Layout and printing · Manual

Maestro lays out the score and the parts on its own, but you can adjust every choice by hand: paper format, systems and pages, distances between staves. This chapter also covers working with linked parts and printing or exporting to PDF.

Page View and Scroll View

You see the layout in Page View, which is what gets printed. View → Scroll View switches to the continuous view and View → Page View goes back; ⌘E (Ctrl+E on Windows) switches between them. Some features in this chapter (hiding empty staves, resizing individual systems) only work in Page View.

Title, composer and heading

Title, subtitle, composer, arranger, lyricist and copyright are changed together with Document → Title and Composer… (⇧⌘I, Ctrl+Shift+I on Windows) or in the Document section of the inspector. The composer has two lines (for example the name and “arr. …”); below the fields a preview shows the top of the first page and the bottom with the copyright, and it changes as you type.

Faster, in Page View: double-click a text in the heading (the title, the composer, the lyricist, the copyright at the bottom of the page). The same dialog opens with the cursor already in the field you clicked; over those texts the pointer becomes a hand. To add a field that is not there yet, use the menu or the shortcut.

For the font of these texts: right-click (or ⌃-click) a text in the heading and choose Title Font… or Heading Font…, which open Document → Fonts… with the right row highlighted; Edit Text… in the same menu works like the double-click. The Fonts… button at the bottom left of Title and Composer… also confirms what you typed and moves on to the fonts.

Flows

Like Dorico flows, a document can hold several separate pieces: the movements of a sonata, the numbers of a collection, the exercises of a method. Select the first measure of the new piece and choose Document → Flows → Flow… (also from the right-click menu on a measure, Start a Flow Here…). In the window enter the title, subtitle and composer, and choose whether the flow starts on a new page.

The previous measure ends with a final barline, and the flow begins a new system with its title in the centre and the composer on the right, smaller than on the first page.
The first system of the flow is indented, with full instrument names and the time signature.
Measure numbering restarts at 1 (at 0 if the first measure is a pickup). The measure typed in the transport bar and the windows that ask for a measure number search in the flow of the selected measure.
Parts contain all the flows, except those in which the instrument does not play.
In the window, switch off the instruments that do not play in the flow: they do not appear in its systems, their parts do not include the flow, and the flow printed on its own comes out without them. An instrument with notes in the flow stays. The first flow always has every instrument.
Repeats and jumps stay in their flow: D.C. goes back to the start of the flow, D.S. and Coda look for the sign in the flow. Playback stops at the end of the flow it starts in; audio and MIDI export contain the whole document.
When you open a MuseScore file, its sections (section breaks) become flows, with the title, subtitle and composer of the frame that opens them. In MusicXML files a flow starts where measure numbering restarts at 1 after a final barline; when you export to MusicXML each flow has its own numbering. In Finale files a flow starts where a measure number region restarts at 1, and the page text above its first system (the movement title) becomes the flow title. When you export to Finale, each flow has its own measure number region and its title above its first system.

Document → Flows → Flows… opens the window with all the pieces in the document: for each one the title, subtitle and composer (you edit them there), the new page, the instruments that play, Go to Flow and Remove Flow. At the bottom, Add at the End… (also Document → Flows → Add Flow…) creates a new piece after the last one, with as many empty measures as you choose. In the score, double-click a flow title to open its window, or right-click it to edit or remove the flow; in Scroll View the flow name sits above its first measure. With several flows, the status bar and the Inspector show which flow the selected measure belongs to. Print and Export PDF ask whether to print all the flows or just one: the flow comes out as a piece of its own, with its title at the top of the first page and its own measure numbering.

On the first measure of a flow, Flow… (or Edit Flow…) changes its texts or removes it: the music then continues the previous flow. The first flow is the beginning of the document, with the score’s title.

Page texts

Document → Insert Page Text… adds free text to the page, like Finale’s page text: a direction above a system (“or, in four parts:”), a section title, a page header. In the text {page} becomes the page number and {title} the title, for example {page} {title} for the header of the following pages; where the page number is written, the automatic one isn’t repeated.

