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Topic: BarLabel.ms (1.3) (Read 32546 times) previous topic - next topic

BarLabel.ms (1.3)

This object creates bar labels for a score, similar to those created with the BoxMarks fonts. The font can be any of the available NWC font classes, and the size of the box and text can be scaled. The text can either be user specified, or if left blank, the measure number of the prior or next bar will be used.

Paste the following snippet into NWC 2.75, then go to Tools > Manage Objects to install the object.

Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.75,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Rest|Dur:Whole
|Bar
|User|BarLabel.ms|Pos:8|Which:prior
|Rest|Dur:Whole
|User|BarLabel.ms|Pos:8
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Whole
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Whole
|User|BarLabel.ms|Pos:8|Text:A
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Whole
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
For details on the object's parameters, refer to the context-sensitive help on object's properties page.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.0)

Reply #1 –
Excellent object addition...well suited for rehearsal marks.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.0)

Reply #2 –
That's very useful, especially for those of us that prepare choral rehearsal files.
Thanks Mike.
Rich.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.0)

Reply #4 –
Thanks to everyone for their kind words and "likes". I have recently begun creating practice scores for our choir, and the first piece of music I am transcribing has rehearsal marks containing measure numbers. So I created this object as a time-saver for myself, and of course I would share it with the rest of the community here. As always, I appreciate the feedback and comments.

Thanks again,
Mike

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.0)

Reply #5 –
Hi Mike,
I haven't always commented, but I am finding your submissions either actually or potentially very helpful.  Which just depends on my immediate needs when they appear :)

Please keep up the good work!
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #6 –
The BarLabel.ms object has been updated, with the following changes:

  • Parameter added to allow label to use prior or next bar number.

Please refer to the parent post for additional information.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #7 –
Hi Mike

I use the bar label constantly for my scores, so I add my gratitude for your generosity in sharing it with the NWC community. I have a  question: is it possible to add a "preserve width" box? Sometimes I need to add text close by and instead of using insert to add spaces (which sometimes does strange things to other things, such as the crescendo or decrescendo hairpins -- another topic which I will want to explore), or having to move the label up above the text, maybe preserving the width would be better? If it already has this capability, then I have missed it.

Thanks again for your help!

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #8 –
I doubt if this is possible ten years after the last update (and the five-year-old request not fulfilled) but I would like to see an additional option on the "Reference Which Bar" property: "Default".  This would look immediately to the left and right of the object, and, if there were any type of bar immediately adjacent to the object, set the bar number to the number of that bar.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #9 –
Just to make sure I understand your request, relative to how the object currently works: With the new value of "default", if the user object immediately follows a barline, then you want it to display that barline's number (i.e. what "prior" would do), and if it immediately precedes a barline, then it should display the following barline's number (i.e. "next"). But what behavior should the object have if the object is somewhere in the middle of the measure?

I think I could accommodate your new behavior by adding another property, let's call it "Auto-select", as a checkbox. If the box is unchecked, then the behavior is as the object currently works. If it is checked, then it will choose the prior or next barline's number if it is adjacent to the prior or next barline. And if it is in the middle of the measure, then it will use the "Reference Which Bar" property to determine which value to display.

EDIT: After experimenting with the code, I think I found a better solution that is closer to your original request. I can add a new value for "Reference Which Bar" that is "auto". Whichever bar is closer to the object will be the one whose bar number is used. If the distance to either bar is the same, it will use the next bar.  Does that sound like a workable solution?

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #10 –
Thanks for the quick reply.
 
Quote from: Mike Shawaluk –
Just to make sure I understand your request, relative to how the object currently works: With the new value of "default", if the user object immediately follows a barline, then you want it to display that barline's number (i.e. what "prior" would do), and if it immediately precedes a barline, then it should display the following barline's number (i.e. "next").
Exactly. If object is not immediately adjacent to a bar, it could default to the closest one, but I'm not sure that calculation is worth the trouble. Also, if it is in the first measure of a line, it should use that measure number unless there is a bar immediately after.
I wanted it because I had a few "next" which ended at the end if a line. When I moved them after the bar, I had to change the reference. The more I think about it, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #11 –
That does sound like a good solution. I posted my prior reply before I saw yours. But your solution sounds like a good one if you feel like changing it. I assume users of the old version would not be impacted.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)

Reply #12 –
The BarLabel.ms object has been updated, with the following changes:

  • Parameter "Reference Which Bar" has new option 'auto' to choose nearest barline (thanks to @fathafluff for the suggestion)

Please refer to the parent post for additional information.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.1)

Reply #13 –
Quote from: fathafluff –
I assume users of the old version would not be impacted.
I always try to update objects so they will be backward compatible. Because of that, I needed to keep the default value of that parameter as "next", although "auto" might have been a better default.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)

Reply #14 –
Since I have made suggestions which you seemed to like, I have another one. It would be nice to have an "offset" or "add amount" to compute the measure plus (or minus, I guess) an amount. So, e.g. if the first 10 measures were repeated and you wanted measure 11 to be labeled 21 (since it is the 21st measure played) you could put "10" in the offset amount. If that were copied and pasted to later measures, it would add 10 to every one. Of course, the default would be zero, so backward compatibility would not be an issue.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)

Reply #15 –
hi fathafluff,
could you explain your reasoning a bit please?
The reason I ask is that when rehearsing, bar numbers (and rehearsal marks, of course) are used to locate a place for the band/orchestra to start together for working on a section, or maybe even just a single chord in a bar.

