MusicMaster Blog

By Drew Bennett

One of the most common phone calls we get is how to change a layout. Many times, our customers have been so conditioned to accept the layout they are given in a music scheduler like DOS or other Windows-based software that some of them don’t even know they have the choice of what fields to see or not see on the screen!

One of the main differences between MusicMaster and other music schedulers out there is that MusicMaster offers a custom database. You want that field in your data? It’s yours. Have you ever wanted a special keyword field to separate local artists or maybe you’ve always needed an extra field for song notes? MusicMaster is the only scheduler that can give that to you. With a custom database come other customized solutions like layouts. Here’s where you get to make MusicMaster your own.

Layouts need to be created, loaded and saved. There are three icons for that and these are highlighted in the screenshot below.

The icon in the middle changes a layout. The icon to the left loads a saved layout and the icon on the right saves a layout.

Open the Show/Hide fields screen and this is what pops up:

Here is where you make your layout change. Notice a list of fields on the left and a list of fields in the middle. The list of fields on the left is every field in the database that is not in the current layout. Every field in the middle is currently in the layout and the order of fields is the order you will see them in the layout. It’s a simple drag and drop from left to right to add a field into the layout. Use the single arrow icons to move fields in and out of the layout. Double Arrow icons are used to move all fields in or out. Additionally, you may move fields around inside the Selected Fields section to get just the right layout you’re looking for.

That’s not all! On the right side of the Show/Hide Fields screen you can change color schemes for music, non-music, marked songs and uncategorized songs. You can change type face, size of font and even how grid lines look around song cards.

When you are finished making changes, click OK to see how you’ve done. You can save this layout by choosing the Saved Layout icon to the right of the Show/Hide Field icon. To load a layout, choose the Load Layout icon to the left of the Show/Hide Fields icon. Choose the layout you’d like to load and choose OK.

See? Now you can customize a song card in MusicMaster to show you only what you wish to see! It’s a unique feature to MusicMaster and we think it’s a difference maker in the search for a MusicScheduler. Did you know you can make layout changes in other sections of MusicMaster? Try your hand at layout changes in the Schedule Editor, Replacement Grid and Song Card Editor. Look for the same familiar blue icons. If you have a question about this or any of the features in MusicMaster, please don’t hesitate to call your assigned MusicMaster Music Scheduling Consultant and happy scheduling!