Music Layer selection buttons

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Paul Coles Posted November 02, 2017 10:25 Answered

Windows 7 Finale Ver 25.

I think it would be helpful if the music layer selection buttons (1,2,3,4) were slightly larger and colour co-ordinated to the colour preferences chosen for each layer.

10 comments

Date Votes

Official comment

MM_MICHAEL JOHNSON January 11, 2018 23:56

Dear Paul and Anthony:

Thank you for your request. I agree those interface elements are rather small. Your comments have been added to FIN-5198, the story in our backlog on the topic. I would point out that as of 25.2, we change the cursor color in Simple Entry to reflect the color of the active layer. Extending this functionality to the document window would be helpful. I would mention that both Mac and Win have keyboard shortcuts to switch between the layers. On Mac: Cmd + Opt + 1, 2, 3, or 4. On Win: Shift + Alt + number. These are found under the view menu in the "Select Layer" menu. Thank you again for your request and use of Finale.

Cheers,
Michael Johnson
VP, Professional Notation
MakeMusic

Anthony Begenwald Posted December 12, 2017 03:21

Here,Here!!

I quit bugging MM about this a decade ago. I am visually impaired, so this is one of many HUGE issues I have with the UI. I gave up years ago and went to defining Fn-key combinations to switch layers. Color coding the on-screen buttons would be a nice touch (though once you get used to the color scheme, its not a big deal).

Jan Angermueller Posted January 12, 2018 16:30

It's also possible to automate this with for example AutoHotKey on Windows.

Here is how I solved it: AutoHotKey now shows me green and red lights for the selected layer, the current language (red if not default) and another red warning if "Show Active Layer Only" is activated.

Description: https://elbsound.studio/autohotkey.php

Live screencam video: https://youtu.be/Tkj17VJuqvY

MM_MICHAEL JOHNSON Posted February 07, 2018 19:52

Hi Anthony -- duly noted!
Hi Jan -- great tip and suggestion! Thank you.

Cheers,

Michael Johnson

Reynaldo Rodriguez Posted March 22, 2019 00:49

I have Finale Notebook 2012 on a Windows 7 Ultimate computer. I cannot get the notes to show up in the different colors using the 1, 2, 3, & 4 numbers at the bottom left hand corner of the program. So if I have to correct something, I can't fix it without starting over. I have uninstalled the program and reinstalled the program without any luck. please help.

Reynaldo Rodriguez

J ADRIAN VERKOUTEREN Posted March 22, 2019 15:49

What do your settings look like under Edit > Preferences > Display Colors?

Reynaldo Rodriguez Posted March 22, 2019 16:07

My Finale Notepad 2012 does not have that option on it under the Edit Tab. Is there a Shortcut key combination to get to it?

MIKE ROSEN Posted March 22, 2019 18:00

I don't remember if NP had those options, but I don't think so. I can't find any references to them in the User Guide, either.

Reynaldo Rodriguez Posted March 22, 2019 19:50

The program had different colors when I first installed the program. Somehow they are not there anymore. Is there any way to install the program from another computer that has the colors back to this computer, and would that work using a USB stick? Or is it something in the Windows 7?

Thanks for your response

Reynaldo Rodriguez

MIKE ROSEN Posted March 22, 2019 20:17

I know the program had the different colors; I just don’t remember if there was that preference pane.

The only other suggestion I can make would be to set up a new user account (I assume you can do that in Windows) and see if the program runs properly, there. That could indicate a conflict with something else in your regular user account.

Do the other elements show up in the proper colors (expressions=green, articulations=black, smart shapes=red?)

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