Interesting behaviour discovered by accident
In the process of experimenting on all the different ways one can select material in MuseScore, I clicked on a measure in the lower staff of a piano score while holding down shift, and inadvertently moved the mouse downwards.
Unexpectedly, the staff spacing changed rapidly in response to the mouse movement. I went from this:
to this:
with a twitch of the wrist.
Interestingly, the staff-spacing parameters in STYLE>General>Page did not change from the default settings. So I am asking myself, is this 'grab-and-drag' behaviour analogous to what happens when one grabs the edit handles on a line or volta instead of extending the line using the arrow keys?
The test score is attached.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| test click and drag.mscz | 9 KB |
Comments
this seems to be a deliberate feature. I notice if I right click the staff I moved and press "staff properties", then I notice that your action has increased the value of "Extra Staff Space above Staff". Seems to be very useful...I don't remember it being in the handbook, but I say should be added if it isn't.
Yes, it is a deliberate feature. It can be used to increase or decrease the amount of space between two staves within a system, and the change is score-wide. It is indeed exactly the same as setting the "extra distance" parameter in Staff Properties.
In reply to Yes, it is a deliberate by Marc Sabatella
turns out it is indeed in handbook: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/staff-properties
In reply to turns out it is indeed in by ericfontainejazz
Well, that is cooler than a cucumber in January, to coin a phrase. ;o)
It's a bit confusing that there are TWO parameters for setting the space between staves--'staff space' and 'extra distance...'--instead of just one, but I suppose there's a reason for it. Perhaps Marc can illuminate us on that point?
In reply to Well, that is cooler than a by Recorder485
well the topmenu Style->General->Page "Staff Distance" is global, while right click staff "Extra Distance" is just per individaul staff. Or are you talking about something else?
In reply to well the topmenu by ericfontainejazz
Okay; that makes sense. In fact, it is even cooler than that hypothetical Cucurbitaceæ. ;o)
I have often wanted to add extra space (usually for figured bass, but often enough for vocal alto parts) between two particular staves, and this will enable me to do it without affecting the global staff distance.
Thanks.
In reply to Well, that is cooler than a by Recorder485
"Staff space" is the name of the setting in Layout / Page Settings to set the *size* of the staff - literally, the sdize of the space between staff lines. And as mentioned, "Staff distance" is the distance between all staves within a system that the "extra" distance is added to for one particular staff. So there is no overlap I can see - three different settings with three different meanings.
In reply to "Staff space" is the name of by Marc Sabatella
Oops! Sorry; I obviously meant 'staff distance' and not 'staff space'. Details are important. ;o)