Hello,
I just downloaded v3.9.33 today, and began playing with it by writing a ChordPro file, and embedding abcnotation. MobileSheets seems to ignore this notation in my particular file. I've studied the syntax, and I can't find what I've done wrong. See attached.
I wrote the ChordPro file on a Windows 10 PC, and then opened it using MobileSheets on Android(I don't have it installed on Windows...yet). I am using Notepad++ v8.9.1, and UTF-8.
I was able to edit the file using the editor in MobileSheets on Android, and tried a few things(adding blank lines around the directives, for example) and saving in MobileSheets to no avail.
FWIW, I'm super excited to start transitioning away from paper to digital sheet music, and this is the app I chose, in part based on being able to use abc notation in some of my charts. I'm encouraged to see it working for others, so I'm hoping my file has a mistake.
I'm disappointed that the abc2svg library seems to be very sensitive to unnecessary empty lines, but VERY happy to know the simple fix. And very quickly!
One of the reasons I added the empty lines is guidance from abcnotation. I will try to find that source, and document it here, although I don't know how to resolve the apparent misdirection. Maybe wise to mention this in the Manual?
BTW, I did not find mention of {start_of_abc}, {end_of_abc} in the manual: MobileSheets. I must have found an example elsewhere in the forum, and not paid attention to no blank lines.
Regardless, I am SUPER stoked about being able to add little snippets like this! Woohoo!
Glad I could help! I also confirmed that it's not just MobileSheets - if you insert empty lines and test it on sites such as http://moinejf.free.fr/js/edit-1.xhtml, it doesn't render.
As far as I know "no empty lines" is ABC standard. A song in ABC starts with a line beginning with X: and ends at the first empty line. {start_of_abc} / {end_of_abc} are the ChordPro directives that wrap the abc code for embedding it into ChordPro.
My tip: you can open ChordPro files with embedded ABC in several ABC editors. It's helpful for WYSIWYG editing. Only the ABC section is shown and can be edited.
X:<integer number> is mandatory to define the beginning of a valid song. The number doesn't matter, it's the song number in case the song is part of a multi tune ABC songbook.
Add an empty line between the end of the ABC code of the song and {end_of_abc} to define the end of the song
Jef Moines online ABC editor http://moinejf.free.fr/js/edit-1.xhtml is the reference for abc2svg, it provides helpful messages in case of ABC syntax errors
If the empty line before {end_of_abc} is missing, {end_of_abc} is reported as not being valid ABC code.
To open ChordPro files in EasyABC you need to select "Any file (*.*)" in the file open dialog.
If the empty line before {end_of_abc} is missing, EasyABC tries to interpret the part of {end_of_abc} that is valid ABC code and ignores the invalid characters:
ABCarus has a dedicated ChordPro option for opening files
an X: directive is mandatory as always
If the empty line before {end_of_abc} is missing, ABCarus just ignores {end_of_abc}, no strange notes, no error messages
It can be installed on Windows, Mac and Linux.
A portable version for Windows is available (but takes a bit long to start)
If the ChordPro reference implementation (does a better short name for this program exist?) is installed, a ChordPro preview is available
It uses abc2svg like MobileSheets, Jef Maines online editor and the ChordPro reference implementation, so there are little to no compatibility issues.
So ABCarus has a number of advantages compared to the editors I mentioned before.
an X: directive is mandatory as always
If the empty line before {end_of_abc} is missing, ABC Tools just ignores {end_of_abc}, no strange notes, no error messages
To open ChordPro files with embedded ABC code, just rename the file to e.g. .abc or .txt (probably any other supported file extension should work too)
ABC Tools has a huge number of interesting features. Just investigate yourself.
I'd expect that the mentioned online editors also work fine in a browser on Android, but I didn't try it myself.
Has anybody tried that and would like to share his experiences?
How about using them offline, when no internet connection is available?
I haven't used Michael Eskin's ABC Tools much since they don't use abc2svg. But his work and dedication are really impressive. I wanted just to say there was an iteration that was intended to work offline, too. I'm not sure if it is still available or abandoned since I couldn't find it any more (but didn't try hard).
(09-15-2025, 03:16 AM)itsme Wrote: It worked even better then in the ChordPro reference implementation because MobileSheets provides the option to decide if it shall transpose up or down. This is a choice that I need badly and alas I never managed to convince Johan to implement that.
This will be in the next release of ChordPro.
(03-11-2026, 06:37 PM)itsme Wrote: If the ChordPro reference implementation (does a better short name for this program exist?) is installed,
Just call it `ChordPro`. Usually it is clear from the context whether you mean the standard or the tool.
(03-11-2026, 07:16 PM)itsme Wrote: Still open: Android
I'd expect that the mentioned online editors also work fine in a browser on Android, but I didn't try it myself.
Has anybody tried that and would like to share his experiences?
How about using them offline, when no internet connection is available?
I just tried Jef Moines online ABC editor http://moinejf.free.fr/js/edit-1.xhtml on my Android tablet. Unfortunately, the part of the screen that renders abc is nowhere to be found. Even making intentional mistakes, like misspelling or deleting the X1 line has no effect. No errors, and nothing ever displays.
