Creating a new text style
I've renamed the User Text 1 style to "Commentary" - it is Comic Sans Ms bold and italic font.
Now I'd like to be able to select this from the text palettes. I can drag the newly created text (CTRL SHIFT) into the text palettes area but it shows a red no-entry sign.
Advice welcome.
Comments
Sometimes the paletyte is a bit finicky about accepting Ctrl+Shift+drag. Try closing and reopening the palette, closing and reopening the score, etc. Sooner or later it will work.
But, keep in mind styles are score-specific. So while adding your custom text to the palette will (eventually) work, it probably won't do what you want, since in other scores, User 1 will still be set to the default font. Instead of using a text style for this, just customize the properties of the staff text itself. Custom formatting is preserved, so that will force Comic Sans Bold for that element regardless of score style settings.
In reply to Sometimes the paletyte is a… by Marc Sabatella
I need the user defined styles to be available to all further scores; problem is, there is more than one, so if I assign staff text to all of them they all have the same properties, surely?
For example, I'd need "staff" texts that include comments, say, with one font, and section headings, say, with a different font, and I'd like to be able to pick them from the palette and not have to pick the staff text and alter it depending on which type of font I need (comments or section headings being different). AND preserve these selections for the next score, and the next etc.
In reply to I need the user defined… by Ali Wood
The most straightforward way to do this would be to define these styles in a template for the project you are providing commentary on as the different “user” styles, and then assign these styles to various staff texts and add them to the palette. That would make sure these user styles are only used in this way for scores relating to this project and remaining available for other purposes in other scores, and it would also make sure the texts could all be changed together as needed (like quickly selecting all “commentary” texts to make them invisible, or making all “section headings” larger). You could also save your collection of style definitions using Format / Save style, so you can load it into scores not originally create from that project template.
BTW, the issue with Ctrl+Shift+drag sometimes not working has finally been found and fixed for a future update. It turns out the “More” section of the palette is the culprit - once you use it, the palette no longer responds to customization until you close and reopen the palette window. So, that’s the workaround for now.
In reply to The most straightforward way… by Marc Sabatella
Marc,
By project "template" I guess you simply mean a musescore piece which would be literally copied to create the next piece? (There are some unintelligible references to "templates" in the documentation handbook but I couldn't understand any of it.)
Anyway, in Score 1, after setting up one or two different types of system text (eg commentary, section) and bringing these into the text palettes "Commentary" and "Section". I saved score 1 successfully.
When I opened Score 1 again it retained those settings and I was able to add various bits of text into the score.
Fine so far. I also saved the style as an .mss file "Standard".
I closed Score 1.
I created an entirely new Score 2. First of all I found that the additional palette entries I had created in Score 1 were present, but that they had the default characteristics and had not retained the settings I had created in Score 1. (That seemed a "halfway" house. Strange!?)
But I loaded the style "Standard" and all was well.
The other thing I'd like to run by you is that you mention "User" text styles (seen in the list of text styles from the style drop down menu). I could change one of these to text "Massive" and hope to use it. But how would I preserve this in the palette, how indeed would I use it at all? It does not appear in the list when Add Text is pressed.
I encountered "styles" is in Microsoft Word, there are parallels to be drawn but this Musescore configuration seems more complicated.
Cheers
In reply to Marc, By project "template"… by Ali Wood
A template is just an ordinary score that you save under your Templates folder instead of your Scores folder. When you do that, it automatically becomes available to select any time you create a new score, right along all the built-in templates like string quartet, concert band, jazz lead sheet, etc. No copying involved, just select the templates from the list in the wizard when creating a new score.
So assuming you do this particular type of annotation for some particualr ensemble you are writing for, just set up one score the way you like, save to your Templates folder, and select it in the future for new scores instead of whatever template currently use. Then you won’t need to mess with style files for those scores, or customize instruments or anything else - all will be set up as you like it already.
Style files are useful too, for cases just like what you just described - where you already have an existing score you didn’t create from your template, and you want it to use the style that would have gotten for free if you had used the template. Just load the style file and you’ll have your “Massive” text and all other style customizations you had made.
The reason you need to do that even when using your custom palette is that palette items always inherit your score’s native style settings. Which is exactly how you want it normally. That how it works to add a staff text or whatever and it shows in whatever style you are currently using. If applying palette elements ignored your score style settings, it would render those style settings useless.