FWIW, here is the wishlist that I'm going to send to Coda for future versions of Finale. Some of them have been discussed recently on this list, others are more longstanding and/or esoteric. If anyone wants to copy and send any in to Coda, be my guest!
Matthew GENERAL PROGRAMME OPERATIONS * the ability to pre-define view %s and link them to keyboard shortcuts * the ability to access bookmarks by right-clicking somewhere on a blank page, or failing that, via the Measure and Page things down the bottom of the main window * increased numbers of File Info items that could be used as text inserts * the ability to view, edit and change libraries without having to load into an empty document etc. * preset ensembles within the the setup wizard (small I know, but handy nonetheless) * the ability to have any number user-definable Default Files from within the Setup Wizard * all items in the various menu bars to have keyboard shortcuts (obviously, Windows already has this feature via the Alt key) * keyboard shortcuts for move scroll view one bar forward, one bar back, one page forward, one page back, and similarly, one page forward and back in page view PLAYBACK * the ability to mute and unmute specific passages (I imagine this would be a really easy plugin - oh how I wish I could remember how to programme again...) * the ability to solo specific passages * the ability to move around the score, save, in fact do anything else whilst playback is occuring * some sort of mixer a la Sibelius which could easily set volume and panning of different staves SPEEDY NOTE ENTRY * the ability to apply certain articulations (staccato, tenuto, accents, staccato accents, pedal on, pedal off) and slur beginning/end from within speedy note operation * more intelligent handling of accidentals within a single bar - e.g. if a note is enharmonically changed to F# from Gb within a bar, subsequent Gb/F#s within the bar should default to the F#. NOTEHEADS AND BEAMING * intelligent cross-staff beaming with automatic stem/notehead/beam movement - in an ideal world, dragging with the Note Mover should do it all * being able to change the font for multiple noteheads without having to do each one individually via the control-click method (I suppose I could do this with a staff style) EXPRESSIONS AND ARTICULATIONS, INCLUDING SHAPES * the ability to type-into-score with the expression tool with auto-complete based upon existing items * the ability to option-drag expressions and articulations to copy them, and to see via some sort of dotted line to which note they're going to be attached to * within the text expression designer dialog box (or whatever it's called), being able to replace certain characters with musical durations for easy time signature creation. For example, being able to type %=160 and having the % replaced by a crotchet, in the same way that you can currently manipulate the # character * being able to control-click/right-click a measure-attached expression and having a list of available staff lists pop-up, so you can easily change it if desired * resizable dialog boxes for the articulation and expression selection dialog boxes * the ability to have the <text> part of text expressions not display on the screen * text expressions to have some sort of preset H and V distance, either from the note to which they are attached or else from a set position in the bar * the ability to right-justify measure-attached text expressions * the ability to assign metatool keystrokes to expressions, articulations and time signatures when they're initially created * some sort of list to show you which keys have not yet been assigned to metatools (i.e. which ones you can assign without wiping out existing ones) * the ability to select, move and delete multiple articulations that are connected to different notes * the ability to command-click to select an item that is behind another one, particularly in the shape designer but also to select an articulation handle behind one that is in front * the ability to flip and rotate within the shape designer. Also a 'snap to grid' within the shape designer * a more intelligible and simple implementation of playback of shapes SELECTION TOOL * the ability to select bar numbers via the selection tool. Also the ability to edit slurs directly via the selection tools rather than having to switch tools SMART SHAPES * the ability to have opaque background to text within smart shapes (e.g. for creating <--- 10" ---> markings with the number in front of the line) TEXT * text styles a la Microsoft Word or Pagemaker that can be carried from document to document (I think that Forza does this, but being a Mac user, I don't really know). This would be really handy for changing attributes of multiple items without inadvertently changing all occurences of text within a document * the ability to copy and paste text blocks between documents via standard copy and paste, including their attributes (e.g. pages to display, H & V details etc.) TIME SIGNATURES * extending the 'abbreviate' function in the time signature creation dialog box to cover composite time signatures - for example, you should be able to enter 2+2+3/8 and click on the 'abbreviate' box for it to display as 7/8 without having to go through the 'create different time signature for display' or whatever it's called * the ability to view (and/or export/print?) a list of time signature metatools that are currently assigned PAGE LAYOUT * a "Format with Automatic Page Turns" option, whereby it analyses the music looking for a user-defined number of bars, then inserts a page break and respaced the staves on the page. Of course such an option would need to be applied with care, but it could certainly save a lot of time when creating parts. * the ability to automatically spread the staves out within a system to cover a set % of the page (I know that this is possible using the Staff List Manager in TGTools but I find it a bit flaky) * the ability for the Space Systems feature in the Page Layout menu to take into account already-exising gaps between systems, and also to leave a user-defined distance from the top and/or bottom of margin (just like Jari's Space Systems plugin!) * the ability to auto-space distances between individual staves depending on their content, such as ledger lines etc. in order to avoid collisions MASS MOVER * the ability to create Mass Mover 'sets' for selecting items to be copied and/or cleared. These should be able to be transferred from document to document, or at least, saved in the Default File * a "Repeat Last Action" command * expanding mass mover metatools to include all items within the "change" and "utilities" section GRAPHICS * a Links Editor for imported graphics, whereby paths etc. can be altered and/or updated * the ability to move around the selection area for the Export Graphics function so that the export dimensions can remain identical between consequent exports LYRICS * intelligent word extensions whose endings are linked to final notes * some sort of visual indicator for showing which verse lyrics are in, and additionally, the ability to change quickly from verse to verse without having to go up to the * and my own, biggest, 11-years-and-counting bugbear - the ability to create real copies of lyrics rather than aliases _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
