[AndyL]

Hi,

I'm a relative newbie to MobileSheets so some of these ideas may have been mentioned before. If so, just add my vote. I also notice that a new version is coming soon, so some of this may already have been addressed. anyway, here goes.

Key signature. I'd like to see the key signature of each tune on the main library page. Preferably as a column, not an extra row like other fields. I often have the same tune in different keys. Showing the key would make this easier to handle.

Improved filtering. I see the new version has some improvements, but I'm not sure how far it goes. It would be nice to have a few more boolean operators, like AND, OR and NOT to combine fields.

Scrolling. Half page scrolling sounds good, but I'm not sure how far it goes. I would like a page turn to initially scroll by half a page then some settable time later to scroll the full page without having to touch anything. Also scrolling back by half a page should have a mode where it scrolls the top half of the previous page into view so you can loop round several pages for repeats.

Medleys. I'd like to be able to define a medley of several songs and give it a name. Then be able to add that medley to a set list. A bit like set lists within set lists, but they shouldn't be on the same page as set lists.

Export. Again it looks like the new version has improvements for exporting lists, but just in case, a few features I would like are. The ability to export an "index" for a PDF. So if a PDF has several tunes (like many of the fake book PDFs around) it would be nice to be able to share a list of songs for it. Export of set lists, with or without the song files. So again the ability to share a set list as either just a list of song titles and other optional fields or titles and PDF/image files or an index file to share with other MobileSheet users.

If you got this far, thanks for listening and thanks for a great app. Looking forward to the new version.

Andy

[Joche]

Hi Andy,
Define Medleys is a great idea.

[Zubersoft]

Hello Andy,

Thanks for taking the time to write up those requests. I'll try to address each one below:

Key Signature: This is supported in the next version as an independent category. It has its own tab, so that you can quickly find a song based on key, like you can for genre.

Scrolling: I'm not sure I completely understood your request, but between all of the different options in the new version, I'm pretty sure you will be able to get what you need. We can revisit this one after the new version to see if you need anything else.

Medleys: I have support for a custom category that you can name whatever you want in the options. You can name this Medley, and then use it to group songs like genre, album, composer, etc. The one thing that is missing from your request is the ability to quickly add a medley to a setlist. I can easily add this, so I'll make sure to include it either in the initial release or a follow up update.

Export: I don't yet support indexes, for import or export. Importing indexes is on my list of things to do so that it's easy to split up a giant PDF. I will support the ability to export multiple songs or setlists into one file that you can share, so this will probably meet your needs based on your last couple sentences. I'll have to double check whether I support sharing a setlist as just a list of song titles or other fields (I think I still need to add this).

Mike

[AndyL]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for replying. I'll try and explain some more about what I was asking for.

Key Signature: I'm not sure the category really does what I want, but I guess we'll see. I would really like the key as a column so it is easy to answer the question "what keys have you got song X in?". The category lets me find the song if I know what key I want, but it isn't easy to see what keys are available from the library list.

Scrolling: My idea is that when you touch for a page turn the music scrolls half a page, showing the top of the new page and the bottom of the current page. This lets you see the new page in context. But then a few seconds later it scrolls to show the whole of the new page without you having to touch anything. So you only have to do the page turn once. I'd also like this to work when going backwards. So it would initially show the bottom half of the current page and the top half of the previous page. Then again a few seconds later show the whole of the previous page.

Medleys: Again, I'm not sure the category really does it. I'd like the medley to show up in the song list like any other song, but to refer to the music of other songs. A bit like adding multiple files to a song, but to get all the edits, notes etc. of the other songs.

Sounds like you've got export covered :^)

Thanks again

Andy

[Zubersoft]

Thanks for the clarifications Andy.

Key Signature: You will also have control over what information is displayed for each song. You can configure what fields are displayed, and the format of those fields. So if you want all keys associated with a song displayed next to its title, you can configure it that way.

