IWBNI there were an option to specify that only colors for selected object types should be displayed.

This feature would be useful when proofreading or editing all objects of a given type. For example, to make is easier to find all articulations, one might temporarily specify that all articulations should be blue and all other objects should be black. Also, this feature would allow one to use colors for the limited purpose of indicating which layer is currently active.

This could be implemented by using the Play and Solo functionality of the Instrument List dialog box as a model. Specifically, the Select Display Colors dialog box could be reorganized as a list box table like that on the Instrument List dialog box. The table could include columns called Use Color and Solo Color. Also, buttons called Use All, Use Layer Colors Only, Use None, Solo All, and No Solos could be added to this dialog box.

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Select Display Colors Dialog Box
 

Object Type	Color	Use Color	Solo Color
Layer 1		o
Layer 2		o
Layer 3		o
Layer 4		o
Articulations			x
Chords
Lyrics
Repeats
Measure Numbers
Ossia Measures
Measure-attached Expressions
Smart Shapes
Note-attached Expressions
Staff Group Items
Staff Names
Text Blocks

[Use All]
[Use Layer Colors Only]
[Use None]

[Solo All]
[No Solos]

[Layer Colors Apply to All Layer Items]
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To set the color for a given type of object, one would click the cell in the Color column for the object type. Also, one could click any cell in the Use Color or Solo Color columns in the same way that one may click in the P (play) and S (solo) columns of the Instrument List dialog box, and colors for a given object type would be used or not used according to the settings in these columns in the same way that staves are played or not played according to the settings in the P and S columns of the Instrument List dialog box.

Consider the settings in the table provided here as an example. In this case, since there is an 'x' in the Solo Color column of the Articulations row, articulations will be colored blue (Note: If the option Layer Colors Apply to All Layer Items is selected, the color of a given articulation would be black, red, green or blue, depending upon the layer in which the articulation is located). If the Solo Color column of the Articulations row is clicked, the 'x' in this column would be removed and articulations would be colored black. Also, the 'o' in the Use Color column of the Layer 1 through Layer 4 rows would be changed to an 'x', and colors would be used for Layer 1 through Layer 4.

The functionality of the buttons Use All, Use None, Solo All and No Solos would be analogous to that of the buttons Play All, Play None, Solo All and No Solos on the Instrument List dialog box. The button Use Layer Colors Only could be used to automatically select the Use Color column of Layer 1 through Layer 4.

Note: As in the Instrument List dialog box, solid circles, solid squares, and hollow squares would be used as symbols in the Use Color and Solo Color columns in place of the x's and o's used in this suggestion.

Note: If possible, the height of table on the Select Display Colors dialog box should be large enough to view all rows at once.

Created: June 21, 2000 (based on a submission from Gilbert DeBenedetti)
Last Updated: June 21, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b