hange Staff Attribute

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Ben Tupper Posted February 26, 2017 23:56 Answered

Windows 14d

Several years ago I wrote a piece for viola and piano in 11b. Yesterday a cellist asked me to reset it for her, so I pulled it up into 14d, changed the clef, transposed it down an octave, and made a few other appropriate changes. But I could not change the staff name. No matter what I do, the staff name always reverts to "Viola." In 11b, it's a simple edit in the Staff Attributes box -- one click to open the edit line, rewrite the name, and click OK. Done. Is there any way to make that change in 14d or do I simply make the changes in 11b and print it from there? What if I wrote it originally in 14d and wanted to change the attribute, would I be stuck? I suppose I could create a new document with the instrument change, then copy and paste the notes, but that seems a whole lot of unnecessary work.

5 comments

Date Votes

Bruce Kling Posted February 27, 2017 00:39

In 14d, you change the Staff Name in the Score Manager.

Ben Tupper Posted February 27, 2017 07:19

Thank you. That's a weird, obtuse place to put it. Who would'a thunk to look under window to do something with a staff. And a clumsy, lengthy process to make the change. About seven steps to do it when you finally get to the right location.. So easy and quick and obvious in the staff attributes box. I wonder if the programmers at MM ever actually sit down and use the programs they write.

Susan McMurray Posted March 06, 2017 20:58

Awesome! I have been looking for this information. Thank you!!!!!!!!! I'd give you +1000 if I could. All the reference material points to Finale dialog boxes that are not available in PrintMusic.

SKJALG BJØRSTAD Posted March 08, 2017 13:08

Actually, the Score Manager concept is a brilliant one. If you at some point need to change instrument mid-score or switch to another sound library, the Score Manager is a perfect tool and gives a full overview of the score setup, channel assignments, sound banks, transpositions and all staff settings. When it comes to staff names, things could have been more intuitive, but all in all I find the SM to be a great improvement compared to the earlier paradigm.

Ben Tupper Posted March 15, 2017 17:36

-1

Granted, the Score Manager does some interesting and useful things. . But most computer programs have more than one path to significant actions It would be OK to put a staff naming function in the Score Management box along with all the other goodies, but taking it out of the Staff Attributes box doesn't make sense. It exchanges a complex routine for a simple 3-click process that is immediately available with a number of other staff aspects Staff management and score management are different things -- some overlapping, but distinct in their basic purpose..

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