Prima volta and crescendo drag behaves differently

• May 13, 2021 - 06:52
Reported version
3.6
Type
Ergonomical (UX)
Frequency
Once
Severity
S5 - Suggestion
Reproducibility
Always
Status
active
Regression
No
Workaround
No
Project
MuseScore

(Imagine you're a new user who doesn't know about shift-arrow for prima volta and sees a resize widget.)

  1. Start a new project with a grand staff. Stay on page view.
  2. Drag both a crescendo and a prima volta onto the first measure.
  3. Use the mouse to resize the crescendo to fill all measures. Note that the end snaps automatically to the nearest measure and crosses to new lines without a problem.
  4. Use the mouse (not shift-arrow) to try and resize the prima volta to fill all measures using the corresponding handle. Note that the end does not snap or continue to the next line.

Conclusion:

Resizing a prima volta well beyond the measure it initially occupies should perform the same as the crescendo.
It's not unusable, but consistency in resizing possibly multi-measure elements such as crescendo and prima volta would make things smoother and faster, especially for new users.

Comments

• May 13, 2021 - 06:55

I don't know if the "Workaround" checkbox means I'm saying this is a workaround, or a workaround exists for the problem.
shift-arrow is obviously a workaround, but this is a UX problem - related to consistency in click-and-drag editing between crescendo and prima volta.

Reply

• May 14, 2021 - 05:32

For the record, originally there was no inconsistency - all lines required shift-arrow to change the anchors if for whatever reason you didn't add the line correctly to begin with (eg, select the range, click the palette - then there would be no need to change the anchors). Only recently hairpins specifically were enhanced to make changing anchors easier, and along with hairpins, also a few other line types that go through the same code (lines with "segment" attachment, I think). Voltas were not affected because they go through different code paths - they are attached to measures, not segments.

Not saying this is a reason that voltas couldn't someday be enhanced the same way hairpins, of course. just providing some background here.

The point being, a) if you add the line correctly (by selecting the range then clicking the palette) you don't need to adjust anchors normally, and b) when you do need to change anchors, shift+arrow is not a "workaround" - for years it was the way to change anchors of any line. But again, it's certainly a valid suggestion than an additional way be added for voltas.

Reply