Table of Contents
TablEdit 2.20 Table of Contents 	Matthieu Leschemelle (1997-1999)	Credits

•	Overview	TablEdit main screen

•	Installation

•	How to Register ?

•	Entering and editing tablatures

•	Score structure in TablEdit

•	Inserting notes

•	Editing notes

•	Special effects

•	Grace notes

•	Note durations

•	Dynamics

•	Strokes and fingerings

•	Inserting and editing Texts

•	Inserting and editing chord diagrams

•	Inserting scale diagrams

•	Crescendo / Diminuendo

•	Editing measures

•	Modifying a measure

•	Inserting musical symbols

•	Layout

•	Viewing modes

•	Palettes

•	Display Options

•	Reading Guides

•	Automatic Chord Diagrams

•	File operations

•	Open

•	Save

•	Save As

•	New

•	Tablature manager

•	ASCII Export

•	ASCII Import

•	Import/Export of ABC Format

•	Languages

•	Quit

•	Printing features

•	Print

•	Print Preview

•	Print Setup

•	MIDI functions

•	MIDI Playback

•	MIDI Options

•	Reading List

•	MIDI Import

•	MIDI Export

•	Percussion Patches

•	Rhythmic Patches

•	MIDI Setup

•	General

•	Modules and Instrumentation

•	Time Signature

•	Key Signature

•	Instrument Tuning	Special Instruments

•	Transposition

•	Chord Builder

•	Title Information and Notes

•	Preferences & Advanced Settings

A note on conventions:

The following conventions have been used throughout this on-line manual:

•	Menu options are enclosed within curly brackets. I.e. {File}{Open} where the first item represents the menu concerned and the second the individual menu option. Where only a single item is listed in this manner it refers to the corresponding menu.

•	Key-presses (including keyboard shortcuts or hot keys) are enclosed in square brackets with a plus sign between keys where more than one key is concerned, e.g. [Ctrl]+[O].


Overview

Although TablEdit is primarily intended for guitarists, it's also able to manage other fretted instruments (bass, banjo, mandolin, lute, mountain dulcimer, etc.) as well as the diatonic accordion.

As a tablature editor, it produces and prints great-looking tabs or/and musical notation.

It also plays back tabs through a MIDI device (or the internal PC speaker if you don't have a sound card). This makes it easy to proof your tab or familiarize yourself with a tune.

TablEdit can also import and export ASCII tab and MIDI files.

TablEdit includes a basic chord builder which allows you to edit customized chords diagrams.

TablEdit manages both solo and duet tablatures.

TablEdit manages up to seven instruments from 3 to 7 strings.

But with the Rhythmic and Percussion patches, you can create songs for up to nine instruments.

In standard mode, the main screen is divided in two parts.

• The upper part shows the stave.

• The lower part shows the tablature.

Each one displays the score with its own specific features and limitations (fingering and special effects in the tab, details on note duration and dynamics in the stave).

You can enter notes in either the stave or the tab. Any changes in the tab are reflected in the stave (and vice-versa).

The key combinations [Ctrl]+[Page up/Page down] allow the tablature and notation to be scrolled up and down as a unit within the TablEdit window.

With the cursor placed in the notation, the key combinations [Ctrl]+[+/-] allow you to set the position for middle C and, thus, to shift the display of the notes by one octave up or down from their default position. This allows easy production of scores for instruments other than the guitar.

If you don't want to see the musical notation stave, the Display Options dialogue allows the stave to be hidden for full screen tablature editing.

All features are available in pull-down menus.

The tool bar and six floating palettes provide user-friendly access to the most common features.

The scaled and mobile ruler allows you to navigate through the score and to place the notes in the right place.

A number of keyboard shortcuts will help you save time.

The right mouse button calls up different context sensitive menus for tablature, stave and ruler.


Installation

To install TablEdit, you'll need to unpack the TABLEDIT.ZIP file and place its component files on your hard drive. I would suggest creating a directory called /guitar and subdirectories corresponding to the various zip files available from the TablEdit User Space, such as /chet, /gospel, /watson, etc. Then you can download the various zip files and place the individual tabs into the appropriate subdirectory. This way, you won't forget where certain music is located.

To run the program, double click on tabledit.exe in your file manager, or create a shortcut to /guitar/tabledit.exe using Windows 95. No specific installation routine is required. The toolbar icons and the tool palettes in the main Tabledit window are very useful, as is the help menu, for guiding you in using the software.

Keep in mind that this is a demo package with certain critical limitations. You can open and play a .tab file and modify the midi options to alter the sound you hear when you play the music, but DO NOT try to "re-save" the file when you are done listening to it. The demo version only saves 16 measures of tab, so you'll lose most of what you downloaded. If you want to print the file, go ahead and explore the page options available, tab only, tab + musical stave, with or without chord diagrams, etc.

I'm assuming, of course, that you have a sound card and speakers hooked up to your PC. The package will work for viewing, printing, etc., without these, but the sound quality through the PC speaker is quite poor.

If you want to print the musical stave, you'll need to install the tablEdit True Type font on your system. Otherwise, you'll get some strange symbols instead of the notes.


Registration

TablEdit is distibuted as ShareWare. If you like the program and wish to continue using it after the evaluation period, you should register it. Registering will give you access, without the demo limitations, to all the functions of TablEdit.

•	You'll be able to create tablatures of more than 16 measures.

• 	The MIDI, ASCII and ABC export functions will no longer be limited to 16 measures.

• 	The "ghost" text "TablEdit Version Demo" will no longer appear on your printouts.

•	The "nag" dialogue will no longer be displayed each time TablEdit starts playback of a tablature.

Registering will also allow you:

•	to receive free technical and artistic support

•	to access resources reserved for registered users only

•	to establish contact with other registered users

•	to be automatically informed of frequently released updates which are provided free of charge

•	and last, but certainly not least, to encourage the author to continue development of the software.

To register:

• 	Use the order form "ORDER.TXT" ("COMMANDE.TXT", "BESTELL.TXT" or "PEDIDO.TXT" for french, german or spanish users) shipped with the program. Send your order with your payment to the designated correspondent.

•	If you prefer to pay by credit card, use the "register online" form at www.tabledit.com.

Upon receipt, we'll send you your personal password via e-mail or mail.

Please note that you can always download the latest version of TablEdit from the TablEdit home page:

http://www.tabledit.com/

or from the mirror sites:

http://perso.easynet.fr/~mleschen/ (France)

http://www.pointtopoint.de/TablEdit/ (Germany)

Entering your password

When you've gotten your password following registration:

• 	Open the "About TablEdit..." dialogue box

• 	Click on the "Registration" button

• 	Type your user name (being careful to respect the use of upper and lower case characters) and your personal key code in the "Registration" dialogue.

If the registration process is successful, the key turns the demo version into a complete version.


New Tablature

Selecting {File}{New} or pressing [Ctrl]+[N] clears the memory and creates an empty tab 24 measures in length.

The time signature,  MIDI options,  modules and the instrumentation (string number and tuning) are not changed.


Open File

The "Open" command ({File}{Open} or [Ctrl]+[O]) opens a previously created TAB or TEF file.

Don't try to open a file with the TAB extension created with a program other than TablEdit or you'll receive the warning message "Cannot open file.name".

If you want to import an ASCII tab file, use the ASCII Import. command.

With the permission of the Buckett o' Tab 's author, TablEdit is able to open BOT and TBS files. Just select the appropriate extension in the "File Type" field in the file selector.

Note:	If you're running under Windows 95, Tabledit is capable of handling long file names. In some cases, however, early versions of W95 may cause problems when opening such files. In order to solve this problem you'll have to desactivate the Long Filenames option.


Save File
Save, Save As

Save

Selecting {File}{Save} or [Ctrl]+[S] saves any changes made to your tab since it was last saved. If the file has not previously been saved, the "Save as..." function (see below) is automatically called up, instead, so that you can give the file a name and designate the location to which it should be saved.

The demo version of TablEdit cannot save more than 16 measures of 4/4 tablature. Notes beyond this limit will be cleared from the saved file.

Save As...

Selecting {File}{Save As...} lets you save your tablature with a new file name. Only the .tef extension is accepted.

Note:	You can save the notes of the song as a MIDI or ASCII file by using the MIDI Export and ASCII Export commands. You will, however, lose most of the special objects managed by TablEdit (fingerings, special effects, tempo changes, custom chord diagrams, texts, etc...)


Quit TablEdit
Quit

The following settings are automatically saved in the TABLED16.INI file (located in your Windows folder) when you quit the program using {File}{Quit} or [Ctrl]+[Q] :

•	the current display options, including the fonts used and the viewing mode,

•	the  page setup options,

•	the history list containing the last four opened tab files,

•	the MIDI driver,

•	the current language.

•	the current tuning,

•	the palette status.

Note:	The majority of problems which may occur when launching TablEdit are caused by a corrupt TABLED16.INI, so the most radical solution consists of deleting the TABLED16.INI file from your Windows folder in order to restart TablEdit using the default options. But this will require you to repeat the registration process so you will maybe take advantage to simply open the TABLED16.INI file in any text editor then delete the lines ScrOutput and PrnOutput.


Print

{File}{Print} or [Ctrl]+[P] calls up the standard Windows "Print" dialogue so that you can print out the current module according to the criteria selected in "Page Setup". This dialogue allows you to choose which pages are to be printed out, number of copies to be printed, and the printout resolution.

This dialogue also provides access to the system dialogue containing the controls for the installed printer. Here, you can select the printer to use, page orientation and the paper size.

Selecting this or the "Print Preview" option with an extended selection activated, the radio button labeled "Selection" is automatically switched on. This means that only the selected measures will be printed out.

It can sometimes be convenient to start a measure on a new staff or tab line. If, for example, only a few sections or licks of a specific song are recorded, the ability to start each section on a new line may be useful.

This way, all sections can be saved together in one file while still keeping them separate.

You can force a line break after a specific measure of tablature by typing a [k] character anywhere within the measure. If you insert the character at the very last position in the measure (e.g. position 63 in a 4/4 measure), the line will be justified on the printout.

Melody line printing

TablEdit can print a tablature containing a simple melody line in the notation (see carolin.tef for an example). To achieve this, you have to follow a few conventions. These are described in the file mentioned above.

The Demo Version of TablEdit prints the text "TablEdit Version Demo" in the middle of each stave.


Print Setup

Selecting {File}{Print Setup} displays the "Print Setup" dialogue box. This dialogue box lets you tell TablEdit how you want your tablature to be printed out.

Tablature

Selecting the "Tablature" feature prints the tablature (default setting).

Musical Notation

Selecting the "Musical Notation" feature prints the staves in standard musical notation above the tab. To print musical notation you must first install the latest "tabledit.ttf" true type font on your system via the Windows control panel.

Vertical Stave Spacing

This setting determines the vertical space between tablature grids. If the "Musical Notation" option is active you can also fix the vertical space between the musical stave and the tablature. In order to define this, simply enter the desired distance (in mm) in the field to the right by clicking on the up or down arrows or by manual entry.

Note proportional spacing

This value sets the horizontal proportional spacing between notes. This allows tablatures to be expanded or condensed to some degree.

No proportional spacing

This forces TablEdit to produce measures of identical width (like those you see on the screen) taking only the intervals of the tablature into account. If this option is selected, the character spacing value will allow you to adjust the width of the measure manually.

Print Scale adjustment

This variable affects the character and stave/tablature size of your printouts. Setting it to a value other than "0" allows you to increase or decrease the print size by degrees in order to optimize paper use or to increase it for greater legibility, for instance, when printing out chord sheets. The available settings range from -20 (33% of the original size) to (+) 10 (133% of the original size. If you choose to define this variable as other than "0", measure size as expressed in millimeters will, of course, have only relative significance.

Chord Diagrams

Selecting the "Chord Diagrams" option allows the printing of automatic and custom chord diagrams with the tablature. If your tablature contains Rhythmic Patches, TablEdit will print the chord names and the rhythmics slashes above the tablature.

Custom Chord diagrams included in the tablature are always printed out with the tablature if this option is selected. Automatic diagrams , however, are included only if the "Chord diagrams" option in the "Display options" is also activated.

Reading Guides

Selecting the "Reading Guides" feature prints Reading Guides as you have defined them in the Reading List. If there is no Reading List no guides are displayed.

Tuning

Selecting the "Tuning" option prints the tuning within the tablature grid to the left of the first measure of tablature.

Page Layout

The Page Layout dialogue allows you to fix the margins between which the tablature should be printed and to definy headers and/or footer.

Note:	If your tablature is empty, TablEdit will happily print out a page containing an empty stave. This can be useful if you want to print a blank page in order to do music notation by hand.

The fonts used for printout are those you've defined for the screen display.

The Print Preview command allows you to adjust the page layout to your own satisfaction.


Page Layout

Top & Bottom margins

Defines the vertical space in which the header, staves and page number are to be printed.

Left & Right margins

Defines the horizontal space in which printed objects are centered.

Footer & PAGE_LAYOUTs

By default, TablEdit prints the page number and the page count centered at the bottom of each page.

By default, TablEdit prints the title, the sub-title and any comments at the top of the first page with only the title and sub-title, in small characters, on the following pages. You can adapt this procedure to your own taste by simply re-defining the headers manually

To definy header and/or footer to each printed page, type the required text in the PAGE_LAYOUT and Footer boxes. You can always restore the predefined values by clicking on the "Default" button.

You can also use page macros to format the text and insert the title, sub-title, comments, etc...

&p	the page number

&n	the total page count

&f	the file name

&i	the module name

&k	the capo position

&b	the designed bitmap (see below)

&l	text that follows this code is to be left justified

&r	text that follows this code is to be right justified

&c	text that follows this code is to be centered

&t	the title of the song

&s	the sub-title of the song

&m	the comments

&1	text that follows this code is to be formated with font #1

&2	text that follows this code is to be formated with font #2 etc...

Please note that the &r, &l and &c codes cause a carriage return in the header. This can, in some cases, be useful. For example the string "&cfirst &csecond &cthird" will give the following result:

first

second

third

Bitmapped graphic

If you wish, you can insert a bitmapped graphic in the header or footer of your tablature. Use the following procedure to do so:

-	Create a monochrome bitmap in your Windows folder (usually C:\Windows). This may have any height but it's width must be a multiple of 32. As an example you can use the file "banner.bmp" supplied with the program (1.90 or greater).

