The most interesting enhancement in the new Fin09a release was "staff
assignment lists," especially as I had made a lot of noise about Staff
Lists after Fin09 came out.
MM has upped the number of true "staff lists" (now renamed Score Lists)
to 8. I think this may just wave the red flag again, esp. since it
proves they can set the number to any arbitrary number they choose.
While 8 is now in the range of being enough for just about anyone, there
was absolutely no reason for an artificial limit, and forcing those of
who don't use more than a couple to have 8 is no small matter either.
(The larger the fixed number, the more cumbersome it becomes for those
who don't need them.) At least they can be named now.
I think MM must have hoped to placate all the p.o.-ed users with these
new "Staff Assignment Lists". While they aren't completely useless, I
think they may be nearly so for many users. The biggest problem I have
with them is that to use them you have to go through so many mouse
clicks. If one could set up meta-tools that automatically used a certain
list, it would be better, or set up meta-tools to apply a list at a
key-stroke, or even just listed them as a sub-menu in the context menu.
But no, so far as I can tell you always have to navigate the dialog box
to use them.
All they apparently are is a shortcut for mass assigning "this staff
only" expressions to preset, discontinguous collections of staves. They
list doesn't stick to the assignment. If you drag an expression on one
staff or delete it, nothing happens to the expressions on the others. If
you change the definition of the assignment list, expressions that have
already been assigned are not affected. In looking under the covers,
there appears to be absolutely nothing linking an assignment to the
staff assignment list used to create it. The assignment list is
(somewhat) a shortcut for assigning expressions, but then it exits the
stage.
Nevertheless, being able precisely to assign an expression to a
predetermined set of staves is certainly not a step backwards (from
Fin09), and it is especially nice that they are accessible from the
context menu. You can apply a list en masse by multiselecting the
handles. If there were a keyboard shortcut to apply them, I'd say it
would be at least an in-the-park double. As it is, it is perhaps a
line-drive to right for a single. Certainly not a home run. I'll be
interested to hear what heavy SL-users like Barbara and Claudio think.
RP
--
Robert Patterson
http://RobertGPatterson.com
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