Version History

The On-Screen Guitar Fretboard Colors are fully customizable and can be configured with the Fretboard Options tab in the Program Options dialog.

• Full compatibility with Windows 8/8.1.
• Graphic display quality improvements (e.g. antialiasing of fonts).
• Improved handling of custom OS DPI settings (Windows custom text size).
• Rewrite of metronome light timing to address latency issues.
• Printing to BMP improvements.
• Improved handling of invalid note pitches during MIDI import.
• Better validation of MIDI data.
• Clearer metronome sounds.
• Improved handling of unavailable scores accessed from recent scores list.
• Increased "pre-warning" score open count to 40.
• Improved cursor navigation commands (View Menu).

Fingering analysis is customizable to help you assign the right finger numbers easily and quickly for a selection of notes or the whole score.

Once you have assigned finger numbers to notes several new features become available:

• Finger numbers can be displayed in, alongside, above or below each note/chord in the score
• Finger numbers can be displayed on each key during playback on the On-Screen Piano Keyboard
• MidiIllustrator can show animated Performing Hands performing your score over the On-Screen Piano Keyboard

Lyrics, Bookmarks, Chord Names, Free Text (New), Expressions (New), Staff Names and Instrument Names (Staff Namings) and Score Titles

Here are just a few of the formatting features supported by the new rich text items:

• Font formatting such as font style (e.g. bold, italic, underline, etc.)
• Images/photos (jpeg, bitmaps etc.)
• Text colors
• File Attachments (even other scores!)
• Hyperlinks (e.g. http://www.MidiIllustrator.com)
• Paragraph Alignment (e.g. Left, Justified, etc.)
• Bullets and line numbering

Easily add objects such as images and other multimedia content to your score.

Performing Hands are an animation feature of the On-Screen Piano Keyboard.  Performing Hands can be used both as a learning tool and when composing to see how the hands move when fingering your keyboard compositions.

Alternatively you can simply enjoy watching your score performed on the keyboard by MidiIllustrator's talented hands which can perform even the most technically challenging pieces!

Expressions differ from other rich text objects (such as Free Text items) as they can be associated with MIDI events such as Tempo, Volume and Pan which alter the performance of a piece during playback.  Common expressions include:

• Dynamics
• Metronome Tempos, Tempo Marks and Tempo Alterations
• Mood Marks
• Articulations

Endings can be used with bar repeats to create very efficient scores where only the ending of a particular passage varies from one verse to the next.  You need only score the common part of one or more verses once and then add any different "endings" for each verse.

Naturally, MidiIllustrator can observe ending behavior as well as nested repeat instructions in the score during playback.

With this feature you can change the colors of various parts of the keyboard as well as the Keyboard Highlighting Colors used to show which keys are being pressed during playback.

The new interface also supports several new color schemes (themes) and tabbed documents, as well as smart docking for toolbars and special controls such as the On-Screen Piano Keyboard and List Bar.

By default, each program in the MidiIllustrator series uses a different theme.

• Paper Orientation
• Paper Size

Finger Numbers Displayed on the On-Screen Piano Keyboard

Apply Now buttons which update your score instantly when you make changes to dialog controls (without requiring you to close the current interface dialog) are now available on the following dialogs:

• Score Options
• Score Titles
• Staff Manager

Staff Manager also has a new layout.

• Keyboard Options for configuring the On-Screen Piano Keyboard
• Program Colors hosting reorganized color management items from the Color tab in the Score Options dialog

• When inserting "Next/Previous" items (such as Lyrics, Bookmarks etc.) optionally include measure beats as Next/Previous cursor insert locations
• When shifting items such as Lyrics, Bookmarks etc. Forward or Back, optionally include measure beats as cursor insert locations

Moreover these objects can be anchored to the measure, page or staff so that they move relative to the score as it changes.

• The Metronome Light now displays the beat count numerically in order to help with counting and rhythm exercises
• The flashing effect of the metronome is now more configurable, allowing the display of solid colors without flashing effect

• Improvements to barline graphics, and introduced new barline toolbar buttons
• It is now default behavior to print score notation colors but not to print page textures, which are now separate options
• Search the help file for keywords directly from the search box in the main program menu bar
• New page background textures
• Extra handling of invalid key signatures in MIDI files
• Accidentals no longer repeat on notes which tie from the previous measure.  To show an accidental on a note tied from a previous system/page, a courtesy accidental can be used
• Staff instrument names can now be edited in Staff Manager and the Staff Instrument dialogs
• Re-enabled default editing option "Auto-tie off-beat notes which cross beats"
• Improvements to Scroll View
• Added extensions to all file names in List Bar, so the extension column does not need to be visible to identify file type
• Improved splash screen dismissal behavior
• Improved handling of improperly structured MIDI files which could result in some MIDI notes hanging when imported
• Addressed occasional Tooltip flicker when running under Windows Vista
• Updated file associations to work with Windows Vista with UAC enabled

• Fixed:  Vista AutoSave error
  Details: MidiIllustrator encountered a sporadic error with default AutoSave settings when running under Microsoft Windows Vista.
• Fixed:  Enharmonic spelling/pitch shift error
  Details: Corrected an issue with enharmonic spelling and pitch shift functions where pitch change was not properly stored.
• Other performance improvements

• Anitra's Dance by E Grieg
• Amazing Grace by J Newton
• The Entertainer by S Joplin

These scores exploit some of MidiIllustrator's many scoring features and formatting options, including the use of textures, fonts, lyrics, chords and notation learning tools such as individual note naming.