-	Enter the macro code "&b" in the header (or footer)definition field, followed immediately by the file name of your image (e.g. &bbanner.bmp).


Print Preview

The "Print Preview" window shows the score as it will be printed. This allows you to visually proof the printout of your tablature without having to actually print it out first.

Pressing [Ctrl] when clicking on {File}{Print preview} will cause TablEdit to display the preview in your current printer resolution, allowing much more detailed zooms and screen captures. Be warned that it also means that you'll have to scroll around the screen more in order to see all parts of the page.

•	The "Print" button prints what is displayed in the preview.

•	The "Page..." button calls up the "Page setup" dialogue so that you can adjust the settings described in the "Page Setup" help topic. You may then either print out directly or return to the preview screen to see the effect of the changes you've made.

•	"Previous Page" and "Next Page" allow you to move, page by page, through a multiple page preview.

•	The "Zoom" button allows you to view a close-up of the details. Once in the "Zoom" mode, you can navigate using the scroll bars provided.

You can specify an area to "Zoom" in on by clicking directly on that area in the preview screen.

•	Clicking on the "Zoom" button a second time or clicking directly on the preview screen will return to the normal preview size.

•	The "Clipboard" button allows you to paste the entire page displayed in the Print preview into the Windows clipboard as a bitmapped image. This can be useful for teachers creating lesson tablatures.

•	The "|--|" button allows you to remove the dotted lines representing the margins before a screen capture.


Tablature Manager

{File}{Tablature Manager} allows you to carry out several types of operations on TablEdit files. It allows you to play them back (singly or serially), print them out, open them or delete them.

When you select this function, a file selector displaying any *.tab or *.tef files located in the TablEdit directory is opened. The right-hand window allows you to change directories at will by using the mouse.

In order to select a single tablature simply click on it's name in the left-hand window of the dialogue. When a tablature has been selected in this manner, several items of information concerning it are displayed at the bottom of the dialogue. This includes the title, the author's name, the date and time of the latest file modification and its size in bytes.

There are two ways of selecting multiple tablatures. The first method will select all tabs between two given points. Simply select the first tab you want played and then hold [Shift] down and click on the last tablature that you want selected.

You can also select or deselect random tabs by keeping [Control] held down while you click on the various titles.

Playing back one or a series of tablatures

Once you've selected "Play", the names of four buttons change:

Stop

This terminates playback entirely.

Next

This terminates playback of the tablature currently being played and goes on to the next tablature on the playback list.

Previous

This terminates playback of the tablature being played and returns to the preceding tablature on the playback list.

Pause

This suspends playback.

Clicking on the iconification button (the little square with an underline mark at the botttom) in the the title bar allows you to reduce the size of the dialogue box so that the entire TablEdit window is visible during playback. In order to restore the dialogue to its original size, simply click on the iconification button again or press [Return].

Tablatures file management

Open

This button allows a list of tablatures previously saved as a text file (see below) to be reloaded into the Tablature Manager.

Print

This allows you to print out the currently selected tablature(s) using the default printing options.

You can force a line break aftre a specific measure of tablature by inserting a [/] (slash) character anywhere within the measure. If the character is inserted at the very last position in the measure (e.g. position 63 in a 4/4 measure) the line will be justified on printout.

TablEdit can print a tablature containing a simple mleody line in the stave (see the file carolin.tef for an example). To achieve this, you have to follow a few conventions. These are described in the "Notes" section of the above named file.

Delete

Deletes the currently selected tablature file(s).

Search

The "Search" button calls up a dialogue box allowing you to:

•	enter a text string to be searched for in the contents of all existing *.tab or *.tef files. The string is looked for in all information areas without distinction. For example, a search for "Bach" will return not only those tablatures having Johann Sebastian Bach as composer but also a tablature entitled "The Bachelor".

•	to specify whether the search is to be case sensitive or not, that is to say whether or not it will differentiate between upper and lower case letters (if not, you should check the box marked "ABC=abc").

•	to specify whether the search operation is to be carried out within the current (default) folder or within the entire active partition (in which case you should select the "X:\" option).

If the search operation is successful, the list in the Tablature Manager is expanded to display the files found together with their complete path name. You can then play them back, print them out or delete them.

In order to restore the Tablature Manager to it's normal state, simply click once more on the "Search" button and select "Cancel" in the resulting dialogue.

Save

The "Save" button allows the creation of a text file containing the following information for each file selected in the Tablature Manager:

•	the file name

•	the title

•	the sub-title

•	the size of the file in bytes

•	the date of the latest modification

The resulting text file is saved to the current directory with the name of your choice. You can reload and view the file by using  {File}{Import}{ASCII}.

This command, in combination with the "Open" command described above, allows you to define and playback one or several personalized playback lists. The playing order contained in such lists can be modified in any text editor to suit your own taste. You may also add new titles in this manner. The only restriction is that the DOS 8+3 file naming convention must be respected.

Close

Closes the dialogue with no action being taken.


Languages

Supported Languages

TablEdit is a multilingual program which includes four main languages: English, French, German and Spanish. You can go from any of these languages to another without leaving the program via {File}{Languages}.

Up to this point, nothing really new. However, beginning with version 1.70, TablEdit has added an exclusive function in that a standard text file containing all the texts necessary for the menus, dialogue boxes and alert boxes used in the program can now be created by the user to customize the program to his own tastes. This opens the way for the creation of any number of different language versions.

In order to take advantage of this possibility, all you have to do is select {Other} in the sub-menu displayed when you select  {File}{Language}. Making this selection will call up the file selector so that you can choose among the available language resource files (these use the extender *.str). Just select the appropriate file and then click on "OK" to validate your choice. The changes should take effect immediately. This makes ready-made language resource files a snap to use.

With the exception of the resource file for the Portuguese language, these are not supplied with the program. They will be made available from the "Download" page of www.tabledit.com as they are created. The main interest of this operation is, of course, that it allows users whose language is not supported by the program to create their own files.

Creating a Language Resources File

A language resource file is composed of two parts: the main menus and the internal text strings.

The menu items appear in the following manner (extract):

BEGIN

MENUITEM	"&Item 1...\aCtrl+a",	108

MENUITEM	SEPARATOR

MENUITEM	"Item &2\aF3",	202

MENUITEM	"Ite&m 3\aAlt+F8",	104

END

The keywords shown in upper case characters must NEVER be modified! You may make any changes you might wish between the double-quotes do not modify the sequences preceded by a backslash (e.g. "\a", "\n"). Nor should you change the number placed at the end of the line after the comma. The "&" character is placed just before the letter which, underlined in the resulting menu, will serve as the "hot key" for the related menu item.

The internal text strings take the following form (extract):

STR 33,	"&Tablature and Stave"

STR 34	Font  :  %s,  %d"

STR 35	"TablEdit Demo\nRegister now"

As with the menus, you must NEVER alter anything outside of the double-quotes!

TablEdit is supplied with a template file based on the English version of the program. You can use a copy of this file as a basis for your own modifications. You should proceed slowly at first, carefully checking your results with TablEdit.

If you're satisfied with your translation of TablEdit into a new language, you are, of course, welcome to send it to us as an attached file. We will be more than pleased to make it available to other interested users.


MIDI Export

If you want to use the files you create with TablEdit with a sequencer you can do this by using {File}{MIDI Export}. TablEdit exports the time and key signature as well as any tempo changes. You also have the option of saving the tablature information together with the exported MIDI file.

File

The "File" button allows you to specify the file name and destination for the new MIDI file.

You must choose a name for the MIDI file in order to complete the MIDI Export operation.

Cancel

The "Cancel" button exits the MIDI Export window without exporting or saving your tab as a MIDI file.

OK

The "OK" button saves your MIDI file and closes the "Export MIDI" window.

Diminish notes

By selecting this option, you specify that all notes should be lowered by one octave.

Special effects

By selecting this option, you specify that the special effects should be included in the MIDI file. You should select this option if you want to edit the MIDI file in a sequencer but not if you only want to play the MIDI file using the Windows Media Player.

Format

TablEdit can export format 0 or format 1 MIDI files.


Import MIDI

The {File}{Import}{Import MIDI} function allows you to import a standard MIDI file into the currently active module and convert it into tablature. You're also given the opportunity of creating and defining new modules without having to leave the dialogue ("Module" button).

When selected, the file selector opens automatically in order that you may select the MIDI source file to be imported. Once this has been done, you can listen to the file by simply clicking on the "Play" button. This will then play back only those channels or tracks that have been selected by clicking on the corresponding boxes. All other channels and tracks are deactivated.

Selecting Tracks and Channels

In the case of files in MIDI 1 format, TablEdit allows you to select the tracks that you wish to import into the active module. In order to help you with your selection, TablEdit displays the name assigned to each track in the source file (if any). You must select at least one track.

In the case of files in MIDI 0 format, there is only one track and channel names are taken from the MIDI voice used in the file. All the channels are selected by default.

The check box opposite "Channels" or "Tracks" (depending on the file format) allows the selection or de-selection of all the check boxes in a single operation.

Note Recovery

You can have TablEdit automatically increase the pitch of all imported notes by one octave. Certain MIDI files are, in fact, recorded an octave lower than the standard notation used for guitar which is usually notated an octave higher (8va) than the sound actually produced by the instrument.

The contents of the current module will be erased except in the case of duets, as indicated below. Save your tablature, if necessary.

TablEdit automatically adjusts the pitch of imported notes by raising or lowering octaves so that the notes can be played on the currently selected instrument, in the current tuning. TablEdit adds fingering marks (thumb or other finger) to such notes depending on whether their pitch has been raised or lowered. You'll see this fairly often in connection with bass D notes. This indicates that the instrument should be tuned in, for instance, "Dropped D" tuning.

When importing to a two instrument module, TablEdit will, by default, assign even numbered tracks to the first instrument and odd numbered tracks to the second. This is the simplest procedure and usually gives satisfactory results. You may, however, specify to which instrument selected tracks are to be assigned. In this case, the module isn't initialized prior to import.

Duration Recovery

By default, TablEdit recovers note durations from the MIDI file (including tied notes, where applicable). Nevertheless, if the "Ignore note duration" option is active the program will adjust note duration according to the position of the notes within the measure. See "Note Durations"  for further information.

TablEdit can also recover most triplets.

Other information recovered by TablEdit

TablEdit recovers not only the notes, themselves, but much other information, as well:

•	the key and time signatures of the score

•	the general tempo and tempo changes

•	text entries (lyrics, for example)

•	the MIDI instrument of each track or channel

•	percussion in the form of percussion patches

•	measure changes

It's obviously impossible for TablEdit to guess from the notes of the MIDI file, which fingerings should be used. This means that the resulting tablature is sometimes completely unplayable and it is almost always necessary to adjust the fingerings manually. The Transpose function offers several options allowing you to automate the process.


ASCII Export

TablEdit creates great looking ASCII tabs like the one shown below:

 |       |       |       |        |       |       |       |

|----0---------------------------|--------------------------------|

|------------3-/-1-------0-------|--------------------------------|

|2-------------------2-------2---|----------2-----2---2---2---2---|

|--------0---------------0-------|----------------0-------1---2---|

|--------------------------------|----0-h-4---4-------------------|

|2-------------------------------|--------------------------------|

To use this feature, select {File}{Export ASCII...}. The options contained in the resulting dialogue box allow you to customize the look of your ASCII tab:

Page Width

The "Page Width" setting determines the number of characters in each line of tab. 80 is the default value, although you may want to use another value (such as 72) to avoid word wrapping in a text editor.

Time Width

The "Time Width" setting allows you to set the number of characters per beat in a measure. A setting of eight or four produces nice, legible tabs. The "Variable" option allow an export in which the time width alloted is based on the values of the existing notes. A code displayed above the tablature (see explanation below) indicates the value of the notes on the first three strings. A similar code, displayed beneath the tablature, indicates the value for the bass notes. The letter codes used are as follows: w = whole note; h = 1/2 note;
q = 1/4 note; e = 1/8th note; s = 1/16th note; t = 1/32nd note. This file format is of interest only for communicating with musicians using platforms other than Windows 95/98,

From Measure - To

These two settings in the "Export ASCII" dialogueue allow you to determine which portion of the file will be exported by choosing the first and last measures for the export operation.

Trace Reading List

Selecting the "Trace Reading List" check box exports the Reading Guides defined in the Reading List. If there is no Reading List, then no guides are included in your ASCII TAB.

Append to file

If the "Append to file" option is selected, the text will be added at the end of the existing file. Otherwise, the existing file will be overwritten.

File

Click on the "File" button to choose the disk and folder that the exported file should be saved to.

The "OK" button will remain greyed out until you've entered a file name for your ASCII file.

Cancel

The "Cancel" button closes the ASCII Export dialogue box without effecting export operation.

Notes: 	To properly display ASCII tablature in most word processors you must select a monospaced font such as "Courier". Otherwise the lines of tablature will skew and the notes won't line up properly with the timing marks or even with each other.

The TablEdit demo version will only export the first 16 measures.


ASCII Import

{File}{Import ASCII} allows the import of ordinary ASCII tab files (such as those often found on the Internet). TablEdit recognizes the lines containing tablature information and processes them regardless of the number of measures they contain. No special preparation of the text should be necessary. The setup phase, however, is essential in order to obtain good results.

The setup consists of specifying:

Time signature

The time signature of the tune

Measure width

The zone in which the characters representing notes (significant characters) are to be placed within a measure

Before first measure

The number of insignificant characters at the beginning of each line. This is the space between the first character of the line and the first interval of the first measure.

Space between measures

The number of insignificant characters between adjacent measures.

First line

The line of the file from which TablEdit should start recognizing the text.

Last line

The line of the file at which TablEdit should stop recognizing the text.

To Measure

The first measure in which TablEdit should place recognized notes. All following measures will be cleared.

Intelligent Mode

The "Intelligent Mode" option lets you dispense with the need to set parameters 2 to 4. This allows you to import unequal measures without previous adjustment. It does, however, assume that the measures in question are separated by "|" (pipe) characters.

Note:	By clicking on the "?" button beside a field you recover the width (in characters) of the current selection in the editing box.

With a correct setup, the command will give good results if:

•	all measures are of the same size (except if you're using "Intelligent Mode"). Otherwise, you'll have to edit and modify the file.

•	only the lines representing strings contain more than eight dashes. Otherwise, TablEdit will interpret them as strings.

