Robert's new last note length feature

[terminator356]

I saw mentioned 'pianoroll dynamic event lengths'. I've got to pipe up here.

I mentioned recently what I think is needed is a length snap box.
We currently snap lengths to our snap grid lines. This may not be what users want in some cases.
I think it would benefit many users to be able to say that they want to place say, eighth notes
onto a quarter note grid without having to fool around with our snap box just to get new notes
to snap their length to an eighth note grid line.
In other words just like a score editor. It feels more natural to say "I want to place eighth notes,
anywhere, regardless of grid snap setting".

Yesterday I thought about it some more, still unsure about details. May or may not work, just some ideas:

1. The 'length' snap box will be identical to our existing positional snap box -
   except it will have two extra items:
   'Use position snap grid': To behave exactly as it does now. Snaps any length to our positional grid.
   'Use last length value': To do what Robert's optional feature does now.
   (Thus you could eliminate your new global setting for this 'last event length' feature.)

2. It might be desirable to optionally have this length snap box show the length of a note when selected,
   similar to the numeric length boxes. But odd length values might not be represented
   by any of the snap values in the box, so there would be no item to select and highlight in the box.
   So I felt that the length snap box should work more closely in conjunction with the numeric length box,
   maybe even be located next to it.
   If that fails, I felt that instead the length snap box should be fairly static and never change with selected notes.
   It will be strictly for snapping the length of new notes and adjusted existing notes.
   The numeric length boxes will show a handy additional small note icon (or the note's numeric value),
   whenever the length is exactly equal to one of the snap values.
   So for example whenever the numeric length BBT box says 0.2.0 we could show a half note icon.
   You see, the problem with those numeric boxes is that a value like 0.0.192 is not easy for the user
   to recognize as a precise eighth note.
   So this intermittent small extra note icon or text would help identify any precise note values.
   If the idea regarding selected notes mentioned above works, the length snap box could also show
   that selected note length value.
   (I previously considered showing note icons in the snap boxes. But at small snap values such as
   sixty-fourth or 128th notes, the note stems would be ridiculously long, and still smaller values than that
   don't really have an icon. Yet now I am suggesting using icons in the numeric boxes. Hm... Find a way
   to be consistent and make them both show icons? Maybe only show them down to thirty-second notes?)

3. A question came up: When the length snap box is showing a value ie. not on 'Use position snap grid',
   then we are dealing with two different snap box values: One for position and the other for length.
   When the user is attempting to place notes on the canvas while the length snap box says 'eighth-note'
   and the position snap box says 'half-note', it would be helpful if the grid showed all the possible
   length snapping lines instead of just the positional snapping lines.
   Thus let us introduce something new: The Length Snapping Grid.
   This grid is intermittent, it only shows when a length is being adjusted.
   This grid is anchored at the other end of the item you are adjusting. So if you are adjusting
   the item's right border, this grid is anchored at the item's left border. If you are adjusting
   the item's left border, this grid is anchored at the item's right border.
   Although we could blank out the positional grid while the length grid is showing,
   it would be best to show both at the same time. A likely candidate for these lines is
   full white or bright yellow, and patterned, to distinguish them from the positional grid lines.

Well, something like that. Still thinking how to make this all work.
Especially the harmony between the numeric boxes and the length snap box.