Can not Access Edit Mode
I have two questions.
1. I can not access the Edit Mode. I have tried double clicking, but that doesn't work. How do I access it and if I have to double- click where do I double- click on the program?
2. I have Muscular Dystrophy which makes my strength and agility severely limited which in turn makes using the keyboard extreemly difficult. I use two on-screen keyboards, but they don't work very or at all with MuseScore. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me?
Lafayette
Comments
Pressing CTRL+E enters Edit Mode on my system.
HTH
Michael
If I understand well, you don't want to use the keyboard at all ? You can enter edit mode for text, or to move elements with a double click on it. You can enter note entry mode (and it's different), by clicking on a note and clicking on the N button in the toolbar.
I'm very new to this program myself. I do most of my editing by leaving Note Entry mode (Click on the big N.) This lets me change note pitch and duration, delete notes, and choose a location for note and rest entry. Clicking the Edit button (upper left, next to the File button) gives me cut&paste options. Right clicking Edit lets you turn certain tools on and off, so if something like the playback button comes up missing that's a good place to look.
If you can't access the Edit button at all I would suspect your onscreen keyboards are the culprit. Now, I also have a neuromuscular disorder (MMN, it's a rare one) and so far I haven't seen anything in this program I can't just do with the mouse. Sure, the keyboard would be faster if my hands worked right, but other than that I don't think you need it. Try shutting them off and restarting Musescore.
In reply to Editing by Vitruvius
Even though I have normal control of my hands and am a touch-typist, I still find it a lot faster to use the mouse in MuseScore. This became particularly noticeable yesterday when I was entering a score where the note values alternated constantly between quarter and eighth, while the pitch was never the same. Take this scale passage in F minor, for example: Quarter note F, eighth note G, quarter note A flat, eighth note B flat, quarter note C, then back down again, all in a single 12/8 measure. Things got even worse in some other measures where dotted quarters and ties had to be entered, or if I had to edit an incorrect entry. That was a heck of a lot of keyboarding, and I could have entered all that a lot faster with the mouse.
In reply to Mouse vs. Keyboard by outskirter
How would the mouse make that faster? It's exactly the same number of clicks eighther way; just a question of whether they are clicks of a key or clicks of the mouse, and the mouse method requires more motion between clicks. Unless you mean you use the mouse for durations but still use the keys to enter notes? If so then it seems six of one, half dozen of the other - the duration keys can be operated by the mouse hand at least as easily as you can move the mouse from icon to icon. But no matter how I slice it, I can't the mouse to come out with *less* work.
In reply to How would the mouse make that by Marc Sabatella
There are a number of things that make mouse entry smoother for me than keyboard entry, and thus faster. It may be different for other users. MuseScore offers both options; flexibility is one of its many strengths.
For me, it's not just the number of keystrokes involved. First of all, even though I'm a touch-typist, I still need to look at the keyboard occasionally when typing anything that isn't a letter of the alphabet. This includes numbers, for example, the plus sign, etc. When I learned to type, personal computers hadn't even been thought of yet, and typewriter keyboards had a simpler and more predictable layout -- do I sound ancient? ;)
Anyway, dividing my attention between the keyboard and the screen slows me down, especially with my thick multifocal eyeglasses. Yet all the tools I need are already in front of me on the screen!
Also, when I'm entering a series of notes, it's much easier to drag the note to its proper place than to type its name, especially if I cross into another octave. I don't have to make an additional keystroke after the fact to move the note up or down an octave. With the mouse I can simply place the note in the proper octave in the first place. Same goes for accidentals. There they are; I don't need to remember a keystroke to enter them, and the # sign on the keyboard is not defined, anyway. Of course, Alt Up and Down are useful, but there are times when I want a G sharp, not an A flat, and sometimes that takes a couple of extra up and down moves to accomplish. It's so much easier to put the G on the staff, then click on the sharp sign.
As for note durations, I find myself forgetting the numbers assigned to them, such as 4 for eighth note and 5 for quarter note. My mind keeps telling me 1 for whole note, 2 for half note, 4 for quarter and 8 for eighth -- logical, I suppose, but obviously incorrect. Looking at the order of them on the note entry toolbar reminds me of the correct number to use, but then I might as well have used that toolbar in the first place and prevented errors that require switching between the note entry and edit modes.
At any rate, productivity in this program can be very high, regardless of which note entry method is used. It all depends on personal preferences and abilities.
In reply to Editing by Vitruvius
Vitruvius, right-clicking anywhere on the toolbar or menu bar, not just the on the Edit button, brings up the tools options you mentioned, at least on my system.
I just noticed you said you were double-clicking Edit. That opens the menu and then closes it again. Just click it once.
I am sorry that I didn't get back to you all sooner. I really appreciate your help.
I have been having a lot of fun with MuseScore and learning some too. I have not written anything great, but I am hoping that in time I will.
Thanks again.
Lafayette