.
• SHIFT + Click any patch to load it as a new “Unify layer” (INST layer with Unify as the instrument)
  • CTRL + SHIFT + Click is the same, but automatically suppresses pitch-shift settings in any MIDIBox: MIDI file player instances (useful for drum grooves)

After clicking any patch to load it:

• The cursor-down key on your computer's keyboard selects and loads the next patch in the chooser
• The cursor-up key selects and loads the previous patch
• The F key toggles the “heart” icon (favorite status indicator) for the currently-loaded patch

• ALT + Click the “gear” icon in the icon strip to enable the display of rarely-used or experimental settings

“Ops” (operations) buttons, displayed as a small icon of two concentric circles, are used throughout the Unify GUI; clicking them always pops up a menu of available operations for the part of the GUI in which the ops button appears. Holding down ALT (Option) when clicking most ops buttons provides a shortcut to selecting a specific menu item. (I.e., these are true shortcuts. Every function accessible by using ALT/Option is also available on the ops menu.)

In Unify's layer-stack view, plug-in instances are indicated by colored boxes containing the plug-in name, an ops-button on the right and (effects only) a “bypass” button on the left.

• ALT + Click to immediately delete the plug-in (effects only)
• SHIFT + Click to paste plug-in state from clipboard
• CTRL + SHIFT + Click to copy plug-in state to clipboard
• SHIFT + Click to paste plug-in state from clipboard

A layer ops button appears at the far right end of each layer, and its operations apply to the whole layer.

• ALT + Click to immediately delete the layer

In any “piecewise curve editor”, where a custom curve can be built from multiple segments (e.g. velocity curve editors):

• ALT + Click and drag to drag a control point up/down only (left/right position locked)
• When vertical and/or horizontal grid lines are present, holding down SHIFT while dragging control points activates snap-to-grid.

A number box is any small box in which a number (e.g. -12), or note-name (e.g. C#5) is displayed.

• Right-click (or CTRL + Click) to pop up a “value editor”
• ALT + drag in any transpose box to adjust up/down by 12s (octaves)

Parameter sliders includes most kinds of sliders and knobs available in Unify, including layer level, pan, and aux-send controls, and most parameter knobs in built-in plug-ins.

• ALT-drag any one layer level slider to adjust all others by the same relative amount
  • “all others” = level sliders for all INST and AUX layers (if any)
  • “same relative amount” = same number of dB

NOTE THESE SHORTCUTS HAVE CHANGED IN UNIFY 1.10.x See Using Unify's Macro Knobs for real-time control.

• Right-click (or CTRL + Click) any knob or its ops button to open the linked-parameters window for that knob
• SHIFT + CTRL + Click“ the ops button to Copy the knob's name and links to the clipboard * SHIFT + Click” the ops button to Paste from the clipboard to another knob
• ALT + Click selects the “INITIALIZE” menu item, clearing all linked parameters for that knob, and removing any user-assigned name.

In all of Unify's Built-in plug-ins, you can hold down CTRL while adjusting a knob to make fine adjustments.

The Show MIDI view displays colored sliders to indicate the state of the MIDI pitch-bend and up to four selected MIDI CCs (defaults 1, 2, 4, 67).

• Click/drag in any of these to send the corresponding MIDI messages into Unify
• Right-click (or CTRL + Click) in any CC indicator to pop up a menu of available MIDI CCs (with standard descriptions where applicable) to change the corresponding CC number.

A multi-selection list is any scrolling list in which it is possible to select (highlight) one or more items. The main examples are in the Plug-in Subsets view and the top half of the patch browser.

• Click (no modifiers) to select an item, and simultaneously de-select all others
• CTRL + Click (CMD + Click on Mac) to toggle an item's selection
• SHIFT + Click to select a range of items (click 1st item, Shift+click last in the range)