How to center measurements in the center of the page
Hi !
I would like to be able to perfectly center measures in the middle of my A4 pages. I am using the stretch/shrink tool for measures, but I can't seem to align them exactly in the center of the page; they are either too far to the left or the right... Strangely, Musescore, for similar measures, arbitrarily gives more space to one measure than another.
Thanks !! :)
Benoit
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Comments
Just set the left and right margins to be the same. Stretching and shrinking measures will not make the staves start or end anywhere other than the margins.
For more details about how to adjust page layout see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/formatting
In reply to Just set the left and right… by SteveBlower
I'm sorry but I don't understand, I didn't touch the left and right margins, they are the same. I don't understand your phrase : "Stretching and shrinking measures will not make the staves start or end anywhere other than the margins."
Concretely, what is the solution so that the measures are necessarily centered in the middle of the page? If this is possible on musescore...
In reply to I'm sorry but I don't… by benoit.baudrin
Did you follow that link I included? Did you see the bit about margins? https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/page-layout-concepts#margin
If the left margin is, for example, 15 mm and the right margin is 15 mm then the system should start 15 mm from the left edge of the paper and end 15 mm from the right edge if the paper - i.e. centred between the left and right edges of the paper. If you have the indent first system option selected (selected is the default) then the first measure will start further from the left edge if the paper than the margin distance, but all other staves should start and end at the margin. Also note that the system length will include any stave labels. i.e. the label starts on the left margin. The stave itself would then start further to the right.
If that is not happening for you then there seems to be something "special" about your score that is not allowing it to happen, So please attach it (the .mscz file) so that someone can see what it is that is "special"
In reply to Did you follow that link I… by SteveBlower
Thank you for your reply. I understand better, I will try this solution when I get home, and if it does not work I will send you a file.
In your case, is it the barlines you want centered, so that they are in vertical alignment?
![red barlines.png]( "red barlines.png")
Like the (red) barlines here:
In reply to In your case, is it the… by Jm6stringer
Yes exactly ;) Maybe not the best example here but my barlines are almost never exactly align, even with similar patterns
In reply to Yes exactly ;) Maybe not the… by benoit.baudrin
It is usually considered poor practice to align barlines in adjacent systems. Doing so makes for more difficult reading; uneven alignment allows the player to keep track of which system they are playing. Often publishers will deliberately move barlines to avoid such alignment. I know quoting from "Behind Bars" is often deprecated, but I think the comments there on the alignment of barlines are useful. "Barlines on adjacent systems should not align. If barlines do coincide, systems containing like material look too similar and the eye is liable to skip a system."
In reply to It is usually considered… by SteveBlower
I didn't know that... thank you for teaching me. I still think that MuseScore's behavior is quite strange because sometimes it aligns the measures perfectly, while other times it creates a sort of zigzag. It feels like the spacing adjustment is rather coarse and doesn't allow for precise control over where to place the boundary between two measures. I'm currently working on the engraving of a piano opus, and there is a strong intention for it to be very geometric, which should also be reflected in the engraving.
I am attaching an example. As you will see, sometimes everything is perfectly aligned, while other times it forms a zigzag. In some cases, the measures are very far apart, and there is no way to bring them closer together. I should mention that I'm not a pro at this—my way of writing might surprise you. I'm very happy to hear your suggestions.
In reply to I didn't know that... thank… by benoit.baudrin
Right now, you're using an older version (3.5.0).
I guess you'll be very pleasantly surprised by what the new systems lock feature in the upcoming version 4.5 can do. See:
In reply to Right now, you're using an… by cadiz1
Wow ok... That's seem indeed awesome !! :)) when will this come out? It's a happy coincidence.
I haven't switched because I recently got back into MuseScore and found myself a bit lost with version 4. For example, is there no more Inspector? And how do you manage import details when importing a MIDI file? For instance, how can you specify that it shouldn't change key signatures in the staves?
In reply to Wow ok... That's seem indeed… by benoit.baudrin
"when will this come out?"
A matter of days now, it seems. In the meantime, you can try out the Beta version: https://musescore.org/en/node/375362
"For example, is there no more Inspector"
It has been replaced by the "Properties" panel. More or less equivalent, with pluses and minuses... depending on the divergent opinions of the various parties :)
"And how do you manage import details when importing a MIDI file? "
Indeed, the absence of the MIDI import panel is a big step backwards, which also penalizes me greatly (it's one of the reasons why I'm still using V3, let's just say that I happily switch from V3 to V4 and vice versa depending on needs and projects).
"how can you specify that it shouldn't change key signatures in the staves?"
At least I don't immediately see what you're referring to specifically. If you could attach a file showing the problem, that would help.
EDIT: ah, on rereading, I think you were referring to one of the options in this MIDI import panel. There's no real alternative, other than to continue using V3 if you need to import a MIDI file.
In reply to "when will this come out?" A… by cadiz1
Thanks for the Beta link! I think I'll just wait a few more days if it's going to be released soon.
Ah, thanks for the Properties panel. But for now, I can't seem to find how to change the note velocity for example...
Isn't it surprising that they removed the MIDI import panel? With version 4, I feel like MuseScore has become less "professional." It's strange to remove options, especially such essential ones... Can we hope it will be brought back in the future? Because for me, it's absolutely indispensable, and I’m not going to keep switching back and forth between versions 3 and 4.
Yes, in version 3, there was an option to choose whether the key signature should change within a measure depending on the note pitch. Once again, for me, this is an essential option... I'd really like to understand the reasoning behind completely removing all these features. Did they assume no one was using them anymore?..
Or maybe the GUI change meant they had to completely redo it, and it wasn't a priority...