The General page appears in the Workspace Options property window.
In addition to the controls shown below, there are extra buttons which are common to all property windows.
This page allows you to adjust a wide range of options which control the appearance and behaviour of the Songtrix workspace.
Most of these are in the Options list, separated into groups, but there are also several popup windows containing additional settings, which you can access with the buttons.
Controls
Show Welcome Box
By default, Songtrix presents a Welcome window when it first opens, which gives you a convenient shortcut for creating a new song, opening a song file or importing a Midi file. This can be disabled if you prefer not to use it.
Check Sound Levels
Other programs may have made adjustments to the mixer (particularly in Windows version prior to Vista) which might cause no sound or low levels of sound to be output from Songtrix.
To protect you from this inconvenience, Songtrix can check the Windows audio mixer at each startup for any configuration problems which might have an impact. If it suspects a problem, it will warn you and offer to open the Check Sound window to help diagnose and fix it.
This feature can be disabled if you prefer not to use it. You can still use Help-Check Sound at any time to run the checks if you are experiencing a sound problem.
Open Help Window
The Songtrix Help window can be automatically opened whenever Songtrix starts up. This is helpful when you are still getting oriented with Songtrix, but you may prefer to disable this feature after a while and just have the help window open on demand when you request a topic.
Check Version Updates
Songtrix can automatically check via the internet whether later versions are available for download. Typically updated versions will contain enhancements and problem fixes, so it is a good idea to update your copy as soon as a new release is available.
Workspace Colors
This option affects the coloring of workspace frames and control bars.
Standard - rendered in the usual Windows colors.
Office Blue - tinted light blue in the style of Office 2003/2007 products.
Cool Black - tinted light blue in the style of many Vista applications.
XP Beige - tinted light beige in the style of the Windows XP theme
Workspace Borders
This options affects the borders around each region in the views of the workspace, and the buttons and other controls in workspace control bars.
Raised- rendered with a 3D effect in the Windows 95/98/2000 style.
Flat - rendered with a simple flat effect in the Windows XP/Vista style.
Gradient Shading
The tool bar and several other control bars and panels in the workspace can be drawn with a simple flat background, or with an attractive 3D gradient shading, depending on the setting you select here.
High Color Icons
The icons used for buttons and menu commands throughout the workspace are high-color icons in the Windows XP/Vista style. However they are also available as low-color icons in the Windows 95/98/2000 style if you prefer.
Matrix Row Headings
Chord matrix and scale matrix controls are found in several locations throughout the Songtrix workspace. Usually the row headings showing the chord or scale type are shown at the right hand side. However they can be located on the left hand side instead if you prefer.
Segment Time Axis
Segment sheets are found in Track View and also in the Record Segment and Edit Segment windows. Usually the time scale axis, indicating the bar and beat divisions, is shown at the bottom of sheets. However it can be located at the top instead, if you prefer.
Staff Line Labels
Staff controls are found in several locations throughout the Songtrix workspace. You can select whether to show a label for each stave line. This is helpful if you are still learning which notes are indicated by each line.
Staff Tone Labels
With staff controls, you can adjust how the notes of chords and scales are labelled.
(none) - no labels are used.
Degrees - the degree names of each note within the chord or scale are shown.
Notes - the note names of each note within the chord or scale are shown.
Pitches - the absolute pitches (note + octave) of the notes are shown.
Smooth Staff Symbols
When staff notation symbols are drawn in staff controls or the staff sheet within the workspace, anti-aliasing is used to smooth the edges for a more pleasing effect. This process can be disabled, which will result in chunkier graphics that draw slightly faster.
Tutorials Numbering
Numbering of the How Music Works tutorials is optional. Tutorial and topic numbers make it easier to refer to particular topics, but add a little complexity to the display, which may be unwanted.
