Anyone Using MTD v4.0

[panos]

If anyone has MTD v4.0 would they grace this thread with their experiece and evaluation?
Thanks
panos

[peknive]

I am using Music Time de Lux v. 4.0. Previously used 3.5 and before that 3.0.
I use the program to write notes for accordians and diatonic button accordion so I do not use the full extent of the program.
There are small changes in the program but noting significant. There is still the problem with fonts. The starting font is as before Times New Roman and there is still no way to save preferences for other fonts when opening a new score. I have asked on the Forum the software people to answer if there are new ideas about this.
Rgds. Macknife

[matt-olddev]

there has been significant additions/improvements with 4.0!
(just the universal binary and quartz drawing on mac and unicode text on windows alone are huge)

you can now create multiple template files - and that is how you could/should store all your font settings

[panos]

you can now create multiple template files - and that is how you could/should store all your font settings

Hi Matt,
Does this mean that the Text and Lyric tools will also be saved in the templates files?
Panos

[panos]

I am using Music Time de Lux v. 4.0. Previously used 3.5 and before that 3.0.
I use the program to write notes for accordians and diatonic button accordion so I do not use the full extent of the program.
There are small changes in the program but noting significant. There is still the problem with fonts. The starting font is as before Times New Roman and there is still no way to save preferences for other fonts when opening a new score. I have asked on the Forum the software people to answer if there are new ideas about this.
Rgds. Macknife

Hi peknive,
Same here with previous versions. I use the app mainly for jazz scores and was hoping the font problem to be solved. I've made a file with which I open and start where all he preferences hold except the Text and Lyric tools; they revert to Time New Roman. All the other font settings are saved. You would expect this to be fixed by now.
Thanks for your feedback.
panos

[Denkster]

I've made a file with which I open and start where all he preferences hold except the Text and Lyric tools; they revert to Time New Roman. All the other font settings are saved. You would expect this to be fixed by now.

Like Matt wrote, Just make your own setups (with fonts and all) and`save these as your templates.
Then you can have them the way you like.

[panos]

I've made a file with which I open and start where all he preferences hold except the Text and Lyric tools; they revert to Time New Roman. All the other font settings are saved. You would expect this to be fixed by now.

[Like Matt wrote, Just make your own setups (with fonts and all) and`save these as your templates.
Then you can have them the way you like.

Hi Denkster,
Just to be clear, I've made my own "template" with MTD 3.5.5 and the Text and Lyrics tools do not hold the setting; they revert to Times New Roman when opened. Are you saying this was fixed in the MTD 4.0 and that when using Templates they will hold to fonts set in Text and Lyrics tools, and not revert to the Times New Roman default?
panos

[ronpietrantoni]

I suppose the short answer to the oiriginal question is "I'm trying to." I've been using it at work (I'm the music director at a church) for two weeks now. My main complaint is that I'm having major issues trying to move staves around on the score: neither notes nor lyrics positions relative to one another remain constant. Is there a better way to move a staff than clicking in the upper left corner and dragging? 'Cause otherwise 4.0 has taken a giant step backward in relation to 3.5.5.

I tried to open up my default lead sheet score to answer some of the font issues I've been reading about and discovered still another problem. At work, having a file called "_lead sheet" (to differentiate it from "lead sheet", which I'm keeping in 3.5.5 format [also puts it at the beginning of the alphabetical file list]) has worked fine for me - I learned a long time ago how to change the default text font in a hurry. It does remember my lyric font (Comic Sans), but it does not remember the default text font; it always comes back as Times New Roman 12. (another issues in both versions: if I type lyrics for a time, the default font always switches to whatever my lyric font is. If I leave lyric mode in order to write some instructions to the reader, I have to remember to change the font back to what I want. If I'm not typing lyrics, it seems to retain my setting for as long as I have the program open - through multiple files. Once the program closes, though, and reopened, it returns to TNR)

Sorry, i digress. Here at home, where I have a similar setup (thoough admittedly a lower-powered graphics setup), I can't see my "_lead sheet" file: the 'inner' window opens, but simply shows the gray background with an occasional flicker of score. Same thing with the MTD default lead sheet template! Some files open just fine, but others do the same thing - at least one that I created this past Friday won't open here at home. No other software on my home machine has issues like this, so I remain unconvinced that it's my cheaper monitor and smaller memory motherboard graphics display.

- Ron

[matt-olddev]

I suppose the short answer to the oiriginal question is "I'm trying to." I've been using it at work (I'm the music director at a church) for two weeks now. My main complaint is that I'm having major issues trying to move staves around on the score: neither notes nor lyrics positions relative to one another remain constant. Is there a better way to move a staff than clicking in the upper left corner and dragging? 'Cause otherwise 4.0 has taken a giant step backward in relation to 3.5.5.

the score is now auto-justified when dragging staves by default -- if you want to bypass this, either turn off "auto space" before dragging or hold down the alt (cntrl on mac) key while dragging. fyi, there have been some bugs related to justification and lyrics that should be fixed in the next bug release.

