Break between bars in middle of line

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jongtr
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:52 am
Sibelius Version: first
Operating System: Windows

Post by jongtr » Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:52 pm

I'm using Sibelius 7 First, and I'm getting the problem shown in the attachment. I don't know how it appeared, and I can't get these bars to rejoin (it's the same instrument, same piece of music, and it plays back fine). If I drag the barlines around, the break seems to pop up in other places, or similar breaks appear.
stave break.jpg
stave break.jpg (56.16 KiB) Viewed 2339 times


MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Fri Nov 20, 2020 7:32 am

Except in very special circumstances DO NOT DRAG BARLINES in Sibelius.

Open the inspector.
Select the bar AFTER the gap
Change the value in "Bars-->Gap Before" to 0
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

jongtr
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:52 am
Sibelius Version: first
Operating System: Windows

Post by jongtr » Fri Nov 20, 2020 8:31 am

Thanks for your reply, but as I said, I'm using First. There is no "Inspector", as far as I'm aware.

If there is no way to fix this in First, it's not a huge problem - I can just copy the notes elsewhere and delete the bars in question (either side of the gap). I just thought there might be a fix I'm missing.

By the way, dragging bars is not something I generally do, but is there a reason why it's so important not to do it?

MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Fri Nov 20, 2020 10:16 am

Yes - you almost invariably end up in a mess like this. Let Sibelius do the formatting and tweak it after you've finished putting in the notes!

I finally managed to duplicate this by creating a page break and then dragging the first bar on the new page to the right and then removing the page break again. I managed to cure it by selecting the invisible barline immediately after the gap and pressing [ctrl][shift]p (Reset position).
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

jongtr
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:52 am
Sibelius Version: first
Operating System: Windows

Post by jongtr » Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:49 pm

Thanks again. I wouldn't actually tweak barlines before putting in any notes - only occasionally once it's finished. But I'll bear your warning in mind! I suspect I caused the problem something like the way you describe; I was working on formatting a file supplied to me as a midi, which was a bit of a mess already.

But your last suggested command works: if I select the barline at the beginning of that second bar (which is not invisible in my case) and press ctrl+shift+p, that fixes it! I wasn't aware of that command, so I'll bear it in mind next time I get tempted to do any foolish tweaking... ;-)

MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:34 am

MIDI, MusicXML and other imported files can be a real PITA to edit. I know that sometimes, particularly on older mice, it is sometimes possible to grab a barline and drag it accidentally. I've done it quite a lot myself.

As to the keyboard shortcut for reset position, you should look in the manual for other useful keypresses that work in First:

[ctrl][shift]n - reset note position
The big [return] key on the main keyboard will toggle note spellings
[alt]shift][left/right arrow] will widen or narrow the spacing within a selection and so on.
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

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