We’re taking a break from this column to work on our next big thing, but there are almost two hundred features here to catch up on if you haven’t read them all. If there’s a topic you’re interested in, you can also try searching for it.
February 1, 2019
| Feature of the Week
For today’s feature, we’re taking a slight detour to point out something not within forScore, but right here on the website. We just rolled out a big update, and you can now search for posts within specific categories. Head over to the main Feature of the Week page and click the search icon in the top right-hand corner to try it out.
We’ll be taking some time off to work on the next big thing, but with almost 200 Feature of the Week articles and this new search functionality you’re bound to find something new to read between now and then!
January 25, 2019
| Feature of the Week
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.
January 18, 2019
| Feature of the Week
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.
January 11, 2019
| Feature of the Week
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!
A new year has arrived, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to protect the library you’ve created and maintained with forScore. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been using the app for years, backing up is an essential part of the process.
We recommend backing up regularly, and especially after you’ve made extensive changes to your library or immediately before installing major iOS or forScore updates. Our knowledge base article on the subject includes detailed instructions on how to do this:
Backing up your data to your computer
For those who got their hands on a shiny new iPad this holiday season, the instructions for transferring your library are similar. The best way to move everything to a new iPad is to restore it from an iTunes or iCloud backup, but when that’s not possible it’s easy to move these files over manually. Here’s how:
Transferring your forScore library to another device
Don’t risk losing all of your hard work this year, back up regularly and turn a good practice into a smart habit. Happy new year!
December 28, 2018
| Feature of the Week
This holiday week, we wanted to take a moment to recap all of the many features we’ve written this year and give our readers a chance to catch up on any they may have missed. So without further ado, here’s every feature we discussed in 2018:
December 21, 2018
| Feature of the Week
The holiday season is here and one of our favorite features of the iTunes and App Stores is the ability to purchase content—like albums, movies, books, and apps—for other people. You can pay for the item, add a message, and even schedule the gift email to arrive on a specific date. When it arrives the recipient will get a download code that they can redeem with their own iTunes account.
It’s a great way to send last-minute gifts, or to share an app you’ve enjoyed with someone who perhaps can’t afford or wouldn’t choose to buy it on their own. For more information on app gifting, check out this page on Apple’s website. Happy holidays!
December 14, 2018
| Feature of the Week
After the original Apple Pencil was announced, we were just as excited as our customers to learn more about it, how it worked, and what it could mean for apps like forScore. It wasn’t something we figured out overnight, since everybody’s needs are unique and can’t be addressed with one quick update or setting, but over the past three years our approach has evolved to help our users take full advantage of this stylus’ strengths.
iOS’ palm rejection is quite good, but it’s not perfect and after Apple Pencil was released we got a lot of requests for something more concrete, an option to completely ignore finger input when drawing. We knew that there would be times when the Apple Pencil wasn’t available, like if it was out of reach or its battery had drained, so we had to get creative. Apple doesn’t let developers know when an Apple Pencil is nearby or whether or not it’s fully charged, so the only time we know for certain that you’ve got one is when it’s touching the screen.
To solve this, we tied our “prevent finger drawing” option to another setting, “automatically enter annotation mode,” which lets you annotate by drawing on the page without having to activate annotation mode first. Since that mode only kicks in when you use Apple Pencil, we relied on it to make an assumption about whether or not to allow finger input.
Sometimes, though, a smart answer isn’t the right one. That setup was confusing for a lot of people and unnecessarily complicated. With forScore 10.5, we took a simpler approach: if enabled in forScore’s settings panel, the “prevent finger drawing” option now works all of the time, no matter how you enter annotation mode. As long as your Pencil has touched the screen within the last fifteen minutes, forScore will ignore finger input for drawing purposes.
A new icon in the center of the annotation toolbar shows you when this setting is active. If your Pencil stops working or wanders off, tap this icon to temporarily disable the option and allow finger drawing. The next time you touch the screen with your Apple Pencil, it’ll re-activate itself automatically. Instead of trying to work out whether or not to block finger drawing on its own, forScore gives you a clear view of what it’s doing and the freedom to override it if necessary.
December 7, 2018
| Feature of the Week
If you delete a score, bookmark, or setlist by mistake, forScore 10.5 includes a recovery feature that may be able to help. In forScore’s Backup panel, tap the “Recently Deleted” item at the top of the list to see any items you deleted within the past seven days. Tap on an item to put it back, or swipe from right to left and confirm to delete it permanently and free up storage space on your device. Use edit mode to select multiple items and tap one of the buttons at the bottom of the list to delete or recover them all at once. To select everything in the list, enter edit mode and—without selecting any items—tap the appropriate button at the top of the list; forScore selects all items for you and asks you to confirm the action before proceeding.
This feature provides a great safety net, but it’s important to note that forScore can only help you recover things that you delete through the app. If you use the Files app or iTunes’ File Sharing panel to delete a PDF, forScore won’t be able to help you get it back.
November 30, 2018
| Feature of the Week
Introduced in forScore 10.1, filters let you narrow down the items in a list by combining powerful rules to specify when things should be included or omitted. It’s a handy tool that gives you a lot of granular control over what you see and it can be used to cross-reference categories quickly and easily. And now, with forScore 10.5, filters have gotten even more powerful.
Filters were originally available in forScore’s main menu, the global search panel, the setlist creator, and in item pickers used throughout the app. We added them to the Setlist menu in forScore 10.5 so you now can see exactly what you’re looking for within the contents of a specific setlist.
Everywhere filters are available, you can now also define rules based on setlist membership: choose to see things in—or not in—a specific setlist, or select multiple setlists and see the items in any, all, or none of them. Together, these two upgrades can really help you work smarter and faster.