CD Loisirs 24/CDL24.iso/SHARE/WIN3X/NOTEW/WHATSNEW.TXT

Text File | 1995-09-08 | 20KB | 552 lines

           What's New in NoteWorthy Composer


This file outlines all changes that have been made to
NoteWorthy Composer since its original release in October
1994. The newest changes are listed first, followed by the
new additions made in earlier releases prior to this
latest version.

Features Added for Version 1.21, This Release
---------------------------------------------

1. Undo/Redo Facility

   The editor now allows you the safety of correcting/undoing
   an operation performed on the staff. Each open editor window
   can support up to 100 reversable edit actions. You can control
   this number in the Options dialog, available from the Tools
   menu.

2. Expanded Lyric Support

   Each staff can now have up to 8 lines. As with version
   1.20, each lyric line will automatically be aligned in
   the score.

3. Centering of Whole Rests

   When you print a score, any measures consisting of a whole
   rest will centered in the measure.

4. Dotted Notes in Chords

   Tightly packed chords that contain dotted notes are now
   displayed better. All dots are now visible in the chord.

5. Windows Meta File Support

   The Print Preview Copy feature now supports *.WMF files.
   Once you create the WMF file, make sure that NWC is still
   open when working with the meta file, or the NWC notation
   font will not be available to other applications on your
   computer.

6. Easier Opening of NoteWorthy Composer Scores

   NoteWorthy Composer now allows one or more *.NWC files
   to be specified on the command line at program startup.
   This means you can also open a file directly from the
   Windows 3.1 File Manager or the Windows 95 Explorer.


7. Standardized File History

   The file history stored on the File menu now uses a last
   in, first out scheme. This makes it more consistent with
   the way other applications implement this feature. The
   first file in the history is always the last file which
   was closed after an edit session.

8. Integrated Upgrade Support

   The NoteWorthy Updater program is now included in the
   standard NoteWorthy Composer package. This program provides
   a standard way of upgraing NoteWorthy Composer without
   downloading a whole new package.

9. Reduced Download Size

   We have reduced the overall binary footprint of the NWC
   package, while adding more features and sample files into
   the package. Proof that bigger is not always better.


Features Added for Version 1.20
-------------------------------

1. Lyrics

  Support for lyrics has now been added to NoteWorthy
  Composer. Each staff in your score can be assigned up to
  4 lyric lines which will aligned and displayed on the
  lower boundary of the staff. You enter lyrics from
  within the lyric editor tabbed dialog, which you can
  access by pressing Ctrl+L while in the notation editor.


2. Measure Numbers

  You can now enable measure numbers for a score from
  within the Score Builder tool. You can control the
  starting number in the sequence, and how the numbers are
  displayed. Your display choices are the following:
  Plain, Circled, or Boxed. In the editor, all bar lines
  that constitute a measure boundary will display its
  measure number (except the local repeat bar, which
  already as a repeat count which it displays). When
  printing, the front of each system will display the
  current measure number.


3. Goto Measure Command

  You can now jump to a specific measure in the active
  score partition without having to scroll around to find
  specific places. Simply press Ctrl+G and enter the
  measure that you want to locate.


4. Enhanced Slurs

  Slurs have been changed in this version to behave in a
  similar fashion to the outward note tie. You now assign
  an outbound slur attribute to notes, which is then
  extended to the next note in the score. NWC even detects
  if the next note is elsewhere in the score due to a
  repeat or flow direction change. This means you can
  extend a slur into multiple special endings and other
  directional changes. The direction of slurs are now
  determined by the first note of the slur: if the stem of
  the first note is upward, then the slur will be
  underneath the notes. If the stem of the first note is
  downward, then the slur is extended above the notes. If
  the first note is a split direction chord, then these
  rules are reversed.


5. Expressions Marks

  Many new style expressions, including Fermatas, Breath
  Marks, Crescendo, Decrescendo, Accelerando, Legato, and
  many other Italian expressions are now included in NWC.
  Many of these items are recognized and performed during
  MIDI play back. In many cases, you can specify that the
  item not be included in the printout, or that it should
  not reserve any width on the staff when it is placed.

  In addition, you can now override MIDI key velocities
  and volume directly from within a dynamic mark. These
  overrides are especially useful when combined with
  dynamic variances like crescendos. Lastly, a new generic
  text expression item has been added which enables you to
  write your own expressions. You are no longer confined
  to conventional Italian expressions or predefined
  expressions created by us. Now you can add your own.

  The expressions are generally grouped into three
  categories: dynamics, tempos, and performance styles. In
  general, you have more flexibility over how the
  expression will be placed and formatted into the printed
  score. For example, you can specify that a tempo that
  you insert not be included in the printed score. You can
  also specify that an expression should not reserve any
  width in the printed score so that it does not create a
  large white space in the middle of notation.


6. Edit Selection

  You no longer need to delete old symbols and replace
  them with new ones just to make a small change. You can
  now change existing notation on the staff simply by
  selecting it and pressing Ctrl+E. This is the new Edit
  Selection functionality. You can change previously
  inserted clefs, time and key signatures, and any of the
  performance expressions using this new method.


7. Clefs with Octave Higher/Lower Indicator

  You can now specify octave up or down marks on all
  clefs. This is most common with the treble clef, where
  an 8 appears either above or below the staff. This
  indicates that the performance should be played higher
  or lower in pitch by an octave.


8. Note Stem Direction Controls

  A note's stem direction is now just another attribute
  that you can assign, just like an accidental or dotted
  duration. You can set up note entry such that notes use
  their default note stem direction, or you force them in
  either an upward or downward stem direction. A new audit
  is also introduced which will assist in cleaning up a
  staff after it has been transposed and has note stems
  going in directions inconsistent with the new note
  positions.


9. Enhanced Chords

  You can now combine a note with a previously placed rest
  into a chord. The rest must be of a smaller duration
  than the note that you are adding to it.  You can also
  combine notes of the same duration but with differing
  stem directions to achieve a split stem look for the
  chord. Please be aware, however, that NWC continues to
  only recognize a single, dominant voice when formatting
  a staff. In other words, only the smaller duration in a
  chord is utilized when aligning a staff  in the editor
  and when printing. Completely dual, independent staff
  voicings are not supported by NWC, but notation which
  has the appearance of dual voicings can often times be
  obtained by using the new chord functionality added in
  this release.


10. File Type Change

  NoteWorthy Composer now uses the file type of *.NWC,
  rather than the original *.NTW type used in earlier
  versions. You can continue to open and save your
  existing *.NTW files, but we recommend making th