[Denemo-devel] Current State of Menus

[Richard Shann]

I've done a little survey of the current state of the menu system
(below). As it has grown like topsy, it is in a fairly illogical state,
and could do with an overhaul.
One overall comment is that there are quite a few hardwired shortcuts.
Besides being inflexible, these shortcuts prevent without warning the
same keys being used as shortcuts in the keymap. So if someone chooses
one of these keys, they are allowed to do it, but it does not work.

File->New from template, should open in a templates directory. There
should be a save as template saving to a (personal) templates directory,
stripping out the notes. The accelerator key ctrl-N is given for both
this and File->New
File->read only broken
File->save parts does not seem to do anything and is undocumented
export PDF does not add .pdf suffix

edit->undo done twice redos
edit->redo does not appear to work
Note: select is missing here - in the usual keybindings ctrl-space sets
mark and the marked note can be cut and pasted - with coredumps
sometimes. ctrl-sh-space unsets mark. Can more be marked than single
objects? Could not the usual point and click/drag paradigm be
implemented?
edit->set keybindings, the list of functions is impossibly long and some
have cryptic names (eg Delete for delete current staff). Some are
absurdly obscure (eg SetinitialASharpmin)

view->durations toolbar check is wrong way round, probaby my fault.

Insert->notehead  this changes the notehead style of the current note.
Move to Edit->element->notehead
Insert->timesig->initial timesig
move to Edit->staff->timesig
ditto clef and key

Staff menu is insufficiently hierachical - you have to read through a
long list of inessential items (such as adding a staff in initial
position) before finding the one you want. Some appear not to work eg
add voice to current staff, chords to staff. Staff is treated quite
differently to Clef and Key, which lurk under insert. New staffs lack
staff lines in measures after the first when added to a score which
already has measures.

Insert->stemdirective this puts the directive \stemNeutral into the
score - any ideas what this is???
insert->edit figured bass should be insert->figures
insert->chords  this appears to be broken - it looks like it might have
been intended to put chord names above chords.
insert->barline->  openrepeat working,   closerepeat broken,
open/close repeat broken - none of these have any graphical indicator

lyric->edit lyric works, though none to freindly, each syllable is put
in without regard for where you put it in denemo. (For the figured bass
by contrast any gaps are filled in for you).
lyric->insert lyric appears to be the same functionality as edit.

Navigation->goto next score is not grayed out (I suspect multiple \score
blocks are not being supported at the moment as it was something that
came with the lilypond mode).

Playback->Play using Csound is not working/grayed out

Help->help cannot find the manual pages - while denemo is installing to
local the manual is in usr/shanre/denemo. Manual is incomplete and out
of date.
Help->about points to sourceforge not savannah

Comments please, especially if something works which I have mistakenly
declared non-functional.
Richard