MuseScore 4.0 — Show/Hide Instrument staves
I LOVE the new options to show/hide staves within a MuseScore 4 Instrument.
Here's a use case example:
When I have a score with mandolin + tablature I can hide either staff so, without altering the main score, I can easily display or print any of three options:
• treble clef AND tablature
• treble clef only
• tablature only
This is a huge step forward in flexibility! An excellent improvement. That said there are UI issues.
A Show/Hide UI problem
NOTE: When referring to a staff or staves (below) I'm speaking of the selectable line in the Instruments panel that represents an individual Staff/Part in the score, not an entire Instrument.
When I select my score's Mandolin Instrument MuseScore highlights (selects) all child staves of the Instrument Panel.) I don't take particular issue with that. And it makes sense that clicking the Mandolin Instrument "eye" toggles visibility of all child staves ... BUT oddly clicking the "eye" of the child treble staff or the child tablature staff also toggles visibility of ALL staves (i.e. the entire Instrument AND all its child staves.)
To avert that outcome I can select any child staff. Then all "eyes"independently toggle visibility of the item to the right of the eye.
But there's already a local easily accessible control for toggling the entire instrument Mandolin instrument, just millimeters from my mouse. So then, why should a child staff "eye" toggle visibility of the parent object thus hiding all children? The redundancy is nonsensical to me. What do we gain by this? Is there any harm in allowing the child staff "eyes" to operate independently ... even when the full instrument is selected?
The following behaviors match my expectations in my initial scenario:
• The Tablature eye works independently when I have the Treble clef staff selected or when nothing in the Instrument is selected.
• The Treble clef eye works independently when I have the Tablature staff selected or when nothing in the Instrument is selected.
In others words, Show/Hide works without issue if the Instrument itself is NOT selected ... same is true when a different instrument is selected.
And there's an additional caveat: Users must be aware that clicking any staff in the score fully selects the Instrument in the Instruments panel. And that sets the stage for the described disfunction.
scorster
Comments
Just realized there's other wrinkles here
• If the instrument's eye is closed the eyes of the child staves don't respond to clicks—however they're not displayed as disabled. That's said I would recommend disabling them, but rather I think it far better, as expressed previously, allow the child "eyes" to operate independently.
• If a child eye is set to open, and the Instrument eye is then closed, on reopening the Instruments's eye we find that MuseScore has reset the state of all child eyes to open. In other words, the child looses it's user-specified state.
scorster
In reply to Just realized there's other… by scorster
Here's another oddity
There's an interaction between "eyes" I'd expect and recommend.
I recommend that when the Intrument's eye is closed, clicking a closed staff "eye" opens the staff eye AND opens the Instrument eye.
A hint that the user should expect this behavior—and perhaps that development intended it—is that the closed eyes on stave lines are not disabled.
Yet another UI surprise
When I close and Instrument's eye MuseScore mutes the Instrument's playback. I question the wisdom of a visibility setting holding sway over sound playback.
And there's another twist: I can set ALL child staves to invisible yet the track still plays.
scorster
In reply to Another surprise. When I… by scorster
Yikes! Audio-Visual cross threading
I just realized that closing an Instrument's eye not only mutes the Instrument, it acutally switches the Instrument's Mute button to ON in its Mixer channel strip ... while ALSO disabling the Mute button—until the eye is toggled back open.
Wa??
I'm sure this makes sense from some perspective that makes no sense to me.
My gut feeling is there should be separation of powers between sight and sound.
In reply to Yike! Just realized that… by scorster
This is a known issue, which will be fixed eventually.
In reply to This is a known issue, which… by oMrSmith
Thanks! Do you know of an exisiting bug report on GitHub?
scorster
In reply to Thanks! Do you know of an… by scorster
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/10951
In reply to https://github.com/musescore… by oMrSmith
Thank you. I've added a link there to this thread.
In reply to Yike! Just realized that… by scorster
It's not a bug; it's by design, and It makes sense "kind of" when you consider this is how parts now work. But I agree there is room for improvement in the design.
Meanwhile, the solution is, don't hide the instrument - hide its staves. That's a new capability previous versions didn't have, and it's very welcome not just for this purpose but many others too.
What I find particularly awkward
Most of the problems (listed above) stem from scenarios where an Instrument is in its fully selected state (i.e. including all child staves) in the Instrument Panel.
Knowing this I could avoid putting the panel in that state, but clicking any staff in the score fully selects Instrument in the Instruments panel.
Choosing to select a measure (or to or edit on a staff) leads to editing conundrums like this:
• I have an instrument that's written on three staves
• While editing Staff 3 I want one of the following states: staff 1 hidden, staff 2 hidden or staves 1 & 2 hidden, all three staves audible
• But selecting anything in Staff 3 fully selects the Instrument in the panel. And as noted that's where the trouble begins.
• With the full instrument selected a click on ANY open eye hides entire instrument (i.e. ALL staves disappear from view including the very one I want to edit: Staff 3).
So to isolate Staff 3—while actually working on the score—I have to show all staves (ironically by clicking ANY eye in the Instrument) then click any staff name in the instrument (OR select a different Instrument.) Then I'm finally free to poke Staff 1's eye and Staff 2's eye to get them hidden while viewing staff 3 ... BUT when I edit anything we're back to the full instrument selected. Hopefully I'm overlooking something obvious!
Regarding staff selections ==========
When I've selected something on Staff 3 I'd think it more informative and appropriate to see its line alone selected in the instrument's panel.
Conversely, when I select Staff 3 in the panel I'd like to see some indication highlighting that part on score. Unless I'm missing something, presently we have no such indication.
scorster