Double click a palette button unselects elements
After you select several notes by ctrl-click, double click a button of the palette applies the corresponding symbol to all selected notes.
But it also unselects everything (except the last added symbol) which can be annoying when the selection was a long one to do with several ctrl-click, and you want to add another symbol to this same selection (possibly by first slightly modifying the selection but not doing it again from scratch).
Is this by design? Or do I miss something?
Comments
That is a good question, to which I do not know the answer. I thought that perhaps dragging and dropping a symbol to one of the selected notes would place it on them all without unselecting the list, but it doesn't. It merely adds the symbol to that one note, and also cancels the selection.
I know there was a lengthy discussion about the desireability of certain mouse operations not cancelling a selection; I don't remember all the details but I think there was some agreement that it was a worthwhile improvement to consider for future versions.
Perhaps Marc or Nicolas or one of the other developers could provide some guidance.
Indeed, depending on the specific context, sometimes you might find it makes sense for the note(s) to remain selected after adding an articulation or whatever, but in other cases you might prefer to have the symbol added, so you can then access its properties or move it without the need for an extra click. Really, MuseScore has no way of knowing whether the next thing you intend to do is add more symbols or edit the one you just added. Whatever it guesses will be right sometimes but not other times.
In reply to Indeed, depending on the by Marc Sabatella
<< in other cases you might prefer to have the symbol added, so you can then access its properties or move it without the need for an extra click >>
That's right, but then what about this:
(1) - All symbols entered together by the double click are selected instead of only the last one (meaning if only one note was selected before the double click it makes no difference with today behaviour)
=> by itself it would already be very useful: when I add a fingering by one double click to a long selection of notes and then I want to move all added fingerings slightly upwards, today I have to manally select all of them because only the last one is selected after the double click
=> But there is more:
(2) - A new command would exist that enables to switch the selection from symbols to the corresponding notes, so that if you need to find back your notes selection it is easy to do in one keyboard action.
?
In reply to << in other cases you might by frfancha
The advantage of having it a single symbol selected is that it can then potentially be moved with the arrow keys, but indeed if you just added a whole bunch, is pretty arbitrary which gets selected. A command to move selection between symbols and notes is definitely needed for other reasons as well (eg, accessibility) so hopefully that happens.
In reply to The advantage of having it a by Marc Sabatella
<< A command to move selection between symbols and notes is definitely needed for other reasons as well (eg, accessibility) so hopefully that happens. >>
Good news.
<< if you just added a whole bunch, is pretty arbitrary which gets selected >>
Do you agree that it would be better (and more logical) if the whole bunch is selected?
In reply to << A command to move by frfancha
I agree that is my initial gut feel :-). But it's also possible in some cases it might make sense to do different things depending on whether a single element was selected or multiple. Could also make sense to have articulations work differently from fingerings, etc.
Usually what makes most sense in practice is to get multiple opinions, find a compromise, implement it for a nightly build, then get more opinions on how it seems in practice, come to a new compromise, etc.
In my experience, the end result of this seldom matches anyone's initial gut feel. But the process has to start somewhere.