FrettyCharts Help Manual

Getting Started

Introduction

Sample Gallery

Using the Application

Managing Projects

Product Registration

Editing

Adding a Chord

Adding a Scale

Adding a Group

Editing Chords

Editing Scales

Setting the Tuning

Rendering

Render Project

Render Item

Printing

Styles

Managing Styles

General Settings

Preview

Colors

Text and Fonts

Sizing

Spacing

Fret Layout

Markers

Barre Chords

Display Items

Project Settings

HTML Rendering

MIDI Audio

Chord Naming Rules

Using the Chord Editor

The chord editor allows you to set the fingerings for the selected chord. There are several features in this editor, which you can find using the toolbar above the guitar neck, as show below.

Adding a Fretted Note

Using the toolbar, select the note symbol that you want to add to the chord. Select the first black circle to just mark the fret. The toolbar items with numbers in them will mark the fret with the number inside. This makes it possible to indicate things like left-hand fingering or the note's position in the chord.

Adding an Open String

For open strings, click the circle with "0" in it and then click the string. Alternatively, you can just click the string behind the nut on the guitar neck.

Muting a String

Select the toolbar item with the "X" in it, and then click anywhere on the string that you want to mute.

Erasing a Note

In the toolbar, check the "Erase" option and you will see the cursor turn into an eraser. Click on any note that you wish to remove, and the string will revert to an open string. To change the note on a particular string, just click the new fret and the old one will disappear automatically.

Remove Everything

Click the "Clear All" option in the toolbar to remove all entries in this chord, and go back to the beginning.

Undo/Redo

If you make a mistake, or clear something that you wanted, use the "undo" and "redo" actions in the "Edit" menu to restore your changes. The standard hotkeys, "Control-Z" for undo, and "Control-Y" for redo will also work.

Barre Chords

The chord editor allows you to add as many barre chords as you like. The example below shows the common double barre chord used to play major chords.

Adding a Barre

To work with barre chords, check the toolbar item "Barre". You will see the cursor icon change to show that we are editing barres now. With this cursor, click the fret at the top or bottom of the barre chord, and then drag the mouse to the end of the barre. You will see the edited barre colored blue while editing. When you finishing dragging the mouse and release it, the barre will be created and displayed in the editor.

Editing a Barre

To change the position of the barre chord, make sure that the "Barre" option is selected in the toolbar and then click either end of the barre. You will again see the barre turn blue, and can change either end by dragging the mouse.

Removing a Barre

To remove a barre, you must make sure the "Barre" option is selected in the toolbar as well as the "Erase" option. You will see a cursor icon with both the barre and the eraser. Then simply click on either end of the barre and it will be erased.

Barre Styles

When it comes to rendering your chord images there are several barre styles to choose from. More information about these options is provided in the Style section. When you change the barre style you can view it with the Preview tab in the style editor. Note that the chord editor always uses the same default barre style.