You can choose whether to have numbers for Tutorials and Topics, for Tutorials only, or not at all. The numbers appear as a prefix to the topic title, for example:
(2) The Major Scale
(2.1) Scales and Music Structure
The numbering selected in the workspace will also apply to tutorials and topics when printed. If you have selected not to number tutorials, then topics cannot be numbered either.
Verify Style On Save
When designing styles, there are several conditions that need to be correct for the style to work properly. This setting specifies whether to run a check on the style structure for these conditions each time you save a style you are working on.
Split Segment On Clear
If a repeat or autostyle segment is in the selected range when you use the Edit-Clear command, the whole segment will be cleared even if only part of it is in the range. You can be warned in this case, and advised to split the segment first.
Copy Selected Events Only
If segment events are selected in Track View when you use the Edit-Cut or Edit-Copy commands these events will be placed on the clipboard instead of the selected range of the song. You can be warned in this case, as it may not be what you intended.
Style Change No Effect
When using styles in a song, you must have both a style selected for the track, and at least one autostyle segment in the track. You can be warned if only one of these conditions is present, so that you understand why virtual events from the style are not being generated.
Record Thru High Latency
It is distracting to try and record musical events with Midi Thru if you are using devices with high latency, as there will be a noticeable delay between playing a note and hearing the sound. You can be warned if your device settings indicate high latency before you start to record.
Playback Channel Conflicts
Each sound track in a song must have its own Midi channel, as must the playback metronome, and the Midi Thru channel. If a channel is allocated more than once, conflicts may occur. You can be warned if this situation may occur before playback begins.
Package Not General Midi
There are certain requirements for a Midi file to be considered in General Midi format, where the sounds and controllers will be universally understood by all Midi devices. You can be warned if you are exporting a song to a Midi file which does not meet these requirements.
Bar/Measure Term
Most people are familiar with the term Bar for the divisions of meter in a piece of music, however many prefer the term Measure. With this setting your preferred term will be used throughout the workspace (except in the How Music Works tutorials, where Measure is mentioned, but Bar is generally used).
Tile Help Window
When the Songtrix Help window is opened, Songtrix automatically tiles it in tall, narrow format at the right hand side of the main window. This makes it easy to read the information and interact with the workspace at the same time.
However, at times you may wish to resize the help window for a better view. You can choose how the automatic sizing works when you request help:
(none) - no tiling is performed. Songtrix Help appears on top of the main window each time a help request is made.
First Request - tiling is performed only with the first help request. If you manually resize the help window, the new size and position will be retained on subsequent help requests.
Each Request - tiling is performed each time a help request is made. If you manually resize the help window, it will be restored to its tiled size and position with the next help request.
Store Undo Actions
Songtrix can remember your previous editing actions as you work with a song, so that if you make a mistake you can step backwards to a previous state. When the song is closed, the previous actions are discarded.
Here you can select how many actions should be remembered. A larger number is generally better but may cause a memory shortage if you make many large editing changes.
Midi Percent Values
Values for most Midi controllers are in the range 0 to 127. But generally percentages are a more comfortable way for people to work with controller values.
Here you can choose either method of measurement to be used throughout the workspace.
Midi Channels/Voices
Midi channel numbers go from ch.00 to ch.15, and voice numbers go from 0 to 127. As with most numbers in the computer world, counting starts at zero.
However there a convention used by some software of starting the counting at one, giving channel numbers of ch.01 to ch.16 and voice numbers of 1 to 128.
Here you can choose either method of numbering to be used throughout the workspace.
Note Names
Opens the Note Names window, where you can adjust how notes are named and presented througout the workspace.
Styles
Opens the Style Options window, where you can adjust how Songtrix works with styles.
Folders
Opens the Folders window, where you can select the file location of the various file types used by Songtrix, including songs, styles and report templates.
Level
Opens the Playing Level window, where you can select the default playing level used to reset the chord types andscale types used in the workspace.
Reset
Resets all options to their default settings, including those in the popup windows listed above.
Tools
