Performance Boundary Options

Performance boundaries are used to ensure that segments start and stop at appropriate rhythmic points. If the performance boundary of a segment is the measure, for example, and the application is using performance boundaries when cueing segments, the segment will start playing only on a measure boundary within the current primary segment. Similarly, if the application stops the segment on a boundary—as is the case when you click the Stop at Boundary Button in DirectMusic Producer—it will not stop until it reaches the end of a measure.

Applications can set their own performance boundaries for segments, or they can use the boundaries saved in the run-time files. They can also choose to ignore performance boundaries and start or stop a segment immediately.

Performance boundary options are shown in the following illustration of the Boundary tab on the Segment Properties window.

The Performance Boundary group contains the following labels and settings:

• Start at next marker

  Playback of the segment starts when the next marker is reached in the marker track of the primary segment.

Note Variation switch points in a style pattern also serve as boundary markers when the style is used in a segment. See Variation Switch Points.

• If no markers, start:

  This label is shown only if Start at next marker is selected. If no marker is available in the primary segment, either the segment's default boundary or a boundary selected from the list is used.

• Use Segment's Default

  If no markers are available, or if Start at next marker is not selected, use the default boundary for the segment. This option is disabled in the Segment Properties window, where the selection in the boundary list is the default boundary for the segment.

• Boundary List

  Select a boundary to use if other options are not selected or are not available. The following table lists the effects of the settings in the drop-down list.