The following example will give excellent results

   1   2   3   1   2   3   1   2   3   1   2   3

e -----0---0-------0---0-------0---0-------------	Parameters:

B -----1---1-------1---1-------1---1---0---1---3-

G -------0---0-------0---0-------2---2-----------	Time signature: 3/4

D ---2-----------0-----------2-------------------	Measure width: 12

A -3-----------2-----------0---------------0---2-	Before first measure: 3

E -------------------------------------3---------	Space between measures: 0

As will this one:

  |       |       |        |       |       |

E ------------------------|------------------------|	Parameters :

B ------------------------|------------------------|

G ------------------------|------------------------|	Time Signature: 3/4

D ----2---0---------------|--------2-------4-------|	Measure width: 24

A ------------3---2---0---|------------------------|	Before first measure: 2

E ------------------------|3---------------2-------|	Space between measures: 1


Import/Export of ABC Format

Importing ABC notation

ABC is a file format used for sharing traditional Irish tunes (and tunes from other genres) via a plain ASCII file. Here's the URL for the ABC homepage: http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/

The "Import ABC" dialogue allows you to select the relevant file and then the piece within that file to be imported.

The ASCII text of the file to be imported can be displayed by selecting {File}{Import ASCII}.

Exporting a tablature to ABC format

A number of the parameters used by the Export ASCII function are also to be found here.

Page Width

This first parameter defines the maximum line length, expressed as the number of characters, of the ABC file. A value smaller than 80 is recommended.

From measure ... To measure

Allows you to define the measures to be exported. The Reading List is always exported.

Append to End of File

This parameter is important and is selected by default. It allows you to include multiple compositions in a single ABC file.

the ABC files exported by TablEdit are highly simplified compared to the original tablature. Tied notes, triplets and grace notes are not taken into account. Differing note durations within a single chord are not noted. This is due to limitations in the ABC format, which doesn't lend itself very well to polyphonic music.


Score Structure in TablEdit

Some music editing software simply has you enter row upon row of numbers and insert the measure bars afterwards. Other automatically create a new measure when the previous one is completed.

Although these techniques are fairly flexible, they require the frequent use of rests in order to follow the rhythm assigned to a given piece and lead to complications when notes of differing durations crowd up on one another.

The logic used by TablEdit is different in that the work consists of placing notes within pre-determined measures without reference to prior entries. This means, for example, that you can enter a note in measure 10 even if the first nine measures of the score are completely devoid of either notes or rests.

On the other hand, notes must be placed precisely at a location corresponding to their sequence in the overall scheme of the piece. This precise placement is facilitated by the use of the ruler which allows the correct location to be found.

One of the advantages of this concept is that rests become somewhat irrelevant to obtaining a legible printed score. Another advantage is that it becomes very easy to hold a note for an entire measure despite the fact that the following note is sounded only an 1/8th note interval afterwards. This allows the creation of an aural realism worthy of the best music editing software.


Inserting and Deleting Notes

It's imperative to correct playback that the numbers or notes you add to your staves be correctly placed horizontally within the measure. The program plays notes back based entirely on their position within the grid with no account being taken of the duration of the preceding note.

The simplest way of achieving correct placement is by correct use of the [Tab] key. This moves the cursor to the right by the distance corresponding to the currently selected duration. Thus, in a 4/4 measure and with a current note value of a 1/4 note, each press of [Tab] will move the cursor to the next beat.

Right clicking on any of the notes in the "Note" palette activates automatic cursor advancement. This means that each time you enter a note in the tablature the cursor is automatically advanced along the the same string by an interval equal to the current note value. This function can be toggled on and off with [Ctrl]+[Space].

Entering notes or rests in the stave

•	Place the cursor in the location of the natural note in the stave either with the cursor keys or by simply left clicking on the correct location.

•	Select any alteration (#, b, or natural) you may want to apply. (You can also enter the natural note then press [-] or [+])

•	Change the current duration, if necessary, using the "Notes" palette or {Notes}.

•	Press [Enter/Return] to enter a note or [.] (full stop) to enter a rest.

Note 1:	You can easily insert a note in the stave by left clicking on the natural note location while holding down [Ctrl].

Note 2:	In the case of duets, the tuning of the active instrument is displayed in blue. The notation stave shows only the notes played by this instrument. To toggle the active instrument press [Ctrl]+[1] or [Ctrl]+[2] or double-click on the corresponding tablature.

Note 3:	In the musical stave, stem direction is determined automatically. You can, however, force stem direction manually by selecting the notes to be modified and pressing either [a] (stems up) or [z] (stems down). Pressing [e] returns you to the automatic stem direction mode. Within any given beat, notes whose stems have been forced manually can be connected by either a single or a double beam. These are automatically displayed by TablEdit. Combined beams (e.g. an 1/8th note followed by two 1/16th notes) are not, as yet, supported.

Entering notes or rests in the tablature

•	Place the cursor at the desired location on the string using the arrow keys or by left clicking.

•	If you don't want to use the currently selected note value you can change the current duration  via the "Notes" palette or {Notes}.

•	To insert a note, type a number to enter a note on the fret. For frets between 10 and 19, first enter [1] then a number between 1 and 9. For example for fret 16, type [1] followed by [6]. The procedure is the same for frets 20 to 24.

•	You can increase or reduce this number by pressing [+] or [-].

•	To insert a rest, Press the [.] (period/full stop) key. The rest is given the current duration.

•	To delete a note or a rest, select it with cursor then press [Delete].

•	If you've accidentally entered an incorrect duration value for a note and only notice the mistake after having entered further notes,  [Alt]+[Delete] or [Alt]+[Insert] moves all the notes of the score to the left or right (respectively) starting from the cursor position.

Inserting other elements into the tablature

TablEdit allows the insertion of elements other than notes within the tablature:

•	texts and musical symbols

•	independent fingering indicators

•	Custom chord and scale diagrams

•	tempo changes

•	MIDI voice changes

•	syncopation changes

•	crescendos and diminuendos

•	line breaks

•	beam breaks

The anchor points for these elements are displayed in different ways depending on the type of element in question. A black square is used for chord diagrams, a red cross for text, purple for tempo changes, a small circle for fingering indicators (unless placed directly on the corresponding note), etc.

It's important to note that such markers occupy the space of a note in the tablature. They can be deleted, moved or copied like any note. With the exception of fingering indicators, placing any of these elements directly on a space already occupied by a note in the tablature will cause the screen display of the note to be suppressed, although it will not affect it on printouts. The best choice is to place such anchors on unoccupied spaces.

As concerns the placement of such elements in relation to printouts, the most desirable method is to place the anchor point exactly in line with the point at which you wish the element to appear. If no string space is available, e.g. due to the presence of a chord occupying all the available strings, place the anchor a 1/64th interval (this will require you to change viewing scale) to the right of the desired position. On printout, TablEdit will automatically displace the actual element recursively to the position of the last note printed.

Pressing [q] when the cursor is located directly on an anchor point will cause TablEdit to search the current module for the next occurence of the same type of element.

Double clicking on an anchor point or pressing [Return/Enter] while the cursor is located directly on one causes TablEdit to open the corresponding dialogue so that you can edit or modify the element concerned.

Note:	If a sound card is available, you'll hear each note as you enter it. If TablEdit can't open the MIDI device, a warning message will be displayed the first time you enter a note. Thereafter, TablEdit will use the internal PC speaker.

To cancel sound output during note entry, just turn the sound of the current module off in the MIDI Options dialogue.


Editing notes

From the keyboard

•	Place the cursor on the note to edit using the cursor keys. In the case of multiple notes, mark these as a block. If the cursor or block is on an empty space the commands have no effect.

To copy a note:

•	Press [Ctrl]+[C].

•	Move the cursor to the destination position

•	Press [Ctrl]+[V].

To move a note:

•	Press [Ctrl]+[X].

•	Move the Cursor to the destination position

•	Press [Ctrl]+[V].

To move a note upwards or downwards across the neck of the instrument (in order to adjust the fingering)

•	Press [Ctrl]+[NumPad +] (to move toward the bass) or [Ctrl]+[NumPad -] (to move toward the treble). This can also be done with the mouse via the "Tools" palette. The fret position is automatically increased or decreased to correspond to the pitch value of the original note.

With the mouse

•	Mark an Extended Selection.

To copy a block of notes:

•	Drag the block while pressing [Ctrl] and drop it at the new position.

To move a block of notes:

•	Drag the block and drop it at the new position.

Note pitch can be changed in conjunction with Drag & Drop operations in the notation. Simply keep [shift] held down during a "Move" operation and [Ctrl]+[shift] during a "Copy" operation. TablEdit will automatically keep track of any vertical displacement and transpose the notes, as needed.

Note 1:	Right clicking calls up a context sensitive menu.

Note 2:	To avoid confusion during editing (and to save screen space), TablEdit displays the standard notation for only one instrument at a time. To view the Grand Staff showing both instruments you can use the "Print Preview" feature. To toggle the active instrument press [Ctrl]+[1] or [Ctrl]+[2] or double-click on the corresponding tablature.

Note 3:	Copying notes directly from the stave has certain, specific effects. TablEdit ignores fret positions completely and considers only the actual pitch of notes so copied. This means, for example, that you can copy the notes from a module for guitar and paste them into a banjo module without losing any of the music. TablEdit will even attempt to save notes whose pitch is too low for the new instrument by increasing their value by an octave.

Note 4:	The key combination sequence [Ctrl]+[Insert] and [shift]+[Insert] normally allows entire measures to be copied and pasted. If, however, the upper left-hand corner of a selected block actually contains a note, TablEdit will treat the operation in the same manner as if it were the sequence [Ctrl]+[c] and [Ctrl]+[v].


Extended Selection

With the mouse

By moving the mouse across the tablature while holding down the left button, you can select a block of notes and apply an editing action to them.

From the keyboard

This function is also available from the keyboard by moving the Cursor using the arrow keys while pressing [Shift]. For longer segments, it may be simpler to place the cursor at the start of the desired selection and then move to the end of this segment using the scroll bar and then left click on the end position while pressing [shift] to create the final block.

Note:	If an extended selection contains empty positions these will be ignored by the editing commands.


Note durations

If no explicit current duration is selected, TablEdit gives the notes a logical value according to its environment. So the first note you enter in an empty measure is a whole note. If you insert a new note on the next beat, the first note will change into a 1/4 note and the new one will be a dotted 1/2 note, etc...

If an explicit current duration is selected, pressing the tab key will move the cursor to the next position indicated by the current duration.

Limitations

•	The dotted and triplet options are mutually exclusive.

•	1/64th notes may not be written as triplets.

•	Whole notes may not be dotted.

Tied Notes

The tied note command is found in the {Note} menu and in the "Note" palette.

Insert the notes you want to tie together in the Tab.

Highlight the last note in the series and select {Notes}{Tied Note} or press [Ctrl]+[L].

Tip:	In order to place tied notes with a minimum of effort, set the dynamic level to ppp, select {Note}{Automatic duration} and enter the tied notes directly into either the musical stave or the tablature.

Triplets and quintuplets

In order to enter an 1/8th note triplet in a binary rhythm using the mouse, select 1/8th note duration and the triplet option and enter the notes at 1/16th note intervals.

Do the same for a triplet of 1/16 notes but with 1/32nd note intervals.

For two 1/16th note triplets (equivalent to an 1/8th note sextuplet) select 1/16th note duration and the triplet option and enter the notes at 1/32nd note intervals.

For 1/4 note triplets, select 1/4 note duration and the triplet option and enter the notes at 1/8th note intervals (the first one on the beat, the second one in the middle of the beat and the last one on the following beat).

Note 1:	For all of the above options you'll have to add an extra interval at the end of each triplet to place the cursor at the correct position for the following note.

Note 2:	Spacing the intervals of a triplet (or, for that matter, any other note interval) is much easier and more accurate if you use [Tab] to move the cursor. Before entering the first note of the triplet, set the desired duration and activate the triplet function. The latter can be done in one of three ways. Either select {Note}{Triplet} or select the triplet icon from the "Note" palette or press [Ctrl]+[NumPad3] (you may have to turn NumLock on).

Once you've done this, simply enter the first note of the triplet and press [Tab] to move the cursor to the correct position for the next note. The extra interval at the end of the triplet mentioned in Note 1 above is automatically inserted.

To enter a 1/16th note quintuplet, just enter five 1/32 notes, mark them as a block and press [Ctrl]+[NumPad5].

To enter a 1/16th note septuplet, enter seven 1/32nd notes, mark them as a block and press [Ctrl]+[NumPad7].

Don't worry about the appearence of triplets on the screen. When printing, TablEdit will increase the spacing between the notes included in the triplet.

Changing Note Durations

The duration value of existing notes can be changed using the "Paste duration" function:

•	Select the note(s) to change in the tablature or in the musical stave,

•	Select the desired duration value from the note floating palette or {Notes} menu. This value then becomes the current duration.

To paste the new current duration to other notes, select the notes to be affected and press [*].

To get as current duration the duration of the selected note, press [/].

To decrease or increase the duration of selected notes, without changing the current duration, press [<] or [>].

Pressing [J] allows the automatic correction of certain of the errors displayed in red (assuming that "Duration errors" has been selected in {Display}{Display options...}, of course). Correctable errors include:

•	excessive durations

•	misplaced 1/4 notes

•	unnecessary ties

•	incorrect "ringing notes"

Note:	The duration of the note currently selected in the tablature is displayed in the "Notes" palette with a mauve colored frame.

Tip:	see tips.tef for some hints about note duration use.

See also:	Note Duration Names


Grace Notes

The TablEdit grace note (represented by a small, crossed note just before the main note) is a 1/32nd note which is played just before the main note. You can, of course, enter such notes directly in TablEdit but you should use this special function which is not only more convenient but also produces more legible tabs and avoidss duration errors.

To insert a grace note:

1.	Place the cursor directly on the main note.

2.	Select {Notes}{Grace note...} or click on the grace note icon in the "Note" palette.

3.	Enter the fret of origin and select the effect to be used for the grace note in the dialogue.


Dynamics

This parameter specifies the intensity at which a note is to be played or exported.

TablEdit provides 8 settings (see also Crescendo - Diminuendo):

ppp	(almost inaudible)

pp	pianissimo	(very quiet)

p	piano	(quiet)

mp	mezzo piano	(moderately quiet)

mf	mezzo forte	(moderately loud)

f	forte	(loud)

ff	fortissimo	(very loud)

fff	(maximum intensity)

The default note value in TablEdit is "fff".

