Super Simple Request! Let me paste a chord!!!

Very surprised this did not work when I tried it today.

Hi John,

Can you give a little more information and I'll see if I can help out.

Under the Edit menu there's a "copy from... to" command that might be what you're looking for.

I just tried CTRL+C and CTRL+V in BIAB 2015 and that worked for me.

Regards,
Noel

• previous song: I Can See Tomorrow

I think that works for a Bar, but not a Chord?

Dan is correct. Copy and paste only works for one or more measures. It will not work for single chords.

Been there - tried that!

Right. So +1 for the original request.

Yeah, when typing a single chord it will not let you do the most basic of GUI functions...paste some text!

And, related to that, it will not let you edit what you have entered. You must type it all in again.

None of this is a big issue when entering C or G or D but when entering something like Fmaj9#11 I should be able to paste and also edit in case I accidentally typed Fmaj9311.

While I am ranting, I HATE the way BIAB will let me type in a chord such as Fmaj7#11 but when I press ENTER, instead of saying "chord not supported" or something similar it just erases my input and leaves the bar blank!

And while I still have a little steam, I HATE how I type Gsus4 and BIAB changes that to Gsus or how I type Gsus2 and BIAB changes that to G2. If it is doing a substitution that would be nice to know and if these are equivalent then leave it like I typed it!

Whew! BIAB brings out the bipolar in me. Periods of extreme delight followed by...

JJJ, about the "chord not supported" idea, take a look at my suggestion in this thread: http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=293315#Post293315

As for BIAB changing chords, if you study the file pgshortc.txt (both in your /BB folder), you will see how it works.

Really great suggestion on that thread Matt!

Regarding the pgshortc.txt file, I read it and created a shortcut.txt file as it suggested. And in that new file I put Csus2@C2, saved it and loaded BIAB. And it does exactly what it did before! If I enter Csus2, BIAB changes that to C2, just like it did before! I do not see how this "feature" accomplishes anything! So I deleted the shortcut.txt file and again BIAB does the same thing when I enter Csus2@C2.

And why did PG never learn about folders! I read the pgshortc.txt file and then had to scroll down 3,421 files to find my shortcut.txt file! (Hey, there is my next wishlist item!!)

This is very easily explained by reading the file, pgshortc.txt. Notice the first example given in the text at the bottom:

Note these are already defined in BB, and you can't over-ride these shortcuts
;sus2@2 add2@2 m+@m#5 dim7@dim 7aug@7+ sus4@sus 11@9sus 9sus4@9sus
;13sus4@13sus add9@2 7sus4@7sus s@7sus h@m7b5 d@dim J@MAJ7
; f@7b9 m7+@m7#5 NC@C. no chord l@7Alt u@(Blues) 7u@7(Blues)
; Lyd@lydian Lyd@lyd Lyd@4#

So the one example they give is one that won't work? Hilarious!

No, it is working as it should.

The Pgshortc.txt file says that if you enter Csus2, it will be converted to C2. The file explains that this is a built-in shortcut. You cannot change it; it just works.

By the way, if you do create a shortcut for some other chord type, don't use any pitch like C. You want the shortcut to work for all pitches.

Here is an example of one line in my shortcut.txt file:
a@7alt

So if I type a chord of Fa then BIAB creates F7alt

The file says this,

------
; If you find a chord that BB won't accept like Csus2, when it expects C2 instead
; you can enter this on a single line (without the quotes) "Csus2@C2"
; Then BB will enter the chord C2 if you type in Csus 2.
; these allow someone to type in Csus2 and the program will accept it.
------

Why do they give an example that has absolutely no effect? The file says "Then BB will enter the chord C2 if you type in Csus 2." but BIAB does this regardless of whether or not you enter that into the file! A useful example would make this easier to understand!

Oh - my mistake. I see what you are saying. Yes, it does say this in the middle paragraph, and it is contradicted by the actual shortcuts listed in the final paragraph. You should be guided by the examples given of the built-in shortcuts. Use my suggestion above (a=7alt) if you want to test it.

Here's what I think happened. I recall that PG Music added sus2=2 as a new built-in shortcut a few years ago. They just didn't update the written description to include the new addition (by changing to another example).

I did point out this error to PG Music in beta testing at the time.

[quote=JohnJohnJohn]Super Simple Request! Let me paste a chord!!!


Edit - Copy From..To.. works for one bar and chord or 64 bars and chords to where-ever you want to put them. Ray

Check out Copy From..To.. in the help menu.

Thanks so much for your help (and patience with me) Matt!

Thanks Ray but I'm talking about chord entry where it won't allow pasting.

