PDF Export Problems
I have a single page of music set to Page View, and it looks perfect; but when I export to .pdf, the .pdf version has different formatting and is split into 2 pages. There is also too much space under the title on the .pdf, but not on the original in MuseScore document. This has always been a problem with both MuseScore 3 and MuseScore 4. Does anyone know how to make the MuseScore version of a piece of music, export to .pdf with the same appearance?
Comments
Please post your score in MSCZ and the PDF file you create.
In reply to Please post your score in… by underquark
Here they are...
In reply to Here they are... by whydavewhy
Exports like this for me, one page, narrow page borders
In reply to Exports like this for me by Jojo-Schmitz
Interesting. Are you doing this on a PC or on a Mac? I’m doing it on a Mac. The same problem happens with anything I create in MuseScore. Each time I export to .pdf, the .pdf is formatted differently.
In reply to Interesting. Are you doing… by whydavewhy
PC, Windows 11
In reply to PC, Windows 11 by Jojo-Schmitz
Seems like this must be a Mac issue then; I've never been able to get any version of MuseScore to export correctly to .pdf on a Mac. I guess the other people posting about this issue must have Macs too. The question then, is if the compatibility issue is a problem with MuseScore 4 (4.0.2) or with the Apple Preview app, currently version 11.0 (1033.4). Any Mac folks out there, please feel free to comment...
In reply to Seems like this must be a… by whydavewhy
Your PDF looks wrong in Adobe Acrobat Reader too
In reply to Your PDF looks wrong in… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks for the update Jojo! So you used the original MuseScore file and exported to .pdf on a PC, using Acrobat Reader, and it came out the same way that the original .pdf I sent you did?
In reply to Thanks for the update Jojo!… by whydavewhy
No, i exported it using MusrSore.
I used Acrobat to view both, mine looks fine, your's not
I should clarify that this export problem with .pdf files, only seems to happen on Macs. I have never been able to get any version of MuseScore to export correctly to .pdf on a Mac. This does not seem to be a problem on PCs running Windows (which use Adobe Acrobat Reader for .pdf files), so I suppose that the other people posting about this issue must all have Macs (which use Apple Preview for .pdf files). The question then, is if the compatibility issue is due to a programming bug in MuseScore 4 (currently version 4.0.2) or in the Apple Preview app, currently version 11.0 (1033.4). Any Mac folks out there, please feel free to comment, if you have found a work-around for this problem…
In reply to I should clarify that this… by whydavewhy
How are you exporting? Do you use Musescore's export function from the file menu or do you use a pdf pseudo printer? e.g. iPubsoft PDF Creator. Such third party pdf creators sometimes have difficulty with musescore output.
In reply to How are you exporting? Do… by SteveBlower
I am exporting using MuseScore's export function... File / Export / Select parts to export: 'Alto Saxophone' / Format: 'PDF File' / 'Each part to a separate file' / .
That's it. Apparently, Acrobat Reader (on a PC) seems to accept all the margin and formatting settings from the MuseScore document; on the other hand, the Apple Preview app (on a Mac) does not. I'm trying to figure out if this is due to a programming error in MuseScore, or in Preview. There doesn't seem to be any settings in Preview that I could alter, to change this behavior.
In reply to I am exporting using… by whydavewhy
Why export parts? That score doesn't have any, it has only one instrument
In reply to Why export parts? That score… by Jojo-Schmitz
Correct. I can export the 1 page of music as "Score" or as "Alto Saxophone." It doesn't matter. The export problem is the same, no matter which I select. In order to troubleshoot the problem, the MuseScore file I sent you needs to be exported as a .pdf file on your PC, which I assume is using Acrobat Reader. If the export looks the same as the original, the problem is a Mac-only problem.
If you have the problem as well on your PC, then the issue may be that regardless of platform, people who leave the margins and staff spacing alone, have no problems exporting .pdf files, but those who alter the default settings DO have problems. If that is the case, then it is an issue with the MuseScore software (and not a specific platform or .pdf conversion program).
Let me know if you have any luck exporting the original file to .pdf on you PC.
Thanks for your help!
David
In reply to Correct. I can export the 1… by whydavewhy
I just re-read you previous message... At first I thought you were saying you viewed the .pdf file I sent you in Acrobat Reader, so I said that the original MuseScore file I sent you needs to be exported from MuseScore (which would be read in Acrobat Reader). But then you replied that you did export it from MuseScore. So it sounds like you are saying that YOUR export looks fine, correct? Then that means this is definitely an issue related to the Mac version of MuseScore.
