[Zubersoft]

I can't use abc2svg - it's written in javascript and not designed to be consumed as a library from an Android application. I'm currently using abcm2ps.

Mike

[sciurius]

ABC, like ChordPro, is a loosely defined format. Renderers have lots of freedom in how the result will look.
The way MobileSheets renders ChordPro is accurate, but there are slight (hopefully harmless) differences with the rendering of ChordPro and other tools. This will be the case for ABC as well. Smaller page width, different fonts, ...

When you process an ABC source with abcsvg you will get a different result than when you include the source in the ChordPro program. It also uses abcsvg but different page width, different fonts, ...

As soon as MobileSheets supports images in ChordPro I'll add an option to the ChordPro program to turn the ABC data into an SVG image so you'll get near identical results. But you'll lose the ability to transpose in MobileSheets.

Bottom line: Expect good results, but do not expect identical results.

On the other hand, when you give the same piece of music to different musicians, you'll get slightly different results as well ☺.

[BRX]

Hey Sciurius, thanks again for your input.

I'm sure it will work out somehow. For transposing one can get back to the chordpro file, transpose there and generate the image again (maybe there will be a way to keep MS annotations to the image file if it is generated again).

Jef was pretty firm that he doesn't intend to add any new features into abcm2ps and puts those only into abc2svg.

But I intend to ask him again, if he might make an exception and maybe add at least the chord grid function so it works in MS (or EasyABC). I would be very happy to have that because then we would have something like iRealPro (I'm not talking about the backing music) but with melody, chords, lyrics PLUS a chord grid if needed.

[sciurius]

the chord grid function

You mean diagrams? Or grid like {start_of_grid}/{end_of_grid}?

[BRX]

the chord grid function

You mean diagrams? Or grid like {start_of_grid}/{end_of_grid}?

I mean grid (I'm a pianist. I have no need for guitar diagrams if that's what you meant :-) ). The grid functionality is something I suggested to Jef and he kindly obliged to program it into abc2svg.

[sciurius]

How is this different from {start_of_grid}/{end_of_grid}?

[BRX]

It isn't. You misunderstood (or I did).

But it won't work with abcm2ps if Mike uses that for MS ABC "native support" while (I presume) it would work through chordpro for showing the ABC grid in MS.

That was my point. (What was yours?)

[sciurius]

I misunderstood. You want iRealPro style grids (in ChordPro: {start_of_grid}/{end_of_grid}) in ABC and that's only available in abcsvg.

BTW, ChordPro can do iRealPro style grids, too. Even in Technicolor™.

   

[Zubersoft]

Version 3.9.0 includes support for {start_of_grid}/{end_of_grid} in MobileSheets, so you wouldn't have to rely on ABC for that. 

While my initial implementation uses abcm2ps, if there are a lot of reasons to go with abc2svg, then I'll have to see how difficult it would be to embed a javascript engine in all of the different platforms and execute the javascript files that way. I just hope it's not asynchronous in nature, because that would make it a huge headache for processing the images (I'd have to just sit there monitoring the output until I see a file pop into existance which is less than ideal).

Mike

[BRX]

I know. I followed your development and it made me considering actually using it instead of iRealPro since I can use it in MS (I previously shared the common dislike that you couldn't  work very well with the cpro files to accompany someone if you didn't know the tune's melody by heart, much easier with a grid).

I always wanted to ask if you have or can provide some (Python) conversion tools for iRealPro and ABC to cpro format (grids) to avoid manually transcribing files into cpro format. But since the ABC support is coming soon it's not that important anymore. But out of pure interest: Have you?

[sciurius]

I have Perl tools for several conversions. Not iRealPro to ChordPro grid (ChordPro can handle iRealPro with a delegate).

[BRX]

Yes, I meant Perl script. of course. Will read up on delegates.

[RAc]

just bumping the topic to see if I can get an estimate on the release of 3.9. Can't wait for full native abc file support in MSP.

Thx!

[Zubersoft]

I'm making the final changes for the Windows version of the companion to get the installer ready, and then I'll just have to do some final testing with that. After that, I have a couple days of work to do porting changes to Windows and iOS (and testing those changes), and then I can release 3.9.0. Then I will work on figuring out how to distribute the Linux and MacOS versions of the companion app, as I still have some work to do figuring that all out.

Mike