The Style picker uses leading characters to indicate the specific style 'type', e.g.
> Real Styles are prefaced by an underscore: _
> An asterisk (*) or (^) caret means the style is a "perfect" or "good" match
> Styles with Real Tracks are prefaced by an equals sign: =

So you can have many variations such as:
*=
^=
*_
^_
_
^

Seeing that there is some unused 'real-estate' on the Style picker form, to reduce the cryptology of these characters, and save having to often go to Help for a refresher, it would be useful for this information to be shown there as a hint for users browsing through styles, maybe like this:

I'd love to see a floating window like the screenshot. It would really reduce some of the learning curve. Great suggestion and the screenshot really helps to sell the idea.

+1 Bump

+1. Good idea.

Another +1

+1 from me too

Another +1

+ 1/2

This would be a slight improvement but what is needed is a complete new Stylepicker GUI that doesn't use these cryptic symbols.

Tony

+1000

I agree.
+1
Ian

+1, who can remember all this stuff?

Certainly not me!

I endorse this idea, but isn't the real problem that these names are limited to the 8.3 convention?

Hi Matt

When 2013.5 didn't turn up, I was sure that at least some of the previous 12 months development time was being spent upgrading all those DOS legacy things, and that we were going to see no more 8.3

I think Poster Cerio also hinted on this recently in his post about the Style Picker

Yes, the 8.3 thing is really way overdue - Style Picker, 8.3 naming convention, cryptic characters, etc etc.

+1
I
Everytime i think i remembered how it works i pick a style that confirms i did not really figure it out....

+1 definitely

With the new style preview they put in for 2014 I just use that and I can hear the style without trying to figure all those symbols.... I am so lazy......

+1
That looks so evident....

Matt, I agree and speaking for all of us "newbies" I would welcome a "cleaner", "clearer" look to the style picker.

But in the absence of that, a drop-down or floating window would suffice for now.

Yes, the Style Picker window could be better for searching those special things.
I myself nowadays want to use more often MIDI Styles, because I want to try out a new Sampler Miroslav Philharmonik for Classical music.
Would be very useful when there would be more things to search for, the things that are in the memo text for example.
Instrumentation of styles and so on.

Michael Frank

Well, despite a lot of support for this "very easy to introduce" feature, it never got a shot for 2015.

I somehow wonder if PGM staff ever read this forum (!?).

(What was that comment about a wishing well?)

I find all this "asterisk means this and tilde means that so utterly forgettable. An interface should make things apparent - not make you consult some kind of internal dictionary.

The whole screen needs radical surgery of course. Why not use color?

Z

Please, no more cryptic prefixes and suffixes!

In the list browser there are better ways to signify all these variations. And since ages we can have really long filenames which could be self explaining.

+!

+1 here.

Still +1

The Band-in-a-Box StylePicker has received a makeover in 2019. It would be nice to see PG Music take one more look at the StylePicker and implement this suggestion.

And I still need to add support.

No more cryptic characters, or tell us what they mean by way of an integrated legend, please!

+1

+1
And fix style picker as well, or give us back the 2018 version

Like the key on a map!!

I support this.

I guess I don't understand the problem here. What part of this is not self-evident?

*=
^=
*_
^_
_
^

As a newer user of BIAB (6 years or so) I can tell you these markers are essentially useless. Completely non-intuitive so I just ignore them (like lots of obscure or poorly documented BIAB features unfortunately.) I suspect I am not alone among non-BIAB-old-timers. I just stumble around in the program until I get some RealTracks I like for my song, export them as WAVs and exit the program as quickly as possible!

This wishlist request has been here as long as I have and it would be so simple to add as it is nothing but a list of definitions. Why they have not done it is baffling!

BIAB is just like windows .... the flaws make it wanted and marketable.

Everyone buys the upgrades and even downloads eagerly all the updates, with hopes bugs and wishes are fulfilled finally.

Alas, this will never happen: hackers will get away with a perfect program to distribute for free, and PG has no income anymore.

Perhaps the most cynical statement (other than my own) I've heard around here recently! So you are saying they intentionally leave in/introduce flaws and bugs to thwart piracy? You might have a point with Windows but since BIAB releases new content every time which is far more important than the features/fixes I'd say that "logic" doesn't apply here.

I think it's some form of assembler code...

No, actually, I'm sure it is

+1.

5 1/2 years later I still believe the idea is worth implementing.

The "new" StylePicker is still undergoing revisement through program updates so now is a good opportunity to add the suggested style labeling definitions.

Hi VideoTrack - another excellent suggestion! It has been passed along to the "powers that be".

Now if only we could get that "your wish is my command" feature working ...

Thanks very much everyone for the +1 feedback!

Thank you, Alyssa, for advocating for these requests and giving us a response here.

I fear that this request, and the 255-measure limit, are in the class of problems that probably require structural changes to the song files and some fundamental and original parts of the program. The developers must know already and must be stymied in some way from making these fixes while keeping compatibility.

I am not speaking for anyone else, but I would happily forego all new features, styles and RealTracks etc. for a year if these and other known core obstacles were successfully addressed. In my opinion it would put BIAB on a more firm footing for the future.

I'm with you Matt.

Thank you Alyssa.
Providing a legend to display what the symbols means would take a few minutes of programing time.

As per Mario's endorsement, you actually are speaking for me and I'm sure many others.

+1 for these ideas. Having a way to filter real styles with transcriptions would be handy.

+1 Bump from me too.
Ian