Fretboard diagrams: miscellaneous improvements

• Apr 22, 2020 - 02:06

Here are a few additional features that would be a big help with the enhanced fretboard diagrams interface that appeared in 3.1. Some of these elements are already available with Sibelius/Finale etc. None of these changes are expected to be seen as priorities, but I thought it would be helpful to mention them here, in case someone delves into this feature set in future.

Additional symbols besides dot, X, box, delta. Key symbol additions (in order of need) would include fingerings (1-4 and T), open circle, solid box, solid delta, fingerings inside circle/box/delta, pitch names (A-G#), interval names (1-#7, also 8-#14), and arbitrary symbols from the master palette.
Allow display of fret number to be controlled per diagram, not via a global style setting, including presence/absence, font, and placement.
Allow display of fret number on a given diagram to be at a position other than the first displayed fret. (Often the preferred location is opposite the first fingered note, or opposite the root, or via some other choice.)
After entering a barre, the barre selection button should be cleared (so that subsequent clicks add dots rather than adding/clearing barres ). If additional barre entries are needed, the barre button can be re-selected.
Better integrate chord symbols linked to fretboard diagram with normal chord symbols. At present, chord symbols behave behave differently if they are linked to fretboard diagrams, and in particular using the spacebar does not advance beyond these chord symbols.
Provide a new alignment/spacing mode for fretboard diagrams, such that the grids' vertical position is relative to their tops rather than the bottom. (A common intent is for the tops of the grids to align at a fixed distance from the staff, and not to float up and down with the associated notes. To achieve this, fiddling with Y-offsets is needed.) Example: checkbox that says "offset is relative to top of grid".
Change center-alignment behavior on fretboard diagrams, so that 'center' is relative to the center of the grid, ignoring any fret number displayed beside the diagram. A common intent is for the chord symbol grid to be centered over the associated note, and for the chord symbol name to be centered over the grid. The grid's fret number is essentially in the margin. See example: The chord symbol is typically centered directly over the grid, as on the right, and not over the "grid plus fret annotation" combined glyph as on the left.