Survey: Default zoom type
The MuseScore desktop application allows users to change the zoom type at any time while viewing or editing a score. The default zoom type for newly created or opened scores is “100%”. This default cannot be changed in the current version of MuseScore (3.4.2).
The upcoming MuseScore 3.5.0, which is currently in beta testing, changes the default zoom type to “Page Width” and also allows the user to change the default zoom type via the “MuseScore Preferences” dialog.
The MuseScore developers are trying to decide whether the default zoom type should indeed be changed to “Page Width”, or changed back to “100%”, or changed to something else.
Your input will help decide. Please respond to the following survey and answer the following questions as accurately and truthfully as you can:
I plan to close the survey and post the results in one week, although I may extend that if there aren't enough responses.
I kindly ask that the content of the survey not be discussed in this thread, so as not to unduly influence the results.
Comments
Bumping this for folks in other time zones. Please take a few minutes to help us out by taking this short survey. Thanks!
One last bump before I close the survey in the next 24 hours.
We don't have very many responses, so I would appreciate anyone who can spare a couple of minutes to take the survey.
In reply to One last bump before I close… by Spire42
Okay. :)
In reply to One last bump before I close… by Spire42
Done it.
I've just closed the survey and tabulated the results. Thank you to everyone who responded.
There were 23 responses in all. Here are the top responses for each question:
Based on these results it seems like the best option would be to revert the default zoom type from “Page Width” to “100%”.
Discussion is welcome. We need to make a decision on this very soon as the deadline for finalizing 3.5.0 RC is almost upon us.
In reply to I've just closed the survey… by Spire42
Regardless of the default zoom. I don't think it's something we should create a setting for. I think it just adds complication and detail to an already cluttered interface.
In reply to Regardless of the default… by Tantacrul
The downside being that it makes it harder to find other things.
In reply to The downside being that it… by Tantacrul
To be totally clear, no one is proposing creating a setting for default zoom - this setting has existed for years, as noted.
But I would also observe that one of the main reasons this exists was that we didn't used to be able to automatically scale with monitor resolution. That is, 100% wasn't always 100%. So this was a workaround for that. Still is for some people whose monitors don't report resolution correctly and who haven't discovered the command-line option we provide to allow the user to specfy this where necessary (which totally should be a regular program preference).
But another reason is to support the visually impaired, who may well want everything zoomed in to 200% or whatever.
And while Page Width is a great setting for people who have monitors that are approximately the same width as a piece of paper (somewhere wider to account for palettes and inspector), it's a terrible setting for people with monitors that are much smaller or much larger.
So sure, in a world where everyone has monitors that report resolution correctly, and everyone has 20/20 vision, and we are all using 13-15" monitors, I wouldn't mind seeing the preference eliminated and a single default zoom imposed on everyone. But as it is, it's there for several good reasons and should stay - in some form, anyhow.
On the other hand, as far as I'm concerned, it could totally just be a remember-last-zoom type of thing, really, and be about as effective. Still, I see no reason to even consider eliminating the option for 3.5.
In reply to Regardless of the default… by Tantacrul
I understand what you're saying. However, the option to set the default zoom level has been in MuseScore for a long time, and the recent enhancement of also being able to specify zoom type was implemented due to popular demand. Thankfully, the clutter added is minimal: one drop-down box in the MuseScore Preferences dialog.
The fact that people disagree so strongly on what the best default zoom type is underscores just how important it is that there be a setting for it.
The question being asked here in this thread is, “What should the default zoom level be?” — with the understanding that users are still free to change that default according to their own needs.
In reply to I understand what you're… by Spire42
The observation that there might be a need does not legitimise the solution. A setting that no one will ever find - and most likely will not think to go looking for. It's a classic problem of specifying defaults.
In reply to The observation that there… by Tantacrul
If "100%" is the hard coded default, I'd have to go and set it to "Page Width" every single time I start MuseScore, on every new score I create or open. That can't be user-friendly, can it?
I don't care too much what the default is, as long as I can change it.
If the majority vote is "100%", fine. One more option I need to change after a factory reset (the others are "Start with last session" rather than with "My First Score" and dark mode), but I can live with it.
In reply to If "100%" is the hard coded… by Jojo-Schmitz
In my opinion, it would be asinine to remove default zoom preferences altogether. As relates to changing the default to be page width or whole page, etc, I have no demand in the matter except that initially based on previous forum posts and my own personal taste, I opted for Page Width as default and so implemented it that way while making the change to allow the user more default zoom preferences.
Yet, so long as it can be changed, 100% zoom seems just as reasonable for a vanilla preference setting so long as the user who cares about it can change it to a higher/lower percentage based on their screen size or bring it over to Page Width/Whole Page/Double Page as they deem fit.
In that sense, if Spire is inclined to do another commit by bringing it to 100% default, he's got my consent for whatever it's worth.
In reply to I've just closed the survey… by Spire42
I did not take part in the survey but I agree with reverting the default.