PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time

Index

Print Thread

Go To

Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time #298049 06/02/15 03:58 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2008 Posts: 2 M Michael F. OP Newbie
OP Michael F. Newbie M Joined: May 2008 Posts: 2	I've been a BiaB user since the DOS days and have always loved it except for one annoying feature or problem depending on how you look at it. When I leave the program and have forgotten to Save after previously having made changes and Saved As in the same format (.sgu), a dialog comes up and asks if I want to save, if I hit yes, (now the problem), BiaB brings up a Save As box where you have to save and then overwrite your old file etc. 99% of the Windows programs in the world will just save it and let you exit. Same if you try to open a file without saving first, the Save As box appears and you have to overwrite your current file. Is this intentional? Can it be changed to follow the Windows standard? I don't know any other Windows programs that work like this but it has been like this as long as I have been a user. Aside from this minor annoyance, I use this program continually in giving guitar, bass and ukulele lessons to print out charts and make play along CD's for my students. I would hate to teach without it! Thanks, Michael

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298061 06/02/15 05:14 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 27,108 Hudson Valley & Lake George NY Matt Finley Veteran
Matt Finley Veteran Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 27,108 Hudson Valley & Lake George NY	Welcome to the forum. You sound like an experienced and thoughtful user. There is one case that surprised me the first times it happened that is a bit different from other programs: BIAB treats songs without melody .SGU and songs with melody .MGU differently. When you have been working without a melody and then add one, it becomes a new file. Could this be what you are experiencing? BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298083 06/02/15 08:41 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,824 Bynar ZeroZero Expert
ZeroZero Expert Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,824 Bynar	I think I understand what you have said. I get it when I quit BIAB without saving the song first. Your right, these boxes are unnecessary, BIAB should present one screen "do you wish to save?" that's all. Also, If my system crashes, or Biab crashes, the RGB numbers in the display get set to Zero, leaving a black chord screen. I have to go into display and load the display template again Z Last edited by ZeroZero; 06/02/15 08:43 PM. Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298084 06/02/15 08:43 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793 J JohnJohnJohn Veteran
JohnJohnJohn Veteran J Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793	Originally Posted By: Michael F. I've been a BiaB user since the DOS days and have always loved it except for one annoying feature or problem depending on how you look at it. When I leave the program and have forgotten to Save after previously having made changes and Saved As in the same format (.sgu), a dialog comes up and asks if I want to save, if I hit yes, (now the problem), BiaB brings up a Save As box where you have to save and then overwrite your old file etc. 99% of the Windows programs in the world will just save it and let you exit. Same if you try to open a file without saving first, the Save As box appears and you have to overwrite your current file. Is this intentional? Can it be changed to follow the Windows standard? I don't know any other Windows programs that work like this but it has been like this as long as I have been a user. Aside from this minor annoyance, I use this program continually in giving guitar, bass and ukulele lessons to print out charts and make play along CD's for my students. I would hate to teach without it! Thanks, Michael Yep, the Save/SaveAs functionality is not right! I have been using BIAB only about 2-3 years and every version has had this problem. It has been discussed here but dunno if they will ever fix it.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298088 06/02/15 09:55 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793 J JohnJohnJohn Veteran
JohnJohnJohn Veteran J Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793	And as far as I can tell it has nothing to do with .SGU vs .MGU. Here is a simple test I just did, 1) open BIAB 2) keep the styles that are loaded (prolly from your last use) 3) leave the C in the first bar 4) Save As YourFilename 5) add one more chord anywhere on the screen 6) quit BIAB 7) as you would expect, it prompts to see if you wish to save 8) say Yes at this point, any standard Windows program will save the file using the name you used previously in your SaveAs in step #4 above and exit the program. BUT BIAB instead pops up the SaveAs dialog and if you attempt the save with the same name it then warns you about overwriting, which is, of course, what Save should do and exactly what you wanted it to do! Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 06/02/15 09:56 PM.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298724 06/06/15 11:32 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 207 South Africa M Mike Laatz Apprentice
Mike Laatz Apprentice M Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 207 South Africa	I often want to do a new arrangement of a song, but keep the original arrangement. In that case, I use the "save as" function, and change the name of the song. If there was only one save function, I would not be able to do this. So for me, having the two save functions (save and save as) makes perfect sense. Mike Laatz Cape Town

