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Sometimes I just want to quickly reference a set of chords from a song, or maybe make sure which song file is the one I'm looking for, or quickly compare two or more song files, etc etc, the list of cases goes on.
Having the QuickLook feature to check my song files would greatly make any of the cases above a lot simpler (especially since Biab still can't keep more than one song file open at the same time!).


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I believe in Win BIAB, Prefs, there is an option to have more than 1 BIAB running.


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Originally Posted By: DEddy
I believe in Win BIAB, Prefs, there is an option to have more than 1 BIAB running.
Ok... and this helps me how? wink


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Well, perhaps he's addressing your last comment that "BIAB cannot keep more than one song file open at the same time". On a PC, you can load two instances of BIAB and you can see more than one song file at a time. Perhaps he is suggesting you can look to see if this feature is in your Mac version.

But if I'm reading your request correctly, you would like a file viewer that understands the BIAB file structure enough to give a quick view of the chords in the file. Such utilities exist that can give a quick overview of a Microsoft Word file, for example.

This makes sense. +1


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You're right on it, Mr. Finley, as always. I guess that this suggestion will make the most sense to my fellow MAC users, in where QuickLook is a big feature. Hence I labelled it as a MAC request as clearly as I could in the subject header.

In essence QuickLook allows you to examine the content of a given file right there in your desktop view, without needing to actually open or run any application. The list of file formats has grown a lot since its introduction into the system, most of which now actually come from 3rd-party sources as a part or addition to some software (one of my zip creator software comes to mind). So I figured adding this to BBox should not be all that hard.


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Yes, exactly. It's a good idea. But wouldn't this be a question of PG Music sending the maker of QuickLook the file structure of a .SGU or .MGU file, and hoping QuickLook would add it to its list of supported file types? Unless QuickLook is some sort of open-source code PG Music can just graft into BIAB...


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Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
But wouldn't this be a question of PG Music sending the maker of QuickLook the file structure of a .SGU or .MGU file, and hoping QuickLook would add it to its list of supported file types?
QuickLook is an integrated part of the OS X system. The 3rd party versions I have seen have usually come in the form of a system 'Extension'.
Not sure how or if that helps answering your question, as I'm not in the least programmer-savy, I'm merely a user wink


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That makes sense (and I am a programmer). I think PG Music now has enough info to consider this.

I hope if they can fulfill your wish, that a similar utility will be made for the PC version.


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That sounds promising! laugh
I was getting ready to send you a sample of such a system extension file if needed to get the idea across. Glad I won't have to dig around for those, then smile


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hey, I wrote a QuickLook plugin for biab and posted that here on the forum (five long years ago, ouch!!!)

I sent that plugin to Peter Gannon and after a first reply I never heard again from pgmusic! I guess they are not very interested in their Mac product. So I stopped upgrading biab too!

PS: after a short investigation I found that my plugin is still running, but it is not so easy to install for an average user (command line) and I have no time to write an installer package!

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That's a real shame, you had me all excited there for a second... oh well, at least you've confirmed it's very doable, and we can only hope this thread here catches their eyes well enough to revisit the idea.


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@Icelander

Are you on OS X Yoesemite (10.10.x)? Maybe I've managed to pack the Quicklook extension into an App, so no difficult install process is needed!

-------

BTW, is the file format still the same old ugly format I re-engineerd five years ago? And is BIAB still lacking an import and export of data for example in XML or JSON?

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Originally Posted By: jbox
@Icelander

Are you on OS X Yoesemite (10.10.x)? Maybe I've managed to pack the Quicklook extension into an App, so no difficult install process is needed
Unfortunately not, but I appreciate the thought.
And you should be aware that the interface was given quite a bit of overhaul in the 2014 version. So judging by your old screenshot in your original thread, you might need to address that first anyway.


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