TablEdit Users Say:

"I can heartily recommend TablEdit for those who are really interested in learning about music. My violin teacher, introduced me to the program, and we use the mandolin setting to prepare music for the violin.

I have used the program a lot, and I really enjoyed it, used it at church, at school, and for personal use as well.

I just have good things to say about this program and would highly recommend it."
Douglas Phillip - New Brunswick, Canada

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TEFview for iOS Help


TEFpad for iOS is a light weight editor of TablEdit files (.tef format) initially designed for the iPad. It is now compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.
Just like TEFview for iOS, our free file viewer, TEFpad opens, displays, prints (as PDF) and plays all .tef files. It imports as well many types of music files: ASCII tablatures, ABC files, XML Music, MIDI, TabRite, Guitar Pro, PowerTab...

TEFview for iOS is an app that allows you to view, to print and play tablatures created in TablEdit Tablature Editor (or TEFpad) on your iPad, iPod or iPhone. It also imports ASCII, MIDI, ABC, PowerTab, Guitar Pro and MusicXML files as well.

The User Interface

By default, rotating the device switches to Page Mode (portrait) or Rows Mode (landscape). The Page Mode however is used if there is only one instrument.

In "Page Mode" TEFviewTEFpad displays the tablature and/or the notation of the active instrument only on multiple rows, using the entire height of the screen.

In "Rows Mode" TEFviewTEFpad displays the contents of all instruments contained within the tablature in stacked rows. Each instrument occupies one row.

The Toolbar

In the toolbar from left to right:

  • the button starts the playback or stops it. If you don't hear any sound, check the mute switch isn't set in the Control Center.
    By default TEFviewTEFpad plays from the current measure (the one where the cursor is) to the end. However, if you have selected several notes, TEFviewTEFpad will only play the selection.
    During playback, extra buttons appear:
    • The button toggles the repeat mode on/off.
    • The button pauses the playback.
    • The button restarts the playback from the beginning.
    By tapping the screen. you restart the playback from the position where you touched the screen.
  • the button opens the Print Preview.
  • the button allows you to display and to change the MIDI attributes of the instruments in real time. The bar button allows to mute on/off all of the instruments. You can also transpose the full score by using the pitch slider.
  • the button opens the Options window.
  • the title information. Tapping on this area displays the Information and Notes dialog. If the document is editable, you can edit the different fields.
    During playback, this area displays: the time elapsed, the tempo and the relative speed, and a slider to change the relative speed.
  • the button allows you to create a new file. This file can be saved without any restriction. You can eventually reopen it in TablEdit, the desktop app.
  • the button opens the Directory View. After a long press, it displays the file history menu.
  • the button allows to save the document. It is only active if changes have been made to the document. The "Save As" dialog box appears as soon as you want to open or create another file after the partition has been modified.
    If the file has not been created by TEFpad, TEFpad LE can only save 16 4/4 measures. TEFpad Pro removes this limitation.
    To export the score as MIDI, ABC, Music XML or ASCII file, just tap the corresponding button in the "Save As" dialog.
    The blue button works as an option that also allows you to save the file on the Cloud or in another app. Highlight the blue folder then tap "Save".
  • the button enters in Edit mode to change the contents of the score.

Options and Preferences Window

The option popover has four tabs:
  1. The tab allows you to:
    • force Page or Rows screen mode regardless of device orientation
    • display the tablature, the notation or both,
    • adjust the scale view, i.e. the bar width on display,
    • change the orientation of the note stems in the tablature,
    • set the metronome click () or ask TEFviewTEFpad to mark the beat for one measure before to start the playback (),
    • change the background color and the foreground color, ie the color of the various partition elements (lines, notes, tablature numbers...).
  2. The tab allows you to fix and to reset the parameters of the MIDI synthesizer. To change the current sound font, load the desired .sf2 file in your document directory then open it with the Directory View. The button "Create TEFpad.wav" allows you to create a wav from the current score. TEFpad will play the current score in TEFpad.wav. Upon completion, TEFpad.wav will be available in the Directory View. This file can be opened and converted (in mp3 e.g.) with any media player (like VLC).
  3. The tab. By changing the "Note names" option, you can replace the letters C, D, E, F, G, A and B by their French equivalents Do, Ré, Mi, etc... or replace just the B natural by the H commonly used in Sweden and Germany. You can also define your preferred instrument. This instrument will be used when you create a new tablature or import a MIDI or an ABC file. At last, you can activate the "Tablanote EmaB" option that displays in the tablature the numbers prefixed by the note name.
  4. The tab lets you define the vertical spacing between lines and systems and, in the case of multi-instrument scores, define for each instrument whether you want to display the musical score and/or tablature.