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298746 06/07/15 03:05 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,550 Spain C Cerio Expert
Cerio Expert C Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,550 Spain	This is a known problem, has been noted here several times,but it was never solved Latest BIAB version, latest build.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Cerio #298767 06/07/15 05:59 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 2,607 Sterling, Va raymb1 Veteran
raymb1 Veteran Joined: May 2005 Posts: 2,607 Sterling, Va	Not a problem or bug as Mike and John have stated. Can't understand why you think otherwise. Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time raymb1 #298770 06/07/15 07:17 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,550 Spain C Cerio Expert
Cerio Expert C Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,550 Spain	Originally Posted By: raymb1 Not a problem or bug as Mike and John have stated. Can't understand why you think otherwise. Please, read JohnJohnJohn's post above. Other examples of this odd behavior have been reported in this forum over the last years, and, if I remember correctly (95% sure), Peter himself recognized the problem and said that he could fix it easily a couple of years ago. Last edited by Cerio; 06/07/15 09:07 AM. Latest BIAB version, latest build.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Mike Laatz #298776 06/07/15 09:03 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793 J JohnJohnJohn Veteran
JohnJohnJohn Veteran J Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793	Originally Posted By: Mike Laatz I often want to do a new arrangement of a song, but keep the original arrangement. In that case, I use the "save as" function, and change the name of the song. If there was only one save function, I would not be able to do this. So for me, having the two save functions (save and save as) makes perfect sense. Mike, we are not suggesting they remove either the Save or the Save As features...those are standard Windows features and should be kept! What we are suggesting is they make them work the way they are supposed to per the Windows guidelines!

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time raymb1 #298777 06/07/15 09:12 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793 J JohnJohnJohn Veteran
JohnJohnJohn Veteran J Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793	Originally Posted By: raymb1 Not a problem or bug as Mike and John have stated. Can't understand why you think otherwise. Ray, you may have learned to work with these as they are programmed in BIAB but they are definitely not working correctly according to the Windows interface standards. And this means it makes the program a littler less user-friendly. If you want to understand this try the following simple test with the simplest Windows application there is, 1) open Notepad 2) type a word 3) use Save As to save your file 4) type another word (but don't save) 5) quit Notepad It asks if you wish to save and if you click the Save button it saves the file using the same name you assigned it and then exits. It does NOT pop up a Save As box! This is the correct behavior for a Windows program in this scenario and that is what needs to be fixed on BIAB. And if for some reason you like it working differently than the Windows interface standards, well, good for you! But most folks would prefer it work consistently with other Windows programs so according to standards, yes indeed, it is a bug! Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 06/07/15 09:13 AM.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298807 06/07/15 12:10 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2000 Posts: 22,219 Mi., USA rharv Veteran
rharv Veteran Joined: May 2000 Posts: 22,219 Mi., USA	It's not really a 'bug' (I think it's intentional), but I agree; having it act like standard Windows programs would be nice. I don't notice this in RB, but if it is this way in BiaB it should be changed IMO. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time rharv #298812 06/07/15 12:45 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793 J JohnJohnJohn Veteran
JohnJohnJohn Veteran J Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 3,793	Originally Posted By: rharv It's not really a 'bug' (I think it's intentional), but I agree; having it act like standard Windows programs would be nice. I don't notice this in RB, but if it is this way in BiaB it should be changed IMO. I'd disagree and say if you break a standard, even intentionally, it is a bug.

Re: Why does my Save work like Save As so much of the time Michael F. #298960 06/08/15 02:49 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2000 Posts: 22,219 Mi., USA rharv Veteran
rharv Veteran Joined: May 2000 Posts: 22,219 Mi., USA	I'll support your efforts as much as I can. I do (and did) agree it should conform to the standards .. I guess our interpretation of a bug (vs complaint) may differ I'm OK with that. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!

Go To

Moderated by Andrew - PG Music, Callie - PG Music, Catherine, Jeff Yankauer, PeterGannon, pgmoderation

Link Copied to Clipboard

ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News

August 22, 2025

XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!

XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!

The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!

Ready to take your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 experience to the next level? Now’s the perfect time! Expand your style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs—packed with a wide variety of genres to inspire your next musical creation.

What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?

XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-9 includes 900 styles!

Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!

Get the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.

Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!

August 06, 2025

Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!

It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!

We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!

Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:

Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!

Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!

July 27, 2025

New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!

We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!

Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!

Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.

Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles

Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)

And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.

You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.

Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!

The 2025 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2025 49-PAK!

July 23, 2025

Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac!

With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!

These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!

This Free Bonus PAK includes:

The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK: -For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles. -For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles. -For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.

Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:

20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe

Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®!

July 21, 2025

New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!

Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!

In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

July 21, 2025

New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!

We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!

If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!

Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

July 21, 2025

New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!

Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

More News