I don't know, Bob, it seems to me that yes, there should be an ACD version that breaks the old stuff, but given that PGMusic is well aware of the file format for current SGU/MGU files, it should be a simple matter to translate the parts from the old to the new, and then just save the file as "new". Maybe even a batch conversion utility. You won't be able to use newly saved files in older versions, but there should be no reason you couldn't bring older files into a new version. Actually, I suspect that would be the easiest part about creating an ACD version. Maybe it won't sound the same in the new version (given new features), but at least you could preserve the chord grid, the style name, and any explicit MIDI/Audio data associated with the file, etc.

Finale has done that with their upgrades; Noteworthy Composer has done that with their upgrades; I'm sure there are others, as well.

Would love to see (short list - nothing really new here):

* at least 8th note (preferably 16th note) chord resolution (conversion from old is simple math); 8th 16th note resolution can eliminate the need for "pushes"; just put the chord where it belongs
* greater than 120 ticks per quarter note resolution
* break the 255 bar limit
* multiple MIDI ports
* true support for essentially an time signature and where feasible, the style can adjust automatically (pick a 4/4 style, but select a 3/4 time signature (that then visually only gives you 3 quarter note slots for chords, as opposed to just entering 3 chords and leaving the 4th one blank, or similar)
* extended song endings greater than 2 bars (at least 4 or 8)
* add song intros, much like arranger keyboards do. Clearly this would need new styles, but perhaps old styles could be retrofitted for the new format
* section identifiers for which you then optionally could create a song by entering IVCVCBCE (Intro-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus-Ending) or similar.
* separate MIDI and Audio tracks that don't overlap each other
* ReWire support
* better chord support (for example, sus2 is not the same as add9, dim and dim7 should be two separate chords (one includes the 7) not just visually on the chord grid, etc)

That's just to get started. All these things seem doable to me, but would clearly be a break from the old way of doing things.

John

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