In reply to I just re-read you previous… by whydavewhy
OS: Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (64-bit): 4.0.2-230651545, revision: dbe7c6d
When I look at your PDF file, it is wrong.
When I export a PDF from your MSCZ file it looks fine.
Jojo reports Windows OK and I have tried on Linux and it's OK. MuseScore on your Mac is not exporting correctly (but I don't know if it's MS' fault or the Mac's fault).
In reply to OS: Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS, Arch… by underquark
Thanks for verifying that; I really appreciate it. I've had this problem with both MuseScore 3 for Mac and MuseScore 4 for Mac. Do you know if this forum is the only way to report something like this, or does Muse Score have an official way to report bugs?
In reply to Thanks for verifying that; I… by whydavewhy
If you can supply a bug description, sample score and precise steps to reproduce the problem, then you can create a New Issue on the MuseScore issue tracker on Github:
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues
In reply to If you can supply a bug… by DanielR
Thanks Daniel! I will create the issue on Github, and then I will post back here is the issue ever gets resolved.
David
In reply to Thanks Daniel! I will create… by whydavewhy
I posted this MuseScore 4 for Mac bug as a "New Issue" on the Github website, as recommended. Incredibly, the site does not recognize MuseScore files, so it does not allow me to attach the file for them to reproduce the issue. That is just crazy! So all I could do, is attach screen shots of the pages. Anyway, since THIS MuseScore website DOES recognize MuseScore files, I am attaching the actual MuseScore 4 file example, and PDF file example below, so at least any readers here, can reproduce the problem.
Here is the information on this bug, which I posted on the Github website today (04/23/2023)...
Bug description:
- MuseScore Version: 4.0.2
- Late 2016 MacBook Pro running macOS 12.6.5
- PDF Viewer app: Apple “Preview” version 11.0 (1033.4)
MuseScore for Mac does not export to PDF files with the original formatting of the MuseScore document. I have never been able to get this feature to work correctly with MuseScore 3 or MuseScore 4 on a Mac. (NOTE: MuseScore 4 for Windows exports PDF files perfectly on a PC.)
For example, I have a single page of music set to Page View in MuseScore 4. I moved the song title up higher on the page, and made the margins smaller, to fit the entire part on one page. See the screen shot example of “Just the Way You Are (MuseScore 4 Version)," attached below, in the 'Screenshots' section.
Next, I export the page to PDF format, using MuseScore 4's export function...
File / Export / Select parts to export: 'Alto Saxophone' / Format: 'PDF File' / 'Each part to a separate file' / .
The problem occurs at this point, because the PDF version does not retain the title height or the margin settings, causing the staves to extend to a second page. See the screen shot example of “Just the Way You Are (Mac PDF Version)," attached below, in the 'Screenshots' section. As I mentioned above, this problem does not occur when doing a PDF export in MuseScore for Windows, because in that version, the title height and margin settings are retained in the PDF document.
So when doing PDF exports from MuseScore 4 for Windows, all the settings transfer to the “Acrobat Reader” program correctly; however, when doing PDF exports from MuseScore 4 for Mac, the title height and margin settings DO NOT transfer to the Apple “Preview” app correctly.
Steps to reproduce:
1. Unfortunately, this website does not support attaching MuseScore 4 .mscz files, to reproduce MuseScore 4 issues; so there is no way to send you the file to reproduce the problem; all I can do is attach a screenshot of this MuseScore 4 example. See the screen shot example of “Just the Way You Are (MuseScore 4 Version)," attached below, in the 'Screenshots' section. If you DID have this actual MuseScore 4 file, then to reproduce the problem you would need to go to a Mac computer, and open the file in MuseScore 4 for Mac.
2. Observe that the entire part fits on one page (due to raised title height, and shortened side margins).
3. Export the file to PDF format, by doing the following: File / Export / Select parts to export: 'Alto Saxophone' / Format: 'PDF File' / 'Each part to a separate file' / .
4. Observe that the edits to title height and margin shortening are not retained, causing the staves to extend to a second page on the PDF version. See the screen shot example of “Just the Way You Are (Mac PDF Version)," attached below, in the 'Screenshots' section.
