What's New in This Version

For further details on specific features and fixes in the current version of Songsheet Generator, see the Release Notes which are supplied with the program.

Please Note: The following feature list and version numbers are specific to the Microsoft Windows version of Songsheet Generator. The Mac OS X and Java versions have similar features, but the version numbers are different.

Songsheet Generator Version 2.9 (Windows; Mac OS X / Java version 1.5) adds export to RTF, support for both metric (mm) and imperial (inch) units, and several productivity features.

Songsheet Generator Version 2.8 (Windows; Mac OS X / Java version 1.4) adds Unicode support to the Windows platform, and export to ChordPro.

Songsheet Generator Version 2.7 (Windows; Mac OS X / Java version 1.4) adds the ukulele mode, as well as a New Song option that will create a new song from a ChordPro template. A global data key/value editor has also been added.

Songsheet Generator Version 2.5 (Windows; Mac OS X / Java version 1.2) adds new directives for key signature, as well as generic data key/value directives in the song file. See the file syntax reference for more information about these new directives. If the key has been defined for a song, the song can be transposed by key name. Footers may be overridden on a per-song basis, and will wrap; line breaks can also be put in the footer. A new extension to the chord syntax allows chord fingerings to be defined for a certain key only.

Version 2.3 added fine control over fonts and colors for printed songsheets and Full Screen Presentation (see the Font Selection Dialog topic for details) In addition, tab characters are expanded to a user-definable space. Multiple monitors are also supported for the Full Screen Presentation. A registration code is now required in order to permanently disable a nag screen that appears from time to time.

Version 2.2 added support for page numbering and footers. Using page numbering and the Table of Contents (and, optionally, separate song numbering), it is possible to create a full-featured printed songbook using Songsheet Generator!

Version 2.1 added support for guitar grids—chord grids for guitarists (i.e. fret board diagrams) can be printed at the bottom of each song.

See the Chords and Chord Definitions topic for instructions on how to print grids like this:

Version 2.0 was almost a complete rewrite of the program, and included many new features which improved over the old version:

• Added a Table of Contents option. The Table of Contents may also be printed separately, from the "File" menu.
• Split options into separate property pages; added many new options.
• Lines that are too long to fit inside the margins will now wrap.
• Songbook support; a list of songs can be saved for future re-printing.
• Individual songs can be given different transpose settings. The transpose amount for each song is displayed in brackets before the song title in the print list. Individual songs can also be set to print or not print chords.
• Windows XP visual styles are supported.
• Print Preview has been implemented.
• Transpose has been implemented. Transposing by positive half-steps will result in sharps; negative half-steps will result in flats.
• A collapsable "Mini-Preview" pane displays a Print Preview of the most recently selected song in the Songs List.
• The "Edit Song" menu command will open a text editor on the most recently selected song in the Songs List.
• Font usage has been changed significantly:
  • All fonts sizes are based on the lyric font size. Title, subtitle, chord and comment fonts are offset from this base size.
  • An alternate font is used for Title, subtitle, chords, and comments.
  • Fonts maintain their size no matter how many songs per page you select; a 12 point font is really a 12 point font on the 4-per- page printout. This means you will probably need to increase the font size for a 1-per-page printout.
  • The "space above chords" and "space above lyrics" values have been removed in favor of simpler, common line spacing values.
• New page layout options: One or Two Flowing Columns per Page can save paper, by just flowing from one song to the next.
• Output may be sent to the printer, to a plain text file, to an HTML file, or to the screen in Full-Screen Presentation.
• Songs are scanned and sorted in the background, for a more responsive user interface. Printing is also performed in the background.
• Songs are sorted in a more logical way; the words "the," "an," "a" in song titles are moved to the end for sorting in the lists.
• Selected items under the new "Options" menu allow quick changes of the most-used options.
• Removed the Galaxy toolkit, which reduces the footprint by about 90%. Really, no kidding!

Songsheet Generator 1.0 was released in 1995.