This value can be changed in {Notes}{Dynamics} or by using the "Dynamics" palette.

The new value is applied to the note or block of notes selected in the tablature.

To increase the value of the selected note(s) without changing the selected dynamic level, press [ )]. To decrease the level press [( ].

A display option allows you to display the dynamics markings beside the notes in the stave.

Note 1:	The last editing action on note dynamics can be repeated on a new selection by pressing [F3].

Note 2:	Notes with a value of ppp are displayed on screen but are never printed out in either tablature or stave.

Note 3:	The dynamic value assigned to the note currently selected in the tablature is displayed in the "Dynamics" palette with a mauve colored frame.

Tip :	see tips.tef for some hints about velocity parameters use.


Crescendo / Diminuendo

MIDI velocities (dynamics) are coded as a number between 0 and 127.

In earlier versions of TablEdit these could be adjusted only in 16 step intervals.Thus, from 127 (fff) one went directly to 111 (ff) and so on.

The {Edit}{Insert}{Crescendo/Diminuendo} feature allows the use of progressive, intermediary values. If, for example, you wish to make a smooth transition from ff to fff in a single 4/4 measure, simply mark the entire first measure as ff and the following measure as fff. Then enter a crescendo with a duration of sixteen 1/16th notes (enter the figure "16" in the editable filed labeled "1/16th notes") and that's it. TablEdit will augment the dynamic level progressively whether or not there are actually any notes to be played.

But be careful! As usual, TablEdit performs a minimum of control. This means that it's quite possible to enter a crescendo on notes already set to fff. This, of course, means that there won't be any noticeable effect. Worse, if TablEdit encounters a single note already set to fff the crescendo function will be nullified.


Special Effects

To apply a special effect to a note in the tablature:

•	Select the note to which the effect is to be applied (the first, if the effect links two notes together).

•	Select {Note}{Special Effects} or use the related floating palette.

•	Select the desired effect:

•	Hammer-on (H)	Hotkey : [h]

•	Pull-off (Po)	Hotkey : [p]

The second note is slightly damped

•	Slide (Sl)	Hotkey : [s]

The slide produces a glissando effects scaled in demi-tones. The second note is not picked unless you specify the contrary using  the "Pick stroke" command.

•	Tapping (T)

•	1/4 tone choke	Hotkey : [c]

•	Brush (B)

•	Natural harmonic (diamond)

•	Octavados (artificial harmonics) (small black ellipse)

•	Muted (or damped) note Hotkey : [m]

An x-ed out note is displayed on the stave. The duration of the note is halved.

•	Vibrato (zig-zag line)

The vibrato effect causes the pitch of the selected note(s) to oscillate within an interval of one quarter-tone with a frequency equal to a 1/16th note. To achieve a more rapid rate of oscillation, you must use a differentiated effect (see below) beginning a 1/32nd interval after the principal note.

•	Simple bend

The simple bend produces a portamento effect between the two linked notes.

•	Bend and Release

The bend and release is a portamento followed by a string release to the initial note.

•	Tremolo (~)

The tremolo doubles the note within the same duration

•	Tremolo Bar Dive/Return

Tremolo Bar Dips

These two effects are applied in exactly the same manner as the "Simple bend" and "Bend and Release" functions described above. This is to say that the figure displayed to indicate the amplitude of the effect is determined by the next note entered on the same string. This also means that pitch differences of more than a whole tone are correctly displayed and printed but are ignored for the purposes of MIDI playback (unless the Advanced Option "Extend Bends/Slides is selected).

•	Roll

The roll produces a raked chord.

•	Dead note

The dead note is a muted percussive note.

•	Ringing note

The ringing note allows the selected note to ring our for twice its natural duration. This effect lets you avoid increasing the number of tied notes used in the tablature. In editing mode, such a note is represented by a horizontal, black line indicating the extended duration.

•	Rasgueado

the rasgueado is a typical flamenco effect. The four fingers of the right hand open from a closed fist like a flower, brushing the notes of the chord successsively (////). The effect must be placed on the bass note of the chord. Adding an additional rasgueado on the top note will cause TablEdit to play the effect in both direction. This is known as a "continuous" rasgueado.

•	Slap

The "Slap" effect is produces by the addition of a slight percussive sound to the note.

•	"Ghost" note

"Ghost" notes, displayed within parentheses (not square brackets, which indicate tied notes), indicate notes that are not actively picked but which are sounded by sympathetic vibration with the note picked on an adjacent string or simply as a result of "striking through" this adjacent string.

About special effect placement

In order to determine the pitch of a bend or release-bend, TablEdit makes use of the next note entered on the same string. If, for instance, you've entered a bent 1/4 note on the 5th fret followed by an 1/8th note on the 7th fret, TablEdit will increase the tonal value of the fifth fret note by a whole tone for the duration of the 1/4 note and then hold the note thus obtained for the time of the additional 1/8th note. In order to obtain the most correct possible printout of the effect, it's recommended that you assign the minimum dynamic»Nuances value (ppp) to the second note. In this case, the second note will be eliminated from the printout. (see tips.tef for an example)

In order to enter a more detailed effect, for example a slide which doesn't begin as soon as the note is picked but, rather, from a later point in the beat simply proceed in the following manner:

•	enter an 1/8th note followed by a second 1/8th note tied to first

•	enter the slide's destination note as usual

•	apply the slide effect to the second (tied) 1/8th note.

The same procedure can be used for bends and vibrato. (see tips.tef for an example)

The direction of brushes and rolls is determined by which note the effect is attached to. If attached to the lowest bass note the effect will be towards the treble strings and vice-versa. It's unnecessary to attach the effect separately to each note in the sequence.

The latest special effects editing action can be repeated on a new selection by pressing [F3]

The abbreviations used for the most common effects can be customized via {General} {Preferences}.

TablEdit allows you to combine a number of effects. This cannot be done from the "Special Effects" palette. You have to open the {Note}{Special effects...} dialogue and select your effects (max. 2) from the lists contained there.


Pick strokes
Strokes and Fingerings

In addition to texts, TablEdit also provides specific functions for the entry of strokes (flatpick or fingers) as well as left and right hand fingerings. These functions are found in {Note}{Strokes + Fingerings...} ([Ctrl]+[f]) and are also available from the "Hand" palette. The use of the dialogue accessed from the above menu should need no explanation. The following text deal with the use of the "Hand" palette.

Strokes

The word "strokes" refers both to the direction of a flatpick stroke and to the right hand fingers used to pluck the strings in fingerpicking styles. No particular explanation should be needed concerning flatpick directions.

The indications given for right hand fingers (thumb or other, non-specified, finger) do, however, have an effect on the behavior of TablEdit during MIDI playback. They specify to the program that the note must be plucked at a given point. This is useful, for example, for indicating that the final note of a slide is to be plucked on arrival at the destination fret.

Clicking on one of the two, small "number" icons at the bottom of the "Hand" pallete inserts the appropriate finger stroke symbol at the cursor location in the tablature. The indicator can be placed directly on the corresponding number without hiding it.

Clicking on one of the two small triangle icons at the bottom of the "Hand" pallete inserts the appropriate flatpick stroke symbol beneath the cursor location in the tablature. The indicator can be placed directly on the corresponding number without hiding it.

Left hand fingerings

Clicking on one of the fingers of the hand with the left mouse button inserts a left hand fingering indicator either directly below or directly above the selected note or, if no note is currently selected, directly below or above the cursor position (see note below). Left hand fingerings are displayed as a number (0 ... 4) within a circle.

Right hand fingerings

The procedure is the same as that described in "Left hand fingerings, above, with the exception that the right hand mouse button is used instead of the left. The initial of the finger in question is displayed. The default initials used are T, I, M, A but these can be changed to suit your personal preferences under {General}{Preferences...} ->Advanced.

The following procedure will allow you to display a left-hand fingering indicator to the right of the note concerned in the musical stave:

•	select the left hand fingering to be displayed

•	do NOT select any right hand fingering indicator

•	select "above tablature" for both left- and right-hand fingering índicators

This procedure can only be performed from the "Pick Strokes & Fingerings" dialogue.

Note:	Fingering indications can be placed either above or below the tablature. Placement selection must be made from the {Strokes + Fingerings} dialogue.


Inserting and editing Texts

TablEdit allows you to insert a text of up to 128 characters (maximum) in the tablature, including:

•   song lyrics

•   chords names

•   section headings

•	etc.

You can enter up to 255 different text items.

The text anchor is shown as a small cross occupying the place of a note in the tablature. This anchor can be moved, cut, copied or deleted just like any note.

Text can be displayed (and printed) above, below or within the tablature or above the stave, as you wish. Texts can be composed of multiple lines (which can be useful in the case of lyrics).

If you haven't requested printout of the musical stave, texts which should have appeared above the latter are printed above the tablature, instead.

You may select the font to be used for each text item from any of the seven fonts defined under {Display}{Display options...}. These are available from the popup menu at the bottom of the Text Manager dialogue.

To insert a text, place the cursor at the desired location in the tablature and select {Edit}{Texts...}. This will display the ”Text Manager” dialogue box. This will contain a list of all the texts that you've created. Select a text from the list then click on the "Insert" button.

The [t] key has been added as a keyboard shortcut. This provides direct access to the "Text" dialogue, allowing rapid text entry. If the cursor is located on an existing text anchor, the corresponding text is automatically displayed for editing. If the cursor is located on an empty space, you can create and enter new text.

A line feed can be inserted by pressing [shift]+[Return].

To delete a text anchor in the tablature, place the cursor on it then press the "Delete" button. The corresponding text item in the list is not deleted.

The Text Manager also allows you to:

Extract

Extract existing texts from another TablEdit file or each line from a plain text file as a new text item. TablEdit uses the file extension to determine which action to take.

Delete

Delete a text item from the list. If the deleted text is used somewhere in the tablature, the corresponding text marker(s) will be deleted too.

New

Create a new text. It's the first thing to do if the list is empty.

Edit

Modify an existing text.


Inserting and Editing Chord Diagrams

There are two kinds of chord diagrams you can insert into a TablEdit tablature: automatic chord diagrams and custom chord diagrams.

If you wish to include automatic chord diagrams all you have to do is select "Chord diagrams" in {Display}{Display options...} to have these displayed on-screen and in {File}{Print setup...} to have them printed out with your tablature. Selecting the latter option will cause all diagrams appearing in the on-screen tablature to be printed out.

Clicking on an automatic chord diagram opens the "Chord Builder" dialogue, allowing you to modify the diagram and add it to those found in the "Chord Manager".

If, on the other hand, you want to exercise more control over the chord shapes produced, you can create your own "Custom Chords" with the help of the "Chord Editor".

The Chord Manager

Selecting {Edit}{Chord diagrams} or pressing [Ctrl]+[d] opens the "Chord Manager". This contains a graphical representation of all the Custom Chord diagrams you've created (if any) and allows you to select a chord for direct insertion above the tablature. This graphical list of chords can be sorted either after their order of creation (default) or alphabetically.

In order to do this, you must place the cursor at the desired location prior to opening the Manager. Select an empty line since a small black marker will be positioned at the location you select, anchoring the chord in place above the tablature. Be warned, however, that the anchor will hide any number occupying the same space in the screen display. If on-screen legibility is an important consideration in your use of TablEdit you must select an empty string. The anchor is not displayed on printout. Once the Manager has then been opened, simply click on the diagram you want to insert and then on the button marked "Insert". The Manager dialogue is then closed automatically and the selected chord is displayed above the cursor position.

If the diagram you want isn't in the list you'll have to create it.

Creating and Editing Custom Chord Diagrams

Down the right hand side of the Manager dialogue you'll find a row of buttons.

The first button ("Edit") is inactive unless there are already chords in the window. If there are chords present, selecting this button opens the "Chord Builder" dialogue (see Chord Builder for a more detailed explanation of this dialogue) in "Edit" mode with the chord you selected in the diagram window displayed and ready for editing. Be warned that any editing you do to this chord shape will automatically be applied to all instances of this diagram present in the tablature.

Selecting the "New" button also opens the "Chord Builder" dialogue but this time in "Create" mode with an empty chord diagram ready for editing.

Note:	You also have the option of starting with a standard chord by using the Chord Builder to select a chord before clicking on the "Edit On" button.  You may have to do this in order to show the correct fret position for the chord you want to build. Otherwise, you can use the scroll bar to move up and down the neck to position the chord.

1. Adding Filled and Open Circles to Chord diagrams.

Use the left mouse button to add or remove filled circles to the custom Chord Diagram.  Filled Circles are generally used to show the basic fretting of a chord. Fingerpickers may want to use them to show the chord position they're playing out of even if they don't actually play all the notes in the chord. For example you may not play the 1st fret, 2nd string C in a standard C major chord, but still want to show it because you use it as an anchor when playing out of the1st fret C major position.

Use the right mouse button to add and remove open circles to the custom Chord Diagram.  Open circles are generally used to show the supplementary notes not usually included in a given chord. Finger pickers will want to use them to show the alternate frets played out of the chord position.

For example you may play the 3d fret, 2nd string D while playing out of a standard C major chord. Showing a C major and a C major added 9th Chord Diagram may clutter the staff and make sight reading more difficult.  As an alternative you could show the C major chord with filled circles and indicate the picked D by an open circle.

This works especially well when sight reading an unfamiliar section.

To indicate an open (O) or unplayed (X) string, right click above the fretboard display. Right clicking will toggle the display between the open circle and the X.

There are certain conditions in which the Chord Editor will insert a secondary barré chord automatically. For instance, the upper notes of a third fret C chord may be played with either three fingers or with a three string (2nd, 3rd and 4th) interior barré played with the ring or little finger (assumed by TablEdit). Clicking on the lowest string of the secondary barré will cause it to be displayed as three, separate, filled circles.

A variation on the same technique also allows you to create Merle Travis style custom chords where the left hand thumb frets two bass strings in a partial barré. Play with it.

Note:	You may notice that the chord name changes as you enter the circles. This is due to the automatic chord recognition option ("Reco On").  If you wish, you can turn this option off by clicking on the "Reco Off" button.

2.  Adding numbers to Chord diagrams.

In order to insert numbers indicating left hand fingerings instead of filled or open circles, simply change the value indicated in the editable field to the right of the diagram. The default value is -1 which produces the standard filled and open circles.