The dialog has the text (on several lines too), the Font (by default Same as header, that is the font of the heading texts in Document → Fonts…), the Size in points and the Style (normal, bold, italic, bold italic); on the Mac a preview shows the text as it will look. A new text takes the font of the last one you inserted.

The new text goes above the system of the chosen measure. In Page View you drag it with the Selection tool, the arrow keys move it and ⌫ removes it. Double-click or right-click the text for the options:

Edit Text…, with the same dialog;
where it appears: Above the System (it follows the system even when it moves to another page), Only on This Page, On All Pages, From the Second Page On;
alignment Left, Center or Right, and also Mirrored on Even Pages;
Bold, Italic, Larger, Smaller;
In the Score and in the Parts, Only in the Score or Only in the Parts;
Delete Page Text.

Texts at the top of the page push the music down, and texts above a system make room for themselves. They come in from Finale files and go back to Finale with Export Finale (.musx)….

Page format

Document → Score Page Format… and Document → Parts → Parts Page Format…, as in Finale. You can choose:

the paper: A3, A4, A5, B4, Letter, Legal, Tabloid or custom, with width and height;
portrait or landscape orientation;
the four margins in millimeters;
the staff height in millimeters: leave it empty for automatic, based on the number of staves;
the distance between systems in millimeters, from the last line of one system to the first line of the next: with a value the systems stay at that distance instead of spreading over the page, but never get so close that they touch; leave it empty for automatic.
the system dividers, the two slanted bars on the left that separate two systems on the same page, as in printed editions: Automatic puts them in scores with three or more staves, Always also with one or two, Never removes them.

Parts can have their own format or follow the score’s (Same as the score). The format applies to Page View, printing and PDF, and is saved in the document.

Automatic layout

Without any intervention, Maestro:

picks the staff height for the ensemble (about 7.3 mm for parts and piano, 5.5 mm for band and orchestra);
calculates the distances between staves and systems from the notes, lyrics and chord symbols that stick out;
spreads the systems over the full height of pages that are at least 60% full (unless you chose a distance between systems), like Finale’s vertical justification; emptier pages keep them at the top;
in ensemble scores where only one system would fit per page, shrinks the staff a little (down to 75%), like Finale’s Resize System, to fit two systems per page or save pages;
separates two systems on the same page with the system divider (//) in ensemble scores.

Choose how measure numbers appear in Page View, printing and PDF in the settings, Appearance section: at the start of each system, on every measure, every 5 or 10 measures, or none.

Manual layout

Select one or more measures and use Document → Layout, or the Layout palette tool at the bottom of the left palette:

Command	Mac	What it does
New System from This Measure	`⌥⌘↩`	Starts a new system at that measure (again to remove it)
New Page from This Measure	`⇧⌥⌘↩`	Starts a new page at that measure
Selected Measures in One System		Fits the chosen measures on a single system
Measures per System…		A fixed number of measures per system
Fit Measures…		Locks the layout: so many measures per system, or the measures in a single system
System Distance…		The distance between systems in the whole document or in the chosen systems
Size of Selected Systems…		Shrinks or enlarges whole systems (40–200%), Page View only
Margins of Selected Systems…		Shortens systems from the left or the right, Page View only
Remove Breaks from Selected Measures		Removes manual system and page breaks
Automatic Layout		Removes all breaks, measures per system and system sizes

On Windows these commands have no shortcuts: use them from the menu or the palette. New system from here and New page from here are also checkboxes in the Inspector when a measure is selected.

The score and each part have their own layout. Breaks follow inserted and deleted measures and meter changes.

Fit Measures… (also from right-clicking a measure with the Selection tool) works as in Finale. Choose the action: Lock Layout with a number of measures per system (with the A multimeasure rest counts as one measure box), Lock Chosen Measures into One System or Remove System Locks. Then choose All Measures or a stretch, Measure … through …, which starts from the selected measures. In locked measures the systems break exactly there, even if the measures get tight; before and after the stretch the layout stays automatic. It applies to the part or score you are viewing.

