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Topic: getting to the expression placement properties box (Read 3369 times) previous topic - next topic

getting to the expression placement properties box

I can't figure out where to find the expression placement properties.  Also, if someone knows how to fix the fact that I have three full pages of music I wrote, but one last measure is on page four.  I want it to be on the previous page so I don't have a page wth one measure on it.

Re: getting to the expression placement properties box

Reply #1 –
G'day krismasgirl,
welcome to the forum.
Quote from: krismasgirl –
I can't figure out where to find the expression placement properties. 
Each object has different placement parameters.  E.G with notes, you can only set the vertical position and some extra space.  The vertical position can be adjusted several ways, but the easiest is to highlight the note and then <Ctrl+Shift+Up/DownArrow>.  The extra space is on the "Notes" tab on the properties dialogue.

For other objects, like text entries, vertical placement is the same as for notes, but horizontal placement is controlled from the properties dialogue via the "Expression Placement" tab.  Here you can select left; centre or right justified, at next note/bar; best fit; best fit forward or as staff signature.  You can also manage vertical placement from this dialogue if you want.

Quote
Also, if someone knows how to fix the fact that I have three full pages of music I wrote, but one last measure is on page four.  I want it to be on the previous page so I don't have a page wth one measure on it.

There are several possibilities.  The easiest place to start is to look at your "Staff Metrics".  This is on the Fonts tab on the |File|Page setup| dialogue.  Click the "Change" button in the staff metrics section to access a dialogue where you can change the size of the music as a whole.  One point can make a huge difference.

Another place to look is the vertical space taken up by each staff.  You can change the upper and lower bounds on the Visual tab of the staff properties dialogue.

You may also find some advantage by checking your margin sizes on the margins tab of the page setup dialogue mentioned above.
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: getting to the expression placement properties box

Reply #2 –
Bar, Clef, Key and TimeSig do not have placement properties and cannot be moved vertically.
The vertical placement of Special Endings is determined by the 'Upper Vertical Size' value in Visual Staff Properties.

Others are as Lawrie has described.
Registered user since 1996

Re: getting to the expression placement properties box

Reply #3 –
Building on Lawrie's comments, in case you need more details:
- To get at the properties for any object (rest, note, chord, rest-chord, bar, clef, keysig, timesig, etc), highlight it and either key ctrl-e or right click and select properties.
- To highlight an object (or objects, to edit multiple ones in bulk), click and hold on one side of it and drag to the other, or click on one side and shift cursor to the other.
- If your last page has very little on it, the best thing to do is to reduce the left and/or right margins.  Go into page setup (e.g. from the file menu) and click on the margins tab.  Even reducing a left or right margin by 0.01 inch can do it for you!
- If there's too much on the last page, you generally have to try reducing the font size by one point (or increase it some and just fill up that last page).
- If your change overshoots, and your very last line no longer reaches the edge of page, try this trick.  Add a bar at the very end of your first staff, edit its properties and make it a "Section Close" with "Force System Break" on.  Then in Staff Properties for that staff, under the General tab, change the Ending Bar to "Open (hidden)".  This is far superior to using the "Extend last system" option in page setup.

I apologize for all of this you already knew.
 

Re: getting to the expression placement properties box

Reply #4 –
Thanks to all of you who replied.  It was all very helpful and I got my song to fit perfectly on the pages. :-)