It would be helpful if I could customize the Playing Techniques panel. Most of the techniques in the list I would never use, but there are others I’d like to be able to display, especially as a separate category (Handbells, for example).
I suppose this would necessitate a “Restore to defaults” setting, but it would be helpful to choose what’s displayed based on what I frequently use.
Thanks!
Why not, but I realize in my case I increasingly use popovers and I don’t use the panel most of the time for playing technics
I’ve assigned shorten names to go fasters like p for pizz and a for arco.
Maybe the panel could show the most used playing technics on top positions, but I would like another features to be developped in Dorico on priority.
Ditto. The panel would be much more useful if it contained only those techniques I want included.
That said, with the upcoming Dorico version set to include MIDI ports, I will be a happy camper on that score alone. It will allow me to use one instance of VE Pro for each instrument family, Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, Keys and Mallets, Percussion.
I also use the side panel only rarely. But it would still be helpful, as there are enough that I can’t remember the text names for all of them.
Of course the extremely common ones I have memorized, but not the second-tier ones, including the custom ones I’ve made.
Another idea would be something similar to the way the Tempo and Time signature panels work, with a display of the techniques that have previously been used.
The panel does this already, by reordering (at least partially) the panel according to your most used techniques.
Shuffling menus, etc outside the user’s control is the dumbest user interface idea that Microsoft ever invented, IMHO. Well, maybe the second dumbest - I forgot about “the ribbon”.
Well, it is exactly what happened in another music notation software, one who introduced the ribbon as well… See if you can track down the people who made that decision and let them have it! 
As long as the criteria is clear, I reckon either way is fine in terms of user experience.
Well, the people who tried the ribbon UI once haven’t tried it again.
Making a mistake is a good thing, so long as you learn something from the experience 