File Management

The Directory View allows you to select one of the .tef, .txt, .abc, .mid, .ptb, .gp, .bjo, .zip or .xml files present in the document directory of the application. It also allows to navigate in the sub-directories. Once the file or the sub-directory has been selected, tap the button of the toolbar to open it. You can also simply double tap the file you want to open. In the case of an ABC file or a ZIP file, a secondary view opens allowing you to browse the tunes in the file.

You can easily add files from Mail or Safari. Just tap on any file you want to download, then select Open with TEFviewTEFpad.

The blue button , next to the search area, opens the Files system app. This allows to select files located outside TEFviewTEFpad, for example on the cloud or in another application. The selected files are imported into the app. The original file is not affected by your changes unless you select the Export option in the "Save As" dialog.

The best way to load many files at once consists of using iTunes File Sharing:
  • connect your device to your computer,
  • in iTunes, select your device,
  • click on the Apps tab,
  • in the File Sharing section, select TEFviewTEFpad,
  • click the Add button to select the files you want to upload from your computer to your device.
The button shows you the IP address of your device. Type this address in your Web browser on your computer to obtain a listing of the document directory on your device. You can transfer the files listed on your device to your computer or from your computer to your device and even delete files from your device.

The button gives you other options. If the selected item is a file, you can copy (or move) it in a subdirectory or rename it. You can create a new subdirectory with the + button. If the selected item is a subdirectory, you can only rename it.
The subdirectory PlayList, which is created automatically by TEFviewTEFpad, has special properties: You can start the playback of all files it contains by pressing the button .

Finally, at the left end of the toolbar of the Directory View, the button allows you to delete unwanted file(s). The button emails the selected file as attachment.

The button dismisses the Directory View.

The contextual menu

A long press on the main screen invokes a contextual menu which presents the following features:
  • Copy, Cut, Paste: TEFpad LE doesn't allow you to copy data from one file and paste them to a new created one. TEFpad Pro removes this limitation.
  • Import: the Import feature allows you to import the text you've pasted in the clipboard as an ASCII tab or as an ABC tune. TEFviewTEFpad should be able to recognize the type of data by analyzing the text. If you have copied an ASCII tab, TEFviewTEFpad will deduce the number of strings but it cannot recognize the time signature (4/4 by default). So it is better to type it at the beginning of the text.
    The import is performed in the tuning you have defined in the tab of the Options view whenever possible.
  • Measures: Invokes the Measures popover to go to a specific measure or to edit the measures.

Importing an image

This exclusive function allows you to import score images into the application.
The application only imports the tablature. The possible staff is ignored but will be used to locate the rhythm if the tablature does not contain note stems.
Depending on the number of lines per system, the application creates a tablature for dulcimer, mandolin, banjo or guitar. The tuning of the instrument is not recognized, so it must be adjusted before or after importing.
The application treats most image formats (png, jpeg, tif, gif, bmp) as well as pdf files.
To select a file to import, you will use the blue button at the top right of the file explorer. If you have copied an image to the clipboard, the Import command in the contextual menu opens the dialog box with that image.

Editing mode

Tap the button. TEFpad displays a ruler at the bottom of the screen - which allows you to find your way around the score – and a special keyboard with three rows of buttons that allow you to perform the most common editing actions:
  • the buttons "1" to "0" to insert a number in the tablature.
  • the button inserts a note in the notation. If you tap the enter button while the cursor is located into the tablature, you toggle the auto-advance mode on/off. In Auto-Advance mode, the button turns green.
  • the button inserts a rest in the score.
  • the buttons "-" and "+" increase or decrease the selected notes by a semitone.
  • the buttons and move the note from one string to another.
  • to the right of the button is a wider button.
    When a note is selected, this button displays the pitch of the selected note. Depending on the context, it inserts a note in the staff or activates a palette that allows you to change the accidental symbol to be displayed, the orientation of note stems (in the staff) or the appearance of the number in the tablature ().
    When an element other than a note is selected, the button displays the type of element. This button opens the Format dialog box, which lets you change the appearance of the element.
  • to the right of this wider button is the duration button that displays the duration of the currently selected note in the score, the current default duration for the next entered note or, in automatic duration mode, the duration that would be applied to a newly inserted note.
    When tapped, this button displays a palette to change the duration of the selected note(s) and the default duration (aka current duration). In the palette, the button corresponding to the current duration appears as selected. The duration of the note currently selected in the score is framed by a purple border. Tap the button to select/deselect automatic duration mode.
  • the next two buttons to the right of the duration button are effect and velocity. To add a special effect to the selected notes or change their volume, tap the related button to display the Effect palette or the Velocity palette. The button that represents the current effect and velocity appear as selected in the palette. The effect and velocity of the current selected note in the score is framed by a purple border.
  • The toolbox () button opens a sub-palette which allows you to insert:
    • a text in the score.
    • a chord diagram in the score.
    • various stroke and fingering indicators.
    • a tempo change.
    • a grace note.
    • a musical symbol.
  • The button allows you to create simple repeat and ending guides. Move the cursor to the measure and select the desired attribute. When you are finished, the button validates the reading list in order the MIDI playback matches the inserted repeat signs.

