Additional text fields on score

• Nov 8, 2017 - 03:36

While MuseScore already provides a number of text fields, I find I am exhausting them all and still needing more. Specifically, I would like to see the following three fields added to the standard template:

1) Song/Hymn number
2) Music subject/category
3) Additional footer field for reference numbers

Virtually all hymn books include the first two of these, so accurately reproducing any standard hymn score requires them. It makes little sense to try to co-opt the "Instrument" text to become the subject line and then move it to wherever on the page it should be--just like it makes no sense to use the "copyright" text field for other than it was intended when some scores may need that as well.

The hassle of working with these two "extras" has cost me a bit of hair-pulling, attempting to import the image from MuseScore, as a PNG, into LibreOffice so I can add them in a composite form with another image produced externally. I discovered I can use the "Part name" as a suitable alternative for the hymn number, but I have yet to find a workable solution for the subject line. A sample score is attached.

test

Attachment Size
Sample_Score_Lao.png 447.58 KB

Comments

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

I appreciate the response. I went ahead and took the following steps:

1) Upgraded to MuseScore 2.1.
2) Reopened the score.
3) Edited the score properties, adding a number for the "workNumber" field.
4) Entered the "header/footer" screen.
5) Checked the box to enable the header, and placed "$:workNumber:" in the right-hand box.
6) Clicked on "Apply" and "Ok."

Nothing happened. I made sure my spelling was correct, and it appears to follow the model for the copyright field in the footer exactly, but no number has appeared anywhere on the score.

In reply to by Tongkam

Feel free to attach the score you are having trouble with.

Note though that some of what you are wanting can be done simply enough by just adding plain text to the title frame and then formatting it appropriately. if you often work with hymns in this format, consider making custom text styles for the various different elements and then saving the resultant score as a template, so you can easily reuse it for future scores.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I'm actually working on an entire hymnal. I will be producing hundreds of these, and have already, beginning with MuseScore 1.3, been creating their scores. I have over 300 already completed for the music, but the translation and entry of the lyrics lags a bit. I have nearly 150 of those, and am trying to do final layout for them. So it's no longer a matter of starting these in a special template--I never knew until now such was possible. They're already well on their way to a finished product. I need to know how to add these fields to the final score where they did not exist before. Before the book is finished, I do intend to have over 500 hymns, so perhaps a template could help for the future ones, but what do I do with the hundreds already in progress?

I played with it a little more, adding a reference field, and got that part to work. But the "workNumber" field still doesn't work at all, for unknown reasons. Maybe I should abandon the idea of using any of the pre-configured options and just create my own fields for every score? The template idea is sounding attractive, but it seems a bit late to help me much at this stage.

Attached please find the score I have worked with to test this functionality--but be warned, the fonts for the script may not display properly for you unless you have had them installed.

In reply to by Tongkam

Open a score you set as you wish;
Ctrl + A to select everything and Delete;
Set Clef / Key signature / Time signature;
Open an old file;
Ctrl + A-> Ctrl + C;
Go to the new score.> Ctl + V;
Save as ...
Edit additional text fields...It should work (hopefully)

In reply to by Shoichi

That might seem like a reasonable work flow, but in my experience with copy/pasting, the music will not be properly aligned to the measures wherever a measure has been manually adjusted to have a beat count that differs from the time signature--and virtually all of the scores I work with have this. I have some scores in which more measures differ than agree with the time signature.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

This is good information, but I still have a lingering question or two. Most importantly, will there be a way to establish, within those new text styles created, a standard font, font size, and placement for the text within the score? It seems that the header and footer elements have but a single adjustment to these variables, such that any text contained in them must have identical appearance apart from their positioning. I need different fonts. The next question, if such is possible, would be whether the placement itself could be relative to the score; e.g. could the reference line hang under the last music staff by a reasonable spacing, but always left/right aligned to the edge of that staff? I am needing to avoid having it be at the page bottom when there is a sizable white space between it and the music, because I will be piecing it together with other songs on the same page where such whitespaces exist.

In reply to by Tongkam

First, yes, the whole point of text styles is to establish a standard font, size, and placement test for each ement type. That's one of the most important improvements MuseScore 2 introduced. But unfortunately, there is currently no way to have different fonts within a header or within a footer. If you need that, using a word processor or desktop publishing program is still the way to go.

Not totally understanding the last question, but if you just want to have text below the last line of the score, sure, just append a text frame.

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