How to stop the pages from always jumping when i make as little as one edit to a score

• Feb 9, 2024 - 23:45

Like, if I even just move something a hair, it will make one whole line of music go to the next page, and then if I do it again, it will go back to the way I want it. I wish there was a "Keep Bar on the same staff" feature, or just something that fkn doesn't go 3 pages up if I put as much as one note somewhere. Of course, this doesn't always happen though, but for me, who writes very complex music, it's annoying.


Comments

It's not an easy problem. MusieScore's layout algorithm tries hard to keep the spacing ratio consistent, so even "putting one note somewhere" can have a big impact.

On the other hand, I agree with you because I often suffer the same frustration when entering notes towards the end of a page.

I'm disappointed there are no better fixes to this problem. It drives me crazy when editing. I change one little thing then have to press "Play" to find out where the everything went hoping I left play location at where I was editing. When editing 16th notes it is just nuts.
John

In reply to by John Gessner

Simply pressing the right- or left-arrow key will move you to the next note ... and display it. That is, jump the score back to that point. No need for Play.

I never have problems editing notes, unless the edit changes the pagination. For example, changing long notes to short ones (or vice versa), or editing things that make the system taller or shorter (adding ties/slurs/dymanics). Merely editing 16ths (or any other note) doesn't make it jump for me ... I guess I should say: RARELY makes it jump for me.

In reply to by Alessandro Penezzi

Normally it shoudl work like any decent text editor, reposuition the view only as much as necessary to keep the cursor in view. But if you're constantly working the edges, I guess that could get old. So, as others mentioned, simply switch to continuous view to reduce the number of edges you're working. Or you can turn off the "pan score automatically" option in the settings of the playback toolbar.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Yes, it SHOULD work like a decent text editor, but based on the feedback from dozens of users, clearly it does not. There should be an obvious toggle to TURN OFF the auto calculation or reposition or whatever the hell it is called. The solution is not to say "the system is right". The solution is usability. VERY frustrating. PS, i don't need Musescore to automatically re-justify note values EVERY TIME I ENTER A NOTE. the algorithm is terrible.

In reply to by bonarharris1

That kind of option doesn't make sense. What if you go off the page when you add the note with "auto layout" turned off? The solution is just to enter notes in continuous view where the layout of things doesn't matter, and then in page view do all of your formatting changes. This is the best workflow for entering notes because it'll save you the trouble of having to constantly readjust things.

Or if you're engraving from a manuscript, you can do manual casting off and use page and system breaks to fix all the bars and staves in place.

In reply to by bonarharris1

Actually it does work llike a text editor - the cursor moves ahead, and the view positions to show the next character. The issue is that some percentage of the time, you might subjectively not want it to behave like a text editor. Specifically, if you don't intend to actually enter another note adter the one you just entered but instead want to enter one simulatenous with the one you just entered. That of course is not a thing with text so you don't encountered cases where the normal behavior isn't what you want. But in MuseScore, even entering notes simulatenous with the one you just did is perfectly possible via the usual keyboard shortcuts whether the view has moved ahead or not.

Not sure what you mean about "automatically re-justify note values", but if you mean take steps to ensure that changing the duration of one note doesn't inadvertently change the start times of subsequent notes, this is definitely by design and again, most of the time exactly what ios wanted. For the cases where you want some number of subject notes to move - and only you, not MuseScore, could possibly know how many - just select and move them yourself.

I think the the jumping is very confusing in the sense that I have no idea where I am in the score after the jump.

I would prefer a “temporary auto stretch” mode that would squeeze the prior measures tighter, so I can either continue to type in almost the same location, with the familiar notes nearby, or arrow back without being disoriented.

In the current system, a simple arrow back often does not help me figure out where I was.

If there were a background color to the current measure column, that would help, too. Light blue for most times.

Also, while the auto stretch is happening, while the “extra” measure is being typed in, it could be coloured light green. If I keep entering notes beyond it, then the green bar and the current new bar would move together. The prior bar stays green until I exit note mode (or another is added). Because the green bar moves with the jumping within the score, I think there would be less disorientation. I would comfortably continue to enter notes.

In reply to by TDYama

I'm comfortable now, just turning it off completely for a while.

I wish it were possible to color single notes or measures or trial melodies etc. Wouldn't it be great to be able to enter a trial counterpoint or bass line in a different color? I do this all the time when composing or arranging.
Maybe it is possible and I just haven't read directions closely enough.
John

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