Page mode

Score display

Harmony Assistant lets you choose between two display modes for your music score: scroll mode and page mode.

In scroll mode, staves are displayed one above the other, and bars are displayed in an infinite area from left to right. The right edge of the page (where printing will have to skip to the next line) is displayed as a vertical colored line.
This display mode, which has been used from the very first version of the program, is still available.

In page mode, the score is displayed exactly as it will be printed, from the first to the last page, as paper sheets put side by side on a virtual desktop.
 

You are invited to view the "Scroll mode, page mode, display control handles in Harmony Assistant. " and  "Harmony Assistant: Navigate in Page Mode. How to input a score? " video tutorials. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

You can edit scores in a similar way in both of these modes.
Switching from one mode to another is performed through "Score>Page mode".

The display mode and current display zoom are stored in the document file. Thus, when loading a file, you start up with the last-used display options.
When a new document is created from a template, page mode is set by default.
You can specify whether scroll or page mode is set when loading or creating a document. See "Configuration>Global Setup", "Load" tab index.
 

Note: Since in page mode, the document is displayed just as it will be printed, you can only edit staves which are marked as "printable"; the other ones are not displayed on the page at all. Similarly, if you define bar printing bounds, only the printed bars can be edited in page mode.

Page size

By default, the area for a page in page mode is the printing area (depending on the selected printer). In some cases, however, it can be useful to work on a different page area.
In particular, it can be useful if you wish to publish your music scores on the Web using the Myriad Music Plug-in.

For example, if you want choir members to refer to the same printed score, you must be able to say "fourth bar of the third page" and have everybody understand which bar you are talking about.
But if a member printed his score in "landscape" format instead of "portrait", or if the print area is smaller on his printer than on yours, the page setup may be different.

The "Score>paper size setup" menu option enables you to select a specific page area, instead of using the current printer settings (by selecting "use instead" mode).
From then, when somebody prints your score on his printer, you can specify that a scale adjustment has to be performed so that the whole page area is used ("Fit in paper while printing").
If the printer area is very different from the original  (for example printing in portrait instead of landscape), strong distortions can occur.
To avoid them, select "Ratio observance".

You can specify the way pages will be displayed in the virtual desktop:

• Pages can be placed side by side in groups of two as in a book. This display shows the way pages will be read by the performer when playing this score.
• A space for a flyleaf can be kept. Then the first page of the score is displayed alone.

Screen DPI

By default, screen pitch is assumed to be 72 DPI (dots per inch), which is equal to 28 dots per centimeter.
In page mode, with a display scale of 100%, you should see the page at real size on screen. (put a real paper sheet on your screen to be sure).

Very often, screen pitch is greater than 72 DPI.  In that case the displayed area for the sheet will appear smaller than the real paper.
You can adjust this setting in the software to get the right size on screen by using "Score>Paper size setup", then the "Screen setup" button.
Put a graduated ruler against your screen and move the slider until the displayed size perfectly matches the ruler.
From now on, page mode displayed will be an accurate representation of what will be printed.
This setting applies to all documents.

Control handle display

When control handle display is on ("Score>Display control handles"), a set of control handles shows the following values on screen: staff heights, location of staff elements in the staff area, bar widths, bar margins, location of page header and footer, etc. These control handles are not printed.

You can click and drag these control handles to change their values. When moving a control handle, page display is recalculated in real-time.

So do not be surprised if, for example, a staff moves up when changing its height: it is due to the page setup values you have set.

Shortcuts

In page mode, in the bottom left corner of your document window, a set of icons lets you access the most common page setup commands. The number of the first displayed page is also shown. Click on this number to change it and, in doing so, view another page of your document.

Palette

A palette specific to page mode (see "Windows" menu, "Psge mode tool") shows your document in a schematic way. The display area is shown and you can move it around.