PG Music has done a great job with the redesign of the GUI in the 2026 version, a GUI that integrates elements that were previously scattered in different places into a single location, providing coherence, flexibility, and ease of use to the program. Most users have welcomed the new version positively, and they're right, as it represents a huge step forward compared to previous versions.

However, after several days of using the new interface, there are several aspects that, in my opinion, continue to hinder the program and pose an obstacle to the workflow of most users. There are many aspects that could be considered, but if we focus exclusively on the GUI, there are IMO, three key areas:

a) The Disconnection of the Different Views
The ability to work with different views is one of the greatest points of the new GUI; however, these views should be synchronized so that user actions in one view are reflected in the others. For example, if we have the "Chords" and "Tracks" views active and we select measures 5 to 10 in the first view, that selection should automatically be made in the "Tracks" window, or in any other view that is currently open. Or, if we mute the bass track in measure 5 via "Chord View > F5", the "Tracks" and "Audio" views should show that this track is muted by displaying a volume automation node.

However, none of this works in BIAB. The user can maintain several views simultaneously, yes, but these views behave as if they were completely independent, which is not only counter-intuitive but (even worse) is a guarantee of unexpected behavious and bugs from the program. For instance, if we select some bars in the "Chords" and some different bars in the "Tracks" view, and then press the "Del" key, how will the program know exactly what we want to delete?

Note: Try it and you will see a very strange bug in the program.

In summary, it is great to be able to have several views simultaneously, but these views must behave in a coordinated and coherent manner.

b) The Lack of Contextual Menus
Most users of modern music software are used to contextual menus: you select an element, right-click, and the program shows you a list with the commands you can perform on that element. However, in BIAB, these contextual menus are rare, and in some views (such as the "Tracks" view) they are almost non-existent.

Suppose a user wants to regenerate measures 5 and 6 of the bass track in their project from the "Tracks" view, and that he has forgotten the convoluted keyboard shortcuts to do so directly (to make things more difficult, there are three of them). Most users would expect to simply select those two measures, right-click, and access a contextual menu showing, among others, the Regenerate command, right?

Well, no. The right-click over a selection from the "Tracks" view does absolutely nothing. Instead, the user must make his selection and then click on a small arrow in the bottom right corner of the track, which shows an overcrowded menu with non-descriptive submenus, where he has to choose the correct option from three very similar ones, to finally be able to do what he wanted.

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If that user does not use BIAB daily, I assure you that in a week he will have completely forgotten how to regenerate a part of a track (let alone memorizing the different key combinations —CTR+F8, Alt+F8, or F8— to execute practically identical commands).

So please, PG Music, add contextual menus!

c) Inconsistency between Track Types
Editing commands between the different track types (audio, RealTracks, RealDrums, MIDI) should have the same effect. For example, if we select a couple of measures on a track and press "Delete," that section should be erased. However, pressing "Delete" on any selection will have different effects depending on the track type:

- With RealTracks: It works as expected.
- With RealDrums: The user will get s a dialog box with the following question: "There is no RealTracks on this Track. Would you like to select one?". An old known bug.
- With MIDI tracks: There is no effect at all.

Again, the new GUI represents a very important step in the right direction and makes things much easier, but in my opinion, there are still certain basic aspects to improve, so that the BIAB GUI adheres to current standards and the workflow can be as fluid as it can possibly be.

Last edited by Cerio; 47 minutes ago.
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