Setting the value to "0" allows you enter the letter "T" (for thumb) into the diagram. Setting the value to 1, 2, 3 or 4 allows you to enter those numbers (representing (index, middle, ring and little fingers, respectively) into the diagram. Using the left mouse button to select the correct fret inserts the number only, using the right mouse button enters the number within parentheses (supplementary note).

Diagrams using numbers and those using circles can both be used within the same tablature without problems. But individual diagrams cannot contain both. If you should attempt to enter a number in a diagram that uses circles all previously entered circles will be converted into numbers. There is, of course, no guarantee that the resulting numbers will be correct. If, on the other hand, you should attempt to enter a circle into a diagram containing numbers (by re-setting the value in the field to -1), all the numbers will be replaced by circles.

If the chord name selected by the automatic chord recognition function is not the name you wish to use or if the "Name" field is blank, simply left click inside the Chord Name field and enter the appropriate chord name.

Click on "OK" to close the Chord Builder and to place your custom chord in the Chord Diagram Manager list. The chord will be highlighted indicating that it will be the chord diagram inserted at the selected place in the tablature. Note that nothing forces you to place the diagram immediately. Exiting the dialogue via the "Close" button will close it without inserting the diagram into the tablature but the diagram will still be stored in the Chord Manager.

Clicking on 'Insert' adds your Custom Chord Diagram to the Tablature. Notice the small, black marker below the chord diagram. This is the Custom Chord "anchor" and is used to indicate that the chord diagram above is a custom diagram.

Double clicking on the anchor calls up the Chord Diagram Manager so that you can edit the chord or exchange it for another.

The Chord Diagram Manager also allows you to:

Extract

Extract existing chord diagrams from an other TablEdit file.

Delete

Delete a chord from the list. If the deleted chord is used somewhere in the tablature, the corresponding attachment point (and, consequently, the chord attached to it) is also deleted.

Print

Print out all of the Custom Chords contained in the tablature or in the current catalogue.

When printing chord sheets, page breaks can be forced by inserting blank diagrams (all strings marked "X") at the points where a page break is desired. For example, in order to insert a page break after a  series of A chords, simply create an empty diagram marked "Bazzz" to serve as a bookmark (this assumes, of course, that you're using the alphabetical sorting option).

Such a blank diagram, without an assigned name, can also be used to force automatic chord diagrams out of the tablature (see "Page setup").

Catalogue

This option lets you open a TablEdit file containing "Custom" chords as a catalogue. The catalogue remains available at all times, even after changing active files. The chords in the catalogue can be displayed and used by selecting the "Catalogue" option in the Chord Manager. Although catalogue files are saved in the standard TablEdit format, the chords they contain cannot be edited directly while they're being used as catalogues. They can, however, be edited and updated by loading the catalogue file itself into TablEdit as you would any *.tef file.

The most effective way of using this option to the fullest would be to create  separate catalogues for each instrument tuning you use and then saving them with descriptive names (e.g. standard.tab, eadgbe.tab, drop_d.tab, dadgbe.tab, etc.).

Note 1:	TablEdit displays the number of times each chord has been used in the current tablature.

Note 2:	You can prevent the display of a barré by defining any of the strings across it's path as open (O) or not to be played (X) or by placing a supplementary note (right click, open circle) at it's point of departure. On the other hand, you can force the display of a partial barré by by adding a supplementary note by right clicking on the appropriate position. This normally produces an open circle but, in this case, this will be rendered invisible by the resulting barré.


Editing measures

Copying and Pasting Measures

The functions {Edit}{Copy Measures} and {Edit}{Paste Measures} allow the contents of specific measures to be copied within or between modules. These functions make use of the Windows clipboard. This means that you can exchange data between several open copies of TablEdit as long as long as both the source and destination tablatures share the same time signature.

Clicking on the "File" button calls up the "History" list, allowing you to paste selected measures into any file in the list without leaving the dialogue box.

If the number of measures to be copied exceeds the current length of the destination tablature, TablEdit automatically adds the number of measures required.

Selected measures can be rapidly copied and inserted using the shortcuts [Ctrl]+[Insert] (copy) and [Shift]+[Insert] (paste), respectively.

Clear Measures

This function allows you to clear the contents of selected measures within a module without deleting the measures, themselves, from the grid.

Insert and Delete Measures

The function {Edit}{Insert Measures} allows you to create additional measure(s). The function {Edit}{Delete Measures} allows you to delete existing measure(s).

These two functions act directly upon the measures, themselves. This means that they also affect all the other measures in the tablature.

In order to insert measures prior to the first measure of the tablature (if, for instance, you've forgotten an intro), simply enter a "0" manually in the field of the dialogue marked "After :".

After the insertion or deletion of measures, TablEdit automatically adjusts the reading list as well as any patch assignments that may have been made.

You should be relatively cautious about using these commands as they cannot be canceled directly.

You can use the large scroll bar at the bottom or right-hand side (depending on the display mode) of the main screen or the [Home], [End], [PageUp] and [PageDown] keys to navigate through the tablature. When dragging the button in the scroll bar to navigate, the number of the measure to which you have scrolled is displayed to the left but the tablature itself doesn't move. When the number of the desired measure is displayed, simply release the mouse button and the tablature view is instantly moved to that measure.

TablEdit automatically inserts an extra measure if you should attempt to move the cursor beyond the end of the current tablature using the [Tab] function.


MIDI Playback

Selecting {Play}{Play} calls up a sub-dialogue allowing you to play back your tablature from a selection of points using the current MIDI options.

If you have a sound card, TablEdit will play the song through the current MIDI driver. Otherwise, a warning message will be displayed and TablEdit will automatically select the PC speaker to play the music.

If you have a sound card whose sound, when it reaches your speakers, seems far removed from that of a real instrument, the fault doesn't lie with TablEdit but, rather, with the sound card itself. In order to greatly improve the quality of the audio playback without having to upgrade your hardware, we recommend an audio synthesis program such as Virtual Sound Canvas. This program is dstributed by the Roland Corporation ( http://www.edirol.com/ ) and produces excellent results in combination with TablEdit.

During playback, a counter displaying both total and elapsed times is displayed in the tool bar. Clicking on the grey [R] to the right of the time display turns it to blue and activates the repetition mode. Note that both elapsed and total times are calculated from the point of departure of the playback. If you pause the playback at any point, these times will be recalculated when playback is resumed. The elapsed time will be reset to 0 and the total time will be the time remaining from the cursor position to the end of the piece.

The only functions accessible during playback are "Pause", "Stop", MIDI options, Information and Notes

You can play:

•	[F10] : the current measure.

•	[Shift]+[F10] : the current selection. This allows selective playback of the contents of the tablature. For example: part of a measure, all the notes on a given string, one instrument of a duet, etc.This feature is very useful for teaching.

•	from the current measure to the last measure (this is what happens when you click on the ”Play” button in the Toolbar (or press [F11]) unless the cursor is located in the first measure).

•	the complete tab according to the Reading List if one exists (this is what happens when you click on the ”Play” button in the Toolbar or [F12] and the cursor is located in the first measure).

To repeat the song indefinitely, select {Play}{Repeat}.

To activate a metronome click during MIDI playback, simply select {Play}{Metronome} prior to playback. This item allows the metronome to be activated/deactivated, definition of the metronome's sound and it's volume.

Note:	When playing MIDI, the starting instant of a note is determined by its position in the bar, while its duration is determined by the duration assigned to it explicitly or by default in the stave and/or the tablature.


Reading List

This command ({Play}{Reading list...} or [Ctrl]+[R]) allows you to specify the order in which you want to play or export the measures.

If you've entered "1-4", "2-3", "5-5" "-- end --" in the Reading List, TablEdit will play the measures in the following order : 1 2 3 4 2 3 5. The system is not very sophisticated but very efficient.

To add a new sequence to the list, click on the "->" button. The new item will be inserted before the highlighted item in the list.

To delete a sequence, select it in the Reading List then click on the "<-" button.

While in the ”Reading List” dialogue you can scroll back and forth in the tablature by using the scroll bar marked ”Scan”.

The displayed Reading Guides are deduced from the Reading List. The repeat signs, 1st and 2nd ending notations, etc. are displayed automatically when you "Close" the dialog box. For example, an 8 bar repeat might look something like ”1-8”, ”1-7”, ”9-9”, ”end”, where measure 8 is the 1st ending and measure 9 is the second ending for the section.

Any time you add or delete measures in the tab, TablEdit adjusts the Reading List automatically.

The Reading List is saved with the tablature file.

The "Zip" button allows you to optimize your reading list automatically by consolidating unnecessary entries. Thus, a sequence entered as 1-4 and 5-8 is converted to a single entry of 1-8. This is necessary for correct display of the reading guides which are derived from the reading list.

The "Auto" button allows the allows the creation of a reading list based on an analysis of repeated measure in the piece. This function, although at present only rudimentary, can be of interest after a MIDI import. The button is active only if the current piece doesn't already contain a reading list of its own.


MIDI Options

This dialogue, accessed via {Play}{MIDI Options} or [Ctrl]+[K], allows you to define a number of parameters concerning the way your tablature will be played back via the MIDI port.

Tempo

Sets the general tempo to be used for playback. This can be set to any value between 24 (funereal) to 254 (extremely fast). You can insert a tempo change marker into the tablature by using {Edit}{Insert}{Tempo change}.

Picking Syncopation

This option, available only with binary rhythms, applies the following equivalents to 1/8th notes:

•	first 1/8th = triplet 1/4 note. Enter a rest if this note is not to be played.

•	second 1/8th = triplet 1/8th note

A positive value produces the characteristic "shuffle" rhythm found in fingerpicking. The effect will be more or  less marked depending on whether you set the value to 1 or 2.

Selecting a negative value (-1 or -2) for this option produces a more or less marked swing effect.

In order to change syncopation in the middle of a tablature, use {Edit}{Insert}{Syncopation Change}. This allows you to insert a syncopation change marker in the tablature.

Reverb and/or Chorus

Values in the range 0 to 127 can be entered, either manually or by means of the up and down arrows. These effects are highly variable, depending on the user's sound card.

Mute

You can toggle the sound of each, individual module on or off by selecting or deselecting the box displayed beside each instrument. The sound of all the instruments in a given module can be toggled on or off by clicking on the small, green or red field above the module buttons in the tool bar.

Volume

The general volume setting for each instrument in each module of the active tablature. The settings range from 0 to 15.

Balance

Adjust the spatial balance between extreme right (0) and extreme left (15) with an absolute center setting of (8). This option is especially interesting when writing duets. Assuming, of course, that you have at least two speakers.

Patch

The pop-up menu(s) allow you to select the MIDI instrument(s), the default setting is Acoustic Guitar (steel), to be used for playback. Seperate pop-ups are provided for each track of each module in the tablature.

In order to change MIDI instruments during playback, use {Edit}{Insert}{Change Patch}. This allows you to insert a voice change marker in the tablature.

These options are applied to to MIDI Export as well as to MIDI playback and are saved with the tablature file.

The last four options take effect immediately during playback as does the Tempo option but, in the latter case, you must first exit the dialogue box by clicking on OK.

When the active MIDI driver is the one that controls the PC speaker, changes of MIDI voices and volume modulations will have no effect. You can only modify the tempo or render TablEdit completely silent by reducing the volume setting to 0.

The MIDI Setup function found in the {Play} menu allows you to change MIDI drivers.

.


Percussion Patches

TablEdit allows you to apply Percussion Patches to the different measures.

The corresponding rhythmic cells will be played with the measure when you play or export the tablature.

Applying the patches to the measures

The "Percussion" dialogue displays the measures in the left-hand list and any existing patches in the right-hand list. (The "[...]” string means no patch.)

To apply a patch, select the measure(s) to affect, then select the patch, then click on the "<<=" button.

This dialogue also allows you to:

•	extract existing patches from another TablEdit file (Extract button).

•	delete a patch

•	create a new patch or edit a existing patch.

Editing the patches

The "Percussion Patch" dialogue displays three rows of boxes. These correspond to each 1/16th note in a measure. This allows you to enter three sounds per 1/16th note interval.

Select the sound you want from the list of available sounds. When you select a sound in the list, TablEdit plays it for you. Left click on the appropriate square. If the square is empty, the index number of the selected sound is pasted into it. If not, it’s reset to zero and you have to click on it again to enter the sound.

Type in a name for the patch.

Set the percussion volume.

The "Initialize" button allows you to reset all the box values to zero in preparation for editing a new patch.

Tip : If you press [Ctrl] when validating the patch, the volume value is applied to all of the existing patches.


Rhythmic Patches
Rhythm Patches

TablEdit allows you to use customized chords to create and apply Rhythmic Patches different measures. The logic is the same as for Percussion Patches.

Note: Custom chords must be present in the Chord Manager in order for rhythmic patches to be created.

The corresponding rhythmic cells will be played with the measure when you play or export the tablature.

Applying the patches to the measures

The list window on the left-hand side of the "Rhythms" dialogue displays all the measures of the active tablature. Existing patches are displayed list on the right. (The text string "[...]”  indicates that no patch is present.)

To apply an existing patch, select the measure(s) to be affected, select the patch, then press the "<<=" button.

This dialogue also allows you to:

•	edit an existing patch or create a new patch .

•	delete a patch

•	extract patches included in other tablatures

•	print a chord progression sheet based on the rhythms entered.

Creating or Editing patches

Clicking on the "New" button on the right-hand side of the dialogue opens the "Rhythm Patch" dialogue. Clicking on the "Edit" button also opens this dialogue but requires that you first select an existing patch to be edited.

To assist you in the creation and editing of rhythm patches, the "Rhythm patch" dialogue contains three rows of boxes. Each column  corresponds to a 1/16th note interval within the measure.

The top row of boxes is used for entering the numbered custom chords displayed in the list at the bottom left of the dialogue.

The middle row corresponds to the duration assigned to each chord.

The bottom row allows an effect (1=brush, 2=roll) to be applied to the execution of the selected chord.

You can, thus, enter chords at intervals of 1/16 and define their duration.

•	Select the desired chord from the list of available custom chords (the diagram for the selected chord is then displayed to the right of the list). Now, click on one of the boxes in the upper row to place the chord. If the box is empty, the index number of the chord will now be displayed in the box. If a chord was already assigned to the box it will be zeroed and you'll have to click once more to assign the new chord.

Chord duration is automatically calculated when you insert a new chord but remains unchanged if you should delete one. This allows you to insert rests.

