Yo, .txt Files (We Got U)

When OnSong imports certain files, it's basically like asking a toddler to read ancient hieroglyphics. We'll need you to give it a lil' hint about the file encoding or format. Text File Handling settings? Yeah, that's us trying to teach OnSong how to not blow up when it runs into weird stuff.

Fallback File Extension

OnSong uses the file extension of a file to determine its file format. Riveting stuff, we know. This matters during import so text conversion can actually happen to something OnSong understands, or so external files like PDF don't just explode into confetti.

Most files have extensions. Cool. OpenSong files? Totes extension-less but are really just XML files pretending to be mysterious. So OnSong will automatically slap a .xml extension onto files that showed up to the party naked. This tells OnSong "yo, this is an OpenSong file, go do your thing." Magic.

If y\u{2019}all have a ton of files with no extension & you actually know what type they are (flex), throw the file extension in here & we\u{2019}ll stop being confused.

File Encoding

Text encoding is the thrilling process of turning fancy letters into 1s & 0s so your computer doesn\u{2019}t have an existential crisis. OnSong tries real hard to guess the file encoding, but sometimes files are just mysterious little jerks. Default? Auto, meaning we\u{2019}re gonna wing it. If you\u{2019}re fancy & actually know the encoding, pick one:

• Auto — we guess based on what\u{2019}s inside the file. You\u{2019}re welcome.
• ASCII — old-school text that covers most Western stuff. Boring but it works.
• UTF-8 — ASCII\u{2019}s cooler cousin with basically everything except Asian languages feeling left out. OnSong nerds internally use this one & it\u{2019}s got mad character support.
• UTF-16 — uses 16-bit values so you get 32,768 possible characters. Flex.
• UTF-32 — uses 32-bit values for like 2 billion characters. Overkill much?
• ISO-Latin — aka codepage \u201CISO-8859-1\u201D if you\u{2019}re being all technical about it. Basically UTF-8\u{2019}s European cousin holding down the Latin characters.

Text File Conversion

When text files stumble into OnSong, we can auto-translate them into OnSong format. That means chords get shoved into square brackets automagically. Since OnSong now handles chords vibing over lyrics like a boss, it defaults to Text. But if you\u{2019}re old-school & want us to convert songs the OnSong way instead, go nuts.