System Distance… (also from right-clicking a measure) sets the distance from the last line of a system to the first line of the next, in millimeters, or Automatic. With The whole document it is the page format distance (the same as Page Format… → Between systems) and the distances of single systems are removed; with Above the systems of measures … through … it applies only above the systems containing those measures, and those systems don’t spread out when the page is filled. Systems never touch. The distance of single systems is set in page view. In the same dialog Systems per page chooses how many systems go on each page of the whole document (empty: automatic); if they don’t fit, a page has fewer.

Margins of Selected Systems… shortens the system of the selected measures on the Left and on the Right, in millimeters, for an example of a few measures that shouldn’t fill the whole line: the measures get narrower to fit (0 or empty: the whole line). The margins follow the system even if you add or remove measures; they come in from Finale files and go back to Finale with Export Finale (.musx)….

In a part with a single staff (trumpet, flute…), in page view and with the Selection tool, the arrow keys move measures between systems, as in Finale: ↑ moves the selected measure, with those before it in its system, to the end of the previous system; ↓ moves it and those after it to the start of the next system (from the last system a new one is created). The systems involved stay that way, as with Fit Measures…; in the score the arrows move the selection between staves instead.

Scores opened from Finale

When you open a .musx file, Maestro imports systems and pages as Finale had them, along with the staff height, resized systems and fixed staff distances. If you prefer Maestro’s more compact layout, choose Document → Layout → Return to Maestro’s Layout: in one undoable step it removes systems, pages, sizes and fixed distances and sets the staff height back to automatic. Automatic Layout, instead, only removes the breaks and keeps the staff height.

The score also opens with the fonts it had in Finale: the music font (Maestro, Jazz, Broadway Copyist… become their equivalents Finale Maestro, Finale Jazz, Finale Broadway, included with Maestro) and the fonts for the title, composer, chord symbols, lyrics, staff names, measure numbers, tempo marks and techniques. You don’t need Finale installed. To change them, use Document → Fonts….

Staff distances

With the Staff tool (⌘8), drag a staff up or down: its distance from the staff above changes on every system. While you drag, you see the staff in its new position and the distance (“+2 spaces”).

Drag with ⌥ (Alt on Windows) to change the distance in that system only.
From the staff menu: Distance from the Staff Above… (in staff spaces, negative too), Automatic Distance, All Distances Automatic, Distance in This System Only… and Automatic Distances in This System.

The distance is added to the automatic one, so staves never collide. A single-system adjustment belongs to the system that starts at that measure, as with Finale’s Page Layout tool.

Distance of a system from the system above

To move a single system further away or closer (for example to make room for a text, or in a part with a single staff):

with the Staff tool, drag the first staff of the system: the whole system moves, and you see the new distance in millimeters (“+4 mm from the system above”);
with the Page Layout tool, drag the system by its clef, to the left of the first measure (on the music a click selects measures as usual);
with any tool, right-click the clef of the system: Distance from the System Above… (in millimeters, negative too) and Automatic Distance from the System Above.

The following systems move along. In the view of a part the distance applies to that part only; in the score, to the score only. To change the distance between all systems use the page format.

Hide empty staves

Document → Layout → Hide Empty Staves, like Finale’s Optimize Staff Systems: in Page View, from the second system on, staves with only rests for the whole system aren’t shown, so more systems fit on a page.

The first system always shows every instrument.
Piano and harp are hidden only when both staves are silent.
A staff marked Always visible (in the Inspector) is never hidden: useful for the vocal line or the lead instrument.

The setting is saved with the score and can be undone with ⌘Z.

Linked parts

The same window shows either the score or one part: pick it from the pop-up menu at the bottom left, or use View → Next Part (⌥⌘]) and View → Previous Part (⌥⌘[). On Windows use View → Score or Part…, Next Part and Previous Part from the menu.

A part is a view of the score: whatever you write or edit in the part goes into the score and vice versa, so they always stay in sync. Each part has its own layout, the instrument name at the top, its transposition and multimeasure rests.

Parts with several instruments

As in Finale, a part can contain several instruments, even ones that aren’t next to each other in the score: for example soprano, tenor and bass of a choir, or the winds without the strings. Document → Parts → New Part with Several Instruments… asks for the name (if you leave it empty, it’s the instrument names in order) and the instruments to check; if you have selected some measures, the ones in the selection are already checked. The new part opens right away and appears in the parts menu next to the others.

