The Inspector appears by default on the right of your screen. To show or hide it:
To undock the Inspector panel:
Click the double-chevron symbol or double-click the top bar of the panel.
To re-attach the panel double-click on the top bar again. See also: Side panels.
When you select any object in the score window, its properties are automatically displayed in the Inspector where they can be edited. Multiple elements can also be selected and edited together—as long as they are of the same type. However, if the selected objects are of different types, then the Inspector restricts you to editing color, visibility, and automatic placement only.
When you select a score object, two types of buttons are clearly visible on the right-hand side of the Inspector:
Reset to style default: . Press this button to reset a particular property to the default value—i.e. the one shown in the Style menu.
Set as style: . Press this button to make the value of a particular property the new default for the style. This will update the Style menu and all other objects governed by that style.
Note: You can also edit styles directly from the Style menu.
Properties are conveniently listed under categories in the Inspector. Categories can be identified by their bold lettering. For example, if you select a barline, you will see the following displayed at the top of the Inspector:
For details of the various categories and their properties, see below:
All score elements—except frames, breaks and spacers—display this category in the Inspector when selected. The options are as follows:
Visible: Uncheck this box to make selected elements invisible; alternatively, use the shortcut V (toggle). Invisible elements do not appear in the music when printed out or exported as a PDF or image. If you still want them to remain on display in the document window, make sure that the "Show Invisible" option is selected in View → Show Invisible. Invisible elements will then be colored light gray.
Color: Click on the rectangle to open a "Color Select" dialog. Adjust the color and opacity of selected elements.
Automatic placement: See Automatic placement.
Minimum distance: Minimum distance from other elements when automatic placement is enabled.
Offset X/Y: Allows you to position selected elements exactly (in terms of space units). A positive number moves the elements right or down; a negative number moves the elements left or up. Snap to grid buttons are also provided.
Stacking order (Z): See Automatic placement: Stacking order
This category is displayed only when you have selected a mixture of different types of elements, and allows editing of color, visibility, and automatic placement only.
This category allows you to make changes to selected notes (but for note position—see Element). It contains the following properties:
See Dynamics
See Tempo
This category appears differently according to the selection you have made:
This section is displayed in the Inspector when you select one or more note beams, and allows you to make fine adjustments to beam position and angle, and also change the spacing of beamed notes.
This section appears when you select a clef: the tick box allows you to turn on/off the display of a preceding courtesy clef.
This category appears when you select an articulation or ornament. The following options are available:
See Fretboard diagrams.
This category is displayed when a line is selected. Here, you can set various general properties.
This category is displayed when a line is selected. It allows you to set the wording of a line, edit text properties, set line hooks, and align the text in relation to the line.
End hook / Height: Ditto for the very end of the line.
Begin Text / Continue Text / End Text: Refers to text at the very beginning of the line; at the beginning of any continuation line; or at the end of the very last line. All have the same properties, as follows:
Some object types have additional properties. These are accessed by right-clicking on the object and choosing a "... properties" option from the context menu. The settings available in these dialogs are explained in the description of the object type in Notation or Advanced topics.
See: