Guitar TAB. Red box on the sixth string when the score is exported as a pdf.
Hi
I have a guitar score with TAB that I'm trying to export as a PDF. It's written in two voices, with some of the bass notes shared between voices. The problem is that when the score is exported, the notes on the sixth string in the TAB appear in a red box. However, they do not appear like this in the Muse Score Studio file. I'm just trying to figure out how to eliminate the red box when exporting.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Andrew L.
Comments
What version of MuseScore are you running?
Please share the score
In reply to Please share the score by Jojo-Schmitz
No need to share the score. I figured out what was going on. Quite unexpected. Details coming soon.
In reply to No need to share the score.I… by cadiz1
So:
Until version 4.4.4 (and since version 2...), the red squares appeared on the screen, but never on the PDF. What's more, you could disable these red squares on the screen by going (I'm talking about version 4) to menu View / Show / Uncheck "Show Formatting" -
PDF
![PDF 4.4.4.jpg]( "PDF 4.4.4.jpg")
Since version 4.5 a change has been made, which I'm not sure was deliberate. In any case, it's a step backwards, since these red squares should never appear on the PDF, whatever the situation.
What happens now is unexpected, even amusing... From now on, these red squares no longer appear on the screen, by default. However, if you export the file in PDF format, they are... red! That's the problem the OP noticed.
They're no longer red if, before exporting, you go to the menu View / Show / Uncheck "Show Formatting"... You really need to know!
In reply to So: Until version 4.4.4 … by cadiz1
I suspect this is related to the new masking feature in 4.5, before MuseScore used a white backround for those tab fingerings (or rather a red one like in this case here)
In reply to I suspect this is related to… by Jojo-Schmitz
New masking feature?
In reply to New masking feature? by cadiz1
Yes. It is masking some element so they don't get crossed by barlines for example, like staff text:
![Screenshot 2025-04-08 182153.png]( "Screenshot 2025-04-08 182153.png")
And IIRC fingerings too
In reply to Yes. It is masaking some… by Jojo-Schmitz
"they don't get crossed by barlines for example, like staff text"
Yes, I knew that. But what does this have to do with colored frets? It's not about fingerings. Anyway, I'm going to fill an issue on Github
In reply to "they don't get crossed by… by cadiz1
Same thing, I suppose. They no longer use the white background (which looked very annoying in inverse mode)
In reply to So: Until version 4.4.4 … by cadiz1
@cadiz1 wrote > ... it's a step backwards, since these red squares should never appear on the PDF, whatever the situation.
.
In reply to @cadiz1 wrote > ... it's a… by scorster
Submitted issue: https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/27605
In reply to Submitted issue: https:/… by cadiz1
Cause: just a typo! :) https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/27612/files
Will be fixed for the upcoming 4.5.2