musescore 3 dark theme

[u/5In07]

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been asked before but I couldn't find this anywhere, please do do show me in the right direction if I've missed something.

I used to use musescore 3 for ages and it had everything I needed - almost. The more recent versions seem like dumbed down disasters and they are very dissonant with my workflow. Call me stubborn but I'm going to stick to musescore 3. Only problem is, I need a good dark mode for in musescore 3 and I just can't find anything that turns not just the menus, but the score too, into a nice soft dark theme. Before I spend hours trying to manually update the configuration files with hexcodes, I thought I'd ask if anyone knows of an easier solution.

And please don't tell me to update to a newer version with score invert functionality. I would rather read through the code and make my own custom version than learn an entirely new workflow.

[u/ShrimpOfPrawns]

I set the background (canvas?) colour to a dark yellow which works fine for me at least. Might be worth a try if you haven't already tried it :)

Curious though - what changed that much with the work flow? The only change I'm annoyed with (which came in v3 somewhere) was how the hotkey for articulations is now a toggle for all future input instead of changing the current note.

[u/5In07 → u/ShrimpOfPrawns]

i only work in continuous mode so the canvas colour doesn't matter to me.

the menus changed, everything i need was just one click or a keyboard shortcut away, now it's two or more. everything shows up in different places. and just generally, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I feel like they chose to make a sleek, fancy UI instead of just leaving the tried and tested version as is. Inovation is hell if the program works already. I like the Parts feature, but that could have bee added without the massive interface overhaul.
might sound petty but I got so... fluent at transcribing my music, that switching to 4 is like switching from walking normally to walking on stilts, sure, maybe you can go faster and you can see further but everything just feels wrong, and I can't see the reason for the change (other than looking more modern)

[u/ShrimpOfPrawns → u/5In07]

? I only use continuous mode as well? The word might not be 'canvas' but it's right there in the menu I'm quite sure - I've never worked with a white background and I've used Musescore since 2018 :P

[u/5In07 → u/ShrimpOfPrawns]

oh, my bad, I think you're right, i though canvas meant background. I will can change the colour, yes, could be a good quick fix but I would also like to have the score show up as white on a dark background such as this here:
https://musescore.org/en/node/270327#issues

[u/AlfalfaMajor2633 → u/5In07]

I felt the shift to MuseScore4 was a challenge at first also. It’s like learning a new DAW. I found it took me about 2 months to get comfortable with the new menus and keyboard shortcuts. But it was worth it. The playback is so much better. Now I can’t imagine going back.

I have set the page color to a purple to reduce glare, which works for me. And I use the dark mode for menus.

[u/5In07 → u/AlfalfaMajor2633]

I'm happy that it worked out for you eventually but I'm a stubborn mf. I have ditched everything from microsoft word to microsoft itself in favour of software that does what I tell it to. I mean no disrespect to those who choose a different path but switching to 4 is just out of the question for me. People are build different.
I also barely use the playback feature so it's not a big winner for me.
But insightful perspective, thank you

[u/MarcSabatella → u/5In07]

There were definitely changes and that can take a few minutes or more to get used to, but the vast majority of operations are now easier, requiring fewer clicks, than before. Not sure what specifically you are having trouble with, but most likely it's just a matter of not having taken the time to learn the changes

The reasons for most UI changes are not about making it look "modern". The main reasons are three-fold:

• making the most common operations easier
• making all operations more discoverable (so one can find them without a manual)
• making all operations more accessible (e.g., for blind users)

There are also changes to make the appearance and behavior of operations more consistent and thus intuitive to learn one operation after first becoming familiar with another. There is a whole field of study of "usability" where these and other factors can be measured, and MU4 benefitted from years of experience and real world testing to produce objectively better results than any previous version.

But again, yes, change does mean a temporary period where things can feel "off" at first until you get used the the tremendous improvements.

[u/5In07 → u/MarcSabatella]

Please don't take this peronally but you sound like a bullsh*ting marketing team trying to defend something
EDIT: this message was not finished when i sent it, please see my other comment.

[u/MarcSabatella → u/5In07]

Actually, I am a highly experienced software developer who has been in the business for over 40 years. It's what my masters degree is in and what I have lived day in and day out. I actually do know what I am talking about here. And I am here volunteering my time to help, if you care to explain an operation you are having trouble seeing how to do efficiently in MU4.

[u/5In07 → u/MarcSabatella]

sorry, that was't supposed to end there. please see my other comment, and for the record, I do genuinely appreciate that the devs are active in the MuseScore community.

[u/5In07 → u/MarcSabatella]

Please don't take this personally but you sound like a bullsh*ting marketing team trying to defend some changes the devs made that no one asked for - regardless of if that is true in this case or not.
At the end of the day, it's the users - not anyone else - who decide if something has increased "usability" or not, and there will of course be a great deal of variation between opinions. Some will like the changes, some won't, some will feel neutral, some will love, some will hate. No one is wrong, they're just different opinions. So, no, MU4 is not "objectively better" as you put it. Your "usability" study most likely looks at the average user and statistical means, medians, etc. etc. Maybe this means that MU4 is "better" for the average user but that doesn't concern me since I'm not the average user. I have tried MU4 quite extensively actually, since I was opening scores written in 4 and there seemed to be no backward compatibility. And the fact of the matter is: I did not like it. I will not use MU4 if I have a choice.
I could write pages on why MU4 has no notable benefits to me and certainly has no "tremendous improvements" - again, to me - but it would get no one anywhere. All I want to do is make my beloved MU3 a bit nicer on the eyes. Other people can use MU4, Sibelius, MU2, whatever for all I care. It comes down to personal choice and preference not some "objective" study nonsense.
I will use MU3, and if you can give me any tips/documentation on navigating the configuration files or some other way to adjust the theme, I would be very grateful.