Chord placement version 3.6
Hi all,
I just downloaded the Version 3.6. In Version 2.3 I could place chord symbols in the middle of the bars by default. I know this is contrary to normal musical practices but I need t do this. How do I do it in 3.6?
Thanks!
Comments
Same way as in 2.3 I guess?
In reply to Same way as in 2.3 I guess? by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks, Jo-jo. I'm not sure how I did that 🙃. I looked in the old version under Style > Positioning > Default vertical position > 2.50sp.
When I apply those settings to 3.6, nothing changes in an existing score I opened in 3.6. Perhaps I need to start with a blank score?
In reply to Thanks, Jo-jo. I'm not sure… by Lee Batchelor
You mean Style > Text styles > Chord symbols > Vertical?
But you'd need horizontal positioning.
That would work in 3.x too, but would still not center, just move right by a fixed amount, irrespective of the measure width
In reply to Same way as in 2.3 I guess? by Jojo-Schmitz
It seems the new version won't allow chord symbols to be placed in the middle of a bar by default. All new scores must be adjusted manually. I know this follows the rules of music but it would be nice if we could move them by default.
In reply to It seems the new version won… by Lee Batchelor
Please share such a 2.x score.
In reply to Please share such a 2.x… by Jojo-Schmitz
Here you go, Jo-jo. Thanks. It will look rather unconventional and you'll think I've lost my mind...😜...nevertheless.
In reply to Here you go, Jo-jo. Thanks… by Lee Batchelor
Ah! Not centered between the barlines, but inside the staff! Missunderstanding on my side
In reply to Here you go, Jo-jo. Thanks… by Lee Batchelor
You just need to disable autoplament for the chord symbols
In reply to You just need to disable… by Jojo-Schmitz
Great thanks, Jo-jo! Where do I find that setting? There's several places it could be.
In reply to You just need to disable… by Jojo-Schmitz
Okay, I found that setting in the Inspector but can it be turned off from the Inspector or do I have to do that all the time?
In reply to Okay, I found that setting… by Lee Batchelor
It can be turned off from the Inspecter. And if you right-click one chord symbole > Select > All similar, you can do it for all in one go. You'd need to do that for every score though
In reply to You just need to disable… by Jojo-Schmitz
I think the global way of disabling Auto placement in 3.6 is gone. There was a way to have my chords in the middle of the bars in 2.3 (3.50sp) by default. You can't do that in the 3.6 or at least I haven't found it yet. When you add a new chord, Auto placement snaps back on by default.
I need this because I very seldom write notes. I just do chord charts. The 2.3 version is perfect for this.
In reply to I think the global way of… by Lee Batchelor
2.3 didn't have Autoplace at all.
In reply to 2.3 didn't have Autoplace at… by Jojo-Schmitz
That explains it. The new version has it and it's on all the time, no way to turn it off that I can see.
In reply to That explains it. The new… by Lee Batchelor
You can set a shortcut fot that.
Another shortcut, =, is set for disabling it for selected elements
In reply to You can set a shortcut fot… by Jojo-Schmitz
Not sure I know what you mean. I looked in Shortcuts and nothing is assigned to the equal sign. Am I missing something here? Thanks.
In reply to You can set a shortcut fot… by Jojo-Schmitz
Further to your comment, Jo-jo...
I selected all bars in a blank score opened in 3.6 and unchecked the Automatic placement option. Now when I place the cursor in a bar, the Automatic placement is off. When I press my shortcut to Add a chord symbol, the Automatic placement snaps on and the chord is placed above the staves. I know I'm probably the only one on the user list who creates scores this way but for me, 3.6 is a step backward on this small but critical function. It's still a stellar program but I'd miss this important function.
My only way around it is to enter all my chords in a new score, select them all, and then disable Automatic placement in the Inspector and offset them so they move to the middle of the staves.
In reply to Further to your comment, Jo… by Lee Batchelor
Doesn't look like you have to disable automatic placement to me..
I did disable the staff lines instead of making them grey and set the chord positioning as style default. The only manual change then was to move your slashes down as well, by fixing them to a higher line number than they were currently.
In reply to Doesn't look like you have… by jeetee
Thanks, Jeetee. How did you set the chord positioning as the default style? That's what I achieved in 2.3 but can't see how to do it in 3.6. It seems that the Automatic placement function keeps changing the chord positioning to a few spaces above the staves! Can you give me instructions with exact program names, so I can do this?
In reply to Doesn't look like you have… by jeetee
I see what you did. By making the staff lines invisible, the program assumed they weren't even there and could move the chords down. In 2.3 I could have both - visible lines AND chords in the middle. The odd time I need to have staff lines for the odd passage of notes. Looks like if 3.6 is going to work for me, I'll need to adjust my workflow. I'm not sure it's worth it.
I've read some earlier posts about this Automatic placement function. There are only a few people with whom it negatively effects but for them, there really needs to be an Off button. I really hate sounding so demanding because this is such a good free program 👍.
In reply to I see what you did. You made… by Lee Batchelor
As mentioned, you don't need to disable it, but for the record, you can, using the Inspector or the keyboard shortcut "=". If you want it off for all elements of a given type, the way to do that is using the "minimum distance" setting, using a negative value as the style setting. You wouldn't want to turn it off completely, that would produce an unreadable mess.
In reply to Further to your comment, Jo… by Lee Batchelor
.
In reply to Could you attach a file set… by Jm6stringer
What does "." mean in your reply 🙃?
In reply to What does "." mean in your… by Lee Batchelor
jeetee was quicker to post.
In reply to jeetee was quicker to post. by Jm6stringer
Got it, thanks 👍.
In reply to You can set a shortcut fot… by Jojo-Schmitz
I've exhausted all options. The Automatic placement function has no override or Off button. This is a deal breaker for me. No matter how I set up the Style options, the Automatic placement function rules the score. The only way to fix this is to hide the staves, which I don't have to do in 2.3 😢.
In reply to I've exhausted all options… by Lee Batchelor
I think you might be missing something. As mentioned, you don't need to disable automatic placement - you can move a single chord, or group of selected chords, all at once. But if you want it to work for all chords, you need to set "the minimum distance" to be negative. So with your score:
1) select any chord symbol
2) use the Inspector or other means to place it where you want (eg, vertical offset of 3 sp)
3) deselect it then select it again (to force the Inspector to update its display)
4) now click the set as style button ("S" icon) for both the offset and the minimum distance
Save the resulting score to your templates folder and it's all set up for you next time you create a new score. And/or use Format / Save Style to create an MSS file you can load into other existing scores.
Works perfectly:
In reply to I think you might be missing… by Marc Sabatella
Many thanks, Marc! I'll give that a try. Looks like I can achieve what I could in 2.3 - just a different method. Thanks again...
- Lee
In reply to I think you might be missing… by Marc Sabatella
That method worked like a charm, Marc. Thanks again!!