It works like the instrument parts: it’s linked to the score, has its own layout, and prints, exports and extracts the same way. The instruments follow the score order, joined by a bracket. In the part the cursor, the selection, Copy, Paste and Delete only touch its staves, even when the score has another staff in between.

While you’re looking at the part, Document → Parts → Edit Part… changes its name and instruments and Delete Part removes it (the music stays in the score). The part is saved in the document and follows its instruments even if you move them.

Extract parts

Document → Parts → Extract Parts… (⌥⌘P, Ctrl+Alt+P on Windows) prepares one part per instrument (a braced piano stays together), transposed, with its name at the top and multimeasure rests. Choose the parts and what to do with them:

open them in new windows (Mac only);
export them to PDF, one file per part in a folder;
print them all in a single print job;
export them to MusicXML, one file per part.

For small notes before entrances, see cue notes.

Multimeasure rests

In parts, consecutive measures of rest become a single bar with the number of measures above it, broken by key and time changes, rehearsal marks and repeats. View → Multimeasure Rests (⇧⌘M; from the menu on Windows) turns them on or off in any score. A new score opens with multimeasure rests turned off.

Music font and text fonts

Document → Fonts… chooses the font for the music symbols and the font for each kind of text, like Finale’s font options. At the bottom of the dialog, a preview shows the top of a page with your choices; the Title and Composer… button at the bottom left confirms the fonts and moves on to the heading texts.

Music font

In the Music symbols row, choose the font for noteheads, clefs, accidentals, rests, dynamics and the other symbols. These come with Maestro:

Bravura, the default;
Petaluma, handwritten, in a jazz style;
Leland, MuseScore’s font;
the six Finale fonts: Finale Maestro, Finale Jazz and Finale Broadway (handwritten, like Broadway Copyist), Finale Engraver (engraved style), Finale Ash (handwritten) and Finale Legacy (like Petrucci).

The list also shows the SMuFL fonts installed on your computer with Dorico, MuseScore or other programs. Symbols a font doesn’t have are drawn with Bravura. Free symbols added with Symbol… use the chosen font too.

Text fonts

For each kind of text, choose the font, the size in points and the style (Default, Normal, Bold, Italic, Bold italic). Sizes in points refer to this score’s staff: if you change the staff height, the texts in the music follow it.

Title;
Composer and part name;
Instrument names;
Chord symbols;
Tempo marks and jumps;
Techniques and expressions;
Lyrics;
Measure numbers and rehearsal marks;
Copyright, which follows the heading texts until you change it.

The default font is Times. Besides the fonts installed on your computer, there are the ones included with Maestro, marked “(included)”: Finale’s text fonts and Petaluma Script.

Ready-made styles

The Ready-made style menu changes the music font and all the text fonts at once, like Finale’s handwritten scores:

Classic (Bravura and Times);
Handwritten jazz (Finale Jazz), with Finale Jazz Text;
Handwritten Broadway (Finale Broadway), with Finale Broadway Text and Finale Lyrics for the lyrics;
Handwritten Petaluma, with Petaluma Script;
Finale Maestro, with Finale Maestro Text and Finale Lyrics for the lyrics.

After picking a ready-made style you can still change individual rows.

Your choices apply to the score and all its parts, are saved in the document (in MusicXML too) and can be undone with ⌘Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows). On a computer that doesn’t have the music font, Maestro uses Petaluma for handwritten fonts and Bravura for the others; a missing text font becomes Times.

Printing and PDF

File → Print… (⌘P, Ctrl+P on Windows) prints the Page View pages, fitted to the chosen paper and rotated if needed. On Windows a print preview appears first; its Print… button opens the print dialog with paper and orientation already set.
File → Page Setup… (Mac only) chooses the printer and paper.
File → Export PDF… (⇧⌘P; from the menu on Windows) saves the same pages as a PDF.

When a part is showing, you print and export that part. The PDF uses the chosen music font and text fonts; on Windows Maestro embeds them in the file, except a font whose license doesn’t allow it, which stays in Times. In print and PDF everything is black, including layers that are colored on screen. To collect several pieces in one PDF, see the setlist.