ChordWizard uses a default sort order to decide how chordshapes should be listed in sequence when there is no overriding arrangement active (such as grouping).
If you remove grouping from the Library List you will see all the chordshapes in the library arranged by the default sort order.
With grouping active, the default sort order is less obvious, but is still used exclusively in the process of searching for chordshapes in Design View.
Regardless of which sort order is being used, a chordshape with all mute strings (eg. xxxxxx) would appear at the very top of a list (although ChordWizard does not actually mute chordshapes to be stored), while a chordshape with all maximum positions (eg. 999999) would appear at the bottom of a list.
The default sort order determines how chordshapes are sorted between these extremes, and can be changed at any time from the Indexing page of Library Options.
You can use either of the following two schemes for the default sort order.
Sort by Chordshape Digits
This is the easiest sorting method to understand, because it is just like using numeric order. However, it is not always the most practical to use.
ChordWizard simply looks at the chordshape tablature code as if it was a number, sorting first by the leftmost digit, and where this the same, by the second digit, and so on. (Don't forget that underlining a digit adds 10 frets to it). For example:
xx1111
xx1212
xx6767
x00212
x76707
022100
244222
320003
355433
911099
244322
Sorting by chordshape digits is easier for locating a chordshape if you already know its tablature code, because you can scan the list using numeric ordering in the expected area.
The drawback is that a mute or open string in the first digit will place a chordshape towards the start of the list, even if the finger positions are high on the neck, which would otherwise place it toward the end.
For example, the chordshapes x99999 and 999999 would be placed far apart based on the difference in the first digit, even though they are very similar to each other.
The result is that the average hand position makes several runs along the fretboard as you progress down the list of chordshapes.
Sort by Hand Position
Sorting by hand position makes finding a chordshape from its tablature code more complex, but avoids the drawback of sorting by chordshapes digits, and is generally more intuitive to use.
This sorting method ensures a single run of the hand position along the fretboard as you progress down the list of chordshapes, and keeps similar chordshapes closer together.
Instead of sorting first by the leftmost digit, the digit with the highest finger position makes the first contribution to the sort order. For chordshapes with the same highest finger position, the second highest digit is considered, and so on.
In other words, the chordshape 244222 would appear after 320003 because its digits, by decreasing value, are 4, 4, 2, 2, 2 and 2 compared to 3, 3, 2, 0, 0 and 0. Sorting by chordshape digits would have placed these two in the reverse order.
Where two chordshapes have the same finger positions in a different sequence, the chordshape with higher digits towards the left of the code appears after the one with higher digits towards the right of the code. For example, the following chordshapes would appear in the order: 244222, 242422, 224242.
To contrast with sorting by chordshape digits, the same example list as above is shown again, this time sorted by hand position. In brackets after each one are the rearranged digits used to determine the sorting.
| xx1111 | (1, 1, 1, 1, x, x) |
| x00212 | (2, 2, 1, 0, 0, x) |
| 022100 | (2, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0) |
| xx1212 | (2, 2, 1, 1, x, x) |
| 320003 | (3, 3, 2, 0, 0, 0) |
| 244222 | (4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2) |
| 355433 | (5, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3) |
| xx6767 | (7, 7, 6, 6, x, x) |
| x76707 | (7, 7, 7, 6, 0, x) |
| 911099 | (1, 1, 0, 9, 9, 9) |
| 244322 | (4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2) |
See Also
