Blah Blah .txt Stuff

When OnSong imports certain files, it may need a lil' nudge about the file encoding or format. (We know, right? Files are weird.) Text File Handling settings help OnSong figure out how to wrangle certain files it stumbles across.

Grab Song Number from Title

When a song shows up with a title startin' with a number followed by a period, OnSong can snag that number as the song number for proper sortin' & searchin'. Fancy!

ChordPro Compatibility Processing

ChordPro is a syntax, not a standard file format. (Plot twist!) Because of this, different vendors have yeeted ChordPro features around in different ways. This option processes ChordPro to make it as future-proof as possible by convertin' commented section labels into real sections & whatnot.

Convert Smart Quotes

This option will try real hard to convert those bougie smart quote characters into versions your app won't hate.

Detect Chords In Lyrics

OnSong uses text-based song content to render chord charts on the screen. Both OnSong & ChordPro file formats denote chords in square brackets within lyrics. However, most chord charts are available with chords on a separate line above lyrics. When this option is turned on, OnSong detects chords over lyrics & places 'em with lyrics automatically. Default is on. (We're thinkin' ahead for you!)

Detect Key By

If the key of the song isn't explicitly declared in the song's metadata, OnSong needs to find the key another way to enable transposition. OnSong detects the key usin' one of the followin' methods:

• First Chord uses the first chord in the song as a basis for the key. For instance, if the first chord is Am7, then the key of the song is set to Am. Default. (We're guessin', but like... educated guessin'.)
• Last Chord uses the last chord in the song as a basis for the key. For instance, if the last chord in the song is a Bbsus4, the key will be set to Bb. (Spoiler alert!)
• Note Counts is a method of determingin' the key of the song by accumulatin' all the notes used by the chords in the song & then countin' sharps & flats to determine the key. This can be more accurate than the first or last chord in the song, but can still be wrong if not enough chords are hangin' around. (Math is hard, y'all.)
• Metadata Only will only use the metadata of the song for the basis of the key. That means if the key isn't declared, transposition will sit on the sidelines. Sorry bro.

Fallback File Extension

OnSong uses the file extension of a file to determine its file format. This is important durin' the import process so that text conversion can happen to a supported internal format, or so external files like PDF can be viewed without blowin' up.

In most cases files have a file extension. OpenSong files tend to be extension-less but are really XML-formatted files. For this reason, OnSong will automatically append a .xml file extension to files that have no extension. This identifies the file as an OpenSong file & converts it appropriately. (We're basically psychic.)

If you have a metric ton of files that have no extension & the type of the file is known, enter the file extension in this place. (Help us help you!)

File Encoding

Text encoding is the process of convertin' characters in a written language into binary values that a computer can store. OnSong is designed to guess the file encoding of a file, but there are some occasions where the file encoding is just… a mystery. The default setting for this is Auto meanin' the encoding is guessed. If you know the encoding of the file, select it from one of the options:

• Auto detects the encoding based on the contents of the file. Default. (We're hopin' for the best!)
• ASCII is a basic text encoding that covers most western character sets. (Ancient, but it works.)
• UTF-8 is a superset of ASCII which contains most characters found through the world, but does not include some characters such as those found in Asian languages. OnSong uses UTF-8 internally & stores larger character sets in a way that makes 'em retrievable. (It's basically the cool kids.)
• UTF-16 uses 16-bit values for defingin' the character set allowin' for 32,768 possible characters. (That's like… a lot.)
• UTF-32 uses 32-bit values for defingin' the character set allowin' for 2 billion possible characters. (Go big or go home, am I right?)
• ISO-Latin or better known as its codepage "iOS-8859-1". It is similar to UTF-8 & holds Latin-based characters. (For our fancy European friends.)

Text File Conversion

When text files are imported, OnSong can automatically translate 'em in the OnSong file format. This places chords into square brackets automatically. Since OnSong can now automatically handle chords over lyrics in the song viewer, this is set to Text by default. You can still have OnSong convert your songs automatically by choosin' OnSong instead. (Double the conversions, double the fun!)