Graph Funtion

[herbert]

Hi,

I am on Composer 2.6.3. With the last update, the behaviour of the graph function has changed. A menu to control display of graphs is no longer there. This is good, but the new behaviour of automatically cancelling graph makes midi editing a pain and almost impossible.

Each time, after selecting a note, the graph function is cancelled; most frustrating.

A better way would be to switch on and off graph, velocity and piano roll by clicking the appropriate menu button. Any conflicts could be indicated by an alert.


Best wishes,

Herbert

[dj]

Hi, Herbert:

I think the logic is that, if you select a note, you are no longer working with controller data, as the graphed controller data are not applicable to individual notes, only tracks or channels.

Having the graph data hang around when I want to work with note data has been a pain in previous releases. Now, it's the other way around. I think Mark may be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Overall, the latest update has been very good.

David

[Sherry C]

Howdy guys,

Herbert, you can still have the MIDI graph data in view while you're working on other aspects of the score. In the View menu, there are now options for "Show piano roll", "Show loudness", "Show..." with various controller options listed (you can choose "MIDI controller" and select from the list of controllers).

We tried to squeeze out of the rock and a hard place ;)

ttfn,
Sherry

[Sherry C]

p.s. Just remember that using the "View" of the graph data does not allow you to work on that data - you still have to use the Graph over notes tab to work on it.

We made the change because we had a lot of folks contacting the helpdesk about this weird graph line stuff that they couldn't get off of the score (they'd clicked the main toolbar "view graph" button and didn't realize they needed to turn it off). The "view graph" buttons that had been on the main tool bar were too confusing - did they actually let you work on the graph, like a good tool bar button should? Were they just for viewing only, and if so, why would that be on the toolbar?

So we removed them and put the "view only" commands in the View menu, and the Graph Over Notes tab still does what it did before - allows you to work on the graphs :) We haven't had any complaints about the new setup, except for a couple of previous users looking for the "view graph" commands.

So now you know the rest of the story :)

ttfn,
Sherry

[Sherry C]

I think the logic is that, if you select a note, you are no longer working with controller data, as the graphed controller data are not applicable to individual notes, only tracks or channels.

Precisely :)

ttfn,
Sherry

[herbert]

Hi Sherry, David,

We all have come to love the many ways Composer works. Not all users use Composer the same way and for the same purposes. I do extensive midi editing. Any time and key stroke saved is a plus.

David said:

“I think the logic is that, if you select a note, you are no longer working with controller data, as the graphed controller data are not applicable to individual notes, only tracks or channels.”

Selecting a note and later jumping back to it, was useful for playing back the music while the graph was displayed, ready for further editing.

Sherry, having a view only graph command, without being able to edit the graph is of no use to me.

Composer is unique, providing the ability to do midi editing superimposed over the notation. This uniqueness should be extended and made more efficient.


Best wishes,

Herbert

[Sherry C]

Howdy Herbert,


Sherry, having a view only graph command, without being able to edit the graph is of no use to me.


The current version of Composer simply moved the "View graph only" functionality from the toolbar (which confused a heck of a lot of users) to the View menu. The Graph Over Notes tab and palette is the same, with the exception of the following.

Previously (pre 2.6), if you went to the Graph Over Notes tab, did something, then went elsewhere (eg. clicked on a note to switch to the "Notes and rests" tab), the "Graph view" remained on. This "clingy" graph behavior was very confusing to many people. We did change that behavior so that the graph now goes away when you click on a note (or whatever) if you don't have the "View...graph" button "on". This behavior has cut down on a lot of confusion for the majority of users. However, if you DO have the "View...graph" button "on", then the behavior will be just like it was with the previous version's GraphOverNotes tab. Click on a note to edit it, and the graph will still be visible. Click the GraphOverNotes tab, and edit the graph.

Given that change, Herbert, I think (and again I may be misunderstanding) that if you use the "View/Show...graph" option and turn on the graph of your choice, you'll have essentially the behavior that you miss from the earlier version, that is, that the graph is always visible, and you can edit what you want at will.

Or am I missing something here?

ttfn,
Sherry