Message from the developer

Ottavada is in the early stages of development. I tried to keep it as simple and flexible as possible, but there are still many features I would like to implement and others I have questions about.

That's why your feedback is very important. Send opinions, ideas, criticism or any other suggestion to ottavada@hotmail.com. It helps the project a lot.

Another very important thing: this documentation was designed to be as concise as possible, so read it all the way through to use the tool without confusion or headaches.

Essential concepts

How does it work?

Manage mode

It is the computer responsible for adding, editing and removing songs, scores, categories, composers, arrangers, and sending backups to the cloud provider.

Cloud Provider

It is the intermediary between the computers. It receives the files sent by the Manage mode and forwards them to the other computers.

Consult mode

It is the computer used solely to consult the songs and scores allowed by the Manage mode.

Limitations

More than one Manage mode being used at the same time

Ottavada does not support the simultaneous use of more than one Manage mode. This is an intentional architectural limitation: since Ottavada does not depend on a central server, there is no high maintenance cost for the developer, which is why the tool can be completely free, with no subscription, no charges, and nothing sold within it.

You can have more than one Manage mode, as long as they are used at different times. Since Ottavada continuously sends information to the cloud provider, having several sending at the same time can cause conflicts and data loss. If you need to use them simultaneously, you can, but assuming the risk of conflicts. A solution for this scenario is already being planned.

Telemetry and privacy

To know how many people are using Ottavada, the app collects some usage data. No personal data is collected: neither your computer name nor your organization name. This data is used only for statistics, is stored encrypted, and is never shared or sold.

Songs and scores

Now that you understand how the computers connect, let's get to the content itself. Ottavada works based on what you already have organized on your computer. It does not create a new structure: it reads the one you already use.

The idea is simple:

• Each song is a folder.
• Each score is a file inside that folder.

When you point a folder to Ottavada, it indexes it, that is, it reads the folder and the files inside it to understand that folder is song X and each file is a score for an instrument. This is called indexing a folder (directory).

Ottavada has a system that suggests names for the song and instruments. For it to work, you need:

• The folder name to be the song name.
• The file name to be the instrument name.

Example of a well-organized folder:

• Can-Can/ - Score.mscz or Can-Can - Score.mscz - Flauta.mscz or Can-Can - Flauta.mscz - Violino.mscz or Can-Can - Violino.mscz - Cello.mscz or Can-Can - Cello.mscz

With this, the suggested song name is Can-Can and the instruments: score, flauta, violino and cello. If a valid instrument is not identified in the file name, the field is left blank and must be filled in manually.

The idea came from speeding up song registration in Ottavada, observing a pattern: song name in the folder and instrument name in the file.

Rules

Ottavada applies some rules to keep the library organized and avoid conflicts. They are:

Song and Score Status

Every song and score has a status that defines what will or will not be sent to the Consult mode.

Song status:

• Send allowed: the song is sent to the Consult mode and has at least one instrument with status send allowed.
• Send not allowed: the song is not sent to the Consult mode and all its instruments have status send not allowed.
• No score: the song is not sent to the Consult mode and, in addition, has no score.

Score status:

• Send allowed: the score is sent to the Consult mode.
• Send not allowed: the score is not sent to the Consult mode.
• Ignored: the score is ignored by Ottavada, as if it didn't exist.

Example: In the image below, the Manage mode (left) has a song whose Oboe I score has status send not allowed. Note that on the Consult mode (right), that song does not appear.

Likewise, if the whole song has status send not allowed, it will also not appear on the Consult mode.

Duplicates are not allowed

Songs with the same name: you can have songs with the same name, as long as they have a different composer or arranger. For example, you can have "Can-Can" with no composer, "Can-Can" with composer X, or "Can-Can" with composer X and arranger Y — these are considered different songs.

However, if you add a song with no composer and no arranger, and then try to add another with the same name also with no composer and no arranger, it will be considered a duplicate. Likewise, if you add a song with composer X, and then try to add another with the same name and composer X, it will also be a duplicate.

Scores with the same name: it is not allowed to have the same instrument twice in the same song, for example: Violino and Violino. You need to differentiate them, e.g.: Violino I and Violino II or Violino and Violino (Solo). Even files with different extensions, e.g.: Violino.mus and Violino.pdf, are considered duplicates.

Installation

On the home page, click Download for free.

The "ottavada.cmd" file will be downloaded; when you click it, a warning will appear, but just click Run.

The installation script will open, detecting your operating system and installing Ottavada accordingly.

After installation, Ottavada will start.

First steps

When you open Ottavada for the first time, the configuration step will start.

Step 1: Select Language

Here you select the language you want Ottavada to use. The app suggests a language based on your computer's settings, but you can change it to your preference.

Step 2: Usage mode

Here you select the usage mode. There are two:

• Manage mode: responsible for adding, editing and removing songs and scores, controlling what goes or doesn't go to the other computers.
• Consult mode: used only for reading the songs and scores that the Manage mode has made available.

Step 3: Computer Name and Organization or Institution Name

Here you just enter your computer name (for example: "Home Computer" or "Orchestra Computer") and, in the other field, the name of the orchestra, band, institution or just a name for personal use.

Step 4: Cloud Provider Configuration

Currently Ottavada supports Koofr (recommended) and Google Drive. Koofr is recommended because it is much faster than Google Drive, but, on the other hand, it is more cumbersome to set up.

Koofr

If you don't have an account, go to: Koofr or search for koofr on Google. I recommend creating the account through Google: the process is faster.

Logged into Koofr and on the Drive home page, click in the upper right corner and select Preferences.

Go to Password. Under App Passwords, enter a name (for example: "Ottavada") and click Generate.

A pop-up will open with your generated password; click the Copy button.

I recommend saving this password: it will be used on your other computers with Ottavada.

Back in Ottavada, enter the email you used to access Koofr (if you signed up with Gmail, use the same Gmail email) and then the password you copied.

Google Drive

This is much simpler than Koofr, but, on the other hand, it is much slower. Just click the Configure and test Google Drive button. Your browser will open so you can select an account and you're done.

Step 5: Review of information

And finally, we have the information review screen, showing the computer name, the orchestra or institution name, the usage mode, and the cloud provider.

Adding music

As explained in Essential concepts, Ottavada indexes folders and suggests names based on the pattern: song name in the folder and instrument name in the file.

Folder and files from the example:

Folder:

Files inside the folder:

Now let's see it in practice: to index a directory, click the folder-with-magnifying-glass icon, in the top right.

When you click, the File Explorer will open. Navigate to the folder with the scores, select it and click Select folder.

A modal will appear with the fields Song Name, Composer Name, Arranger Name and the instruments. Each file is considered an instrument by Ottavada. So even though the score with all instruments together is not a specific instrument, it is considered an instrument with names like Score, Grade or others.

Sending to the cloud

After adding your songs, it's time to send them to the cloud provider, and the process is quite simple. Just click the sync icon (two arrows forming a circle), located next to the add-score button.

When you click the sync icon, Ottavada scans all the songs and scores you have added, modified or removed, and opens the report modal. In the example, only one song and a few instruments were added, so the image only shows that, but if there were other changes they would also appear.

The upload to the cloud is only actually performed after you click continue. When you do, a progress bar will appear showing the upload progress for songs and scores.

Making changes

Example: we need to change the Oboe I score. Open the song by clicking on it and double-click the Oboe I score.

In this case, it is a .mscz file, which opens on your computer with MuseScore. On the left is the score before the change, and on the right the modified one (the section marked in red was added).

After making the change, click the sync icon (two arrows forming a circle). The report will show that the file was changed and the status will change to send not allowed.

If the change is not ready yet: click continue. The score will be sent with status send not allowed and will not appear in Consult mode.

When the change is ready: click cancel in the report. Then go to the song and the score.

The status will be send not allowed (because the score was changed). Click the three dots and select Allow sending.

Now, when you click the sync icon again, the report will show the status as send allowed and the score will be sent to Consult mode. The process is the same as described in sending to the cloud.

Downloading in Consult mode

Installing in Consult mode

The process is the same as the installation topic. The only difference is that, in step 2, you select Consult mode.

On the Ottavada home screen, click the sync icon.

The download progress for songs and scores will be shown.

And that's it, that simple. What was added, modified, or even removed on the Manage mode already appears on the Consult mode. In our example only an addition and a change were made (the Oboe I score was changed, but since it was set to status send allowed it appeared).

Restoring a backup

Let's simulate that your computer broke and you bought a new one, and you need to recover all the songs/scores. It is very simple and they come back in the same place they were on the old computer.

You need to install Ottavada on the computer and follow the installation procedures; in step 2, select Manage mode and use the same cloud provider and credentials (for Koofr, email and app password; for Google Drive, account access).

Just go to settings (gear icon).

Scroll down to the cloud backup section and click import backup.

The progress will be shown and at the end the files will be in the original folders and also in Ottavada.

Support

If you have any questions, contact us by email ottavada@hotmail.com or use the chatbot in the lower corner of the screen.