Am I doing something different from everyone else?

I just entered F#maj9#11 on beat 1 in bar 2. Then I hit <enter>. Next put a chord on beat 3 of bar 2 <enter>. This produced two chords in bar 2. I then clicked on beat 1 of bar 2 (where the first chord was), hit ctrl+c, clicked the mouse on beat 1 of bar 7, hit ctrl+v and the chord F#maj9#11 was pasted into bar 7. The second chord in bar 2 was not pasted.

Maybe this procedure has been added in a recent update. I seem to recall that John once mentioned something similar to this post in a past thread and PG Music do have a history of implementing suggestions from users. Either that or my particular copy of BIAB is a one off special edition!

Regards,
Noel

• 90dB's version of my song: Brighter Than Any Star

Noel, you are right! The same thing happened here.

I wonder when this improvement was added?

Thanx for pointing this out as I had given up on trying to copy one chord.

No probs. It's good hear that it's a general thing.

Noel

• recent song: Walk With Me

Noel and Mario,

I think we are talking about different things! I am talking about BIAB's inability to allow me to paste text into the chord field. Not the ability to copy and paste a chord from one spot to another.

For example, let's say I was reading one of Noel's posts and he mentioned this chord, F#maj9#11

I would expect to be able to copy that text and then paste it into the BIAB chord entry area but I cannot! Instead I must type the chord into that field and if I accidentally type F#maj9311, I cannot simply edit my mistake but I must type it all again until I get it right!

My BIAB is the latest version and this is how it works. But it should allow me to copy the text of a chord and paste it into BIAB!

OK I got it now.

You are correct, you can not copy a text and paste it into the chord chart.

Good idea, +1

+1 for copying chord from text outside BiaB then pasting into BiaB.

John, John, John your response to Mario clarified your request.

I'm sorry, but I will point out the irony here in the given example: entering a sharp is case insensitive in BIAB. You CAN type F#maj9311 and it WILL enter as F#maj9#11.

But I finally understand the request: to be able to paste text from elsewhere into the chordsheet grid. +1.

The example is really not the point. Let's change the example to...

I type f3maj8311 and BIAB just quietly ignores what I typed!

So, just in case PG is following this, final point is,

1) we should be able to paste text into the chord entry window
2) while typing in the chord entry window (or after pasting) we should be able to edit what we have typed (or pasted)

In fact, let's add a #3 that should be falling off a log easy...

3) I should be able to click any chord and edit it without having to retype it completely!

John,

It is possible to paste chords from a word processor. It uses the CTRL+F2 function.

Here's what I did...

1. Opened Notepad and typed a chord. I went for G7aug.

2. Selected the chord and used CTRL+C to copy it.

3. Clicked on the bar in the chord sheet where I wanted to enter the chord.

4. Hit CTRL+F2 (this is the shortcut of right-clicking on the bar and selecting "Edit Chord").

5. Used CTRL+V to paste the chord.

6. Hit enter.

The chord that was copied from Notepad showed up as G7+.

Maybe this will help do what you are after.

Regards,
Noel

• recent song: Walk With Me

WOW!!! That is brilliant Noel!!! Thank you so much for that! That is one BIAB easter egg I would never have found on my own! I really appreciate your help!

Thanx Noel, I would never had thought of that myself.

I learn something from every one of your posts! You should write a Band-in-a-Box for Dummies book!

"You should write a Band-in-a-Box for Dummies book!"

+1

I agree. I very often use the Email Post from Noel's suggestions. I esp. love it when images are included, makes it so crystal clear.

I no longer use the "Help" menu in BIAB, so outdated and confusing, search for "one" item and you get "60 ++".

I started using the "Email Post" and made them my new Help.

DE

In the interim, something you might want to try is to press Alt-F5 and enter the chord there from what you copied to the paste buffer (haven't tried this, as I'm not at my music machine right now, but would think this would work). Additionally, have you tried clicking or double clicking on the little chord entry box (where the text appears when you type in a chord) and see if you can do it there?

Just a few thoughts.

Hi John,

I didn't think to try pasting text into the chord setting window (ALT+F5). I just tried it then and that works too. Well caught! The chord entry box doesn't seem to work the same way.

As I see it, the main difference between CTRL+F2 and ALT+F5 is that one works directly on the chord sheet and the other achieves the same effect via a window.

Regards,
Noel

• a recent song: Just A Little After Midnight

I really appreciate the great solutions everyone!

BUT, to PG, I still should be able to do a simple paste and copy and editing of the little chord entry window! So please keep this alive as a wish!