more staff on writing page

Topic: more staff on writing page (Read 6685 times) previous topic - next topic

more staff on writing page

2005-11-19 04:16 pm

For example I write one song only in one staff, after that I want to see the whole song written in like it is shown in preview, but in writing mode I always see only one staff, which is very hard for writing. Imagine if you would have to write in "Word" the whole text only in one line, and you would see the entire page only in preview. This is the same problem. (when I look at preview, I see more staff, I mean more lines in one page, but not in writing mode)
Does anybody know how to treat this? This is very disturbing. Generally I find that writing text in noteworthy is very user unfriendly, there should be line pointer and ability to write text direct on a page, to see it when you write.

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #1 – 2005-11-19 09:30 pm

Hello Marjan,

Even though I suspect I could write my reply in Dutch, I will still abide by the normal rules and write to you in English.

Writing in Noteworthy is very, very user friendly. I have yet to see a program that comes anywhere near it. It is a matter of how you look at it, and how you use it. When you are writing only one staff, I can see that you do not find it 'logical' to have only a part of the staff on screen. But when you have four parts, such as soprano+alto+tenor+bass, it is already quite impossible to have everything wrap around.
Next, what do you do with a whole orchestra? Twelve staves or more? The most logical solution is found in Noteworthy. And don't worry about the layout. Enter the notes first, beam them, tie them, slur them, add lyrics - and you will find that the page will look fine. It may take a little tweaking: set staff size, adjust lyrics height, adjust margins, set the font and size of your lyrics - easy stuff.

On the forum, you will find the general opinion on Noteworthy: the friendliest program there is to score your music.
And welcome to the friendliest forum on the Web, Marjan!

Rob.

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #2 – 2005-11-19 09:43 pm

I understand your concerns, Marjan, but I wouldn't support a request to change.

The program is deliberately designed not to have lines wrap in the edit window. I guess there are two reasons; first is that bars vary in length so the editor would have to calculate the length of each visible line based on graphics - this would probably slow everything down (and add to the size of the program). More importantly, the wrap would only be useful for single staffs. Wrapping piano, organ or multivoiced ensembles (say a sextet or full orchestra score) would be more complicated. The edit window is not intended to be WYSIWYG, that's what the preview window is for. It used to be that when you moved between the two windows, you ended up at bar 1 again, but that was cured a couple of years ago in the version 2 betatest, and hopefully in version 1 as well.

Direct text entry on the page probably isn't the best thing to allow, since the relationship of the words to the notes could be screwed up if more notes were added to the score after the text was written. NWC is a graphics package rather than a word processor. The lyric editor is like a simple notepad, with each word aligned with a note. I haven't checked in version 1, but in version 2, in the edit window, the next word is displayed when its note is entered. You can use direct text entry too, but that's better for short comments, rather than long strings of text.

I am familiar with Finale, which uses text boxes (at least in the version I have). Text is easier to work with in NWC, since you don't have to switch between text and notation functions, and overall, I find NWC much easier to work with.

There will always be frustrations in dealing with NWC, but usually it's a matter of learning how to do what you want, and then getting used to it. The learning curve is not steep, and you can usually throw a question into this forum and get help quite quickly.

So hang in there, you'll grow to appreciate the program, particularly if you upgrade to version 2.

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #3 – 2005-11-20 09:40 am

Version 1 does the same, regarding text: if you enter the text first, you see each syllable appearing as you enter notes.
Very useful.

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #4 – 2005-11-20 09:34 pm

OK, people, but tell me then how can I start writing in a new staff, without to first fill the previous staff to the right margin. So start the writing in new staff, and let a part of previous staff empty. (in preview you see like that). I can not do that.

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #5 – 2005-11-20 10:22 pm

Marjan,
I fear I do not quite understand your problem. We could solve this... that is, I hope you are not offended if I ask you to write to me in Dutch (it is your native tongue?) , either in this newsgroup or privately: rddenheijer_@_versatel.nl . Whatever you prefer.
(WITHOUT the underscores... this is spam-protection)

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #6 – 2005-11-20 10:23 pm

Hi Marjan,
I think we need to make sure you understand a couple of things about how NWC works:

Each staff represents a different instrument.
In the edit screen, the staff continues "forever". Effectively you cannot "fill" it.
In the preview window you can see how it will print out.
To add another staff, press <Ctrl-A>, or click | Staff | New Staff |, or click the red + sign on the tool bar.
Multiple staves playback together, not one after the other.

I hope this has cleared a few things up for you.
Lawrie

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #7 – 2005-11-21 01:10 am

Just to flesh out what Lawrie says, if you are writing one staff only, for one voice or instrument, if you want a certain bar to start on a new line IN PRINT and in print preview, while you're in the edit window, highlight the bar line, press Control-E for its properties, and force a break. You won't see the wrap in the edit window, but you will see a faint mark indicating this is where the break will be. The print preview will show the wrap at that spot.

The forced system break can be entered on any staff on the screen, for instance first clarinet, second trumpet and bass, but the one that will govern is the one on the top visible line when you print. When I write out a band score I might want to force a break at a certain place in the reed parts, but not the upper or lower brass. Their parts would look better if the break was somewhere else.

So, when I print the entire 17 line system score, the breaks are governed by the Reed 1 part. When I hide everything except the first trumpet, the forced breaks on the trumpet line will govern. It's really quite well thought out.

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #8 – 2005-11-21 08:47 pm

Dear Folks,
it looks we really don't understand each other. I just want to stop writing on a particular place in staff, and leave the rest of staff empty to the right margin, and then start writng in a new line (staff if you want). That is all.
I know you can get new staff with CTRL + A, but this new staff starts at the beginning, what I don't wish; Like in WORD when you press enter and begin a new sentence in a new line. The result could be the same as if you write two songs on a one paper, and stop writng the first song before you reach right margin. I think this is impossible in NoteWorthy.
p.s. I am sorry, I am not Dutch, so I can't write in Dutch.
Anyway I thank everybody for your answers.

Marjan

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #9 – 2005-11-21 09:13 pm

Hi Marjan,
I think I now understand what you're asking.

David's response actually covers this but perhaps I can simplify it a little.

Just to be sure I understand let's check:

You seem to understand that the edit window is continuous.
You want to have a "break" in the printout so that a certain bar starts on a new "line"

If I am correct then:

You can easily force a particular bar to be at the start of a new "line". This is done using the "Force System Break". Highlight the barline that is at the beginning of the bar that you want on the new line. Press <Alt-Enter> to get to its properties. On the "Bar Line" tab click in the "Force System Break..." check box. Click OK
The preceeding "line" will be stretched out to fill the entire page width. This is not always very attractive so you may need to use the method in step 1 to force some additional "system breaks" to tidy things up.

Please let me know if this is a better answer for you.

Lawrie

Re: more staff on writing page

Reply #10 – 2005-11-22 03:36 am

The stretching bar can always be padded with text consisting of blank spaces, preserved width. This would give you all the notes and rests crowded at the beginning of the bar, then empty staff lines up to the bar line.

Obviously, none of us quite understand what you're trying to ask for, Marjan. Can you draw it by hand or provide an image of an example you already have, scan it, and post it as an image file (jpg or gif would be most reliable), using http://yousendit.com ?

You would just need to post the link into this forum, and the first 25 people who are interested can then download it to see what it is you're trying to accomplish.