Even spread of bars between breaks
This is possibly a feature request (though it may already be implemented in 2.0.3 but not yet in 3.0.0!), but has come about through looking at a score, previously created with 2.0.3, using the latest nightly build. It would be useful if measures could be spread out evenly amongst the systems between page/line/section breaks rather than optimising each line and then dealing with whatever measures are remaining in the final system before the next break. Looking at measures 31-46 (see below), they are reasonably evenly spread in the 2.0.3 version but leave an unsightly two measures at the end of the 3.0.0 version. Clearly, if this just awaiting implementation in 3.0.0 then please ignore this post.
Here are the original score:
and the score using the nightly build:
Comments
Unfortunately, it's an accident if they are looking good in 2.0.3. If you want 4 measures per line, you will have to add a line break.
In reply to Unfortunately, it's an by [DELETED] 5
But since the initial focus for 3.0 appears to be "smart layout", could this not be considered as an additional feature under that banner? And I'm not necessarily looking for 4 measures per line, rather that the final line before a break doesn't just get whatever measures are left over from previous lines.
In reply to But since the initial focus by Dangthrimble
I don't see how MuseScore could reasonably guess what you personally consider optimal. It doesn't know why you have inserted the breaks you have; for all it knows you wanted the lines exactly as they are. If there were *no* breaks, I could see some sort of optimization that attempted to distribute measures more evenly. But it's probably just as well done as a separate plugin, as otherwise it would be harder to override this and make the spacing tighter like it should be given your settings.
In reply to I don't see how MuseScore by Marc Sabatella
It doesn't need to know why I have inserted the breaks where I have, it just needs to distribute, as evenly as possible across the lines, the measures between the breaks. For example, if there are six evenly sized measures between two breaks and the first four can fit on the first line, I believe it would generally look better if there were three slightly stretched measures on each line, rather than four standard measures on the first and two significantly stretched measures on the second.
In reply to It doesn't need to know why I by Dangthrimble
What I am saying, though, is that in many cases, one would not *want* the measure evenly distributed. Some sort of specific distribution might be the whole reason you added the break. That is why MuseScore would have to guess what you want. Of course *you* know you want the measures even distributed, but others might not. The current system gives *you* the ability to decide, quite easily. A change would potentially make it harder.
In reply to What I am saying, though, is by Marc Sabatella
But if you need a specific distribution you can add line breaks manually for each line to achieve that distribution. I'm talking about the lines in between where specific breaks aren't required but an even distribution would look tidier. Couldn't this at least be an option?
In reply to But if you need a specific by Dangthrimble
Yes, you can add breaks manually - that's the beauty of the current system. If MuseScore broke lines prematurely there would be no easy / obvious way to get it *not* to. I have no idea why you are adding any breaks at all, and neither does MuseScore. If you had *no* breaks, then the distribution would already be more even. You are asking MuseScore to do something unusual by having added a break at all, and really it has no way of knowing why you are doing or what that should imply for other liens. People use line breaks for lots of different reasons, many of which specifically require uneven distribution.
Anyhow, yes, something like what you described it could conceivably be made into an option, or a plugin as I suggested above. Actually. I think maybe the most natural way to do it would be as an option within the Add/Remove Line Breaks command - something like "distribute measures evenly". So you'd select a number of systems and run the command and it would add the necessary breaks for you.
In reply to Yes, you can add breaks by Marc Sabatella
I'm clearly not expressing myself clearly enough! I am not suggesting that MuseScore automatically creates additional manual line breaks but rather that it have an algorithm that distributes the measures more evenly between breaks. I will try and articulate more clearly what I have in mind and add it as a reply to my initial post.
In reply to But if you need a specific by Dangthrimble
One of the problems with your request has to do with for example a measure consisting of a whole note followed by a measure with nothing but 32nd notes in it. This is a bit extreme but not totally unheard of. If you put a mixture of 4 measures with whole notes followed by 4 measures of 32nd notes, the 32nd notes measure may only allow for a single measure on the line while you could put all 4 whole note measures along with possibly other measures on that same line. Do you really want MS to put one measure on every line, including the measures that consists of only a whole note? The sample you showed was rather unique because the measures were relatively consistent in their widths, but the reality is that to have this consistent over time is rare in many types of music. I transcribe classical and never see anything like your example.
I'm not a programmer for MS, I've only written in basic, but I am familiar enough with writing code to know that what you ask for is a major undertaking to apply the logic necessary to decide when this even layout is acceptable and when it is not. If the user wants a layout such as you showed, it would be simple to change measure widths and add line feeds as necessary to duplicate it. Layout is also very subjective in nature raising the difficulty of writing the code to yet another level.
In reply to One of the problems with your by mike320
I am not suggesting that MuseScore makes each measure the same size not that it automatically creates additional manual line breaks but rather that it have an algorithm that distributes the measures more evenly between breaks. I will try and articulate more clearly what I have in mind and add it as a reply to my initial post.
In reply to I am not suggesting that by Dangthrimble
I'm pretty sure I understand what you are asking for. What I am trying to explain is that while this *happens* to be what appears to make the most sense in this *specific* case, there are lot of other cases where people use line breaks where this would definitely *not* be the desired behavior, and in fact would be very counterproductive and hard to work around. That's why I am suggest an *optional* command that goes through your score and tries to add appropriate breaks to try to normalize the amount of music per system, but doesn't *force* that arrangement on anyone. By using explicit breaks rather than trying to do it automatically, that makes it easy for you to override the decisions made in particular places where you subjectively feel the results are not what you want.