I'm running BiaB 2017 and I've downloaded and installed the latest upgrade patch.
I tried doing a search on this topic using the keywords "placeholding," "place holding," and "place holder," but I got nothing.
I know there's gotta be a way to do this, but I just haven't figured it out yet. As I dimly recall, previous versions of BiaB did this. So what's the magic trick?
I have thousands of styles to choose from in my Stylepicker and I routinely like to browse through them after I've assembled a chord progression, in the hopes of finding one or more that I like. But I find that I spend most of my time trying to "re-find" my place in the queue of styles once I've gotten a few screens down into the listings, and it just gets more and more time consuming the deeper I go.
So it would make my work just a whole lot simpler if the cursor would just stay where I left it in the Stylepicker. The way it is now, I select a style to try out, and then go back to the Stylepicker to try another, but the cursor is all the way back to the beginning of the list, so I have to scroll and scroll and scroll down until I'm at the point where I left off. Honestly, if there's a way to keep the cursor at its last used location and to keep that location visible when I come back to it, why isn't this the default condition?
Yes, I know I can do searches, but here's the thing: often I don't know what I'm searching for. I have discovered quite a few styles that work great that I would have never thought to do a search for. So searches will turn up some styles that might fit the tunes I'm working on, but by no means all -- not by a long shot.
I've looked all over through BiaB and, given the huge quantity of menu options, it's likely I could have missed a command tucked away in some obscure location. So, care to help a frustrated BiaB user out?
Interesting and what's this "place holding" concept, never heard of it; sort of reversible memory function for the last tested style? I usually mark a good working style as FAV style; VT, i never looked at that settings menu really: found mine was set to "sometimes". Now what's preferred mostly? Just curious .... i only use the style picker for testing a different style when making sketches to do songwriting BTW. F
I’ve run into the same issue raised by Michael, altho’ my stylepicker is holding in place at the moment. And, not to change the topic, but to extend it a little------as BIAB continues to grow with new styles, more real tracks-----might there be a way to organize everything to make it easier to visually navigate around the program? For example, more use of color and various fonts to highlight particular styles, instruments, etc.? Is there any research from publishers or web designers on readability issues concerning what catches the “normal” eye and make words easier to see and read? And, if so, might that be applicable some way to the BIAB program? At present, everything seems to be longer lists of items printed in black. Might it be helpful, if different families of styles were listed in a particular color, or whatever? And, other colors or font styles used for other groups of styles, real instruments, and drum styles? I’m beginning to get lost in long lists of items, where everything seems to look the same. Just wondering.
I don't know how to do this either, but I think it would be a good feature.
Sometimes I also do searches. I'll use the filter say for Jazz Swing or Pop EV8 and there are hundreds of selections in the style picker.
I know I can audition them in the style picker, but sometimes I want to try a few different spots without waiting for the song to get there, so I assign the style, try the spots, then if it doesn't do it for me, the style picker reopens to the top of the list.
Not that it's a giant pain to scroll down to where I left off, but sometimes my mind might get distracted and then I don't really remember the last style name that I tried, so I move the window out of the way, read the name and move it back to scroll to where I left off.
Like I said, this is not a major PITA, but an addition of what the OP is asking for would be a convenience.
Guys, thanks for all the responses, and Pipeline, thanks for the "always" tip. That helps a lot. For some curious reason, however, while it does maintain the highlighted style's place, it's always a page down from the current screen, so I have to scroll down to get to it. I wouldn't really call this a "feature," would you? More like a little glitch that needs some massaging.
As I mentioned in my opening post, I will browse through styles, looking for one or more that fit well with the chord progression I'm working on. And when I've gotten, say, 10 or 15 pages deep into the listings, having the highlight stay put is a huge time saver. I've been collecting styles since 2002 so I have a LOT. I've been using BiaB since the WIn98 days, but for some reason I don't have any of those earlier styles in my stylepicker listings. Actually I think I might still have them, but for some reason the stylepicker isn't listing them. Maybe they're no longer compatible or something?
Yes, I'll often audition a style just by double-clicking on it. And if I like the way it sounds, I'll apply it to my tune. But even though it might sound great during its demo, it won't always sound right when being adjusted for my chord progression. So, being able to browse efficiently is a huge benefit. And as I mentioned above, it just seems to be a no-brainer to me that this should be the default situation in the stylepicker. Not "sometimes." Whatever that's supposed to mean.
I don't think I can emphasize strongly enough just how important it is to me to be able to quickly navigate through my styles with the Stylepicker. Sometimes the discoveries I make are quite profound. Just a couple days ago, I ran across a style, that when applied to a progression I was working on, totally changed the feel of the piece in a dramatic way. And I ended up adjusting the chord progression to compliment this style. Result? A new piece of music! Just that fast. So, yeah, you just never can tell what's lurking in that list. And being able to comb through it easily is a big advantage. So yeah, I'm gonna make heavy use of the "always" setting. Just wish the highlight would land on the current page, but I can at least live with the way it works now.
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