Info-Mac 4/Info_Mac IV CD-ROM (Pacific HiTech Inc.)(August 1994).iso/Sound/Utilities/Nightingale 1.4 Demo Folder/Nightingale Essentials/Nightingale Help/Nightingale Help.rsrc/TEXT_113_Editing and Dragging.txt

Text File | 1994-05-21 | 4KB | 25 lines

• Any selected group of symbols can be cut, copied, pasted or merged, as long as the group is continuous. However, note that any selection that extends from one system into another is NOT considered continuous! But you can still cut, copy, and paste multiple systems by using the ‘Cut Pages’, ‘Copy Pages’, and ‘Paste Pages’ commands (Paste Pages replaces Paste Insert if the last Cut or Copy was of a page). For more information about this, see help on The Clipboard.

• Using the hollow arrow (the dragging tool) or option-clicking on almost any type of symbol—notes and rests, beams, slurs and ties, clefs, key signatures, time signatures, dynamics, pieces of text, barlines, octave signs, tuplet numerals, etc.—lets you drag it around. In almost all cases, holding the shift key down constrains dragging in some way; the constraint is almost always to horizontal or vertical, as in drawing programs.

• Notes and rests can be dragged either horizontally or vertically, but only one way at a time.  Dragging a note in a chord vertically affects only that note; dragging it horizontally moves the entire chord.  (Of course, dragging vertically affects pitch; this is the only situation where dragging affects the meaning of the notation.) The ‘Set Duration’ command allows you to change the notated duration (including augmentation dots) of any selected notes/rests, and the playback duration of any selected notes.

• Double-clicking on many types of symbols with either the solid (selecting) or the hollow (dragging) arrow lets you edit the shape, content, font, and/or other details of the symbol, as follows:

   -If you double-click on a slur or tie, four small “handles” pop up on and around it.  You can change its shape by dragging the handles around.   If the shift key is down, dragging either of the middle handles makes the other middle handle follow it symmetrically; this makes it much easier to change the curvature of a slur or tie without otherwise changing its shape. For better control, it may help to zoom in (with the Enlarge command, described below) first.  You can also drag the slur or tie around by pressing on it anywhere other than a handle.  Also, the ‘Flip Direction’ command turns all selected ties and slurs upside down.

   -If you double-click on a beam, two handles pop up around it.  You can move the endpoints of the beam up and down by dragging the handles, or you can move the entire beam up and down by dragging the beam itself.

   -Doubling-click on a hairpin dynamic allows the same editing as on beams, except the handles move left and right instead of up and down.

   -If you double-click on a piece of text, the same dialog as for creating text appears so you can edit the text and/or change its font, size, and/or style.

   -If you double-click on a tuplet accessory numeral, the Fancy Tuplet dialog appears so you can change its durational unit (e.g., make it 6:4 instead of 3:2) and/or the visibility of its numbers or bracket.

   -If you double-click on a tempo mark or rehearsal mark, the same dialog appears as for creating it so you can edit its text.

• When a single symbol is selected, you can view and change its detailed properties with the ‘Get Info’ command in the Edit menu. THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS: see ‘QuickChange and Get Info’ for more advice.

• Finally, double-clicking on many types of symbols also shows a vertical dotted line as long as the mouse button is held down after the second click. The line indicates what the symbol is attached to, if anything, and what staff it belongs to—the staff is indicated by a slight widening of the dotted line as it crosses that staff. This can be useful if you’re not sure what something is attached to, especially if you’ve been dragging things very much.