number of measures per system

Format/Add Remove System breaks: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/layout-and-formatting#system-breaks

Musescore’s layout controls are different than Encore’s but I find them workable and reliable. In Musescore we strictly use line breaks to control Measures per System. You can add a Line Break with the Return key, and delete one with Return. (Line break is also in the Breaks palette, along with Page break and Section Break.)

I spent about four years with Overture after giving up on Richard Hotchkiss and Encore. (Of course I've spent time with the other big three, FSD, but could never find a good workflow.

Overture was WAY better than Encore—so that was a good move, as far as that went—but it had the same grouchy, shortsighted, reckless developer as Encore. I moved on from Overture exactly a year ago (2020-07).

Fortunately Musescore is mostly WAY better than Overture. I really I haven't missed Overture at all, except for it's Piano Roll Editor, stitching measures and freely moving notes horizontally, oh, and standard marquee-style selection. Additionally I feel much more relaxed using Musescore, because there are far fewer unexpected results and way less crashes.

The main difference—one that takes some getting used to—is the Palette behavior:

• In Encore/Overture you choose a tool from the palette Encore adds a child object wherever you click (and perhaps in some cases the tool impart it’s properties)

• In Musescore you select one or more objects in the score and pressing a palette item usually adds a child object—or perhaps imparts a property on the selected object(s).

A huge advantage with Musescore is that there’s no corruption on copy/paste. Encore and Overture had lots of problems in that regard, and while some layout issues were workable, others were utterly inscrutable.

…

Like me you may want to export Encore scores to MusiXML and import to Musescore. This is possible, and will work transparently when Musescore commits the new code for MusicXML import. Doug Kerr found the issues when we worked together to figure out why Encore/Overture imports were such a mess.

To get a clean import have to
    • delete any tablature staves -- they won't be populated anyway.
    • Because of the way Musescore handles the MuscXML element, before performing an effective Encore export you'll need to:

        • select all
        • Invoke Measures>Align Spacing
        • choose Notes>Change duration> then uncheck Set Note Durations & check Set play duration to: 100%
        • know that Encore does not export lyrics
        • know that Encore does not export chords

I’d like to create a tutorial for those switching from Encore/Overture to Musescore. You could help by keeping a log of the differences you find, the places where you get lost, any trouble finding good workflows. And, at some point, sharing that log with me.

I hope Musescore works out for you! I'm loving it, warts and all.

scorster