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:
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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.
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
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......
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.
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 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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, ...
Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
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?)
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
Unclear if the pianist is a total beginner or a professional jazz player?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
... 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.
As per Mario's endorsement, you actually are speaking for me and I'm sure many others.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Please add some sort of legend to the Style Picker and RealTracks picker that describe what the cryptic characters preceding the names mean.
E.g. in the style: -TANGO^1, the leading dash means that it is a MIDI style but has had RealDrums substituted. -TBONE uses the same instruments as TBONE, but has a RealDrums substituted.
Styles that begin with an underscore '_' are all RealTracks styles
The tilde character '~' means something about substitution, and two tilde characters '~~' mean something else.
Who can remember all of this? Please add a static legend describing these cryptic characters. It would save a huge amount of confusion.
It's got massive support previously from the users (11 years, 28,277 views, 42 replies, not one single down vote), but why didn't it ever get delivered? In reality, this is not a big request. A simple static legend would be so simple to implement. Save us, please. What's so hard about that?
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
This was originally raised in 2013. 6 years later in 2019, a PG Music staff member commented: 'Hi VideoTrack - another excellent suggestion! It has been passed along to the "powers that be". ' Whatever happened to those powers? It is such a simple, worthy request. Why keep ignoring simple wish list requests from your users?
This is so easy I could do it in 5 minutes. It's all about making the program 'user friendly'. Read 'User Friendly. A simple, static legend is all that's required.
Now, in 2024 nothing has happened. Hello? Anybody home? Please support this extremely simple request. It would be so easy to help users understand what's happening instead of trying to decode the cryptic meaning of additional symbols.
Last edited by AudioTrack; 06/09/2404:01 AM.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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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.
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