Page layout

Many instructions for setting the page layout for your documents appear under their own entries. See, for example, Distances;  Margins;  Page size; and  Measure layout. For instructions on arranging measures within the score (setting the number of measures per line, for example, or moving a measure to another system), see Measure layout.    

A common use of SongWriter’s page layout tools is to specify how much music should fit on a page—how many measures per line, for example, or how many systems on a page. It’s important to realize that there are three elements affecting the amount of music on a page. First, look at the distance between staves in each system; if you decrease the total height of the system (by clicking the Staff tool and dragging the staves closer to each other), more systems fit on the page.

Second, you can adjust the distance between systems. If you’re trying to fit another system onto a page, the simplest solution is to slightly decrease the space between all systems, so that the cumulative effect is to create just enough room for another system on each page (see the two subentries called To change the distance between systems, below). The third factor affecting the amount of music that fits on the page is the amount of reduction you’ve applied to the music on a page—you may find that a reduction of even a percentage point or two is just enough to fit another measure per line, or another system per page (see Reducing/Enlarging). 

To change the distance between systems

1. Click the Page Layout tool  . Dotted-line margins appear around each system.
2. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Edit System Margins. The Edit System Margins dialog box appears.
3. In the Change section, click Select All. In other words, you want the change you’re about to make to affect every system in the piece.
4. Make sure Distance Between Systems is checked and uncheck all other boxes. We don’t want to make all of the margins the same, just the distance between systems.
5. In the Distance Between Systems text box, enter a new value. This value is measured in whatever your Measurement Units are set to. See the Document Menu for details.
6. Click Apply. If you like what you see, click Close. You’ve just changed the amount of space between every system in the piece. In so doing, you may also have changed the number of systems able to fit on a page. (The bottom text box governs the amount of extra space below each system.)

To change the page margins

See To change the page layout, below, or see Margins for a more detailed discussion. 

Note: If you’re printing on a PostScript printer and you find that brackets and staff names are being “chopped off” in your printouts, you may not need to change the page margins at all. Instead, choose Page Setup from the File Menu, click Printer, then Properties, and then select the Paper tab and click Unprintable Area. If you make this setting, most laser printers can print 1/8 inch closer to every page edge.

To set the page size

See To change the page layout, below, or see Margins for a more detailed discussion. 

To change the page layout

1. Click the Page Layout tool  .
2. Move to the page you want to change. If you want to change the page layout of all pages at once, it doesn’t matter which page you click. If you’re unsure about your changes, make sure to first select Adjust Current Page Only. Remember, you can always choose Undo from the Edit Menu to restore your piece to its previous state.
3. If you want to change the Page Size, choose Page Size from the Page Layout Menu.
4. In the Page Size dialog box, choose the page size from the drop-down list or enter values using the currently selected measurement units.
5. Choose Landscape or Portrait. Hint. This setting affects how SongWriter lays out the page. Printing settings are set in the Page Setup dialog box under the File Menu.
6. Select the pages you want to affect. Choose all pages or type in the individual page number.
7. Click OK.
8. If you want to change the page margins for just this page, first make sure Adjust Current Page Only is checked in the Page Layout Menu.
9. Drag the handles at the edge of the page margins. You can also enter values directly into the number boxes of the Edit Page Margins dialog box. See Edit Page Margins dialog box for more information.
10. If you want to reposition a staff system on the page, drag from the middle of the system. Note that SongWriter won’t let you drag one system on top of another one.
11. If you want to indent, resize, or respace a system, drag a handle. Each system appears bounded by a dotted line. To indent a system, drag its upper-left handle. Instead of dragging, you can enter values directly into the number boxes. See Edit System Margins dialog box for more information.

When you’re viewing Staff Systems, you’ll notice a boldface number to the left of each system. The numbers on the systems (the first system is number 1) help you identify each system, so you’ll be aware if the system layout has shifted.

12. To edit another page use the arrows at the bottom of the document window to move the next or previous page.
13. Choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu.

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