Retain manual changes to element properties when modifying a different style parameter
While working on an urtext edition of a vocal work, I ran into an editorial quandry which can't be resolved until some additional source documents can be obtained fron the British Library (which can take months...), so I individually changed the colour of the lyrics in question so they'd be easy to spot in the proof when it comes time to revise the draft score. There are about 25 instances where this was necessary, and I made the changes as I was inputting the lyrics.
After completing input, I began the process of refining the overall score layout, which includes adding treble clefs to those voices written in C-clefs, and checking for collisions between lyrics and low notes in the alto part (always a problem once the part is transposed to treble clef). In this particular piece, the alto part goes down to an F, and the mezzo part goes down to an A, so my usual procedure of lowering all the lyrics in the alto staff was not sufficient. I decided to change the offset for all the lyrics by using the lyrics style dialogue instead of selecting one line of lyrics at a time and using the Inspector.
This solved my collision problems...but it also wiped out all the manual colour changes for those twenty-five words which are hyphenated inconsistently in the source edition, so now I have to do that all over again, manually. No, it's not the end of the world, but it's an annoying waste of time, and I think MuseScore can do better.
In future versions of MuseScore, would it be possible to apply style changes ONLY to those parameters which have actually been modified in the dialogue? IOW, if I open the edit>style dialogue for some element, and modify only the vertical offset before clicking APPLY and OK, I would like the program to change ONLY that parameter score-wide, and leave everything else as it was.
Can this be done?
Comments
Sorry for the late reply. It could be done indeed but it would make MuseScore more complex to operate and more complex to program.
In reply to Sorry for the late reply. It by [DELETED] 5
No worries about the lateness of your response, Nicolas. I have been busy with other things and I assume you have been, too.
The reason I posted this feature request here instead of in the issue tracker was to open a discussion about the need or desireability of such a change to the programming. It would be useful, IMO, for other users to add their opinions on this subject. No one, least of all me, wants to ask you to do a major revision of the code to enable something that only a few people would find useful.
I don't actually see how this could make MuseScore more complex to operate, although I do have a sense of how complex changing this in the code might be. From a user standpoint, if the program refrained from changing anything that was not specifically modified in a 'style' dialogue, that would be a no-brainer. Users who wish to modify a particular paramer will modify it, and in this new protocol, the program would take care of that without further ado. Any parameter--colour, notehead shape or size, whatever--that was NOT modified in the style dialogue would be left as it was.
The question is more about the required code changes. Is this worth the work you would have to do to accomplish it?
In reply to No worries about the lateness by Recorder485
<< From a user standpoint, if the program refrained from changing anything that was not specifically modified in a 'style' dialogue, that would be a no-brainer >>
I don't think so. Suppose you have adapted lot of style elements of a lyric and then you want to reset it to the "normal" style of your score. How would you do it? You would have to change and reset elements in your dialog to apply them or you would need an additional button on the element 'reset style'? But then if you want to reset your 25 lyrics, 25 select-cliks?
A solution that I think would be easier to program and to use is to allow different style for lyrics (and all elements in fact).
This way you could define your own style "lyric with remark" with the color in it, and to set a lyric in color instead of changing the color you would change the style.
After marking your 25 lyrics with the correct style, if the remark color is 'red' and finally you prefer to have it 'orange' you can do it in one place.
Also if want temporary all your remarks lyrics in black that would be possible, reverting them to color would be one change only.
The definition of style 'lyric with remarks' can be implemented in a simple way: just a full independant style, or the smart way: a style based on another style with only changed elements specified. That means that, for example, if in 'lyrics with remarks' you don't force the font, the font still follows changes in the base style 'lyrics'.
Implementing the 'simple' way only would already be very useful.
Or do I miss something and selecting a specific style by lyric is already possible?
In reply to << From a user standpoint, if by frfancha
Sorry, stupid of me, creating and using text style already exists.
So just using it to mark your lyrics with color is the solution.
In reply to No worries about the lateness by Recorder485
From a user standpoint, if the program refrained from changing anything that was not specifically modified in a 'style' dialogue, that would be a no-brainer
I don't think so. If a user changes the style, I believe it does want every element to follow this style. If not, it should change the text properties, or create another style and apply it.
In reply to From a user standpoint, if by [DELETED] 5
The only user-level difference between the 'style' and 'properties' dialogues is that 'style' applies score-wide, and 'properties' applies only to the selected material. If a user selects the entire score, using either dialogue will accomplish the same thing.
The distinction can be quite useful in many cases. However, it is irrelevant when a single property needs to be modified scorewide, but only that single property. That is the issue here.
Regardless of which dialogue I use, I cannot, for exampe, change the vertical offset (or font size or typeface or...) for lyrics scorewide without ALSO changing all the other properties scorewide. The same group of properties are affected as a group in both dialogues.
Sure, in a perfect world, I'd have changed the vertical offset for the lyrics before I manually changed the colour of all those inconsistently-hyphenated words. But in a perfect world, mezzo-sopranos, altos, and tenors would still know how to read C-clefs so I wouldn't have needed to move those lyrics down in the first place.... ;o)
In reply to Sorry for the late reply. It by [DELETED] 5
Now I've tested.
In fact changing anything in the style editor resets every properties individually set on a element.
It just doesn't make sense: with the current behavior, setting anything specific on any element prevents you to make any change in the style otherwise you loose your individual changes.
So I disagree with the initial request: << In future versions of MuseScore, would it be possible to apply style changes ONLY to those parameters which have actually been modified in the dialogue? >> which is indeed complex to operate and complex to program.
The true, normal, solution is: manually set properties on a element must NOT be reset from the style properties editor, only the explicit request by the existing button "reset to style" should do that.
In reply to Now I've tested. In fact by frfancha
Well, I think the description of the feature request is evolving, but yes, you've stated the gist of it. Manual changes to properties must not be automatically overridden by applying a style; they should only be reset to default by a specific command--preferably one with an 'are you sure??' warning as part of the command execution sequence.