Getting Started

Reflow is a tablature and notation editor for macOS and iOS. It works offline, requires no account, and saves files locally or in iCloud.

Installing Reflow

Reflow is available on the App Store for iOS and the Mac App Store. The core features are free — a one-time purchase unlocks the full version.

The Interface

Reflow interface overview

Score View

The score view is the main canvas where you write and edit music. Zoom and pan freely — pinch on iPad or Cmd+scroll wheel on Mac. Toggle between Page mode (paginated layout), Continuous Scroll (edge-to-edge systems without page breaks), and Horizontal mode from the View menu.

Double-click (Mac) or double-tap (iPad) on a staff to enter Tab Mode, which activates note input at the cursor position.

The Rack

The rack is a vertical panel on the left edge showing all tracks. It has two modes:

Compact — track icons with solo/mute buttons. Click a track to select it.
Expanded — full track names, volume/pan sliders, instrument, and tuning. Click the rack header to toggle.

Bottom Panel

The bottom panel sits below the score and can switch between several modes using the strip on the left:

Arranger — a bird’s-eye view of all tracks and measures for quick navigation, with volume/pan per track
Keyboard — a virtual piano (C2–C6) for entering or previewing notes by tapping keys
Fretboard — a virtual fretboard (24 frets) for string-aware note entry on tablature tracks
Drumpad — a visual grid of your drum kit’s instruments for quick beat entry

Drag the resize handle at the top to adjust the panel height. On iPhone, the keyboard/fretboard/drumpad replace the numeric keypad when the panel is open, with essential edit actions (arrows, delete, +/-, split) in a tool strip on the right.

A Scale Tool button (tuning fork icon) overlays scale notes on the keyboard and fretboard to guide composition.

Playback Bar

The playback bar is a floating overlay in the bottom-right corner with transport controls: play, stop, and rewind. Click the chevron to expand and reveal metronome, speed, precount, and MIDI device selection.

Tools Palette

When Tab Mode is active, a floating tools palette appears with two rows of buttons — notation tools on top (effects, toggles) and score operations below (beat/bar editing, dialogs). Effects are organized in groups with variant buttons for related options (e.g., different bend types, slide directions).

Dialogs

All property editing happens through dialog sheets — accessed from the Score and Note menus, the tools palette, or keyboard shortcuts. Dialogs include chord name, chord diagram, time signature, key signature, clef, tempo, tuning, bend, drum mapping, score style, document info, beat text, measure settings, and section marker.