Scrolling: I am supporting a half page turn in portrait, but I think your idea for automatically turning the second half of the page after a few seconds would not be very useful in most cases, because different content takes different amount of time to be played. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'd like to hear feedback from more users on whether or not this would be more useful than the half page turn feature I'm already going to provide. You can always use a pedal to turn the pages so your hands are free.

Medleys: I have been asked for the ability to have setlists in setlists, and unfortunately, having a medley show up in the song list is not really possible for the same reason I can't have setlists in setlists. My design will not allow for entries in a song list that are not songs, and trying to create another layer of abstraction over songs where every entry could be a song or a medley would be a huge undertaking. I can't have setlists inside setlists, because I store a list of songs in a setlist, so I would need to have another layer of abstraction over what a setlist contains that would cause huge design problems in certain areas of the application. I hate to disappoint, but I really can't commit to supporting medleys in the way you envision. The new version will allow you to add multiple files to one song though, so you could always set up a song as a medley with multiple files, basically getting you everything you asked for...

Thanks,
Mike

[AndyL]

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the info.

You say "So if you want all keys associated with a song displayed next to its title, you can configure it that way.". Does that mean it won't be an extra row under the title as it is for categories now? If so, that does what I want I think. Generally I'm not interested in the other categories when "browsing" the song list. So the space take up by adding an extra row seems a waste.

For the scrolling. I only want to see the two pages at the point of playing across the break so I can see the new page in the context of the previous one. I think a delay for this would be fairly constant, 10 - 20 seconds maybe. Having it configurable would help (I guess per song would be too much :^). I'd be interested to hear what others think too. I know I could use a pedal, but that's something else to carry around. So if I can manage without I'd prefer it.

Shame about the medleys. Having multiple files in a song will help. I'll just have to remember to add any notes to both the song and the medley.

Thanks

Andy

[Zubersoft]

Andy,

Even in the current version, if you don't want the sub-title displayed, you can remove it by going into the settings and checking the option for "Show Simple Song Titles". In the new version, you can then include only the fields you want on the one line.

If enough people would like that specialized half page turn mode, I can definitely look into adding some additional options for it.

As I sat here and thought more about the medleys, I think I spoke too soon about not being able to support them. I think it's actually possible with my design to support them, but it would definitely involve some extra work. It seems like it would be a useful feature, and for the people who want to be able to add setlists to setlists, this might be a happy medium. So, I've decided I will add them, but not in the initial version of MobileSheetsPro. Here's a question though: should I add an indicator of some kind to the library screen to specify when something is a medley versus a song? A medley will be treated as a song in all aspects, but if you try to edit a medley, it will instead take you to an editor for song lists (the same one used for setlists).

Thanks,
Mike

[AndyL]

Mike,

If by "Show Simple Song Titles" you mean "Display Only Song Titles", then yes, I have that turned on. I had seen that as turning off categories and didn't want the key signature to be included as one of those categories. I hadn't noticed the "Show Custom Field With Song Titles" option. If you do that for key signature then that will do what I want.

I hope the other two reading this thread vote for the page turning then :^)

That sounds good about the medleys. I'm not sure I mind if they are shown differently. I would probably add Medley to the title anyway.

And I didn't expect any of this in the first release. Just to know it is being considered is good enough for now. Mind you iGigbook for Android looks like it's getting closer. So you've got to keep a few steps ahead :^)

Keep up the good work

Andy

[Zubersoft]

I didn't realize iGigBook was that close to releasing on Android. Soon there will be iGigBook, and OnSong. I suppose competition is a good thing, but I'll definitely have my work cut out for me!

Thanks,
Mike

[AndyL]

There are tantalising photos of iGigBook on Android, but no release date yet

http://forum.igigbook.com/viewtopic.php?...t=10#p4809

OnSong seems to be trying to raise money on kickstarter, so that will be a while yet.

So you have a bit of breathing space.

Andy