[GraemeJ]

Something that I would find extremely useful, in a future release, would be a free text box. This could be used to enter any required textual information about the displayed chart.

In my own case, I tend to have charts that are little more than fake sheets, so some info about (say) how many times around and what sort of tag or coda is going to be used would be very useful to me.

I foresee this as a text box that comes up with the chart (probably as an overlay) and dismissed by a simple touch once read. Obviously, it could be a feature that could be turned on or off as required.

[gman]

I believe notes are already included although I rarely use them. When I use audio tracks I add something like G 4i 3x 8t to the end of the track name which means key g with 4 bar intro, played 3 times with 8 bar tag ending. This kind of convrntion could be part of an advanced looping add on?

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk

[jeffn1]

Graeme, I usually put the notes right on the sheet. That way I can see them while I am playing. (But your option might be better).

[Zubersoft]

I think I can leverage the existing notes functionality along with an option which states whether or not to display the notes when the song is loaded. I'll write it down as an enhancement.

Thanks,
Mike

[GraemeJ]

For me, the problem with using the notes in Annotations is that there needs to be some free space somewhere on the page, otherwise the text is clashing with whatever other information is there.

My idea was to pull up a separate text box (when you open the music file) as an overlay. A quick read of whatever prompts have been entered and then touch or slide it off the screen (maybe that would be a use for my currently redundant third foot pedal ).

I think Mike understands where I'm going with this.

[Zubersoft]

Yep, I completely understand what you mean. I won't just bring up the notes dialog either - I will try to make something nicer that comes up, displays the text, and exits with a tap.

Mike

[GraemeJ]

Thanks Mike, I look forward to this feature. However, don't let it get in the way of other important changes that are in the development stage.

[GraemeJ]

Thinking about this and with particular reference to my own needs (which I appreciate are not going to be the same as other users) it occurs to me that this free text box would ideally be linked to the setlists, rather than the chart itself.

That way, you can have the same chart in different setlists (say, for different singers). When you call up the setlist for that artist, the relevant notes, pertaining to his/her performance would be the ones displayed.

That would be pretty neat - and probably a lot of work, which it's not fair to ask of Mike. So, just look upon it as a WIBNI .

[Harry_M]

I agree that annotations / a text box linked to setlists may be great because we have many songs that are performed differently for different occasions (in different setlists) - even if only the verses differ.
So your proposal Graeme, sound good to me.

[jeffn1]

Yes, that sounds like a good idea.

I hope I am not hi-jacking this thread, but is there an option in MS NOT to got from the last page of one document to the 1st page in the following document in a set list. So, isntead the document ends at the last page (and does not click through). In other words, even though I am using the setlist, it treats each document separately.

I use this to get quickly to the first or last page. So, I know if I hold down the pedal, it will quickly get to to the first or last page of the chart (the charts or not very long, generally Max 7 pages and most are much shorter). (That is why I only use collections, rather than setlists, at this point).

[GraemeJ]

....is there an option in MS NOT to got from the last page of one document to the 1st page in the following document in a set list. So, isntead the document ends at the last page (and does not click through). In other words, even though I am using the setlist, it treats each document separately.

Simple - don't 'Load All'. Then it behaves the way you want.

[jeffn1]

Thanks, maybe I'll try that.

But if I got from on song to the next songs and then hold the pedal to go back to page 1 of the second song, will it continue to go back to the prior song since the prior song has already been loaded?

....is there an option in MS NOT to got from the last page of one document to the 1st page in the following document in a set list. So, isntead the document ends at the last page (and does not click through). In other words, even though I am using the setlist, it treats each document separately.

Simple - don't 'Load All'. Then it behaves the way you want.

[Zubersoft]

Graeme,

I think your idea is great. It will take some work to update the database tables and create a new mapping in setlists from songs to notes, but I can definitely make this happen. Here are my thoughts on the user interface changes:

1) To add notes to a song in a setlist, there will be a notes button accessible somewhere in the overlay (probably the bottom bar after I remove the zoom slider or the top left as it is now), or you can long press the song in the setlist editor window.

2) When notes have been added for a song, the song will have a notes icon next to it's name in the setlist window. Tapping this notes icon allows easy editing/deletion of any of the current notes for the songs.

3) When notes are displayed, I think it makes sense to provides options to either have them fade out automatically after a certain amount of time (3, 5, 10 seconds), or require a tap.

Thoughts?


Jeff,

If you don't "Load All" in a setlist, it's the same thing as loading just one song, so you can't advance between songs if you do that. The next version of MobileSheets is going to provide programmable tap areas (the bottom left, top left, and top corners) as well as support for 4 pedals. Actions for these things will include the ability to skip to the start of a song, the end of a song, the next song in a setlist, the previous song in a setlist, the start of a setlist, or the end of a setlist. Hopefully among all these options, you will find a way to no longer need to hold down the pedal to advance to the start/end of a song.

Mike

[GraemeJ]

My first thought was that I'm glad you like my idea enough to follow it up. Broadly speaking, I think your proposal covers all the bases (certainly covers mine, others may have different requirements) and I await development of this feature with interest.

That said, while reading the second part of your post - referring to Jeff's question - it seems to me that MS is starting to lose its reason for existence, i.e. as an easy-to-use replacement for sheets of paper. While all of the features, both proposed and already implemented, are good within themselves, it does seem (to me, at least) that the interface is becoming more and more cluttered with options to do this, that or the other and we may be losing sight of the original purpose of the software.

What has to be borne in mind is that this software is mainly used at a time when there are a lot of other pressures on the user - normally while performing in front of an audience. The last thing anyone needs, at that time, is a bit of over-complicated software.

I think MS is a wonderful bit of software and it has totally changed the way I store and use music charts, much to my personal advantage. I just don't want to see it become 'bloatware', loaded with functions and an impenetrable interface that are of little use in the heat of the moment.

I suspect we've all experienced this happening with other softwares over the years. What started out as a simple solution to a need becomes so loaded with 'features' that it actually gets more difficult to use for the original purpose. There's a lot to be said for the KISS principle .

[Zubersoft]

That's a very valid point Graeme, and it's something that's constantly on my mind. One of my biggest goals with the next update is to try to introduce additional features while also reducing the complexity of the app and improving the user interfaces. I may be successful in some areas, and not in others. I'm going to rely on user feedback to know what things are working well. It's always easier to remove code than to add code, so if push comes to shove, I can remove additions that aren't deemed useful.

Thanks,
Mike