Cannot copy and paste certain note sequences
- Select more than one note of a bar by clicking on the separate notes.
- Do CMD-C.
- Click in a destination bar to select it.
- Do CMD-V.
Result
Nothing is pasted.
NOTE. It does work for the following cases.
- One or more source bars are selected with a blue rectangle.
- A single note of the source bar is selected..
COMMENT. Since creating a score consists of much copying and pasting, this would seem to be a fairly major problem.
Note. FORUM BUG?? I am not able to upload the file to this forum post.
UPDATE: I got around this forum bug by Saving the post and then editing it.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| M'appari tutt' amor BUG xxxx.mscz.zip | 39.31 KB |
Comments
When you click on a note, only the note head is selected. If you Ctrl-click (or CMD-click on the Mac) on more notes, only more note heads are selected. This is not the correct method for selecting and copying.
Proceed as follows:
Select the first note, Shift-click on the last note within the measure, or on a note in one of the next measures. You will then get the blue frame over the area. Then copy. Select the destination, either a note, a rest or a whole bar and paste.
BTW: you can directly attach a mscz file instead of zipping it before.
In reply to When you click on a note,… by HildeK
Thanks for that. That works!
However I have some concerns regarding consistency.
Firstly, when I select individual notes, the menu (Edit) has the Copy item not greyed out, indicating that MS is offering to copy my selection, and further that it will paste something to a place I later select. But nothing happens.
Conclusion: Should not the Copy menu item remain greyed out in this case? (Plus possibly make an 'error' beep.)
Also, should not MS make it easy for the user and allow selection of a notehead to imply selection of the note?
Next, as I reported, a SINGLE notehead selected will indeed result in a successful paste, as long as the destination bar is indicated by selection of a single object (i.e., not by means of a blue rectangle). This is VERY inconsistent!
PS. I uploaded the zip file in my attempts to get around the Forum bug as described.
In reply to Thanks for that. That works!… by griffin25
In you score, I selected the first notehead in the third measure. Then Shift/select the last notehead in the 5th measure. This put a blue box around all included notes. I C+P the that to a selected measure ( a single object) at the end. I didn't experience any inconsistency. I don't think I've ever seen anything in that menu grayed out. I've only used it to get to the "More" selection options.
You should be able to upload your mscz file directly in this forum.
In reply to Thanks for that. That works!… by griffin25
Since I always use Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V to copy and paste, I don't see if the copy is grayed out or not :-).
But yes, you are right, there is some inconsistency. When selecting a single note head, you can copy it to another selected note or rest, but not to a completely selected measure having the blue frame.
When selecting a single note, I then use shift-arrow right and shift-arrow left again to get the blue selection frame around that single note only. Then it always works. Also: single notes are rewritten faster than copied.
There are other small inconsistencies or bugs in the software, but you can work around them and live with them that way. One must always keep in mind that it is a free software, others want to have three-digit amounts for comparable... Therefore one may consider these things a little more generously.
(My experience with version 3.6.2, in version 4 it will be different again).
Uploading files: Yes, sometimes it doesn't want to work. But then this is true for all file types and choosing preview as an intermediate step usually helps. It also helps if you reload the page in the browser.
In reply to Since I always use Ctrl-C… by HildeK
That's a good trick with the single note!
Yes I understand that there is a workaround.
However I would like to make the point that there may be many other people like me who try selecting separate notes and who cannot believe that this does not work. Like me they all spend half an hour trying to understand what they are doing wrong. It is totally unintuitive not to allow selected notes to be copied.
That's quite possibly many hundreds of user-hours spent on this issue.
Note also that it is possible to select a singe note and then nudge it up or down using the up and down arrows. But not to copy it.
In reply to That's a good trick with the… by griffin25
First of all I would like to say that at least until MuS 3 the software was written by volunteers. And the manual as well, which additionally exists in different languages.
Secondly, there is a difference in selecting things: You can change the note head, or you can change the note stem, or you can modify the flag, the position, and many other things. For this it is useful to be able to select these things separately.
Thirdly, what is intuitive for one person and not for another depends very much on each individual and on the way they are used to using software. And, for example, for one and the same command there are almost always several ways to execute it: with the mouse, with the keyboard, mouse together with Shift-, Ctrl- or Alt-key, with shortcuts or via the menu.
Fourth: There will hardly be a software where the usability is perceived as optimal by everyone.
For me, for example, your problem has never been one. Why? I don't know, probably because I work differently. I don't believe that many hundreds of user-hours have been spent on this issue.
You just have to learn how things work and try a few things if necessary. And even I am still learning after years of use.
Another variant for your problem: if you want to select a note or a chord of a single beat: press the shift key at the same time and select the note with the mouse.
> Note also that it is possible to select a singe note and then nudge it up or down using the up and down arrows. But not to copy it.
Try the same together with Shift ... And try it also in a score having more than one instrument.
In reply to First of all I would like to… by HildeK
Hi HildeK
Let me say first off that the development team have done and are doing a fantastic job. MU is very fast to open and operate; the score looks beautiful; it is a quite comprehensive coverage of the notation domain (is that the right word?). Also I am impressed at the level of energy that is going into bug-fixing and responding to feature requests. And that is the reason that I am involving myself in the reporting process.
I take your point that selecting a notehead enables the notehead properties to be adjusted independently of the full note. And so on. However, according to this concept, an up-arrow operation in this case would move the notehead only. This would be a bit crazy, so we have to admit that there is a small and necessary inconsistency here.
I agree that 'intuitive' is to some extent subjective.
Good shortcut regarding SH + Select. Thanks. I can see I need to have a browse of the shortcut list and update the list of those I know.
Regarding manuals, I find that the MU3 Manual has to be my go-to version, as I find the MU4 one too difficult to read and navigate.
Thanks for your help in this.
In reply to Hi HildeK Let me say first… by griffin25
Dear griffin25,
> according to this concept, an up-arrow operation in this case would move the notehead only.
Yes, but this is a largely useless operation: the note head would move to another note line without changing the pitch. In fact, that would be a bit dangerous because it could happen by accident. You wouldn't hear it on playback, but the musician would have a wrong note on the sheet.
Much more often, however, you want to move a note up or down by a semitone (or more). That's why it makes sense to have the arrow key function like this. It does make sense to have frequently used function easily accessible, even if they seemed somewhat inconsistent.
Still, you could also just move the note head or the stem, with the y-offset on the properties.
I totally agree with your praise of the development team!
Have a nice day!
In reply to That's a good trick with the… by griffin25
You can copy a single note. But you have to paste it to an element in a measure. Not the measure itself. Select the whole rest or a specific beat in a measure. If you copy one or more measures, then you can paste into another measure.
I don't use the menu either. That takes longer.