Why did the spacing change between 4.4.4 and 4.5.1?
Hi, all --
When I upgraded to 4.5.1, the spacing in the songs I worked on in 4.4.4 changed. Measures that were in one system are now in another. My songs have more or less pages in 4.5.1 than in 4.4.4. My manual page breaks are honored (and, wow, the page break icon is easy to see in 4.5.1!), but of course they are now in the wrong places.
What's wrong? What do I need to do?
The files I'm working on began their lives in Musescore 2.2, and I can't post them due to copyright issues, but I was able to recreate the problem with a new file that I created in 4.4.4.
Attached please find:
- New in 4.4.4.mscz (I opened Musescore 4.4.4 and created a new file)
- Edited in 4.5.1.mscz (I copied the 4.4.4 file, renamed it, and opened it in Musescore 4.5.1)
- Screenshots of each file.
I am using:
MUSESCORE 4.5.1.250800846, rev. 603eca8
MUSESCORE 4.4.4.243461245, rev. 2232670
MAC Apple M1, 8GB, Sequoia 15.3.2
Thanks,
Janet
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Edited in 4.5.1 Musescore.mscz | 43.15 KB |
| Edited in 4.5.1 screenshot.jpg | 368.07 KB |
| New in 4.4.4 Musescore.mscz | 32.49 KB |
| New in 4.4.4 screenshot.jpg | 318.48 KB |
Comments
PS The only edit I actually made in the 4.5.1 file was to change the subtitle.
I'm sorry - I just found the "Layout changes in 4.5 when opening scores made in 4.4" discussion started on March 14, 2025, and it answers my question. It's not a bug, its a feature!
I'm at the final stages of putting together a songbook with 20 separate files, totaling 74 pages, so revising the layout will be a pain, but not impossible. I'm just glad that I'm experiencing this now before the final draft goes to anyone.
Thank you again for the UI changes in Musescore 4.
In reply to I'm sorry - I just found the… by Janet E.
I don't see any system breaks in your score, so you are being very brave in expecting the layout to remain unchanged through MuseScore version changes.
If you are preparing scores for publication, it is highly recommended that every system should have an explicit system break.
In reply to I don't see any system… by DanielR
Hi, Daniel - thanks for your reply! That's a good recommendation, and I will follow it. The new break symbols are very easy to see.
In reply to I don't see any system… by DanielR
Daniel. All true. But never "required" until this version.
In reply to All true. But never … by bobjp
They are not required now either. You can simply let MuseScore decide and it will make the system breaks where it thinks they are appropriate. Same as always. And also same as always, not including them makes your score break at inappropriate places.
In reply to They are not required now… by TheHutch
MuseScore has no business deciding where it thinks breaks should go. And this is the first version to do so. Going back to at least mid 3 versions, MuseScore always honored the score setup regardless of whether breaks were used or not.
In reply to MuseScore has no business… by bobjp
There were no file format changes in 3.x, except for a very minor one that was backwards compatible.
In reply to MuseScore has no business… by bobjp
MuseScore must decide where system breaks will go. If you don't specify them, then MuseScore must ... or the systems will extend forever. MuseScore has always put implicit breaks when the page width was filled in any system that doesn't have an explicit system break. In every version, this placement has varied slightly from the previous: this version no more and no less than any other.
By analogy, you seem to be arguing that MS Word or any other word processing programming shouldn't break text lines when the page width is filled. That would be outright stupidity.
Your insistence on misunderstanding the situation does you no credit.
In reply to MuseScore must decide where… by TheHutch
Sorry, but you completely miss the point.
I have a score in 3.6.2 that for the most part is three measures per line. For better or worse, I don't have any breaks because the score looked the way I wanted. I open the score in 4.4 and everything is the same as far as I can tell. I open the score in 4.5 and now there are four or five measures per line. And I don't like the look of it. I'm not talking about whether it is good or bad. I'm saying that without warning MuseScore changed my layout. You can tell me all you want that it happened because I obviously don't care about layout. Thanks for nothing.
This is what we are seeing. People wondering why their layout changed when it never did before. They are being told that it is their fault for not setting up their score properly. Not helpful.
In reply to Sorry, but you completely… by bobjp
I'm afraid that you're the one missing the point.
> "when it never did before"
But it always did before. Perhaps by smaller degrees, but systems without system breaks have changed slightly with every new version. ... which you've been told repeatedly and simply refuse to hear.
Sorry, but you're making a fool of yourself with this nonsense.
In reply to Sorry, but you completely… by bobjp
_ score in 3.6.2 that for the most part is three measures per line. ... in 4.4 and everything is the same_
Pure luck!
And I don't like the look of it
As you use to say (to users complaining about Mu4 vs Mu3): if you don't like it, don't use it! Nobody forces you to update, use the version that works best for you...
when it never did before
It did this before and quite often. As said elsewhere: I startd with 0.94, and evry new version came with ayut changes, bigger or smaller, quite often resulting in more (easily fixed by system breaks) or less (pretty bad, usualld fixed by reducing strech or space scaling, now this finally can get fixed by these brand new system locks!) measures fitting a system
In reply to MuseScore has no business… by bobjp
Nonsens. MuseScore has to decide where to break systems. It does not add explict system breaks, but it does break systems at the page borders and has to. Except in continuous view, of course
In reply to MuseScore has no business… by bobjp
bobjp wrote:
> MuseScore has no business deciding where it thinks breaks should go. <
Jojo wrote:
> MuseScore has to decide where to break systems. It does not add explicit system breaks, but it does break systems at the page borders... <
Okay, so let's say that MuseScore adds implicit breaks and a user would add explicit breaks (that is, from the Breaks & Spacers palette).
bobjp wrote:
> I have a score in 3.6.2 that for the most part is three measures per line. For better or worse, I don't have any breaks because the score looked the way I wanted. <
When you wrote: "I don't have any breaks..." you meant that you did not add (explicit) breaks from the palette. In other words, you agreed with MuseScore's layout, yes?
> I open the score in 4.5... And I don't like the look of it... MuseScore changed my layout. <
Actually, MuseScore changed MuseScore's layout. Your layout would have included explicit breaks that you added.
> You can tell me all you want that it happened because I obviously don't care about layout. <
It's not that you don't care about layout -- perhaps you use MuseScore mainly for playback. So, you don't care enough about your layout. People playing from sheets and adjusting layout for performance -- e.g., total number of pages, location of page turns -- would simply invoke "Add system break at end of each system" to inform MuseScore that it is their layout.
In reply to bobjp wrote: > MuseScore has… by Jm6stringer
Hutch,
Small changes, sure. 4.5 is not making small changes. Name calling. Really?
All of you,
Ah, so now implicit and explicit creep into the conversation. Do you really think most users will have the slightest clue what those terms mean as far as breaks go? Nothing in the manual about it.
I meant exactly what I said. I didn't have any breaks in the score because I didn't need them. This includes 3.6.2, and up to 4.4. This is the way I set up the score. Indeed My layout. To say that MuseScore changed MueScore's layout is a deflection. Either way, the layout got changed when it wasn't changed in previous versions.
The point is no version I've used since early 3's has made this kind of change. You can deflect and blame the user all you want. Doesn't help.