•	Select the effect to be applied, if any.

•	Enter a name for your patch in the appropriate editable field (max. eight characters). TablEdit will automatically provide a name in a "patch0", "patch1", etc. format but another name may be more practical.

•	Select the MIDI instrument to be used to play the chord(s).

•	Set the volume.

The "Initialize" button allows you to reset all the box values to zero in preparation for creating new patch.

TablEdit allows the combination of different effects in order to produce elaborate rhythmic accompaniments. To combine effects, all you have to do is to select them in the list while keeping [Ctrl] held down and then to click in the appropriate box in the third row.

Tip : If you press [Ctrl] when validating the patch, the volume and MIDI instrument values are applied to all of the existing patches.


MIDI Setup

Selecting {Play}{MIDI Setup} allows you to change MIDI drivers.

If you don't have a sound card, you can choose the the PC speaker and TablEdit will play all the sound ouputs on the internal PC speaker. The sound output will, however, be very poor.

In any case, if TablEdit can’t open the MIDI port, the PC Speaker is automatically selected.

TablEdit uses the MIDI driver only when it needs it. So it's possible to work with another music program while TablEdit is running.


Modules and Instrumentation

TablEdit now allows the editing of tablatures for more than just the two instruments of a duet. You can now manage up to seven instruments at a time in different modules. You can, for instance, have seven solos, three duets and a solo, five duets and a solo, etc., but never more than seven instruments. Rhythmic or percussion patches can, of course, be added to these seven basic instruments.

Each module is completely independent of the others. With a few exceptions, commands applied to one module will not affect the others.

For example:

•	Clearing the contents of all the measures in module X will not affect modules Y and Z.

•	When importing the contents of a MIDI file into module X, the selected tracks and channels will be imported only into that particular module.

Exceptionally, the following commands affect all modules:

•	{Edit}{Delete measures}

•	{General}{Time signature}

•	{File}{New}

•	{Play}{Reading list...}

•	{Play}{Rhythms...}

•	{Play}{Percussions...}

If your tablature consists of several modules you can switch between them using either the buttons at the top right hand corner of the screen or by using the appropriate options in {Display}.

In order to modify, add or delete a module, select {General}{Module} or double-click on any of the module buttons. This will call up the "Module" dialogue.

Modifying a Module

TablEdit allows you to modify the instrumentation of the current module.

Thus, you can, in the "Instrument #1" field, define the number of strings for the instrument (from 3 to 7). This allows you to edit modules for dulcimer, bass, mandolin, banjo, lute, etc... You can even create modules for two solo instruments by specifying the number of strings to be assigned to a second instrument in the field labeled "Instrument #2".

The total number of strings assigned to both instruments may not exceed twelve nor can a single instrument have less then three strings (perfect for a balalaika). With these two exceptions, all combinations are valid.

TablEdit will automatically refuse any selection you may make that exceeds either the maximum number of strings allowed per module or the maximum number of instruments allowed.

Checking the box marked "Double Strings"allows the simulation of, for instance, a 12-string guitar. All notes are doubled one octave higher than is indicated by the basic tuning.

If the "Let ring" option is selected, TablEdit will, as far as possible, allow all notes shorter than 1/4 notes to ring out as if they were, in fact, 1/4 notes. This option is useful in connection with slow pieces composed of 1/8th notes which should ring out for longer than their normal duration.

You can also assign each module a specific name (max. 17 characters) and indicate whether it's to be included or ignored on MIDI playback (you can also simply right click on the little red or green lights above the module buttons).

Adding Modules

Proceed as you would to modify a module, clicking on the "Add" button. TablEdit will then create a new module corresponding to the preceding one. You may then modify the module's definition and the instrument tuning.

Deleting Modules

Simply click on the "Delete" button. The action cannot be undone.

Switching Modules

Click on the "<<" or ">>" buttons to advance or to go back one module. Any changes made to the active module are saved automatically.


Key Signature

This feature, which is meaningless if you’re entering a tune in ”Tablature only” mode, becomes very useful if you work with a standard musical score in a key other than C major or A minor. It allowsTablEdit to determine whether a given note has to be altered or not.

The major or minor mode has no effect.

Key accidentals are displayed beside the clef at the left of the screen. The accidentals displayed correspond to the key of the current measure (the measure containing the cursor). They can be modified by clicking on this space.

Key changes in mid-score are printed in the conventional manner in the musical stave.

The ”Key Signature” dialogue allows easy input of the number of sharps of flats in the key by use of the up and down arrows on the left side of the dialogue box.

Key changes are applied to the current measure and, by default, to all following measures. Thus, if you wish to apply a given key to the entire tablature, the command has to be applied from the very first measure.

8va

At the bottom, left-hand side of this dialogue you'll see a check-box marked "8va". Selecting this will display the text "8va" below the clef in the musical stave. This stands for "ottava", indicating that the music is actually played (sounds) an octave lower than the notes appearing in the stave.

Alterations

If necessary, you can force the display of a specific alteration for any given note (i.e. display an Ab instead of a G#) in the musical staff. Simply select the note to be affected and apply the desired alteration from the "Notes" palette, the {Notes} menu or by using the keyboard shortcuts [d] (sharp] or [b] (flat). The note pitch of the primary note is automatically changed in the stave to reflect the alteration and the selected accidental is displayed. The note can be restored to it's original value by applying the accidental [=] (natural).


Time Signature

General Time Signature

Although simple 4/4 and 2/4 rhythms are the most commonly used in contemporary music, TablEdit is able to manage all common rhythms (simple as well as composed measures).

The only restrictions are that you neither enter an illegal time signature (6/2 or 12/4 for example) nor a too large one.

Reorg signature

This option allows you to preserve the initial number of measures when converting entire tablatures from one time signature to another despite the change in measure size. If, for example, you have a piece consisting of 24 measures of 4/4 time and you decide to convert it to 2/4 time it will still retain the same length, i.e. 24 measures. 1/4 notes will automatically be converted into 1/8th notes and the Reading List will remain intact. The reverse is true should you decide to convert a piece in 2/4 time into 4/4 time.

This applies in all cases where the new time signature is exactly half or double that of the old one. If this is not the case and the new mesure size is inferior to the previous size, TablEdit will justify the notes to the right, preparing the tablature grid for the alteration of only certain, specific measures. If the new size is greater than the previous one, this feature will have no effect.

You can, of course, allocate a new time signature to an existing tablature without first selecting "Reorg Signature" but, in this case, the measures of the score are automatically reorganized but the Reading List and patch assignments will be destroyed and no note values will be altered.

The time signature is displayed at the top left of the screen. Clicking on it opens the "Time Signature" dialogue so that you can change it, if necessary. The "Print" checkbox determines whether or not the time signature will be printed out with the tablature.

You may, as an option, select to display the time signature using the conventions 4/4 = C and 2/2 = "Cut" time. In the latter case, don't forget to continue writing with 4/4 intervals i.e. based on 1/4 and 1/8th notes.

Modifying the time signature of one or several measures

In some tunes, the time signature changes during the course the song. For example,  a song may begin in 4/4 time , followed by a number of 3/4 measures and then returning to 4/4 until the end. Or you'll find a 5/4 measure in a 4/4 song.

The "Modify measure" feature allows you to establish a different time signature for a particular measure or series of measures.

•	Using the left mouse button, click on any line of the measure you want to modify

•	Select {Edit}{Modify Measure...}.

•	Enter the number of beats that the modified measure should include and the type of note that gets a beat. The size of the resulting measure must be less than that of the general time signature. You can, for example, nest a 6/8 measure within a 4/4 time signature but not the reverse. To insert a 5/4 measure, for instance, simply insert an extra 1/4 measure after the normal 4/4 measure.

After selecting "OK" the "canceled" portion of the measure is emptied of any content and can no longer be accessed by the cursor. The neutralised portion of the measure will be ignored by TablEdit when playing the tablature back via the MIDI port or when exporting it (this is the main interest of the operation).

If you make a mistake, the ”Undo” command restores the measure to its previous status.

You may select not to have the measure type printed out by deactivating the "Print" checkbox. This allows you to "ad lib" tablatures.

Reorg signature

This option allows you to preserve the initial number of measures when converting tablatures from one time signature to another despite the change in measure size. If, for example, you have a piece consisting of 24 measures of 4/4 time and you decide to convert it to 2/4 time it will still retain the same length, i.e. 24 measures. 1/4 notes will automatically be converted into 1/8th notes and the Reading List will remain intact. The reverse is true should you decide to convert a piece in 2/4 time into 4/4 time.


Instrument tuning

TablEdit allows you to change the instrument tuning for the current module you are entering.

Bring up the tuning dialogue by selecting {General}{Instrument Tuning} or by clicking on the string identifiers at the left of the screen.

The number within square brackets beside each note represents the octave number in American notation.

The pop-up menu at the lower right of the dialogue box allows any one of a number of predefined tunings to be applied in a single operation. If you should select a tuning not corresponding to the current number of strings, TablEdit will change this number after asking you for confirmation. The pre-defined tuning labeled "Custom tuning" depends entirely on you. It corresponds to the last custom tuning you created. It changes automatically every time you create a tuning not otherwise contained in the list.

In the case of duets, you can elect to modify the tuning of either instrument. The active instrument is automatically selected when you open the dialogue.

For an existing score, it’s useful to be able to specify if the changes affect the notes (default) or the fingerings. In the first case only the note value will be changed. In the second case, the fingerings will be adjusted so that the sound output doesn’t change.

By default, this function does not affect fingerings but only note pitch. If, on the other hand, you want the fingerings to be affected but not the notes, select the "Impact -> Fingers" option.

Once you've confirmed the new tuning, the tablature of the modified instrument will be completely converted into the new tuning, even if the number of strings has been changed.

TablEdit includes a virtual capo function. The capo raises only the tonal level of the playback to the appropriate pitch without affecting the instrument tuning indicated to the left of the tablature. The chords deduced by the "Automatic Chord Finder" will remain in the actual playing key rather than being transposed to the playback key.

Although the addition of the capo automatically changes the value of the notes in the standard notation it does not change the key signature located to the left of the stave. This will retain the value you have entered manually in {General}{Key signature}. When entering this value, please remember to adjust the key signature so that it agrees with the actual key. If, for example, you're writing out a tune which is played in the key of C but with a capo placed at the second fret the key signature should be entered as "D major" (two #'s).

Clawhammer banjo diatonic dulcimer and diatonic accordion

See special instruments.


Special Instruments

Clawhammer banjo

Dulcimer

TablEdit recognizes these two instruments as a function of the number of strings and the tuning used (the bottom string having the highest pitch). Having been recognized, TablEdit manages all of the peculiarities of these instruments automatically, including the diatonic capo for the dulcimer.

Diatonic Accordion

TablEdit automatically recognizes this instrument as soon as a tablature has been created using the pre-defined tuning proposed for it in the "Instrument tuning" dialogue.

You can enter the melody and the basses from either the tablature or the notation. Notes entered in the notation are automatically placed on the "Pulled" (T) line unless this is made impossible by the bass. A button located in the "Special effects" palette can be used to force "push" or "pull". The initials "P" and "T" can be changed indirectly via the Diatonic instrument dialogue box.

You can transfer notes found on the "Pull" line to the "Push" (P) line by using [Ctrl]+[-]. Notes on the "Push" line can be sent to the "Pull" line using [Ctrl]+[+].

Entering notes via the tablature is simple. Enter the number of the button on the destination line and then press ['] if it's a second row note or the corresponding button from the palette (same thing for third row notes). In cases where the note can be played on any of several rows, the row can be forced using ['] or ["] in the notation.

To enter the bass notes, enter the initial of the note in Upper Case. To enter chords, re-enter the initial a second time. If necessary, You can adjust using [+] and [-]. On-screen, TablEdit displays the basses in the notation. This makes it easier to adjust the duration. On printout, the basses and the chords are removed from the notation.

By default, TablEdit provides two lines for the entry of basses and left hand chords. The "Accordion" palette allows the entry of right hand chords. To do this, first select the note to be used as the fundamental. Now select the second note (Major 3rd, minor 3rd or 4th) followed by an eventual third note (if you don't want the natural 5th). TablEdit displays the corresponding chord in both notation and tablature. You can inhibit the display of the third note of the chord by clicking on the crossed out "5"in the palette. Last, but not least, you superimpose two notes in the display by selecting one or the other of the buttons representing superimposed notes.

The problem of notes that are either too low or too high to be managed naturally on a TablEdit "string" is solved in the following manner: these notes must be entered or deleted from the notation. They're displayed normally in the notation but not in the tablature. In the tablature, they must be entered as text (keyboard shortcut [t] ).

Note that by pressing [&], you enter "row" mode automatically. This mode affects display and printout only. Entry from the tablature is almost impossible.

It should also be noted that the pre-defined tuning used by TablEdit is that of the G/C accordion, this being the most common. You can, of course, very simply specify, for instance, an A/D tuning by raising the three "strings" by two semi-tones in the Instrument Tuningdialogue box.

Harmonica

The instructions provided above for the diatonic accordion are, for the most part, also applicable to the harmonica.

In order to enter the notes in the tablature, enter the number of the hole on the destination line and then press ['] if the is bent or ["] for an overbend. Bends and overbends are displayed as an apostrophe or a double-quote, respectively.

The Diatonic instrument dialogue allows you to change the initials "P" and "T" which are used by default. If, for instance, you replace "Push" with "Blow" and "Pull" with "Draw", the two lines will begin with "B" and "D".


Title information
Title information and Notes

Title information

To edit the title information for your tab, select {General}{Information} or click on the status bar.

By default, the title and subtitle appear centered at the top of each printed page. The comments are right justified. But these are just the default values. Everything is possible by customizing the PAGE_LAYOUT.

The fonts used in these fields can be customized via the Display options dialog box.

The buttons marked "ABC", "abc" and "Abc" on the bottom left-hand side of the dialogue allow you to change the format of text in any of the editable fields. The text to be reformatted must first be selected as a block. "ABC" reformats the selected text to all UPPER CASE, "abc" to all lower case letters and "Abc" to lower case letters with Upper Case initials.

Notes

The function {General}{Notes} allows you to append a relatively long text to your tablature files (playing instructions, historical comment, etc.). For quick editing of the text, simply click on the extreme right of the "Info" zone in the status bar at the bottom of the tab window. If the files already contains such notes, TablEdit indicates this by displaying the letter "N" in the status bar.