Several interface improvements mean that all MidiIllustrator programs run perfectly on the new Microsoft Windows operating system.

MidiIllustrator now checks to see if the Wavetable Synth is the playback device each time playback begins.  If it is, and the current volume is zero, MidiIllustrator automatically increases the volume to 50%.  This action simply reproduces the result you would see if you manually increased the "MIDI" or "SW Synth" volume value in the Windows Mixer dialog (also know as "the Windows volume control").

• Playlists: Score adding capacity increased
  It is now possible to add an unlimited number of scores to a playlist in a single action. The previous limit was ~300 scores at a time
• Fixed: Step by Step cursor positioning reset
  Details: This release fixes an issue with Step by Step mode whereby cursor positioning was occasionally reset to the playback start position during note 'step' auditions whilst using the cursor keys

MidiIllustrator Player is a free product, and includes a small part of the functionality offered by other products in the MidiIllustrator range.

The MidiIllustrator Player installation program can be freely distributed among musicians - this is a great way to share your scores with musicians who do not yet have access to the full versions of MidiIllustrator Virtuoso or MidiIllustrator Maestro.

Read more about Player in the MidiIllustrator documentation.

• Performance Mode allows you to perform and interact with your songs.  In Performance Mode you can create Practice Sessions, study specific ranges of your scores and use learning tools such as Step by Step.  Most score editing functionality is hidden in this mode to allow you to focus on score viewing, listening and performing.
• Layout Mode is for changing the dimensions and positions of score objects, such as measures, staves and lyrics.  MidiIllustrator automatically formats the music layout to make good use of screen 'real estate'.  However, if you wish to manage the layout for a particular measure, page or even the entire score, then in this mode you can either tweak the layout to simply tighten up the score a little, or you can make major changes to squeeze as much notation as possible onto a given page.
• Edit Mode is for full-scale score editing and composition (see below)

MidiIllustrator can hide traditional staff notation on the score and instead show staves as a much more compact timeline.

This option is very useful for producing and printing song sheets and 'fake books' which contain only song lyrics, or perhaps chords and guitar frets.  You can dramatically reduce the number of pages in a score if you do not need to see any staff notation or melody lines.

Score Titles are customizable text entries in the score.  You can apply fonts and colors of your choice.  The following 'titles' are available:

• Score Title
• Copyright
• Composer
• Reference
• Footer (first page and all remaining pages)
• Header (first page and all remaining pages)

'Fields' are special text strings which can be inserted into Score Titles.  Fields are automatically populated with updated score information when titles are displayed or printed (such as page count, file name, date and so forth...).

• Add the current (open) song to the current Playlist with a single click.
• Custom List Font:  The List Bar Font button allows you to set a custom font for display of all text in the List Bar.  You can, for example, choose a larger font to make reading from a distance easier.
• Typing into list cycles list selection to first occurrence of letter typed and displays selected entry (and so on with next letter typed).
• Your preferred list-column-widths are now stored and restored for each 'tab' in the list bar.  Column 'autosizing' is a new menu option.
• Logged files are now managed more efficiently with automatic removal of duplicate entries.
• The List Bar Tabs now fully support XP Themes.
• "Windows" tab renamed to "Open Scores" for clarity.

• Objects such as lyrics and chords can be edited with great accuracy right in the score so changes are displayed dynamically as you type. 
• New commands and shortcuts allow you to navigate from lyric to lyric or insert a new item with just a keystroke.
• Inline text editing accepts clipboard commands like copy and paste.
• Edited text can be selected with mouse drags, double-clicks and other standard 'word-processor-like' keyboard navigation commands.
• All text items on the score are now better justified for easier reading and better horizontal alignment (making measure widths more efficient so that more notation can fit onto each page).

Furthermore, a new option for setting staff/track MIDI Playback (MIDI OUT) devices allows you to keep your saved song playback devices in sync with your program devices.  Simply set each staff to use the "default playback device" and whenever you change default playback device, your songs will use the latest default playback device automatically.

This has always been the default behavior in earlier versions of MidiIllustrator.

• New cursor commands allow skipping backwards/forwards during playback.
• Staff Manager staff selection

• Chords:
  • Auto-Correct manually entered chord names
  • Auto-Add frets to manually entered chords
• Selection:
  • Include dots when incrementing duration of selection
• Sounds:
  • Audition chord when note clicked with mouse
  • Audition cursor insertion pitch
  • Audition note insertions and clipboard paste
  • Audition changes to existing notation
• Notation:
  • Auto-tie off-beat notes which cross beats

Previewing changes is now easier with the "Undo Changes" dialog button which immediately removes any changes to the score made using the "Apply" button, without having to close the dialog and hit "Undo".

