cannot stretch

• Oct 10, 2023 - 09:15

what can I do if { and } doesn't work?
I want less notes in every system. it is too crowded for me to play
thank you


Comments

In reply to by zivshosh

All keyboards are different, one some you might need to add Shift, or not use Shift. You can also customize them in Edit / Preferences Shortcuts. But definitely, you shouldn't be using stretch for simple things like that - system breaks are always better. Stretch commands are only needed for very unusual special effects involving deliberately creating uneven spacing.

In reply to by zivshosh

Yes, but as mentioned, different keyboard send different key codes, so it’s always the case that some commands may work on some keyboards while others don’t. The way MuseScore works with keyboards has changed, in ways that allow more commands to work on more keyboards, but this change means that some commands on some keyboards that use to work will now require customization as I said.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

since I haven't change anything on my pc and my keyboard is quite old it is not a question of keboard. and the proof is that it worked in the near past, wbout a week ago
this score was written in haste without tempo key and without bars. this I think is the real reason why { & } didn't work.
the minute I inserted temp key I was able to do system breaks.
Now about {: system breaks cannot solve all problems. Sometimes a single measure is too crowded due to, say, grace note (this is exactly relevant to my score) in this case only { can solve the problem!
Mr. Sabatella I acknowledge and value that fact that you are an expert and know a lot in musescore far more than a newbie like me. But I started with musescore 3, used the forum a lot, got good answers, many of them from you, which helped me to stand on my own legs and work quite freely with musescore. I still address tha forum in cases I fail to solve, but I learnt quite a lot and there few things I already know including the advantage of { in some cases
Thank you

In reply to by zivshosh

As I explained above, the way MuseScore works with keyboards has changed. This allows many commands that used to not work on many keyboards to now work when they didn't before. unfortunately this does mean a small number of commands that used to work on some keyboards don't. There is simply no way to design it so that all command ds work on all keyboards. So if your particular keyboard happens to be one where a certain command no longer work, simply redefine it as I explained.

And yes, in certain very rare cases, these commands are useful. That is why I am trying so hard to explain to you how you can redefine them.

But note, the improvements in MsueScore are pretty dramatic, to the point where you'll almost never need this anymore. Things that required them to look good in MU3 will look perfect right out of the box in MU4. Cases where you needed to resort to this to fit extra measures on a system in MU3 are now more easily handled by the new command to keep measures together on a system. it will literally almost never be needed anymore, even though the limitations of MU3 made it necessary a bit more often.

In reply to by zivshosh

"this score was written in haste without tempo key and without bars. this I think is the real reason why { & } didn't work."
If you wrote the entire piece in a single long bar, then the stretch keys { and } would have no effect at all.

"the minute I inserted tempo key [a time signature?] I was able to do system breaks."
You can only insert a System Break at the end of a bar, so for a piece notated as one single bar you can only insert a System Break right at the end.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

You wrote "Stretch commands are only needed for very unusual special effects involving deliberately creating uneven spacing."

The only occasion I have had to use stretch is when I want MORE notes/measures to fit on a single system. That is, I use "Decrease layout stretch". Have literally never used "Increase".

Is there another--better--way of doing this? And, what sort of "unusual special effects" are you talking about.

In reply to by TheHutch

As I said, there is now a command in the Layout palette to keep measures together in the same system and not can be used to force as many measures you like. The various settings in Format / Style / Measure are also designed to allow you to set things so even that is seldom necessary to get tighter spacing. So reducing stretch should never be needed just to squeeze more measures into a system anymore.

The special effects I had in mind are cases where you might want to alter spacing within a system to avoid its barlines being too perfectly aligned with those in the next system if the music is basically the same. That’s something professional engravers sometimes do to improve readability. And other similar special cases where for whatever you want the spacing less mathematically perfect in order to serve some other goal.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I'm definitely missing something then.

I occasionally have to adjust the settings in Format / Style / Measure in order to get lots of notes on a single line, but once I have done so, I ALWAYS have to "Decrease layout stretch".

The "Keep measures in the same system" specifically doesn't if the stretch isn't decreased in those situations.

(I'm looking for an example file.)

In reply to by TheHutch

I spoke too soon. Apparently I must have done something wrong when I tried it before. It really does FORCE the measures onto a single system, even if that makes it ridiculously tight and unreadable. I thought that the Handbook specified that it wouldn't do that and that I had tried and it had NOT done it.

Obviously, my mistake. Thanks!!!

In reply to by TheHutch

The settings in MU3 were also more limited, plus the default algorithm produced bad results in many cases - inconsistent spacing in a single system that required stretch adjustments just to fix. In MU4 the defaults should be pretty much perfect and not require stretch adjustments to get professional results. Also, the new “spacing ratio” setting handles a variety of special cases that formerly required stretch or other workarounds - direct proportional spacing, equalizing measures widths, etc.

So in addition to the “keep measures together” command, there are just all sorts of other improvements and new capabilities that make stretch adjustment virtually never needed anymore, compared to MU3 where they were needed much more often.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Gentleme
my problem is solved long ago
Since I have only one pc other keyboards do not interest me. my keboard is standard and every hot key I tried in ver.3 and ver.4 is solved
If I have measures that are too crowded due to too many grace notes, nothing in ver.3 or ver.4 can solve the problem except {
I have no doubt that ver.4 is far better. but since user interface was changed and I'm an old man I had to learn musecore anew. Now I am able to do everything I want. If there is anything I don't know how to do I address the forum and get an immediate answer(s)
I'm not sure I know everything about the wonderful ver.4 but there are few things I missed from ver.3 mainly palettes which I had to add.
and of course importing pdf has too many errors. luckily there are other more successful programs

In reply to by zivshosh

Grace notes should be spaced automatically, and spacing is better in MU4 than MU3. If you have a specific score in which you needed to resort to stretch in order to fix grace note spacing, please start a new thread and attach the score so we can investigate.

Also, for the record, both MU3 and MU4 default to a limited set of palettes to avoid overwhelming new users. Both allow you to add the remaining palettes if you like.

In reply to by zivshosh

As I said, if you believe there is a problem with grace note spacing, please start a new thread and attach the actual score. Otherwise it’s impossible to know which specific transcription you mean, and it might have errors in the note input that are the actual cause of the problem.

But anyhow, yes, again, there are unusual special cases where stretch commands might still be useful even in 4.1, so hopefully you have by now solved the shortcut issue using the information we provided.

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.