>Since we're on the layout question, does anybody get layout work done >easily with Finale? It always seems a massive trial-and-error effort. >[...] > >Is there any foolproof order of just a few steps folks use to adjust >layout, steps that work every time?
I don't know about "foolproof", but like Richard and Éric I have my standard procedure which works fine for me. I do ALL of my layout by typing numbers in various dialog windows. I've been using Finale since v2.5 and I honestly don't think I've ever dragged a system or staff. I like to have all my measures-per-system worked out before I even begin adjusting layout, and I usually have all my systems-per-page determined as well. Occasionally, I'll miscalculate and have to change something after I've started with layout, but that's never intentional. I move staves within a system using the "Staff Usage" box. (Andrew commented, "It should seldom be necessary to drag staves very far at the layout stage," but that's not my experience. Particularly for piano scores with lots of markings, or vocal scores that alternate between single and multiple verses of lyrics.) I always move staves an even multiple of 6pts (ie, one staff space), and the default space between staves is also an even multiple. I do this mostly for the sake of easily keeping track of distances, but it's also helpful for various odd tricky things I occasionally need to do with regard to cross-staffing, the most common one being an arpeggio mark that crosses both staves in a piano part. I'm unusual in that for my piano-vocal scores (my main work), I like to have the bottom system in the same position on every page. I know that most publishers don't care about this, but it bothers me to see the bottom systems of successive pages close to the same position but not quite. So my layout thinking for a page starts with a fixed position for the top system and a fixed position for the bottom. (Occasionally, keeping the bottom position constant isn't feasible, but usually it is.) Whatever space is left over gets evenly distributed between the systems. For this, I use the Edit Systems Margins box; I alter the "Distance Between Systems" number for the appropriate systems and use "Apply". (I never close this window, so it always appears whenever I'm in the Layout tool.) Working out the right number is simple arithmetic. I have a mid-range distance there as a default, and I add to or subtract from it depending on if the staff usage adjustments have left the page tight or loose. The great majority of my serious work (ie, excluding doodling, sloppy drafts just to get through a gig, etc) is in the same two templates, so I know all the default numbers by heart. Generally, I already know exactly what system adjustment is needed from having just done the staff usage adjustments, but if I've lost track I can refigure it from the "Required for add'l system" number. Most of the time I do all the calculating in my head; occasionally I might work it out with pencil and paper. My default approach in balancing the space between systems is to equalize the distance between the actual staff lines. But if a system is top-heavy or bottom-heavy -- due to extreme-range notes, excessive markings, or whatnot -- I'll compensate in the distance between systems. The "correct" way to do this would be to adjust the "top" or "bottom" numbers in the Edit System Margins window, and occasionally I'll do this if it's a complicated page. More often I just figure in my head and put unequal numbers in for distance between systems. I've found that the tighter a page is, the more inclined I'll be to make such adjustments. If a page is comfortably loose with plenty of space between systems, what looks even to the eye is for the actual staves to be evenly placed, regardless of what is on them. On a crowded page, where space between systems is tight, it's much more noticeable if one system has a lot of notes sticking out beyond the staves and another doesn't, so that systems spaced evenly between the staves alone won't look so even to the eye. By the way, I'm not sure that a plug-in could do a good job of vertical justification in this respect. Aesthetically, the calculation is not just how far the most extreme item extends vertically from the staff. In terms of pleasing the eye, it's also a matter of the quantity of material extending vertically or even the nature of it (eg, notes vs text markings vs hairpins). There's also the matter of whether extending items line up horizontally. If there is one low note sticking way down on the far left of system 2, and one high note sticking way up on the far right of system 3, I won't need to add extra space between the systems to accommodate those extreme notes because they're nowhere near each other. On a tight page I might even make the two "overlap" from a strictly vertical point of view. I see that as I describe this it sounds rather complicated, but when I do it it feels pretty simple. I guess what's complicated is setting out in words what I do instinctively and according to patterns I've evolved over years of experience. I assume that Finale's "space systems evenly" function and/or some of the plug-ins will do some of my routine layout work for me, but my standard procedure is so automatic that I haven't felt a need to learn them. And I suspect that while they might help in some tasks, they still won't do everything exactly as I like. I'm sort of wonkish about placement; I like knowing exactly where everything is placed. I would never click-drag anything at all if I could help it. Oh, and I still use page reduction rather than system reduction. I honestly don't know if what difference that makes. I remember a thread which led me to believe that my way is old-fashioned and most others have moved on to system reduction, but I never saw any good reason to change. I suspect the procedure would be pretty much the same except that I'd have to get used to seeing different numbers in the various dialogues; eg, six points in Staff Usage wouldn't be the same as six points in Edit System Margins. I expect that would confuse me, especially if my reduction percentage isn't a convenient ratio. mdl _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