Furthermore, many dialogs now remember how they were 'last used' so that common tasks are easier to perform as dialog options are automatically configured when the dialog is opened.

Time Signature Dialog new features:

• A comprehensive set of options to add and modify existing meter values.
• MidiIllustrator can intelligently reorganize music in the score as necessary to allow time signature insertions which would otherwise upset the existing rhythmic structure of the music.

Transpose Dialog new features:

• Easier to use with numbered steps, now with quick "Octave Up/Down" buttons.
• Existing Chords/Guitar Frets automatically recalculated (based on the newly transposed notation) when the transposition is complete.

Clef and Key Dialogs:

• New key and clef selection controls for faster score changes.

• Capture your musical ideas quickly with context sensitive notation entry.  Add or insert new notation.
• Compose naturally with intuitive keyboard commands (Normal Entry) and make precision changes with mouse editing functions (Mouse Entry).
• Record live performances directly into your scores.
• Create a brand new score from the ground up, or modify scores converted originally from MIDI files using powerful copy/paste functions and drag/drop operations.

The MidiIllustrator installation package contains some basic templates to get composers up and running.

Courtesy accidentals are now bracketed for clarity.

In general, MidiIllustrator automatically fills all the silence in a measure with rests.  Virtual voice 'guide' rests are shown to facilitate multi-voice note entry.

• Improved third party PDF (portable document format) support.
  Improved List Bar Playlist functions for handling scores not saved in a ‘playlist ready’ state.
• Fixed: Font redraw quality.
  Details: Some notation was not redrawn correctly when Advance Page Turn was deactivated, causing periodic ‘blurring’ of notation until screen redrawn.
• Fixed: Bookmark reference updates on Practice Sessions.
  Details: Practice sessions containing bookmark ranges were not properly reset when measures containing bookmarks were removed.
• Fixed: Pitch wheel event order incorrect.
  Details: Some events processed in wrong order resulting in incorrect application of subsequent note pitches.
• Fixed: Hidden tracks being selected causing "Step by Step" mode problems.
  Details: Tracks could still be selected when hidden causing cursor to vanish temporarily.
• Fixed: Measure contents deletion error.
  Details: Notes crossing deleted measure range were not completely deleted with measure range removal
• Fixed: MIDI Notes Off command not sent at correct time.
  Details: ‘All Notes Off’ MIDI command sent too soon after MIDI stream completed, causing notes to continue sounding after playback ended on some external MIDI devices.\
• Minor bug fixes to score layout
• Updated MidiIllustrator Setup Installer.
• Updated product documentation.

• Playlists – full featured song jukebox! Create a list of songs and MidiIllustrator will open, show and play each in turn.
• Browser – Access your music quickly with this on-screen song folder viewer.
• Score Log – Keep staff of your score viewings and practice sessions.

Furthermore, you can play through mistakes, and MidiIllustrator will still know the exact position you are reading and playing from, and will automatically show that part of the score, turning the pages as necessary.

• Treble Clef
• Bass Clef
• Alto Clef
• Tenor Clef
• Octave Adjusted Treble Clef (Higher)
• Octave Adjusted Treble Clef (Lower)
• Octave Adjusted Bass Clef (Lower)
• Neutral Clef

• Print odd or even pages
• Print just the current page
• Collate copies enabled

The latest version of MidiIllustrator also supports Windows XP Themes (for those running MidiIllustrator on Windows XP), integrating MidiIllustrator fully with the look and feel of the XP environment.

• Improved MIDI playback performance and application startup time.
• Fixed "Step by Step Note Sounds" problem
  Details: Application could occasionally hang when cursor movement triggered playback of groups of "Step" notes in Step by Step mode.
• Fixed missing updates when Status Bar hidden.
  Details: When Status Bar hidden, updates were not made to context Menus (Insert, Notes etc) reflecting any current item selection.  Also Status Bar and Menus not always redrawing properly when Status Bar toggled on/off.
• Updated product documentation.
• Updated MidiIllustrator Setup Installer.

• Fixed conflict between Metronome and drum tracks.
  Details: Muting channel 10 tracks also muting Metronome when both are using MIDI channel 10 for playback.
• Fixed problem with Explorer file associations (registered version only).
  Details: Double-clicked MIDI files not always opening unless MidiIllustrator already running.
• Fixed MIDI playback error incurred on some PCs during practice session playback loops.
  Details: Application could occasionally hang between finishing one playback loop and beginning another.
• Fixed empty MIDI track overload during import.
  Details: Some MIDI files containing many empty tracks causing overload during rest creation phase of import. Excessive empty tracks now dropped during import.
• Fixed some Windows ME/98 compatibility issues.
• Fixed other minor bugs, including some tie note editing errors and track tools functionality.
• Updated product documentation.
• Updated MidiIllustrator Setup Installer.