RFC: Layout of articulations in left pane and associated keybinds

Dorico
1

Currently, the articulations are laid out as follows:

  1. Accent | Staccato
  2. Marcato | Tenuto
  3. Stressed | Staccatissimo
  4. Unstressed | Mezzo-staccato

There are three very sensible (vertical) groups in the panel: Articulations of Force, Articulations of Duration, Articulations of Stress.

However, within the groups the ordering doesn’t make much sense when all three groups are laid out next to each other:

  1. Long accent | Short
  2. Short accent | Long
  3. Stressed | Shorter
  4. Unstressed | Long, but seperate

This frequently means that if I decide that I don’t want an accent, but want to maintain the duration implied by that accent, the keys/buttons I need to press/click are diagonal from each other.
Also, on a UK keyboard, it the staccatisssimo articulation is currently triggered by the } key (Shift+]) rather than the key that has the already approximates that symbol: '.

I propose the following instead:

  1. Marcato (short accent) | Accent (long accent)
  2. Staccato (short) | Tenuto (long)
  3. Unstressed | Stressed
  4. Staccatissimo (shorter) | Mezzo-staccato (Long-separate)

On a UK keybord layout at least, this would result in the following shortcut layout, which seems far more logical as it ensures that the mutually exclusive articulations are side-by-side, and still keeps the less frequently used ones behind the Shift modifier:

  1. [ | ]
  2. ' (looks like staccat(issim)o | # (same key as ~ - looks like tenuto)
  3. Shift+[ ({) | Shift+] (})
  4. Shift+' (@) | Shift+# ( ~)

I have recently changed my keybinds to reflect this proposed layout, which has greatly increased my productivity, but because they now don’t match the panel layout, it can throw me sometimes if I glance at it.

Two alternatives spring to mind on the UI-side:

  1. Shifted articulations could be grouped onto the same button on the panel as their unshifted counterpart, or if separate buttons are preferable, move the “Stress” row above the “accent” row so that the unshifted ones are all next to each other.
  2. I rarely ever click anything on the left panel, but I still need to have it open to know what type of note I’m about to input. If there was an indicator on the closed left panel showing the settings I have loaded up (note duration, accidental, articulation(s), slur), I could happily leave it closed and use my own keybinds without potentially disrupting other users (who might also be able to benefit from the extra screen real-estate).