Mid Staff instrument change in 3.0
I am trying the beta release. It's very nice. Congratulations. Mid staff intrument changes continue to work only partially. When changing an instrument the abb. name should be altered on next system.
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This has never worked, though I do agree with you. There's probably an ancient feature request for this, but I can't find it.
In reply to This has never worked,… by mike320
Yes, I know. I have asked that before. Thank you!
see also: #88861: Option for editing abbreviated staff names in instrument changes
In reply to see also: #88861: Option for… by kuwitt
Yes, I remember. I asked that.
I think I've figured out how to make this happen. I wonder, though, if there is ever a time you wouldn't want it? Adding yet another option is possible but not fun.
In reply to I think I've figured out how… by Marc Sabatella
I can't think of a reason to not change the instrument name. If you want to keep it the same then fix it in the staff properties...except I suspect you won't be able to access this instrument name.
In reply to I can't think of a reason to… by mike320
Correct. In principle you could add a "staff type change" element and use it to change the name, except that property isn't supported. Not sure what it would mean if the instrument had multiple staves, though.
Anyhow, I went ahead and submitted a PR, also makes the Continuous view panel show the current instrument.
In reply to Correct. In principle you… by Marc Sabatella
also makes the Continuous view panel show the current instrument
Outstanding!
In reply to I think I've figured out how… by Marc Sabatella
I've got a problem with it - if it's just pulling off of XML instruments, it'll ruin my day - I do my own naming/abbreviation. Whatever key it's in, Cl. I is still Cl. I. I usually change English horn to Cor Ing.
To save headache, maybe a one time dialogue? Ask what the abbreviation should be. Extra credit if it also asks to name the channel - I can't always tell which channel is playing, especially when there's a lot of instrument changes, which happens in Reed books, symphonies, Mahler, Wagner, Liszt, stravinsky... Etc.
Thanks!
In reply to I've got a problem with it -… by Laurelin
I agree the instrument names need to be able to be edited after an instrument change. Having an English name in the middle of a score in Italian is weird. I agree I would like to see this fixed. Is it better than having Ob III as the instrument when you have the C. I. playing? I'm not sure.
In reply to I agree the instrument names… by mike320
#279375: Need to be able to change local staff abbreviations for instruments
Because I started thinking about it an realized it was a much bigger problem than just this. It needs to be a general thing we can do.
In reply to 279375 Because I started… by Laurelin
You idea is very good.
In reply to You idea is very good. by mike320
Do you think it's a duplicate?
In reply to Do you think it's a… by Laurelin
Yes. It's a duplicate. You may have said it slightly differently, but the result is the same.
In reply to I've got a problem with it -… by Laurelin
For now, workaround is to edit the MSCX file, or create a custom instruments.xml file for your new instruments. Either works. Hopefully we'll get to a UI for name changes soon, though.
In reply to For now, workaround is to… by Marc Sabatella
Mind to elaborate on this? Examples?
In reply to Mind to elaborate on this?… by Jojo-Schmitz
I said more in the issue report, but since more people will see this, bears more explanation here.
If you edit the MSCX file for your score (either by saving as MSCX, or opening the MSCZ archive then editing the MSCX within), all you can edit the short instrument name for the added instrument and it will be honored. The trick might be finding the line to edit, but searching for the default name should help. Eg, I tried adding a clarinet, default name was "Bb Cl." (with a real flat sign); I searched for "Cl." since I couldn't easily type the real flat sign into Wordpad (!), changed that line to read "Clar.", saved, and when I loaded the file again, it displayed with that name. Could be trickier to find if you've got lots of instruments and sometimes you want to use one name, sometimes another, for the same instrument, but anyhow, it's possible.
Custom instruments.xml that simply defines a new version of the instrument with the desired short instrument name would work as well.
This wasn't possible before because the names associated with these instrument changes would have been completely ignored, but now that it works, it's just a matter of telling MuseScore what the name is. I do intend to add a UI for this once the dust settles a bit, so this hack won't be needed long, but it does work and if people want to use it, they can. It won't stop working once a real UI is developed because it the end result will be the same either way.