moving measures UP- still a problem

• Aug 8, 2021 - 15:08

Hello all
I have removed the system break and have shrunk the stretch to the maximum. I am still stuck with the extra measure. All I want to do is to have 8 measures in the last system. Why is this so difficult?

We need a command that forces x measures into a given system.

Thank you!
Peter

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Comments

Well, no, you have not shunk it to the minimum.
But that indeed still would not be enough. You just need wider paper (or narrower page borders) or indeed a smaller scaling as Shoichi pointed out.

MuseScore 1.x had a method to force a fixed amount of measures onto a staff, with often catastrophic results for the layout, so it got removed.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Actually, the 1.x option wouldn't force more measure than could fit. If you said you wanted four measures per line, but they didn't fit, you'd get the same results as with line breaks today. The bad layout you are thinking of, I think, came from the option to force equal measure widths.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Equal width worked if the content fits. But if you've got a measure full of sixteenths seconds that need more than a quarter of the page width, and you had equal width set, you got overflow.

Do you still have 1.x installed? I don't, but last time I did, I specifically remember testing the theory that could force, say, 93 measures of sixteenth notes onto a single line, and you couldn't. There would still be a breaks exactly where there would have been without that option set.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Hmm, seems you're right, here's a score in 1.3 with fixed width measures (and no system breaks):
fixed-width.png
Here with a fixed number of measures:
fixed-measure-number.png
And here with both:
both.png
Look all the same, those settings don't seem to make any difference

I'm pretty sure though this at some point cause did issues with measure content bleeding into the next or beyone the page borders.

Ah, it does when applying system breaks and less stretch:
xx.png
Up to a madness like this:
xxx.png
But that is pretty much independant of the fixed measure witdth, more a flaw in the stretch feature of 1.x

Fixed mumber if measures indeed forces at most as may measures onto s system, same as the break every x measures.

The problem is simply they don't fit given your current settings. You could reduce the overall staff size, but it's unnecessary - all you really need to do is reduce the minimum note distance in Format / Style / Measure.

In reply to by peterein

The problem would remain that the measures quite simply don't fit given your current settings. If there were to a command to somehow force it to fit, that would mean, changing the settings somehow just for that system. But which? Make the page temporarily wider there? The margins temporarily smaller? The staff size temporarily smaller? Minimum note distance temporarily less? Space between/after barline temporarily less? Reduce note size temporarily? Allow overlaps? Allow collisions?

Ultimately, I think we're better off being in control. My recommendation is normally to reduce the minimum note distance globally, so each measure already has at least as many measures as you want. Then simply add the necessary system breaks yourself - which you should normally be doing anyhow, for readability.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

thank you Mark.

What you were saying is beyond my understanding of the program.
“Reduce minimum note distance globally“, how is this done?

I know how to remove system breaks. Sometimes with unpredictable results. How does one add system breaks yourself And what does that do to get the Measure spacing you want?
thanks,
Peter

In reply to by peterein

To reduce the minimum note distance, it's just as I said before, go to Format / Style / Measure and reduce that very setting.

To add system breaks, simply select the location and hit Enter. You should be in the habit of doing this anyhow, as I said, since the default breaks are not likely to be in musically useful places. Adding breaks automatically adjusts the spacing within the system, just as you'd expect (stretch measures evenly to fill the page width). Exactly the same as adding breaks in a word processor if right-justification is enabled.

To remove system breaks, simply select and press delete. Result is 100% predictable - the break goes away, allowing the default layout to be restored for that system. Exactly the same as deleting a break in a word processor. Not sure what else you'd expect?

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