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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
I have started to look at the new user style feature to sort out my hundreds of Norton and other user styles since the "old" Stylepicker was replaced.
The new category creation feature is welcome but I am looking to simplify what appears to be a daunting task. I have a few questions.
1) I started by simply listing my user styles in the Stylepicker by filtering but why do some PG styles appear as user styles when I filter for "user styles only"
2) Do I have to right click every style listed as user, create a category if necessary and decide in which new user category to list it? Is there any way to make use of the old ls3 files which are text files and already have the style organized by category?
I'm sure others have already tackled this project?
Thanks
Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
Well, it looks like you can simply create a category text file in the Stylepicker and then copy/paste style data from an ls3 file into the bb/usercategory text file. It also seems that you don't need to edit the copy/paste data because Stylepicker seems to ignore extraneous information.
Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,323
Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,323 |
I recommend to you to read and read again the 2017 Upgrade manual to get all the details for creating User Catgories.
I have created my own user categories in the Stylepicker and it works fine.
As far I know, you still need to have your *.ls3 files as before for the new stylepicker. These information are used to determine the genre and the group in the new stylepicker.
Last edited by John-Luke; 12/26/16 01:04 AM.
Reach for excellence
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975 |
we made text lists for User Categories for Bob Norton styles. We did this in collaboration with Bob. This isn't an official installer so you need to follow the instructions below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fp6r333ssqk7ca0/Norton_UnzipTo_BB_Data_StylePicker_UserCategoriesFolder.zip?dl=0Instructions: - unzip the zip file (see link above) to your c:\bb\data\StylePicker\User Categories folder. (note: if they already exist there, great, no need to paste them again) - bootup bbw.exe as usual. - from the StylePicker, choose menu "Category" and then "Choose and Show User Category" - you will then see a list of all user categories, many of them ours like Xtra styles etc. - type a filter like Norton, and you'll see Bob's Categories. - Pick one, and you'll then see a list of Bob's styles - everywhere in the stylepicker, it will put a * beside the name of the Norton style, (assming that's the most recent list youve chosen) We hope that this exceeds the support with the old stylepicker for these user categories. Because it doesn't just make the lists available as separate lists, it allows the styles to display and be used alongside all of the other styles. For example, if you type a song title, one of Bob's styles might come up to match the tempo/feel you're looking for, and a * beside the name reminds you that it is Bob's style. In the old stylepicker, they were in 'different worlds', and you'd never see a list with Norton styles mixed with ours (or yours) for example, It's all one big happy family now smile As you may have seen already, these categories are simple text files, so anyone can make/edit them.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
Thanks Peter
Do Bob's category lists include ALL his published styles? What happens if someone has purchased only some of his styles. Does Stylepicker show N/A?
Thanks
Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
Thanks Peter
Do Bob's category lists include ALL his published styles? What happens if someone has purchased only some of his styles. Does Stylepicker show N/A?
Thanks
Tony I can answer my own question because I just tried temporarily removing all my Norton #****** from the bb folder and, as I suspected, the Norton category lists were the same but BIAB of course couldn't load the style. Does this mean that to create an accurate User Category List you have to manually create the text files based on the actual user styles you have in the bb folder or is there a quicker way?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975 |
))) Does this mean that to create an accurate User Category List you have to manually create the text files based on the actual user styles you have in the bb folder or is there a quicker way?
No, a single one size fits all file is all you need. In your example, where the styles still showed, you likely forgot to rebuild the list (pressing the slow rebuild button)
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
))) Does this mean that to create an accurate User Category List you have to manually create the text files based on the actual user styles you have in the bb folder or is there a quicker way?
No, a single one size fits all file is all you need. In your example, where the styles still showed, you likely forgot to rebuild the list (pressing the slow rebuild button) Thanks Peter You are right, I forgot to rebuild the list. I had assumed the category list had to match the actual styles in the bb folder but it looks like the Stylepicker user list simply ignores any styles that are not installed. One final question because I have several non-Norton ls3 files. Some were downloaded with the styles and some I created. It seem that I need to change the .ls3 to .txt and add the files to the bb/stylepicker/user categories folder and then do a rebuild. Stylepicker then behaves just like it does with the new Norton lists and ignores any styles that are not installed. I tried leaving the files as .ls3 and it didn't work. Thanks Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975 |
Tony: >> It seem that I need to change the .ls3 to .txt and add the files to the bb/stylepicker/user categories folder and then do a rebuild. Stylepicker then behaves just like it does with the new Norton lists and ignores any styles that are not installed. I tried leaving the files as .ls3 and it didn't work.
Glad you got it working. Yes, copy the ls3 to the bb/stylepicker/user categories folder and rename the ls3 as txt. (preserve the ls3 in the BB folder)
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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