)1. "Lock Intervals" functionality for all the drawing tools (ala the morph tool). I think this has already happened.??..the little lock icon does the same thing as the check box on the Morph tool, right? I use the lock intervals to morph battery arcs that contain 3 different intervals...will all the drawing tools allow me to maintain the 3 different intervals as well?
2. More keyboard shortcuts. Would LOVE to be able to quickly zip from chart to chart when I'm adjusting label positions for readability using just keyboard shortcuts. The palette is cumbersome if you are having to open it, click on the tiny little directional wheel (did that thing get replaced with some bigger buttons in a more recent version????), fiddling with contours and all that...it just takes so much time and back and forth, detailed movements on the mouse. It would be helpful if the palette didn't close after hitting accept when adjusting label positions...I'd like the ability to adjust an element's labels, then select a different element, adjust theirs, etc. until I've fixed the chart, THEN hit accept just once for that chart.
3. Automatically include the most recently used 4 or 5 color swatches right on the labeling control panel, eliminating most of the need to open up the color swatch palette each time I need to change a color.
4. When manually reorganizing match lines and positions are obscurred by something or I inadvertently skip a performer and hit accept and that poor flute player is still standing in the previous chart???? You know what I'm talking about...it SUCKS to have to go back and do the match lines again. I usually curse the flute player and go watch TV for a while cause I'm mad because I think the program should probably say "hey...you missed someone" before accepting the changes.
5. I think a "null" page tab option would be helpful. A blank page tab that can be inserted and used to help in the construction of the drill (think building scaffolding...) or to mark a specific count or something,which won't be included in the running page numbering or sub-set letters. I include all my holds in the count tracks, which causes me to need to drop a page tab in at the end of the hold, which I mark as an "A" sub-set while I working the drill. But then I have to go back through a completed drill and delete all the page tabs I have in place that mark the end of a holds, or the ones I have that mark staggered step-off counts, or stuff like that, etc...these "events" I don't consider sub-sets. So when I got to print the drill charts, the "null" tabs can stay in place and automatically not print, are not included in the numbering, and will not show up on a student coordinate sheet. Often times, I have to come right back after printing and pull all of the "scaffolding" page tabs back in if I'm still working on something...it'd be nice to leave that extra work out in the future.
6. Finally, I think the count track/page tab element could be a much more useful and flexible part of the program. There are times when I might have to write 10 or 15 moves in a row that are all the same number of counts, but within those 10 or 15 pages, we might move through several musical ideas, with different sections featured, new tempos, meter changes, etc...the things that sort of "segments" a musical production in my head into smaller chunks, each with specific needs ("mellos not moving" or "rifles change equipment" or "flutes featured").
I would love some sort of small "post-it" note system where we can insert short one to three word phrases onto the count track in between the page tabs. These could hold measure numbers from the score, letters, notes on meter and tempo changes, staging needs, etc. Also included is the ability to alter the background color of the count track over the course of multiple page tabs, so if the trombones are featured for 4 sets, then I color those 4 sets the trombone color, and there you go: a have a quick visual representation of the score and it is easier to "see" the music graphicially. Perhaps a lot of little floating words or balloonss would clutter it up, so maybe they minimize on their own, but with a mouse-over,the notes expand back up to be read..
This would effectively put a production sheet function into the program...it can be printed off in a manner that resembles a count sheet or production sheet that can be shared with staff.
Maybe this could become an interactive feature online where the staff of the band can access an online interface where they can add to the count track/production info from anywhere. you know, constant up-to-the minutes updates from anywhere: if the percussion arranger wants to split the battery up into two different lines or whatever, or the guard instructor has an idea for a trick but needs to suggest something specific of the staging, they could do it through the internet and the requests or information would download to the drill writer's count track, which would alert the drilll writer of the changes, and ask him to view and accept them before downloading the new info into the count track.
So that last one is kinda big, but could add some really nice functionality for us poor souls to spend our lives in Pyware world...
hope I have a couple good ideas somewhere in there...