Backspace = undo?
I'm a long-time "expert" Finale user (and hater) and am trying MuseScore for my current project. It does a lot of things really well and has a nice interface overall.
One of the strangest features is that on Windows, Backspace is mapped to undo.... ?!?!!?! I'm still not used to this even after triggering it dozens of times. I hit backspace expecting that (as in pretty much every other program ever written) the previous item would be deleted; in MuseScore the previous item might be deleted, or items might appear, or unrelated parts of the score might change. My brain still hasn't adjusted... I hit ctrl+z when I mean undo, and backspace when I mean backspace, even though rationally I see that they do the same thing. Was there a conscious UI decision made to have backspace mapped to undo, or is this temporary? Even weirder, I checked the keyboard shortcuts in preferences and the action mapped to the backspace key is called "backspace", even though it is apparently undo.
I suggest that MuseScore could use a real backspace function (delete previous item) to be used as the default mapping for backspace key.
Comments
FWIW, it had never occurred to me to hit backspace while in Note Entry mode, but I can't get it to do anything but delete the most recently added note (Vista). Do you have a specific series of steps where it does something different? I guess deleting the note before the cursor position would be better, so you could cursor backwards then hit backspace to delete notes entered further back, but delete (as opposed to backspace) still works for that.
In reply to FWIW, it had never occurred by Marc Sabatella
I'm running Windows 7. It's definitely executing an "undo" when I hit backspace. I have to hit "redo" to undo the "backspace", and the note affected is whatever the previous edit was. For example, if I use "delete" to remove a note, then hit backspace, the note reappears (same as undo).
Backspace in regular (non-note-entry) mode does nothing.
I'm thinking that backspace should always delete the previous note before the cursor position. "Delete" could mean "change to a rest" like the delete key does, or it could mean literally delete and shift everything after it in the measure backwards.
*But* my intuition is that both "delete" and "backspace" should literally delete notes and shift the remainder in the measure backwards. There is already a "0" command to change a note into a rest, so having delete also change a note into a rest is redundant, and it's a bit of a nuisance to figure out how to remove a single note and shift the remainder.
Edit: Part of making good UIs is fulfilling the user's expectations as intuitively as possible. My comments here on backspace and delete are basically suggesting that the program should behave the way any word processor does when it makes sense---it flattens the learning curve.
In reply to I'm running Windows 7. It's by jcrosmer
Yes, I now see what you mean about backspace acting as Undo in that scenario. It's only with Note Entry that it does this, and deleting the note behind the cursor position does indeed make some sense if one things about this as word processor, although I as I said, I don't think it had ever occurred to me to even try the backspace key, and I'm a pretty experience MuseScore user.
There's been quite a bit of discussion on the idea of delete (and insert) automatically shifting the time position of subsequent notes - it's something that Finale users tend to expect, Sibelius users tend not to, and religious wars then ensue, so hopefully we can avoid that here. It's not just people coming from other programs, either - one could also say that people who expect MuseScore to act like a word processor might expect things to shift around as they add or remove elements; those who expect it to act like a page layout / desktop publishing program would be horrified if that happened. Having considerable experience both ways at this point (Finale user from since the mid-90's, MuseScore user for almost two years), I can say I have a slight preference for the MuseScore/Sibelius method as marginally more efficient in the long run than the Finale method, but either way of course works once is used to it. But ultimately, I'd love to see both options possible.
In reply to Yes, I now see what you mean by Marc Sabatella
Ah, I see what you mean about the religious wars---having never used Sibelius it would never occur to me to expect that and such people are obviously infidels :)
However, I agree that it would be great to see both options. In fact, an experienced user might want to switch back and forth quickly, much like how "insert" in word processors toggles between an actual insert (with shifting) and overstrike mode. Might be a good feature to add at the same time if someone were to add a backspace command....
In reply to Ah, I see what you mean about by jcrosmer
I'd go further. While the toggle between edit and insert modes is there in most word processors, realistically, I doubt most people use it, since insert mode is so entrenched. I do think a toggle in MuseScore would be much more useful than in a word processor. So I definitely support the idea of adding this someday.
But as I've said before, while the initial adjustment to a different note entry method is difficult at first, I know I speak for many of us when I suggest that once you get used to it, it starts to feel very natural. So do hang in there!
In reply to I'm running Windows 7. It's by jcrosmer
i have awindows 7, and when i select a note then press backspace, it doesnt work so i cant delete ANYTHING on musescore
In reply to i have awindows 7, and when… by marselmusic
Select, press Del, and the note is gone and gets replaced by a rest.
If you don't want that rest, but want other, later notes to fill that gap, use cut and paste instead.
In reply to i have awindows 7, and when… by marselmusic
Note that Backspace and Delete are two different keys. To delete notes or other elements in MuseScore, you need Delete, not Backspace.
In reply to Note that Backspace and… by Marc Sabatella
Which is annoying: in all other soft I know, once something is selected and deletable, you can hit the key [Del] or [<-] and for both the selection will be deleted.
In MuseScore I always tend to use [<-] after selecting something to delete just because the key is bigger and easier to use, and then seeing that nothing happens I have to remember oh yes here only [Del] can be used.
In reply to Which is annoying: in all… by frfancha
If it bothers you that much, go into Edit→Preferences and to the Shortcuts tab.
Clear the
Backspacedefinition shortcut key of backspace (don't really know where that command is used anyway). Locate theDeletecommand, click on Define hit the backspace key and then press the Add button.In reply to If it bothers you that much,… by jeetee
in note entry mode backspace is working as is.
In reply to in note entry mode backspace… by Ziya Mete Demircan
I like the way the backspace key works. I type the wrong note (again) hit the backspace and it goes away.
In reply to in note entry mode backspace… by Ziya Mete Demircan
Ha, funny that; I've always hit left arrow and then overwritten with whatever should be in place and never even considered using backspace.
The keyboard equivalent for "Undo" should, of course, always be an option. "On my Mac," for instance, "undo" is always equivalenced to "Command-Z" and nothing else, because that's the Apple user-interface standard.