3MLE Quick Tips

[👑tanino]

Greetings,

Although MabiBeats ships 3MLE with all the required configurations for it to work, there are some things that could be useful to know, as such here's a few of my personal favorite tips that oddly enough not many people know.

1. The Search Function & Replace Function

Hitting the keys CTRL + F (much like any text editors) will bring up a small windows which can be used to look for snipets of text in the MML code you're working on.
It will only search in the selected track however, not the whole MML.
This window looks like this. (Due to Windows Version variations yours might look slightly different but all the buttons are at the exact same spot).

How do I use it? Simple!

1. Type what you wish to search for in the "Search what" field.
2. Click on Search Up if you want to search anywhere BEFORE your currently selected text in the MML Code, otherwise click Search Down.
3. If there is nothing found, a prompt will display informing you as such.

Here's an example GIF.

Alright, now that we know how to search, lets talk about replacing, and how it can be used.

First, the replace function is also limited to the track you have selected. It's very useful when transposing an MML up or down an octave in the event that an MML contains a lot of Midi Number Notes. These notes are marked with the letter "n" followed by a number. When you change the octave, the number notes are unaffected because they ignore octaves and instead directly tell the MML where the note should be regardless of any other conditions.
Here is what an N note looks like in an MML Code:  (Highlighted for your understanding pleasure :'D)
If you happen to be transcribing say... a Mandolin or Lyre MML to something like.. a Piano, Harp or Electric Guitar, Midi Number Notes are you worse nightmare, however fear not! This is where the Replace function comes into play.

1. To replace a part of your MML Code, you must first search for what you want to replace, as described above.
2. Then, Click on Replace, two new buttons will then appear, as well as a new text field.
   IMPORTANT: You are Replacing the content what you typed in the search field with what you type in the Replace field.
3. Clicking on Replace will replace the selected MML with what you have tpyed in the Replace What box.
   Clicking Replace All will replace ALL found matches to what you have searched for to the contents of the Replace What box.
   If you replace more than one element, a small (sadly untranslated) box will tell you how many matches were replaced.

Here is an example in which we are replacing Midi Number Notes with rests.

Now this is a CRUCIAL thing to know when dealing with Midi Number Notes, very useful and will save you A LOT of time.

2. Fix to Flickering / Invisible Tracer

You may have noticed that when you play an MML, the small vertical bar that shows you the current position of the MML playing flickers or is not showing at all.
If this annoys you, don't worry, its very easy to fix!
Go to your Settings -> Preference and do the following change.

• Under General -> Drawing Frame Rate -> Switch it from High: 60FPS to Default: 30FPS
• Save your work and reload 3MLE, your tracer should now be working!
•  

3. Registering *.MML files

If you wandered into the 3MLE settings, you may have found an option called *.MML File association, what this does is it tell Windows that .MML files should be opened with 3MLE, it will also give them a small icon instead of a blank unknown file type image.
YOU CAN ONLY CHANGE THIS SETTING IF YOU RUN 3MLE AS AN ADMINISTRATOR, to do so, right click your 3MLE exe file or shortcut and click on "Run as Administrator".

Simply click on Register to Regiser the file association, and Unregister to remove the association. If the file is already Registered it will ask if you want to override the registration. If you are not running 3MLE as an Administrator you will get an error message saying that the File Association failed.
Example

What the MML File icon looks like in Windows

 

I'll likely add some more useful tidbits about 3MLE to this. There is a lot to know that can help folks out there. Thanks for reading my thread.

Kind Regards,
tanino

Edited June 15, 2016 by tanino

[murphybridget]

It's a valuable tool for musicians and arrangers alike, helping to bridge the gap between different musical contexts.