Shift passage by number of beats (to insert/delete)

This has been addressed in various discussions, but I don't see it as a feature request.

I'd like to be able to shift a passage forward or backward some number of beats -- i.e. the same effect as cut/paste, but without the many additional keystrokes currently needed to obtain the appropriate structure of rests into which the content can be pasted. I'd like to be able to say 'add an eight note rest here' (or remove one) and have the effect continue through some context (the selection, to the next rest, over the current, to the end of the passage, or to a certain kind of barline). I find myself doing this constantly.

Yes, I realize that the musescore interface doesn't currently work this way but there's no reason this capability couldn't exist; I already do this operation manually (often).

The UI design challenge will be to control how far the effect should ripple. Since we have a WYSIWYG interface, this could be an interactive process. For example, "ALT-I" might insert one beat (using whatever during is selected) that applies to the first rest. Immediately hitting a right or left arrow would adjust the end by a single note; CTRL-arrow would move a measure at a time. Alternatively, the context could be specified the same way we specify note duration: via a palette of selections on the toolbar.