[Trunk] Changing stave properties of one stave applies to all

• Feb 15, 2012 - 20:32
Type
Functional
Severity
S4 - Minor
Status
closed
Project
MuseScore

1. Open attached score.
2. Right-click on the first bar.
3. 'Stave Properties...'.
4. 'Edit...'
5. Change to 1 line.
6. 'OK'.
7. 'OK'.

Expected result: The changes are only applied to the stave you right-click.
Actual result: The changes apply to all instruments.

Using MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (5329) - Mac 10.6.8.

Attachment Size
[Trunk] Changing Stave Properties Of One Stave Applies To All.mscz 2.58 KB

Comments

• Feb 18, 2012 - 14:36

WARNING: What follows is a personal view, core developers may have a different idea; however, as I contributed some of the code to manage staff types, I think I might be not wildly off the mark.

What you describe could be categorized as "By design"; I'll try to explain:

When you click "Edit", you start editing the staff type this staff belongs to (in your case the type "Pitched 5 lines"): it makes sense that all staves belonging to the same type (in your case, all the staves) are affected.

If what you want to achieve is to have some staves with some properties and some other with different properties, the currently supported procedure is as follow:

1) From the "Edit staff type" dlg box (the one which opens when you click "Edit"), create a new staff type (using the "Create new ... type" button)
2) Set the required properties for this new type (in this same dlg box)
3) Assign the staves you want to be different to the new type (by right clicking each stave and choosing the right item in the "Type" drop list).

Comments:

1) I do not think the basic meachanism should change: staff types are there precisely as a way to have all staves of the same type to behave (and look) the same.

2) I agree that the user interface could be made more evident. Currently, it is not so evident that, by pressing the "Edit" button, you are entering a different, wider, context (no longer editing the properties of ONE stave, but the properties of a whole bunch of staves belonging to the same type).

A possibility could be to move the "Edit staff type" dlg box from the current button in the staff properties dlg box to another place, perhaps an item of its own in some menu ("Edit | Staff types..." ?)

Thanks,

M.

Reply

• Feb 18, 2012 - 20:03

Just to summarise (for others), I only wanted to change the stave of the drums, not the piano too.

I would probably say it's best to fix this. After all, it does say drums when I'm in Stave Properties (also after right-clicking the applicable instrument). It could be related to this: #14980: [MusicXML import] Percussion staves listed as 'Pitched 5 lines'

However, as you've said, it appears to be a broader issue now. Should we now propose the introduction of a method to apply changes (where it becomes advanced)? Not just for entire instruments, but for select staves (for multi-stave instruments in which each is different, or if the one stave changes throughout) - including other instruments. I would perhaps agree to that.

I'm not an expert though and I could be wrong on some things, so I would welcome opinions.

Reply

• Feb 21, 2012 - 13:59

This is how I would summarize:

1) In the procedure you describe, I think the program behaves as it has been designed to behave

2) To achieve your intended result, there is a supported procedure (described above).

That said, if the result comes unexpected to you (and obviously it does, and you are not so inexpert as you graciously claim to be!), then I suspect it is more a question of user interface -- making clear to the user what the program is going to do and/or making clear what the procedure is to achieve the intended result -- than of changing the staff type concept.

A possible change to the UI is described above. Other could be equally possible.

Any comment, anybody (else)?

Thanks,

M.

Reply