5. Now try the same thing on a PC computer, running Windows; once again, if you DID have this actual MuseScore 4 file, then to reproduce the problem you would need to go to a PC computer, and open the attached file in MuseScore 4 for Windows.
6. Observe that the entire part fits on one page (due to raised title height, and shortened side margins).
7. Export the file to PDF format, by doing the following: File / Export / Select parts to export: 'Alto Saxophone' / Format: 'PDF File' / 'Each part to a separate file' / .
8. Observe that the edits to title height and margin shortening are retained, and the part remains on one page; so the PDF version in Windows is identical to the original MuseScore version.
9. (It is really frustrating, that a website used for reporting MuseScore 4 bugs, does not support attachment of MuseScore 4 files, to reproduce the problem.)
In reply to I posted this MuseScore 4… by whydavewhy
Ok, thanks for https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/17330
In reply to Ok, thanks for https:/… by Jojo-Schmitz
Problem solved! I heard back from Marc Sabatella and Casper Jeukendrup…
From Mark:
As far as I can tell, this isn't an Windows vs macOS difference, it's just a score vs part difference. You are formatting to score, but exporting the port. It should be no surprise if the score formatting doesn't appear in the exported part, because formatting is always independent between score and parts, by design.
If you want to edit the formatting of the individual parts, you need to do that while viewing the actual parts, not the score. Of course, this particular score has only a single part, but that doesn't matter- part and score formatting are separate.
BTW, to attach a score here, just rename it to end in .zip, or actually zip it.
From Casper:
I think Marc is right: on my Mac, I get the following results:
File > Export > "Main score": gives exactly what the main score looks like in MuseScore
File > Export > "Alto Saxophone": gives exactly what the Alto Saxophone part look like in MuseScore
You are probably confused by the word "Main score", since this file contains only one instrument and the "Main score" is actually formatted as if it is a part score for the Alto Sax.
The reason that it's called "Main score" there, is that this does make sense for files with multiple instruments: then you have a main score that contains all instruments, and beside that you have part scores that contain one instrument each.
But when there is only one instrument, the "main score" (which is what you have been working in) and the part score for that instrument have identical content, so it might be a little bit confusing.
So, when you want to export the score you have been working in, you should choose "main score" in the export dialog. And if you want to access that part score called "Alto saxophone" in MuseScore, you can access it via the Parts dialog; you will see that in this part, the layout is like what's exported when you select "Alto saxophone" in the export dialog.
I hope this makes it clearer! I'll close this issue because there does not seem to be a bug, but feel free to ask further questions, and we can reopen it if it still turns out that something is really not working correctly.
… So that was the problem. I was viewing the Alto Saxophone part in the ‘Score’ view, but the exporting it as an individual ‘AltoSaxophone’ part, which is why it looked different than the Score version. When I chose ’Select parts to export: Alto Saxophone', the PDF file did not retain the edited settings; but when I chose ’Select parts to export: Main Score’, the PDF file retained the edits, and looked exactly like the original that I saw in Score view. I’m glad this is not a bug. Thanks for your quick responses, Marc and Casper! Very much appreciated!
David
.
In reply to I'm not sure if this will… by snarke
Thanks for the input, snarke. As I posted earlier, it turned out that I was viewing the Alto Saxophone part in the ‘Score’ view, but the exporting it as an individual ‘AltoSaxophone’ part, which is why it looked different than the Score version. When I chose ’Select parts to export: Alto Saxophone', the PDF file did not retain the edited settings; but when I chose ’Select parts to export: Main Score’, the PDF file retained the edits, and looked exactly like the original that I saw in Score view. I’m glad this is not a bug. So the problem was that I was exporting the wrong "View" (for many years... hah!).
Thanks again,
David
Hi, I do have similar problem.
My score contains two instruments: Alto and Tenor Sax. I did my best to shrink it to one page. I mean, when I use File-Export(PDF), All parts selected (Main, Alto, Tenor) and "Each Part to a Separate file" then Main score (ie. both instruments) are printed on one page=exactly as I see in MuseScore. But those two other instruments are printed onto two pages each. And the worst is, that the second page always contains only one measure.
Guys - what am I doing wrong?
Thank you so much
Petr.
In reply to Hi, I do have similar… by petr.debef
That score doesn't have parts generated and formatted, so they do get generated on the fly, this may or may not fix. And if you do open the parts, you'd see that they don't fit a single page, not without apply less stretch (several times).
So try the attached instead