'it can't update the field unless there's a field there to update ...'

Yes, sfmans, computers are peculiar that way. They don't understand the human conviction that if it says nothing, it means C.

Here's another thing - sometimes well-meaning people produce MIDI's for the net and they fail to put in the time signature. When an innocent passerby downloads the tune, he may get a MIDI bristling with sharp or flat signs which make the tune seem unnecessarily complicated.

To fix that, study the accidentals and see what the key should have been. Insert the key. Then 'audit accidentals' (alt, t, c) and the unnecessary signs will go away.

One of my pet peeves is people who upload a tune in F without inserting the key signature. For some reason this produces a MIDI with A#'s rather than B-flats, and they all have to be fixed by hand. Anybody know a way around that?