Naming of F2 palette

• Feb 25, 2011 - 04:25

There are various names for the "F2 palette" used to insert special characters and symbols into text.

  • When you hover over the text toolbar button, it is labeled "Keyboard"
  • The title of the window is "MuseScore: Special Text Symbols"
  • The handbook uses the phrase Text editing or Tempo

My goal is standardize the terminology (so that users only need to learn one name). Microsoft Office uses the phrase "Insert > Symbol". Finale calls it "Symbols". Sibelius puts the symbols in the right-click context menu and doesn't label the group.

A problem with calling it Symbol in MuseScore is the fact that there is another Symbol palette that does not act like editable text (Create > Symbol). OpenOffice.org uses the phrase "Insert > Special Characters". The word "characters" sounds like text so it is my current favorite. Any thoughts?

Comments

• Feb 25, 2011 - 16:49

I've wondered about this inconsistency too. I think I prefer "text symbols". "characters" as opposed to "symbols" is not bad either, but to me, the term "symbols" makes it more clear this will include things outside the usual range of letters, numbers, and punctuation that you might type i a word processor. The word "characters" doesn't rule the possibility that you can get, for example, flat and natural signs, but for some reason, it seems to suggest this less strongly. "Special text characters" might be OK, but it's quite a bit more verbose.

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