IWBNI it were possible to program metatools that consist of more than one keystroke. As it is now, all metatools are specified by a single alphanumeric key.

This feature would be useful in cases where the number of metatools to be programmed exceeds the number of alphanumeric keys to which a metatool may be assigned. Also, one could, for example program a metatool such as "123" (i.e. the keystrokes: 1, followed by 2, followed by 3) to specify articulation number 123. Or, one could program metatools "DE" and "DI" to specify expressions decrescendo and divisi, respectively. Or, one could program metatools "F", "FF", "FFF" and "FFFF" to specify expressions f, ff, fff and ffff, respectively.

This could be implemented by adding the following controls to the Other Program Options dialog box:

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Other Program Options Dialog Box

Metatool Prefix Keys:
    Multi-key Metatool Prefix Key: _____
    Number Prefix Key: _____
    Name Prefix Key: _____
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One could use the text box Multi-key Metatool Prefix Key to specify an alphanumeric key that could be used in all cases where a metatool may be used, that would serve as an indicator that one is about to enter a multi-key metatool. For example, if one has specified that the key M is be used for this purpose, to attach a "divisi" expression to a given note for which the multi-key metatool DI has been programmed, one could press M while clicking the note (to indicate that a multi-key metatool is about to be entered), and then press the D key, followed by the I key, followed by Enter.

The text box Number Prefix Key could used to specify an alphanumeric key that would serve as an indicator that one is about to enter the ID number of a given object. For example, if one has specified that the key N is to be used for this purpose, to attach articulation number 345 to a given note, one could press N while clicking the note (to indicate that an ID number is about to be entered), and then press the 3 key, followed by the 4 key, followed by the 5 key, followed by Enter.

The text box Name Prefix Key could used to specify an alphanumeric key that would serve as an indicator that one is about to enter the name (or text) of a given object. For example, if one has specified that the key A is to be used for this purpose, to attach an expression called "ritardando" to a given note, one could press A while clicking the note (to indicate that the name or text of an object is about to be entered), and then press the R key, followed by the I key, followed by the T key, etc., until a sufficient number of keys have been pressed to uniquely identify the expression, at which point the expression would become attached automatically. It would be unnecessary to press the Enter key in this case.

Created: August 10, 2000
Last Updated: August 10, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b