Information can also be imported from a separate text file. Simply click on the button marked "File" and select the source file from the file selector which is displayed.

The "Print" option allows you to specify if the notes should be printed out at the bottom of the tab and the desired justification.


Transpose

TablEdit’s "Transpose…" feature not only allows you to transpose chords but also to transpose individual notes, as well as an entire song if desired. You can easily modulate into a different key or shift to what ever fret position you want to play out of. For example, if you had a riff in the first position in measures 3 - 6 that you’d like to move up the neck to the 5th position, you would enter 3 in the ”From Measure” field and 6 in the ”To Measure” field. Enter a 0 in the ”No of Intervals” field since you don’t want to modulate. Then enter 5 in the ”From Fret” field and 10 in the ”To fret” field. Your riff will now be fingered in the 5th position, between fret 5 and fret 10. TablEdit is even more powerful. If you want the same riff moved up neck to the 5th position but want to play the open strings as they are, see step 7 ”Ignore Open Strings”.

Steps for Transposing.

1.	Select {Tranpose} from the {General} menu.

This will display the ”Transpose” dialogue.

2.	Enter the Number of the Measure to start From.

Enter the number of first measure you want transposed in the ”From Measure” field.

3.	Enter the Number of the Last Measure To Transpose.

Enter the number of the last measure you want transposed into the ”To Measure” field.

4.	Enter the number of intervals to transpose.

Enter the number of intervals upwards or downwards that you want the transposition to cover. A positive number will modulate up the number of intervals entered, while a negative number will modulate down the number of intervals entered. A value of zero modulates neither up nor down but can be useful when moving from one playing position to another. See sections 5 and 6.

5.	Enter the Number of the Fret to start From.

Enter the number of the lowest fret at which you want the selected measures to be fingered into the ”From Fret” field.

6.	Enter the Number of the Fret at which End.

Enter the number of the highest fret at which you want the selected measures to be fingered into the ”To Fret” field.

Note:	You could also use the To Fret and From Fret to find a chord in the position your playing. For example suppose you were playing up the neck at the 5th position and thought a E maj add 9 would add to your riff. You could use Chord Builder to build an E maj add 9 chord anywhere and then use the Tabledit’s ”Transpose” feature to build the chord at the 5th position by entering a zero in the ”Intervals” field and a 5 in the ”To Fret” field. Tabledit's transposer would build the chord starting at the 5th position. It would only use frets up to the number of the fret you entered into the ”From Fret” field.

7.	Ignore Open Strings

Selecting ”Ignore Open Strings” will move only the fretted notes to the new position. For example, if you had the following riff (see A) in the first measure and you wanted to play it up the neck in the 5th position, you would enter 1 in ”From Measure” and 1 in  ”To Measure”. Enter a 0 in ”No of Intervals” since you don’t want any modulation. Then enter 5 in ”From Fret” and 10 in ”To Fret”. You now have 2 choices. You can leave the ”Ignore Open Strings” box un-checked (see result B) or you can check it (see result C)

     	 A             B       	    C (with Ignore Open Strings)

 ------------  ------------  ------------

 -1-0---0-1--  ------------  ---0---0----

 -----2------  -5-------5--  -5-------5--

 ------------  ---9-7-9----  -----7------

 ------------  ------------  ------------

 ------------  ------------  ------------

8.	Optimize Fingerings

This option allows a tablature to be automatically reorganized, measure by measure, in order to render it playable by a human performer. In this case, any parameters entered for highest and lowest frets are ignored.


Chord Builder

The Chord Builder ([Ctrl]+[B]) is more than just a chord builder.  It is also a helpful tool for learning chords, chord inversions and basic chord positions on the guitar (and other fretted string instruments as well).  If you can't get the exact chord or fingering you would like using Chord Builder, see Inserting and editing Custom Chord Diagrams. The Chord Builder uses the information in the following sections to build chords.

Fundamental

The "Fundamental" section is the basic chord selection section. Just  click the root of the basic chord that you would like Chord Builder to build.

Chord

Select the chord type from the "Chord" drop down menu.  You should see a  chord appear on the chord chart to the right. If desired and applicable, you can  select + or - Fifth or a + or - Ninth.  For example to make a D7 chord, click the D in the "Fundamental" Section and Select "7" from the drop down menu in the "Chord" section. The Chord Builder will make a D7 chord.  Now if you click in the 5-, chord builder will flat the 5th making the D seventh, flat 5th (D7-5) chord.  If you select the 5+ instead, Chord Builder will augment the 5th making a D augmented seventh (D7+5) Chord.

Inversions

Selecting one of the inversions from the drop down menu will build the 1st , 2nd, or 3d Inversion of the chord you selected.

Omit

The "Omit" section allows you to eliminate certain notes of a chord in order to build the chord for a fingering that may not use all the  notes.  For example, a C chord has the C, E and G notes. To make it a C7, you would add the flat 7 or Bb, giving you a chord made up of C, E, G and Bb. But, the most common C7 played in the first position only uses the C, E and Bb.  The 5th isn't played. To build this chord you would select C in the "Fundamental" section, select "7" from the drop down menu in the "Chord" section and select G in the "Omit" section.

Chord Chart

The chord chart displays the notes of the chord built by the Chord Builder.

Basic Chord Position

Selecting 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 from the "Basic Chord Position" section will form the chord into one of the five most common chord fingerings.


Display Options

This dialogue box allows you to specify the current display options:

Screen Mode

This option allows you to choose between three modes:

"Tablature and Stave" mode displays the tablature and the corresponding musical stave, one above the other.

"Tablature Alone" mode hides the musical notation, allowing the display of more rows of tablature.

"Multitrack" mode allows the display (screen space permitting) of all of the modules of a tablature. In order to select a given module, simply double-click on it or move the cursor to the desired location using the cursor keys.

Auto Chord Diagrams

Displays or hides the automatic chords that TablEdit deduces from the fingerings. Custom Chords you've created yourself are always displayed. If this option is deselected, automatic chord diagrams will not be included when the tablature is printed out. This setting is saved with the tablature which means that, even if you've deselected it, loading a tablature that was saved with the funtion turned on will reactivate it automatically.

Reading Guides

Displays or hides the Reading Guides that TablEdit deduces from sequences in the Reading List

Automatic Rests

This allows the rests that TablEdit deduces automatically from the position and note duration in each measure to be displayed in the musical stave. These automatic rests will be printed out if in both the stave and the tablature if the option is active when printout is begun.

You may also enter rests manually. Such rests are always printed out regardless of the state of this option.

Dynamics

Displays or hides the dynamics markings in the musical notation stave.

Duration errors

This option causes the following to be displayed in red in the tablature:

•	any note whose assigned duration is impossible, e.g. a 1/4 note followed by another note on the same string at an interval of an 1/8th note

•	1/4 notes or greater entered on an off-beat

•	unnecessary tied notes, e.g. an 1/8th note tied to a second 1/8th note within a single beat.

This option also allows notes whose stems have been forced one way or another or whose alteration has been changed manually to be displayed in color. Notes whose stems have been forced downwards are displayed in blue, those whose stems have been forced upwards are displayed in red and notes whose alteration (#, b) has been set manually are displayed in yellow. This is a valuable tool for proofreading tablatures.

Stem direction

Sets the direction of the note stems in the tablature. If the "Stems" box is unchecked, TablEdit will not print stems in the tablature.

Patches

Show Rhythmic or Percussion patches if any have been included in your tablature.

Ruler

Vertical position of the ruler.

Fonts

•	Tablature Font (the font that will be used to display and print the tablature). The spaces between the tablature lines and the ruler graduations are determined by the size of the Tablature font so that the fret numbers are never superimposed on one another. It's important to choose a font which provides the most legible spacing. Yoou can force the use of a different fontfor the display of the numbers in the tablature by selecting {Edit}{Font change...}.

•	Title and Subtitle Fonts (the font to be used to print the information»Informations in the header

•	Small Font (the font used to display and to print the effects and the chord names above the chords).

•	Text Fonts (the fonts used by default to display and to print the texts)

•	Graphics font. The color selected for this font is also used for both the tablature and standard notation lines, repeat signs, clefs, etc...

•	Chord diagrams font. The color selected for this font will be used for painting the chord diagrams.

The time signature is always displayed and printed out using tabledit.ttf. It's size cannot be altered.

To change a font, double-click on it in the font list or select it with the keyboard, press [Enter] and select the desired typeface, color and point size from the font selector.

Part separation in duet tablatures

In the case of duets, this dialogue will include a control allowing you to set up to 6 lines of extra space between the two parts. As soon as this value is set to other than 0, TablEdit will display chord diagrams, texts and fingerings relative to the tablature concerned. It's up to you to set sufficient spacing for these elements.


Floating palettes

There are six floating palettes:

•	Notes

•	Dynamics

•	Special effects

•	Tools

•	Fingerings (Hand)

•	Keyboard

The "Keyboard" palette allows you to enter notes by clicking on the by clicking on the keys of the keyboard. When TablEdit is in "Automatic duration" mode, the cursor is automatically advanced by a distance equal to the time you keep the key (mouse button) held down. If a current duration has been fixed, the cursor is advanced by a distance equal to this value (simple click). This palette also highlights the key corresponding to the note currently beneath the cursor.

The small white circle indicates the position of A = 440, the small black circle that of middle C.

The palettes can be moved around and, with the exception of the Fingerings (hand) and Keyboard palettes, resized. In order to resize a palette, select "Resize" from the palette's system menu (click on the icon in the upper, left hand corner of the pallete). TablEdit will then reduce the number of rows in the palette by one. You can repeat the command until the palette is reduced to a single row. Repeating the command at this point will reformat the palette into two columns and so forth. Repeat the procedure for each palette.

Once you're satisfied with the palette configuration, you can use the "Fix Palettes" option in {General}{Preferences -> Advanced} to save it. This will cause the title bar of the palette to disappear so that it can no longer be moved. This operation will take effect the next time you launch TablEdit.The position status of each palette is saved when exiting TablEdit.

For a detailed description of the contents of each palette, see main screen. Moving the mouse pointer over the palettes will provide you with "roll-over" help about the function of each button.

Pressing [F2] hides the palettes (and the ruler) to be hidden for as long as the key is held down.


Ruler

The scaled and moveable ruler allows you to find your way through the score. It displays both the measure numbers and the intervals .

By clicking on the note icon at the left of the ruler, you change the view scale (left click to reduce it, right click to increase it)

You can drag the ruler with the mouse or even hide it by entering a suitable value (e.g. 999) in {Display}{Display options}.

Pressing [F2] will hide the ruler (and the palettes) for as long as the key is held down.


View on the score
Views on the score

There are three viewing scales available from {Display}.

•	Scale to 1/8 Notes

•	Scale to 1/16 Notes (default)

•	Scale to 1/32 Notes

•	Scale to 1/64th Notes

The scales are based on the interval of the notes so that viewing and editing can be done more easily.  For example, you will have difficulty viewing and editing  1/32nd notes when schown in the "Scale to 1/8 Notes" view, but selecting "Scale to 1/32 Notes" will allow you to view and edit 1/32nd notes very easily.

The first three of these viewing modes can be reached via keyboard shortcuts ( [shift]+[F7...9]. The last, 1/64th mode, can only be reached from the {Display} menu or by clicking on the small icon at the extreme left end of the ruler.


Automatic Chord Diagrams

TablEdit analyzes the fingerings in the tablature and attempts to recognize the chord positions. If it succeeds, it automatically displays a chord diagram above the location concerned. TablEdit then attemps to identify the chord and, if successful, displays its name underneath the diagram.

This may help you to rapidly determine the most convenient left hand fingering to use.

If you're not satisfied with the result, you can disable the "Chord diagrams" option in display. If this option is turned off, automatic chord diagrams will not be included on your printouts irregardless of the state of the "Chord diagrams" option in the "Print setup" dialogue.

Clicking on an automatic chord diagram opens the “Chord builder” dialogue, allowing you to modify the diagram and add it to the list in the “Chord Manager”.

You can also define the chord to be displayed or printed yourself by using the command "Insert Chord"


Reading Guides

TablEdit interprets the sequences in the Reading List to display section returns, signos, etc. on-screen and for printing them in the score. To obtain the best result, you should stick to the following principles:

•	Use the smallest number of sequences possible. If, for example, the required playing sequence is 1-2, 3-4, 1-2 and 5-6, you should enter the sequence 1-4, 1-2, 5-6. Using the "Zip" button will automatically apply the simplification.

•	If your reading list contains continuity indications, for instance a return to a previous portion of the tablature after a particular sequence, TablEdit will automatically display the appropriate Coda or Signo symbols.

•	The last measure to be played according to the reading list is always displayed with a double measure bar. Where necessary, the text "Fine" is displayed above it.

If you don't like the result obtained, you can de-activate the "Reading Guides" option for printing and/or display.


Keyboard Hotkeys

[Ctrl]+[a]	Select entire current module as a block

[Ctrl]+[Insert]	Copy selected measures (or notes, depending on context)

[Shift]+[Insert]	Paste copied measures (or notes, depending on context)

[Ctrl]+[right cursor]	Once: Go to end of current measure. Twice: Go to beginning of following measure

[Ctrl]+[left cursor]	Once: Go to beginning of current measure. Twice: Go to end of previous measure

[Ctrl]+[c]	Copy a selected block, note or anchor

[Ctrl]+[x]	Cut a selected block, note or anchor

[Ctrl]+[v]	Paste a copied or cut block, note or anchor to the cursor position

[Alt]+[Delete]	Moves everything to the right of the cursor a 1/32nd interval to the left

[Alt]+[Insert]	Moves everything to the right of the cursor a 1/32nd interval to the right

[u]	Cancel the last editing action

[r]	Redo the last canceled editing action

[Ctrl]+[+/-]	Set position of middle C with cursor in notation

[Ctrl]+[Page up/Page down]	Scroll tablature and notation up or down within TablEdit window

[Ctrl]+[o]	Open a tablature file

[Ctrl]+[s]	Save current tablature file

[Ctrl]+[n]	Create a new tablature file

[Ctrl]+[p]	Print tablature

[Ctrl]+[g]	Open Tablature Manager

[Ctrl]+[q]	Quit TablEdit

[Ctrl]+[i]	Title Information

[Ctrl]+[k]	Define MIDI options

[Ctrl]+[d]	Open Chord Manager

[Ctrl]+[b]	Open Chord Builder

[Ctrl]+[f]	Open Strokes and Fingerings dialogue

[F1]	Help index

[Ctrl]+[F1]	Open hotkey list

[F2]	Hides ruler and palettes (while held down)

[F4]	Set current duration to whole note

[F5]	Set current duration to 1/2 note

[F6]	Set current duration to 1/4 note

[F7]	Set current duration to 1/8th note

[F8]	Set current duration to 1/16th note

[F9]	Set current duration to 1/32nd note

[t]	Open Text Editor

[ j ]	automatically correct duration and note placement errors

[x]	Inhibit note beams in current beat

[h]	hammer-on

[p]	pull-off

[s]	slide

[m]	muted note

[ l ]	tied note

[d]	sharp

[b]	flat

[=]	natural

[q]	searches the module for next occurence of the of the same element type (chord diagram, cres/dim marker, text, etc.) as that beneath the cursor (in tablature).

