All spanners with wavy lines and dynamics marks are failing when exported in PDF format

• Dec 22, 2014 - 06:24
Type
Functional
Severity
S3 - Major
Status
closed
Project
MuseScore

Nightly, December 21 (80a58a9) / Windows 7

Firstly reported here: http://musescore.org/en/node/41956

1. "My First Score"

2. Fill many measures with notes

3. Add some lines diverse and varied, whose characteristic is to contain wavy lines, i.e:

- Arpeggios & Glissandi palette: arpeggio symbol, glissando with wavy line

- Lines palette: trill lines, wavy lines

All these lines are broken into several pieces.

- Dynamics palette: all the marks are affected: the size is different (smallest), and double and triple marks (pp fff) are separated by a large empty space, especially "pp" and "ppp".

Mscz file here: pdf test.mscz
and pdf file: pdf test.pdf

RESULT:

lines dynamics.jpg

Given the very severe impact on the export pdf: Major status.

Found on Windows. I do not know if other systems are affected? Ubuntu apparently not. Others?

NB: In the first report on the English forum, one also speaks of customized lines (pedals). I have not developed this point here.

Attachment Size
lines dynamics.jpg 121.58 KB
pdf test.mscz 12.41 KB
pdf test.pdf 42.22 KB

Comments

• Dec 22, 2014 - 09:12

This seems to be a side effect of the fix for #40646: [Windows] Exported PDF displays small symbols on Qt 5.4.0 and should affect Windows only.

Dynamic markings are not really failing just a bit smaller than expected

I believe this should fix itself with Qt-5.4.1, but that isn't out yet.

Workaround might be to use a PDF printer like PDFCreator

Edit: lasconic just confirmed that Qt-5.4.1 does fix it (he checked with some prerelease)
5.4.1 won't be ready for Beta 2, but hopefully will for the final 2.0 release

Reply

• Dec 22, 2014 - 08:22

Since I do not know how, when, and where the mentionned issue has been fixed, I can not tell if it's a side effect (even if it is indeed possible).

Not really agree with dynamic markings: smaller, certainly, but also with widely spaced characters. So, we can consider the display as failed.

For the workaround, I know for PDF Creator. But by going to the SourceForge site to download it, you have to install in the same time Vosteran. http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/?source=typ_redirect
Vosteran.jpg
I have read many times that Vosteran is a browser hijacker. An opinion on this? And so I prefer not to download for now.

Attachment Size
Vosteran.jpg 48.52 KB

Reply

• Dec 22, 2014 - 08:38

for the exact fix (or rather Workaround) check this
For the real fix, in Qt-5.4.1, check this

Yes, dynamics look different, but only slightly and I'd consider that minor, while I certainly agree on those wiggly lines being a major issue.

I think it has to do with these elements being constructed from multiple glyphs and could imagine that the scaling from above mentioned workaround is properly scaling the size of them, but not their distance to one another?

see for arpeggio:
symbolLine(SymId::wiggleArpeggiatoUp, SymId::wiggleArpeggiatoUp);

for trill:
symbolLine(SymId::wiggleTrill, SymId::wiggleTrill);

for dynamic:
{ 16, false, "ppp", "<sym">dynamicPiano"</sym"><sym">dynamicPiano</sym"><sym">dynamicPiano</sym">" },

Reply

• Dec 23, 2014 - 16:50

The fonts for title, sub-title, composer etc. (on this example, Gabriola font) are also badly affected.

title fonts.jpg

In comparison with:
title fonts1.jpg

Given these results, I had not other choice that installing a third party PDF printer.

Considering the impact of this issue (Windows users constitute a large majority certainly), I think MuseScore should clearly indicate a workaround by recommending the choice of one or two third party PDF printer.

Personally, I almost lost my way yesterday on a site (sourceforge) that I thought trustworthy. See on my comment#2
Now I have installed PDFCreator on this site. http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator
It works well. But I read a few reviews here and there. I do not know if they are true or not.

For my laptop, I installed CC PDF Converter. https://www.cogniview.com/cc-free-pdf-converter It does the job well also.

In short, at this point, I reiterate the idea that MuseScore should help (in the handbook 2.0 e.g., as Provisional known limitations?) the "average" user by choosing one or two recommandable download sites of PDF printers. Thanks.

Attachment Size
title fonts.jpg 12.65 KB
title fonts1.jpg 20.4 KB

Reply

• Dec 23, 2014 - 17:16

I would add that I have been using both of those programs successfully for years, as many Windows programs I have relied on (eg, Finale) do not provide native PDF export at all.

Reply

• Dec 23, 2014 - 17:33

Yes, I already read this reply (of Marc) on the English forum. Personally, I had never needed to use a third party PDF printer, and I think, as already said, that we need helping and reassuring an average user that is not used to this kind of workaround.
@Jojo-Schmitz: these mentionned places seems reasonable to me.

Reply

• Dec 24, 2014 - 19:53

@cadiz1......

I suspect you've been taken in by the spurious ad's which temptingly now litter Sourceforge's download pages.

There is a proper link there which takes you to the proper download, but it is right at the top and is much smaller than the ad-download buttons.

If you check the link you are being sent to, you will see that the spurious download links are sending you to a link which begins "googleads.g.doubleclick.net"

This is one of the reasons MuseScore migrated to Github.

You can also go direct to the developers website: http://www.pdfforge.org/ which is probably a safer bet than running the gauntlet at sourceforge.

Reply

• Dec 24, 2014 - 20:35

Thanks Michael for the advice. But I was suspicious, and therefore, as stated in the comment #4, after further research, I have added two third-party PDF printers, first on the pdfforge site, and an other for CC PDF Converter. Works well :)

Reply