Taking your example into account, if there was a need to work on, say, bar 6, do we call it bar 6, or 16?
Say the MD calls it bar 16, it could create some confusion for those not familiar with the double numbering of the repeated section.

With the above in mind, I'm also aware of some older pieces, most commonly marches on march cards, where some parts have (again using your example) 20 bars at the start and the second block of 10 are different to the first block, but other parts have the first 10 bars the same as 11 to 20, so the music has a repeat in those parts.  Thus you end up with some parts with a different bar count to others.  These charts usually don't use bar numbers but the confusion is real...

I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)

Reply #16 –
I was copying a piece which had certain measures marked with the measure number. The part I was copying had an early section repeated (notated twice). I wanted to save space and write a repeat for those measures. There was a noted measure number within each of the parts, so I used BarLabel to mark the measure number for the first time, and again immediately next to it I used the measure number from the second notation from the original copy using the Alternate Text box. But then the measure numbers noted in the original were all 22 measures higher than the actual NWC measure numbers. I wanted my copy to match the measure numbers of the other parts, so I had to use Alternate Text for all following measure numbers. If I could have put in an offset of 22 for all future numbers (and the second number within the repeated section) the numbers would all match the original (though not the actual measure numbers within NWC).
Put another way: Using my original example, if every measure were marked, the original would have had measures 1 thru 10 marked, and then 11 thru 20 also marked (where 1 - 9 matched 11 - 19, with 10 and 20 were different). I wanted to mark them as "1,11", "2,12" through "9,19". Then the first ending would be marked ''10" and the second ending (NWC 11) would be "20". The following measure numbers in NWC would be 12 and up, but I would want then labeled as 21 and up. If the MD wanted to start at M2 you would start at M2 and take the first ending and repeat; If (s)he said to start at M12, you would start in the same place but take the second ending and go on.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)

Reply #17 –
OK, that makes sense to me.  Like my march card example, it's a bit unusual and not likely to happen very often.
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.3)

Reply #18 –
The BarLabel.ms object has been updated, with the following change:

  • Parameter "Offset Count" has been added, which is added/subtracted from the calculated bar count at the current location (thanks to @fathafluff for the suggestion)

Please refer to the parent post for additional information.

(EDIT: If you downloaded the object within 15 minutes of this message posting, please re-download it; I made a small change that will automatically carry over the offset value when new copies of the object are inserted.)

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.3)

Reply #19 –
Thanks, Mike. I thought of another use for this: If you are writing two parts within the same file, but not on separated staves, the second part could be restarted on measure 1

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.3)

Reply #20 –
Low reed parts for the 1914 march Colonel Bogey are good examples of what Lawrie described.  What a nightmare it is to read on a marching band card, particulary if it's a fifth or sixth generation photocopy!  However, the CB doesn't use bar numbers so isn't really relevant to this thread.

In modern writing, if the bars are numbered, they will only be numbered once.  In the ten bar example, 1 to 9 followed by a first ending 10, and a second ending 11.  If bars are not individually numbered but rehearsal marks are numbers, the rehearsal numbers don't count the repeat twice.  I think it would be awfully confusing in an ensemble to have two numbers for the repeated bars. 

Sometimes an engraver doesn't bother with a repeat sign for something like the Col. Bogey; the first melodic line is followed by a second melodic line in those parts where the repeated section is differs, but uses a repeat for the instruments where the bars aren't changed the second go-through.  This can really throw a monkey wrench during rehearsals where, as in Col. Bogey last week, the conductor wanted to hear just the repeated section.  When she said to take it from bar 5 we had to ask "x1 or x2?" It was difficult to explain why because she was conducting wirh a score or part that apparently didn't show the second time through was different.

Did I mention I like Colonel Bogy but hate playing it?  Too hard on the eyes.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.3)

Reply #22 –
Now would be a good time to mention that BarLabel.ms primarily is used for rehearsal marks, which appear where the object is placed in the score, while the object BarCounter.nw will display bar numbers at the start of each staff, or optionally on every measure.  And it has always had the option of starting the count at a specified number, relative to the position of the object in the score.

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.3)

Reply #23 –
Quote
Hint: re-notate it in NWC and print!  :))

Did that years ago.  Collapse staff comes in very handy at times for this situation.
 

Re: BarLabel.ms (1.3)

Reply #24 –
Quote
Now would be a good time to mention that BarLabel.ms primarily is used for rehearsal marks, which appear where the object is placed in the score, while the object BarCounter.nw will display bar numbers at the start of each staff, or optionally on every measure.  And it has always had the option of starting the count at a specified number, relative to the position of the object in the score.

I've used BarCounter often and only discovered BarLabel the last time I did some notation.  Like 'em both although I am so used to BoxMark2 for rehearsal marks it may take me a few "goes" to get used to BarLabel.  I'm grateful to have the option.