[.]	insert rest of current note duration

[<] [>]	decrease/increase duration of selected note(s)

[Ctrl]+[left arrow]	Go to beginning of measure

[Ctrl]+[right arrow]	Go to end of measure

[( ] [ )]	decrease/increase dynamic level of selected note(s)

[v]	toggle dynamics display on/off

[a] [z] [e]	stems up, stems down, automatic stem direction

[x]	disable beams within a given beat

[g]	open grace note dialogue

[*] (asterisk)	apply current duration to selected note(s)

[Shift]+[F5]	Open "Go to Measure" dialogue (also available by clicking to right of the "Notes" zone in the status bar)

[Shift]+[F7]	1/8th Note View

[Shift]+[F8]	1/16th Note View (default)

[Shift]+[F9]	1/32nd Note View

[Ctrl]+[Space]	Toggle automatic cursor advance on/off

[Ctrl]+[NumPad 1/2]	Toggle between note display for instruments 1 and 2 of a duet

[Ctrl]+[NumPad 3]	Triplet mode

[Ctrl]+[NumPad 5]	Quintuplet

[Ctrl]+[NumPad 7]	Septuplet

[F10]	Play current measure

[Shift]+[F10]	Play current selection

[F11] or [Space]	Play from current measure to end

[F12]	Play entire Reading List

[Pause]	Pause playback

[Escape]	Stop playback

[Pause] or [Space]	Pause/Resume playback


Preferences

This function, located in {General}{Preferences}, allows you to customize the texts used by TablEdit to display the names of notes, the letters used for fingering indications and the abbreviations used for the most common effects. Thus, you can replace the letters C, D, E, F, G, A and B by their french equivalents Do, Ré, Mi, etc... or replace just the B by the H commonly used in Sweden and Germany. Please note that this latter also means that Bb will be displayed as Hb, not as "B" which is the common designation for Bb in, for example, Sweden (blame it on a monk scribe during the Middle Ages). You may also elect to have no text displayed at all above the slurs indicating special effects.

If the initial used for the right-hand thumb has been changed to a "T", the left-hand thumb indicator will also be displayed as a "T" within a circle.

The "Cursor Color" button, as you may have guessed, allows you to change the color of the cursor. This option will be useful for those of you using background colors other than white or off-white. If you select a color other than cyan-blue the cursor displayed during MIDI playback will have the same color as the program cursor. Otherwise, the playback cursor will remain the default navy blue.

The "Advanced..." button accesses the "Advanced Settings" dialogue, allowing you to define the following user options:


Musical Symbols

Selecting {Edit}{Insert}{Musical symbols} allows you to insert such symbols as trills, mordents, fermata and emphasis points in the score. If you print out the stave, the symbols will be printed above it and, of course, if you elect to print out only the tablature the symbols will be printed above this, instead. Please note that these symbols are only graphical in nature and have no effect whatsoever on playback!

This function also allows you to verify, indirectly, whether or not the latest version of the TrueType font "tabledit.ttf" has been correctly installed on your system. If this isn't the case, simply copy the new version of "tabledit.ttf" from the zip file to C:\windows\system\ (for Windows 3.1) or C:\windows\fonts\ (for windows 95/98)


Inserting scale diagrams

When a scale has been entered into the tablature, this function (access via {Edit}{Insert}{Scale diagram}) allows the display of a diagram showing the finger pattern.

The function analyzes the contents of the measure from the insertion point of the diagram to the end of the measure or until a new such diagram is inserted, whichever occurs first.


Advanced Settings

This dialogue can be accessed directly without first passing via the basic "Preferences" dialogue by pressing [Ctrl] while selecting {General}{Preferences...} with the mouse.

Long Filenames

If this option is selected, the standard dialogue boxes for opening and saving tablature files will always display the complete file and folder names. If the option is NOT selected, file and folder names will be restricted to the standard DOS 8+3 format, even if TablEdit is being run in a 32 bit environment such as Windows 95 ot 98. It may, in certain cases, be advantageous to turn this option off.

8 files in File menu history list

This option allows the display of the last 8 opened files in the History list. Given the fact that some users may be working with small screens areas, it's been decided to make this extension of the {File} menu an optional rather than a default setting.

Reset to last used Directory

If this option is selected, TablEdit will automatically use the directory of the last file opened prior to shutdown as the current directory the next time the program is launched. This also applies to the initial directory of the Tablature Manager.

Auto-load last open File

If this option is selected, TablEdit will automatically re-load the file that was open the last time you exited the program.

Ledger lines in notation

In order to provide a cleaner interface, TablEdit no longer displays the dotted, grey lines intended to facilitate note entry outside the musical stave by default. If you wish these lines to be displayed this can be achieved by selecting this option. The result, although less esthetic, can be useful when entering notes directly in the stave.

Inclined beams in notation

Objectively speaking, the ability to display and print inclined beams in the musical stave is an improvement compared to earlier versions where beams were systematically displayed and printed horizontally. You may now choose which of these two possiblities you prefer.

Fix Palettes

Once you're satisfied with your palette configuration, you can use the "Fix Palettes" option in order to fix it. This will cause the title bar of the palette to disappear so that it can no longer be moved. This operation will take effect the next time you launch TablEdit.

Simulate Human Playing

This introduces slight, random time lags and volume changes in order to simulate natural variations in performance.

Rollover help

Selecting this option activates the "rollover" help function. This is available for each button in the palettes (each key in the case of the "keyboard palette), the icons in the tool bar and various other symbols in the tablature. Placing the mouse pointer on any of these will call up a text bubble identifying its function.

Save/Load Configuration with Files

This option allows you to save all of the display and printout options, headers and footers together with a .tef file. If the option is active, the next time you open this, or any other, .tef file containing configuration information, the current configuration will be replaced by the new settings.

Pre-defined Solo Instrument

This mode is available only for solo tablatures, with or without rhythm patches. When this mode is active, you can, via the "MIDI options"  dialogue, define volume, pan (balance) and eventual rhythm patches for each string of the current instrument. In addition, each string will occupy a channel of its own when the tablature is exported as a MIDI file. This allows you to create even greater depth and realism in the audio playback. It also allows the export of MIDI files that can be re-imported into TablEdit or, perhaps, another application without losing the fingerings of the original tablature.

Note to programmers:

It should be noted that MIDI files making use of this option are flagged with a 0x10 MIDI event at the beginning of each track For a guitar using standard tuning (EADGBE), the high E string occupies channel 0, the B string channel 1, etc...

Blind friendly

When this option is active, TablEdit will produce a sound each time the cursor is moved via the keyboard.The pitch of the sound corresponds to that of the string of the tablature or the line in the musical stave. The intensity of the sound is dependent on the horizontal position of the cursor within the current measure.

Extend Bends/Slides

The majority of sound cards don't support pitch bends greater than two semi-tones. This is why TablEdit has, until now, not supported bends and slides of greater amplitudes than this. Selecting "Extend Bends/Slides" will allow those with more advanced sound cards to produce true 1>7 slides and bends of two full tones or more. When exporting MIDI files it is, nevertheless, recommended that you deactivate this function as there's no guarantee that the sound card of those listening to it can handle this correctly.


Diatonic Instruments

Defining a Custom Diatonic Instrument

This function is accessible from the Instrument Tuning dialogue as soon as either the accordion or harmonica is selected as the current instrument.

In the case of the accordion, it allows you to create a custom keyboard configuration by defining the key/note relationships for each row of keys. As concerns the harmonica, it allows you to define the hole/note relationships with the extra rows being used for bends and over-bends.

It should be noted that TablEdit will only support a range of two octaves plus one 1/2-tone starting from the note used to define the "Push" string (string 1) or the "Pull" string (string 2). This means that you'll have to find a compromise allowing you to play the maximum number of notes usable on the instrument.

The dialogue also allows you to change the name used for the "Push" and "Pull" rows. The initials of the names you select will be used for both display and printout of the tablature.

The file "diatonic.dat" furnished with TablEdit contains eight instrument definitions, four accordions and four harmonicas. This file is used to augment the popup list of instrument definitions. The "Open" button let's you load the item currently selected in the list into the configuration editor. The "Save" button allows you to save the configuration you've just modified into the list under the currently sleected heading. This will modify the "diatonic.dat" file permanently, so you may want to save an unmodified copy of the original file in either anothe location or under another name. You shouldn't, normally, have to do this repeatedly. The eight pre-defined configurations should be enough.

If you don't use the standard configurations (G/C accordion with 2 1/2 rows or C major diatonic harmonica), TablEdit will save the custom configuration you've selected or defined with your *.tef file.


Main Screen

Click on different areas of the screen for more detailed information:


Create a new empty tablature.


Open a tablature file.


Save the changes you've made to the tablature.


Print the tablature using the current "Print" options.


Run the Print Preview.


Change the Display Options.


Change the MIDI Options.


Start the MIDI Playback.


By clicking here, you activate the SET_KEY_SIGNATURE feature.


By clicking here, you activate the Tuning feature.


By clicking here, you decrease or increase the scale of view.


By clicking here, you activate the Time signature feature.


The lines in the lower part of the screen represent the instrument's strings and constitute the tablature. All editing features are available.


The lines in the upper part of the screen constitute the stave. The notes are shown in musical notation. Most editing actions are available.


If the "Display chords" option is active, TablEdit automatically displays the chords that it's able to deduce from the fingerings given and the names of recognized chords.


If the "Reading Guides" option in the "Display options" dialog box is active, TablEdit displays the ordinal number of the section endings (the reading guides) and the appropriate repeat signs.


The cursor is a blue cyan rectangle highlighting the current selection. The vertical line indicates the beginning of this selection. It can be moved with the cursor keys or by clicking on its new position.


The scaled and moveable ruler displays the measures and the intervals within the measures.


Select a new current duration. Selected notes are altered.


Dotted note: the current duration is increased by half of its normal value. The selected notes are not altered.


Triplet note: the current duration is reduced by one third of its normal value. The selected notes are not altered.


Select the accidental to be applied to the next note entered. If existing altered notes are selected, their alteration can be changed.


The scroll bar allows you to move around the tablature quickly.


Matthieu LESCHEMELLE

3 avenue du Marechal Juin

92150 SURESNES

FRANCE

tel : (33) 01-41-18-70-33

e-mail : matthieu@tabledit.com

http://www.tabledit.com/


The current duration is the value that will be assigned to subsequently inserted notes or to selected existing notes, if any.


The current selection is shown by the cursor. It highlights a single note or a block of notes. Editing actions apply only to the current selection.


The space between the vertical bars crossing the score is called a measure. The vertical bars themselves are called measure bars.


A measure is sub-divided in two, three or four parts, which are called beats. Thus, there are two beat measures, three beat measures, etc.


An accidental modifies the pitch of the of the note it is applied to:

•	sharp (#) raises the pitch by one demi-tone.

•	flat (b) lowers the pitch by one demi-tone.

•	natural (=) cancels the effect of all previous accidentals.


Accidentals are placed before the affected note on the same line or space of the stave. It affects all the notes in that measure having the same name and placed on the same line or space. See also Key accidental.


Key-accidentals are placed at the beginning of the stave. They determine the key signature. All notes in the score that share the same name as one of the accidentals are affected. See also accidental.


Note Duration Names

There are seven different note durations and each has it's own name. Two naming systems are commonly used, the English and the American. Briefly, here are the English names and their American equivalents:

Semi-Breve	Whole Note

Minim	Half Note

Crotchet	Quarter (1/4) Note

Quaver	Eighth (1/8th) Note

Semi-Quaver	Sixteenth (1/16th) Note

Demi-Semi-Quaver	Thirty-second (1/32th) Note

Hemi-Demi-Semi-Quaver	Sixty-fourth (1/64th) Note


Insert a grace note.


Tie the selected note to the previous one.


Toggle note stem orientation in the notation stave.


Select the automatic note duration.


Suppress any effect for the selected notes.


Hammer-on.


Pull-off.


Slide.


Choke 1/4 tone.


Octavados (artificial harmonic).


Natural harmonic.


Brush.


Note muted with the right hand.


Percussive note muted with the left hand.


Manual vibrato.


Tremolo.


Tapping.


Simple bend.


Bend and Release.


Arpeggio.


Ringing note.


Slap.


Rasgueado.


Ghost note.


Goto measure.


Notice.


Change dynamics for selected notes.


Title Information.


Reading list.


Change the time signature of the current measure.


Transpose notes.


Insert a customized chord diagram.


Insert a text in the tablature.


Insert a tempo change in the tablature.


Insert a pick or finger stroke sign.


Transpose the fingering of the selected notes towards the treble strings.


Transpose the fingering of the selected notes towards the bass strings


Cancel last editing action.


Redo last canceled editing action.


Credits

Thanks to (by order of appearence):

•	Antoine Banet-Rivet,

•	Frank J. Oddo,

•	Keith G. Saturn,

•	Bruce Mock,

who helped me to write this help file.

Special Thanks to Tom Thomason (tom@tabledit.com) who has revised and rewritten the entire file.


The extension "*.tef" (TablEdit File) is now the default file extension for files created with TablEdit. The program can also load files using the previous default extension (*.tab).


The active module to which most commands will be applied. You can access the active module for modification by clicking on its box.


The cache modules: clicking on one of these buttons allows you to switch active module.


Edit Rhythm (R) and Drum (D) patches.


The name of the active module


Clicking on one of the fingers inserts fingering indications (left or right hand, depending on the mouse button used).


This is a custom chord diagram which has been created by the user.