On Mon, 15 Mar 2004, Dirk Laurie wrote:
> I have been using PMX for seven years, but confess to still basically being in
> the dark about the difference between font-based s and t slurs. So I did
> some systematic experiments.
>
> Here is everything the PMX Reference Manual has to say on the topic.
>
> "With font-based slurs, t is equivalent to s but with several minor
> differences to be explained later. ... ID codes cannot be used with
> font-based t slurs. ... For font-based slurs, the unique aspect of t slurs
> is that if one starts or ends on the same note as an s slur, the former will
> be moved away from the notehead to avoid a collision. This only works if
> neither slur has an ID code. This feature is only retained for backward
> compatibility. ... To specify a font-based tie in PMX, use a slur command and
> include the option t in it, somewhere after the initial ( , ) , s or t."
>
> In practice, some not-so-minor differences are encountered. The first of
> these flatly contradicts the User's Manual.
>
> c44 d e f g a b g c2 tt c tt
> ERROR in line 17, bar 3 Cannot use "t" as an option on a tie
>
> c44 d e f g a b g c2 t-1 c t-1
> ERROR in line 17, bar 3 "+|-" for slur height only allowed in "s"-slurs
>
> Thus, t is indeed a poor brother of s, its only virtue being that in one very
> special case its use saves one some manual adjustment.
>
> I suspect the original reason for the "t" slur was only because, before
> labelled slurs, one needed two different slur symbols in the slur-over-a-tie
> situation.
>
> Given that the use of labelled slurs now allows enormous flexibility, it seems
> that the t slur is retained in PMX for the sake of backward compatibility
> only. New scores need not use it at all. Am I wrong in saying this?
>
Only partly:
i) "the t slur is retained in PMX for the sake of backward
compatibility only" --> True for font-based slurs,
ii) "New scores need not use it at all" --> False!
new scores will generally use PostScript slurs; and in
that case new scores definitely need t slurs if they want to
have true ties!
RTFT! (last T stands for my tutorial:
http://icking-music-archive.org/software/pmx/pmxccn.pdf
Section B 4.11.4 "Special considerations for font-based slurs"
That particular chapter took VERY much time (and lots of correspondence
with Don Simons, I admit, so I can second your initial statement about
having been in the dark so long. But I cannot see where the errors
quoted "flatly contradict the users' manual" --- the manual is just
simply too short on all this.
ccn.
--
............................................................
Prof.Dr. Cornelius C. Noack Phones:
Inst. f. Theor. Physik FB 1 office : +49 (421) 218-2427
Universit"at Bremen secretary: -2422
Otto-Hahn-Allee Fax : -4869
D - 28334 Bremen home : +49 (421) 34 22 36
Fax: 346 7872
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WWW-page: www.itp.uni-bremen.de/~noack
............................................................
_______________________________________________
Tex-music mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://icking-music-archive.org/mailman/listinfo/tex-music