On iPhone or iPod, certain buttons are only available in landscape orientation. The two following buttons are only available on the iPad:

  • The button selects the whole score.
  • Tap the button to align the selected notes with the nearest note of the duration selected in the Quantize palette.

To change the time signature or the key signature, tap the corresponding area of the screen. The Score modal window that opens allows you also to change the tempo, the triplet feel and to transpose the score.
The "Measures" button allows allows adding, deleting, copying or cutting measures.

To edit the instruments or to change their tuning, tap the area where the tuning of the current instrument is displayed. This opens the Instrument modal window.

TEFpad also accepts TablEdit keyboard shortcuts. To reveal the standard virtual keyboard, tap the "ABC" button. To return to the TEFpad special keyboard, tap the "Done" button on the virtual keyboard.

To hide the keyboard, tap the button.

Print Preview

The "Print Preview" window shows the score as it will be printed. This allows you to visually proof the printout of your tablature without having to actually print it. When printed a PDF is created with the same name as the tablature.

To exit the Print Preview, tap the Cancel button at the upper left of the screen.

In the Print Preview navigation bar from left to right:

  • the button opens the Print Options window that allows you to:
    • Cancel - close the dialog and discard all changes. Tapping outside the dialog or pressing the device Back button also closes the dialog and discards any changes.
    • Apply - close the dialog, save and apply the changes to the print preview.
    • The scrollable instrument list displays the first two instruments in the score. Additional instruments can be displayed by scrolling the list up and down. The instruments list enables you to customize what to print for each instrument. By default, all instruments are printed based on the tablature/notation display option selected in the Settings dialog. This list, however, allows you to specify a different printout mode for each individual instrument. NOTE: these settings affect only what is printed and does not alter how the instruments are displayed in the edit view.
    • Vertical spacings between:
      • Tablature lines - adjust vertical spacing of the tablature lines
      • Notation tab - adjust vertical spacing between the notation and tablature
      • Systems - adjust vertical spacing between the systems
    • Connecting Lines - To display connecting lines between systems of multi-instrument scores or between the notation and the tablature of a single instrument. You can choose to display connecting lines only at the left and right edges of the page or for each measure.
    These first options also affect the score display on the screen.
    • Proportional Spacing switch:
      • OFF - set the number of fixed width measures per line
      • ON - use proportional note spacing to adjust the width of measures based on the notes in each measure
    • Adjust Page Number switch:
      • OFF - adjust the print scale
      • ON - adjust the print settings so the printed score fits on a specified number of pages
    • Measure Numbers switch - set ON to print measure numbers
      • For all measures switch - set OFF to print measure number only for first measure of each system. Set ON to print measure number for all measures. This switch is disabled if the Measure Numbers switch is OFF
    • Paper Size selector - change the size of the paper (A4 or US Letter).
    • Paper Orientation selector - change the orientation of the paper (landscape or portrait).
    • Margins - set the top, left, bottom and right margins.

  • the button creates a pdf file from the current score. You can share the pdf by email or print it directly to a compatible AirPrint Printer. creates a PDF of the tablature or open it in any installed app that is able to handle a PDF.

Miscellaneous

In the top-right corner, the button displays the About dialog and this help file.

Stretching or pinching the screen zooms in and out.

Tap the top edge of the screen: - left of center to move backward one measure - right of center to move forward.

Tap the right edge of the screen - above center to move backward one measure (Rows mode) or one line of measures (Page Mode) - below center to move forward.

In order to select several complete measures, tap first on the first measure to be selected and then tap on the last measure to be selected with two fingers.

Tap the status bar to rewind to the first measure.

The or button in the right-bottom corner of the screen allows to display a palette containing the fingerboard of the instrument or a piano keyboard. This board palette can be moved by dragging its right edge. The notes at the current position (below the cursor) are highlighted. If you made an extended selection in the score, the fingerboard shows the different available fingerings for the selected note(s). The board palette is also a convenient way to insert notes in the score.

Final Note

This help is intentionally simple and short. To use efficiently TEFpad, you have to master TablEdit basic concepts. For this purpose, we strongly suggest these online resources: