How to Use

The TIG program updates every parameter in realtime, so you can see how any change affects the graph. The size of the graph can be altered by dragging the graph itself with the mouse. Controls for the program are divided into three sections, explained as follows.
Parameters In this section, the parameters for the actual graph are set. A graph is created as a series of salient moments (SMs). To create a new SM, simply enter some symbols into the next empty 'Symbols' slot. Symbols can be any character, roman or greek. Characters are case sensitive. Each section has a length, in bars, as specifed by the 'Number of bars' option. The time signature can be chosen using 'CDU/bar', which sets the number of constant duration units found in one bar of this SM. It is worth at this point to consider the 'Section length' option. It specifies the length of the SM, in bars. Note that this does not need to be the same as the number of bars, for example setting it to 3.5 in a 4 bar SM will cause this SM to run short, and the next one to take over half way through the last bar. Alternatively, a section length of 4.5 would cause an overrun into the bars of the next section. Clicking the clean match link will cause that section to have a length resulting in it matching up cleanly with the last bar. The fist bar has an 'Initial Offset' option, which allows the first section to be offset relative to the first bar.
The 'style' parameter allows different bar styles (like repeat) to be chosen. MT & PD exist to add labels beneath the specified SM. The 'First bar number' box allows the fisr bar number to be chosen. This will usually be 0 or 1. All bar measurements are relative to this. Tempo The second part of the parameters section is the tempo. A tempo is created using a series of 'markers'. Each marker consists of a time (in bars) and a level for the tempo to be at. Additionally, the marker dictates whether a smooth transition or an immediate one is created from the previous marker. To add new markers, as with section simply fill a number into the 'Level' box. Valid levels are from 0 - 10, where 0 is nothing at all and 10 is the entire tempo space. Starting bar determines where the marker is located. Note that this need not be an integer; bar 2.8 is a perfectly valid location for a marker. The graduate checkbox decides how the graph will look from one marker to the next. If graduate is on, the line will be smoothly interpolated from the previous marker to this one. Conversely, if graduate is off then the level will remain constant until the marker is hit, at which point there is an instantaneous jump. Note that there will be no initial visible change when not graduating, it is only when another tempo marker is added that changes will be observed.
The pauseline option is for adding a dashed line in a gap in the tempo. To create a pause, first a gap must be created. This can be achieved by first setting a marker at the beginning of the pause, with a level equal to the tempo around the pause. Next, a marker is created after, with a level of 0 and graduate turned off. This marker can be in the same location as the previous, if a slope into a pause is desired. Another marker is now placed, shortly after the zero level. This is back at the non-pause level, and graduate is turned off. Ticking the pausline box for this marker will add a dashed line. Overall, the markers may look like (e.g.)

The best way to familiarise yourself with all parameters is to experiment. Styles The styles tab allows setting of font, title, and a style for each symbol. The main font is set in the format similar to the default, e.g. '14pt Times New Roman' or '12pt Courier New'.
The Title sections allow two lines of title to be added, with a font set as above.
The Symbols section is populated by each symbol found in the graph. The options are: - Suppress- Toggles whether or not this symbol has its lines displayed at all - Colour- Sets the colour of the line. This can either be a word (like 'pink' or 'green'), or hex triplets - Thickness- Sets how thick the line is. Need not be an integer - Dash Length- Specifies the length of dashes to use. Setting this to zero creates a solid line. Note that dashed lines draw considerably slower, so you may want to consider sticking to solid lines until export for creating large graphs.
The reset button will reset all styles to default. Export/Import This tab is used to save/load parameters, and to export the graph as an image. The 'Generate Export Code' button will create a text code which can be copied and pasted/saved. This code specifies all the parameters in a TIG graph. Copying one of these codes into the import area and pressing the import button will reload the graph from the code. The export as image button will open a new browser window containing an image file of your graph.

TIG Maker by Adam Chatterley, 2010
Visual design by 2021