Exporting a ChordPro Chart

Download your song's lyrics and chords as a .cho file. Those come from the Lyrics and Chords option, or from hand entry — not from Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections.

Your band needs charts. Lyrics and chords in Pliris™ come from the Lyrics and Chords option (shown together after it runs), or from what you type on the arrangement. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections does not show them. Export what you have as a ChordPro file instead of typing a chart in another app.

The result is a plain-text .cho file that opens in any app that reads the ChordPro format.

Why this matters

The chart your band reads and the set they're playing to come from the same source. Change the arrangement, re-export, and the chart matches — instead of a separate document that quietly drifts out of date.

How to export one

  1. Open the song's arrangement.
  2. Open the download dialog.
  3. Tick ChordPro chart (.cho · lyrics + chords).
  4. Download.

The file is named after the song and the arrangement — Song Title - Arrangement Name.cho — so exports from two arrangements of the same song don't overwrite each other.

The option only becomes available once the arrangement actually has lyrics or chords on it. If it's greyed out, check Lyrics and Chords (with a lead vocal or a time-aligned reference), or add chords by hand on the arrangement page. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections will not turn it on. See Lyrics Text vs Timing (and AbleSet).

Note: the ChordPro export is currently marked beta in the download dialog. It works, but expect it to keep improving.

What's in the file

A header block carrying what Pliris knows about the arrangement:

{title: Song Title}
{subtitle: Arrangement Name}
{key: A}
{tempo: 120}
{time: 4/4}

key, tempo and time are only written when the arrangement has them set — a song you haven't analyzed or filled in yet simply exports without those lines.

Then the lyrics, with chords placed inline in standard ChordPro brackets, directly before the word they land on:

[Am]Something I can [F]dance to

Chords that fall between lyric lines — intros, turnarounds, instrumental sections — are written on their own line as bare chord markers. Any chords left over after the final lyric are grouped at the end under {comment: Outro}.

How chords get placed

For each word in a lyric line, Pliris finds the most recent chord whose start time falls at or before that word, and inserts it there. Lyric timings and chord timings from Lyrics and Chords follow the audio, so the chart lines up with that pass rather than with a pasted sheet that has no timing.

Where a chord has several spellings available, the export prefers the simple pop spelling (Em, C, G/B) and falls back through the other spellings if that one is missing. Silence — the "no chord" marker — is skipped rather than printed.

Known limitations

  • Lines without timing are dropped. The export reads each lyric line's start time; a line that has no timing on it won't appear in the .cho file. Pasting words does not add timing. If lines are missing, run Lyrics and Chords with vocal-capable audio. See Lyrics Text vs Timing (and AbleSet).
  • Lyrics or chords are enough on their own. You don't need both to export, but you need at least one. An arrangement with neither can't produce a chart.
  • The chart is a snapshot. Editing the arrangement afterwards doesn't update a .cho you already downloaded — re-export to pick the changes up.

Frequently asked questions

What file format does the Pliris ChordPro export use?

It exports a plain-text .cho file in standard ChordPro format, which any ChordPro-compatible chart app can open. The file is named Song Title - Arrangement Name.cho, so exports from two arrangements of the same song don't overwrite each other.

Why is the ChordPro chart option greyed out in the download dialog?

The option only becomes available once the arrangement has lyrics or chords on it. Check Lyrics and Chords, or add chords by hand on the arrangement page. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections does not show lyrics. You need at least one of lyrics or chords — an arrangement with neither can't produce a chart.

Why are some lyric lines missing from my exported chart?

The export reads each lyric line's start time, and a line with no timing on it is skipped. That's the usual cause of missing lines. Timing comes from Lyrics and Chords, not from pasting text and not from Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections. See Lyrics Text vs Timing (and AbleSet).

Do I need both lyrics and chords to export a ChordPro chart?

No. Either one on its own is enough. A chords-only arrangement exports its chord markers, and a lyrics-only arrangement exports the words — you just need at least one of the two present.

Does the exported chart update when I edit the arrangement?

No. The .cho file is a snapshot taken at the moment you download it. Edit the arrangement afterwards and you need to re-export to pick the changes up.