Making a part name invisible
In MuseScore 2 I could make a part name invisible on the score using the Inspector palette but in MuseScore 3, when you select a part name, the inspector doesn't show anything. I have tried the shortcut 'V' with no success and cannot find any other method in the handbook.
Anyone have a suggestion - gratefully received!
Jo
Comments
This is one of the improvements found in version 3. You can no longer make an individual part names invisible. Starting in version 3.3 there will be a convoluted workaround possible that involves putting in and instrument change then changing (deleting) the instrument name.
In reply to This is one of the… by mike320
Oh no! I wish I hadn't downloaded the upgrade!
Would be a great feature to have back!
In reply to Oh no! I wish I hadn't… by jlk30
The improvements in version 3 make this a minor nuisance in my opinion, even though I don't like it. If you want to never show a specific instrument name, you can still edit it (delete the short and/or long names) so it will display nothing. If you only want to hide the name on page 6, there will be a workaround that allows this in version 3.3 as I alluded to previously. Being able to hide an instrument name on one page is not a very common need, though I have seen it, so it's not surprising that the ability is not considered important enough to maintain. It was apparently causing other bugs.
In reply to This is one of the… by mike320
I think we may be talking about different things. A "part name" is the name that appears in the top left corner of a generated part. It's trivial to make this invisible (select, press "V"), or to delete it (select, press Delete), in both MuseScore 2 and 3, no need to wait until 3.3. Maybe you mean a staff name - this is also trivial to remove in all versions: right click the staff, Staff Properties, edit the long/short names. or just click it and press "Delete".
I think what @mike320 is referring to is something very specific and much more esoteric, a case where you are changing instrument mid-score, and furthermore and wish to not change the staff name on the score at this point. MuseScore 2 forced the staff name not to change, so it was impossible to have it reflect the new name. MuseScore 3 forced the staff name to change, so it was impossible to not reflect the new name. MuseScore 3.3 will offer both possibilities. By default, we follow the standard and change the staff name, but all you need to do is edit it to read whatever you want.
In reply to I think we may be talking… by Marc Sabatella
What I describe is the only change from 2 to 3. In both versions 2 & 3 you can make the part name in the title frame invisible by pressing v or using the inspector.
In reply to What I describe is the only… by mike320
True. But nowhere was the desire to hide it on a single system only mentioned, and my thinking it that the OP may actually want the name completely gone, not just on one system. For that you don't need the Inspector or the "V" shortcut or any complex workarounds involving instrument changes - simply press Delete, or use Staff Properties.
What partname, where?
You mean the long or short instrument name? You can delete those (right-click > Staff/Part properties > Long-,Short Instrument Name).
Or the partname on the part's title screen? You can delete that too (Select > Del).
In reply to What partname, where? You… by Jojo-Schmitz
Apologies, I may not have been clear: I meant the name that comes to the left of the staff. For the pieces I am writing, there are occasions where i need the instrument name on a particular staff to be invisible and others where it is useful to display who/what is playing. In version 2, I could select the instrument name and use the 'v' shortcut or inspector panel to make the instrument name on that particular staff invisible but now, in version 3, nothing comes up on the inspection panel when I select the instrument name and using the shortcut doesn't work either.
In reply to Apologies, I may not have… by jlk30
Then use staff/part ropertied to remove the long and/or short instrument name. Or select and press Del
In reply to Then use staff/part… by Jojo-Schmitz
If I do that, won't it delete the name from the entire piece? I only need to take the word away on a single staff on any given page.
In reply to If I do that, won't it… by jlk30
That indeed is not possible (not without the workaround @mike320 mentioned)
In reply to That indeed is not possible by Jojo-Schmitz
Such a shame - it was so useful for all the music I do.
I don't want to have to go through my printed scores with Tips-Ex! Ha!
In reply to Such a shame - it was so… by jlk30
A work-around could be to do a kind of digital Tip-ex:
add a text eg. "Piano", set it to have a rectangle frame. Set font color, background color and contour color to white and put it over the instrument name.
In reply to Such a shame - it was so… by jlk30
You mean a single system, then? Deleting it deletes for only that staff, but it does so for all systems.
Assuming you do mean a single system, can you explain your use case in more detail? Why would the conductor not want to see the name of the instrument/voice for one system only? If it's because it has changed and you want to show the name of the new instrument instead, then this is one of the improvements in MuseScore 3, especially with the imminent 3.3. The systems that involve the changed instrument automatically display the new instrument name, no need for workarounds like you've been employing where you manually make things invisible, add replacement text, and then have to worry that this work will be lost when the score layout changes.
Attaching an actual score where you've employed your workaround in MuseScore 2 will help us understand what it is that is actually going on and advise you on how to best take advantage of the new features in MuseScore 3 to achieve the same or better results.
In reply to You mean a single system,… by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc,
I write for and conduct a children's choir and need to use simple scores. When the children are singing in unison, I might write the melody in voice 1, say, and mark voice 2 as 'hidden when empty'. In that case, I don't need the part name 'voice 1' visible at the start of the unison system but do need it visible when the parts split into harmony. Does that make it clearer? In the old version, I could make the system part names visible or not individually for each system which worked well. I suppose a work around could be that I always have a voice part that is labelled 'Unison" for all the unison entries and then separate parts for each choir. Just seems a bit of a faff! Thanks for all the help, though!
In reply to Hi Marc, I write for and… by jlk30
Like I said, in version 3.3 you will be able to enter an instrument change and do nothing with it but make it invisible. You can then right click the next measure and use staff/part properties to edit the short instrument name so the correct name is (or not) displayed on the staff. It's really a matter of personal preference which method you use. One side effect will be that extra mixer channels will be created. This is good to know in case you have changed the default sound. You may need to fix the sound in the mixer.
In reply to Hi Marc, I write for and… by jlk30
I think I understand, although an actual score would help more. From what I am understanding, I think you'd be better off simply using separate staves for the places you want a name to appear versus the times you don't. That's the much more straightforward solution that doesn't require any manual intervention or workarounds in any version. I guess that's the same as what you are calling "a bit off" but to me it's better than playing games with staff names. What you have been doing required explicit action system by system, so it's clumsy at best, and at worst is "fragile" - it won't survive changes of layout that affect where the systems break, for example.
But also, we have a style option to hide instrument names when there is only one instrument. Right now this option only works if the score has only one instrument total. It's been suggested we extend this to also (optionally?) apply to systems that only have one instrument because others are hidden. That would also seem like a good solution to me, were it to be implemented.
Anyhow, it's not like we could never figure out a way around the problems that led us to need to disable the ability to hide staff names individually, but to me that's still not the right solution tot he problem - more work than necessary and fragile besides.