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Topic: Bug or feature? (Read 5307 times) previous topic - next topic

Bug or feature?

I'm using NWC 1.55a. I have a score with 5 staves, the last staff is not selected for print under page setup ("hidden staff").

When I bring up the Score Review dialog box, I can use "goto staff properties" on the hidden staff, as it is listed in the score review dialog box. (This is great! You can't select the staff properties otherwise, without un-hiding it first.)

However, as soon as I access the properties for the hidden staff from the Score Review dialog box, the selection for printing reverses itself -- that is, the formerly hidden staff is now marked as the visible staff, and all the others that were once visible are now marked as hidden...

While easily righted, I find the behavior a bit disconcerting. At first I couldn't figure out how I had deleted all those staves so quickly... :>

Can anyone else replicate this? If so, Bug or Feature? NWC-Support?

Sue

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #1 –
This behaviour is intentional. The Staff Properties mechanism requires that the staff be visible.

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #2 –
OK, I'll buy that... buy why does it reverse my settings and make my visible staves hidden? Shouldn't it just change my hidden staff to visible and leave the others alone?

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #3 –
Sue, I do not understand: the _last_ behavior ("Shouldn't it...") is what it does!!
Do you click (or use Space) only on THE staff you want to un-hide?? By the way, does that staff belong to the same group as the other staves??
Theorem:
    If no staff of a group is selected, then the group is automatically deselected.
Corollary:
    If you (de)select a group, then all staves of the group are (de)selected.

If you have another behaviour, send this buggy file to someone (I'd like to see this personally)

HTH,
MAD

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #4 –
Hi Marsu,

Do this test: Open a new, blank score in NWC. Add three staves, leave them the default names (staff, staff-1, staff-2) and default group (standard).

Access page setup and hide Staff-2. Now only Staff and Staff-1 are visible on screen, as they should be.

Access Score Review. You will see all three staves listed. Select Staff-2 (the hidden staff) and click "goto staff properties". As soon as the Staff Properties dialog box comes up, your screen display will change. You will only see one staff on display, it is Staff-2.

Close the Staff Properties dialog box and access page setup again. You will see that Staff-2 is now marked VISIBLE and Staff, Staff-1 are now marked HIDDEN. This is the reverse of what you originally selected in page setup!

Personally, I think NWC should "un-hide" a hidden staff only while the Staff properties dialog box is open, then re-hide it when you close the dialog box. And not change the settings of the other staves. This would leave the score in the same condition it was in, when the Score Review/Goto Staff properties was first chosen.

But I will accept un-hiding the hidden staff, and leaving it at that. But I don't want my other staves' settings changed.

Let me know if this illustrates the problem for you, Marsu. Thanks for your help!

Sue

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #5 –
Sorry, I should've said in paragraph 4: Close Staff Properties dialog box AND Score Review, and access page setup....

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #6 –
Okay Sue, now I got it. I had noticed that a long ago, but didn't bother at the time (I rarely use score review during wirting a score, unless for muting/channel verification. I created a lot of templates (making a big use of that window at that time) that I know use each time I create a new file.)

What had made me wondering most, was your "reverse" term. In fact it's a special case: in reality, only the last staff you modified properties, if it was hidden, is now un-hidden. All others are hidden.

This seems to be a strange behavior too, I must admit, but the ability to see the staff you're modifying properties, as it does and is intended for I suppose, is very useful. If no other side effect exist --I mean after closing the review window-- I agree it seems better to me. Add a wish :-)

Marsu A. D.

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #7 –
Hi Marsu,

Thanks for looking at this. Perhaps I should've said "all staves are OPPOSITE to what they started out as"...

In my example, the first two staves are visible, and the last staff is hidden. After accessing that last staff with Staff Properties, the settings have been switched to the OPPOSITE for ALL STAVES -- the first two have become hidden, the last one is now visible.

Sorry for the confusion in use of term. A minor inconvenience, but I will add it to the wish list anyway. Such a pretty piece of software, why not mention cosmetic things for the wish list once in a while too? :>

Re: Bug or feature?

Reply #8 –
To close this issue:
reverse or opposite, the term is inadequate.
In fact, if you click on a hidden staff, _only_ that one will appear later, whatever the others are, hidden or not.

And about "cosmetics": sure, this is good to mention it. And to add wishes for it. The GUI is a big part of any software. What if you got an excellent algorithm if you have to study hours on how to simply start the program???

That's where NWC is good too: easy to use, fast enough (even with a 386/Win3.11), fine printing, easy customable part-printing, ... It doesn't make coffee (yet), but let you write a coffee song at ease ;-)

NWCly yours