There are lots of places throughout forScore where you can choose to select one or more scores, bookmarks, or setlists—when creating a button, setting up a Dashboard goal, or uploading one or more items to a cloud storage service, for instance.
Often times, the item or setlist you’re looking for is actually the one you’re currently viewing. Now in version 10.5, forScore puts that item at the top of the list and highlights it in blue so it’s easy to find. If you scroll down, you’ll find it again lower down where it would otherwise appear in the list. It’s just one more way forScore 10.5 (and forScore mini 3.5) makes some of the things you do every day a little more convenient.
As of version 10.5, forScore takes advantage of a newer, more efficient type of image compression that Apple began offering with iOS 11.0. While not a feature you’ll use directly, HEIC does provide some nice advantages for things you do every day (if your device supports it).
First, forScore uses HEIC to store cached thumbnails and pages. Since HEIC images take up significantly less space than older formats, forScore can cache more content than before without using up any more of your device’s storage capacity. That makes things like using the seek bar, previewing items with quick peek, or opening the Rearrange panel faster than ever.
If you’re using the Cue app, forScore also transmits HEIC images to dramatically improve quality and performance. Since forScore sends these images to a nearby device wirelessly, reducing the amount of information it has to send is the absolute best way to achieve these gains.
The big features and tools grab the headlines most of the time, but efficiency and speed are just as important to making sure that forScore never skips a beat. HEIC is just one more way we turbocharge your sheet music—even if you never see it, you’ll feel it.
With two major cloud storage providers leaving forScore’s Services panel, there’s never been a better time to learn how to use Apple’s Files app, interface, and system-wide functions. They’re more powerful, available everywhere, and will continue to grow each year as iOS is updated, expanded, and refined. Most importantly, they support dozens of services instead of limiting you to just the few we’ve managed to integrate directly into our app.
If you’re ready to make the jump but aren’t sure where to begin, we’ve put together a page that provides step-by-step instructions for setting up your favorite cloud storage provider for use with Apple’s Files infrastructure. It just takes a few minutes, and once you learn how to use it you’ll be set for every other app that you use. Check it out here.
Late last year, alongside forScore 10.5, we introduced a free Mac app called forScore Backup Utility. We created a whole page about it, so today instead of paraphrasing all of that great info we’ll let that page do the talking instead. Be sure to check it out if you haven’t done so already!
January 9, 2019
In Depth, News
Just last week we announced that we are removing built-in support for Google Drive with our next major update due to API changes, and unfortunately today we have to add Microsoft OneDrive to that list as well. Despite our best efforts to find a workable solution, Microsoft has permanently shut off the older APIs that forScore relies on to provide safe and private OneDrive access through the Services panel and doesn’t currently provide an alternative we can accept.
Personal data is the currency of the digital age, and there’s an obvious business interest for companies like Google and Microsoft to mine you for your information, but that’s not something we want any part of. Between the international legal ramifications of GDPR and Apple’s stringent privacy requirements, we have too much to lose by inviting these services into our app.
As we mentioned last week, the Files app, file provider extensions, and iOS’ multitasking modes with drag and drop gestures offer a better experience and broader support for services than forScore’s own Services panel ever has or could. We can never support everything, and with these system-level features we don’t have to. By reducing redundancy and refocusing our efforts on things that matter most to our users—annotation, setlists, and robust organization—we know you’ll end up with a better app in the long haul.
We don’t make this decision lightly, and we know it significantly impacts thousands of musicians who’ve relied on this integration until now. We regret that it has come to this and are here, ready to help anyone affected by the shutoff. If you have questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us by choosing “Support” from forScore’s tools menu or by using the form on this page. Thank you for your understanding, your support, and most importantly your trust.