I tried to open up my default lead sheet score to answer some of the font issues I've been reading about and discovered still another problem. At work, having a file called "_lead sheet" (to differentiate it from "lead sheet", which I'm keeping in 3.5.5 format [also puts it at the beginning of the alphabetical file list]) has worked fine for me - I learned a long time ago how to change the default text font in a hurry. It does remember my lyric font (Comic Sans), but it does not remember the default text font

default text font is not stored in score files.
see my other post here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1149&st=0&sk=t&sd=a#p13271


;

it always comes back as Times New Roman 12. (another issues in both versions: if I type lyrics for a time, the default font always switches to whatever my lyric font is. If I leave lyric mode in order to write some instructions to the reader, I have to remember to change the font back to what I want. If I'm not typing lyrics, it seems to retain my setting for as long as I have the program open - through multiple files. Once the program closes, though, and reopened, it returns to TNR)

it should always default to the last font used (text or lyrics, doesnt matter)

Sorry, i digress. Here at home, where I have a similar setup (thoough admittedly a lower-powered graphics setup), I can't see my "_lead sheet" file: the 'inner' window opens, but simply shows the gray background with an occasional flicker of score. Same thing with the MTD default lead sheet template! Some files open just fine, but others do the same thing - at least one that I created this past Friday won't open here at home. No other software on my home machine has issues like this, so I remain unconvinced that it's my cheaper monitor and smaller memory motherboard graphics display.

this sounds like a bug with print info saved in the core. after you open the all-gray score, try then opening up page setup and see if the margins look correct. (and does closing pagesetup fix the problem?)

[ronpietrantoni]

the score is now auto-justified when dragging staves by default -- if you want to bypass this, either turn off "auto space" before dragging or hold down the alt (cntrl on mac) key while dragging. fyi, there have been some bugs related to justification and lyrics that should be fixed in the next bug release.

Seriously? Wow, that sucks. Changing staff spacing has always been the last thing I do before publishing - I don't really know how much space I want in between until I justify everything else horizontally the way I want. I guess, to you, it's a simple matter of remembering to hit the alt key - but I've been creating lead sheets for nearly twenty years with this software; learning new tricks is not going to be that simple. Ahh... I'll get used to it eventually; I got used to there not being a Passport forum on AOL. 9-{)}

default text font is not stored in score files.

Any reason why not? Clearly, it's remembering TNR somewhere.

it should always default to the last font used (text or lyrics, doesnt matter)

I knew I should've lobbied to be a beta-tester! What I want is to be able to click the "L" in the Graphics Pallette and get one font and then click "T" and get a different font, whenever I want and in whatever order I want. Can do or no?

this sounds like a bug with print info saved in the core. after you open the all-gray score, try then opening up page setup and see if the margins look correct. (and does closing pagesetup fix the problem?)

That's it exactly. Question now is: what changed my default margin settings?

- Ron

[matt-olddev]

Seriously? Wow, that sucks. Changing staff spacing has always been the last thing I do before publishing - I don't really know how much space I want in between until I justify everything else horizontally the way I want

well i think it is problematic either way. the auto-justify is not perfect, but all-in-all it is a big improvement over the previous versions, you must have just learned to work around them!

Any reason why not? Clearly, it's remembering TNR somewhere.

times is the default.

I knew I should've lobbied to be a beta-tester! What I want is to be able to click the "L" in the Graphics Pallette and get one font and then click "T" and get a different font, whenever I want and in whatever order I want. Can do or no?

as far as i know: no (and this has always been the case). there are workarounds you can do like copy a text object that has the font you want. or if your lyrics all use the same font you can just change them all at once after entering all of them.

since the settings are not saved you could at least edit the default in the registry(prefs file on mac)

we do have plans to add "style templates" in future versions that you will be able to save defaults for all look-n-feel kind of things.

That's it exactly. Question now is: what changed my default margin settings?

it's either your old printer or the new one. could you send me a file that does this for me to take a look?

thanks,
matt

[ronpietrantoni]

well i think it is problematic either way. the auto-justify is not perfect, but all-in-all it is a big improvement over the previous versions, you must have just learned to work around them!

It does seem a bit better, actually - but it has never (and probably won't, will it?) accounted for things like extra-long words in lyrics. Also, if I'm showing alternate melody lines, I don't always want them justified identically - especially if there are overlapping notes. I've always cleaned all that up horizontally, then moved the staves vertically. Which, if I read you correctly, I can still do - as long as I hold down alt. It's that pesky remembering I have trouble with. Ctrl still moves all succeeding staves the same?

times is the default.

But, that's not a Windows default, is it? You guys are setting it as a default.

as far as i know: no (and this has always been the case). there are workarounds you can do like copy a text object that has the font you want.

Or I can just remember to change the font before I start typing. This is what I have difficulty with.

since the settings are not saved you could at least edit the default in the registry(prefs file on mac)

I'm amazed at how often I manage to give the impression that I know more about what I'm doing than reality. Registry for MTD, or Windows in general? Where would this be?

we do have plans to add "style templates" in future versions that you will be able to save defaults for all look-n-feel kind of things.

From your mouth to God's ears!

- Ron