Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processing applications available. You may have many chord charts available in that format. OnSong can read, view, and convert both the older DOC file format as well as the newer DOCX format.

To learn more about Microsoft Word, please visit http://office.microsoft.com/word.

Converting

Word processing files can be challenging to convert into text-based chord charts. This is because files are often written in variable-width fonts that make a space character much narrower than other characters. While this is easier on the eye while reading, it can cause the author of the chord chart to use many more spaces to align chords on lines above lyrics. Other word processor specific features (like tabs or text boxes) may also have been used making the alignment of chords difficult because both of these layout tools are not used in text-based file formats.

You will usually need to adjust chords after converting them to text. OnSong provides various tools to assist with this process. Please see the Text Tools Menu for details.

Viewing

Word files are viewed "as-is" using the built-in web viewer of iOS. This means that any issues regarding the viewing of these files is related to how iOS interprets them. For instance, some users have reported formatting or font changes when viewed on an iPad versus Microsoft Word. OnSong has no way to correct these rendering issues as the file format is relatively closed and display of the file is handled by iOS.

Another common issue is found when viewing DOCX files in Word. There appears to be a bug in iOS 7 and higher that may cause a crash when more than one DOCX file is loaded concurrently. OnSong takes steps to limit this behavior and avoid the crash condition.