@menu
* Paper and pages::
-* Music layout::
-* Displaying spacing::
-* Breaks::
+* Music layout::
+* Breaks::
* Vertical spacing::
* Horizontal spacing::
* Fitting music onto fewer pages::
This manual: @ref{Changing context default settings}.
-@node Displaying spacing
-@section Displaying spacing
-
-@funindex annotate-spacing
-@cindex Spacing, display of properties
-
-To graphically display the dimensions of vertical properties that may
-be altered for page formatting, set @code{annotate-spacing} in the
-@code{\paper} block, like this
-
-
-@c need to have \book{} otherwise we get the separate systems. -hwn
-@lilypond[verbatim]
-#(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
-
-\book {
- \score { { c4 } }
- \paper { annotate-spacing = ##t }
-}
-@end lilypond
-
-
-@c TODO: really bad vagueness due to bug in annotate-spacing. -gp
-@noindent
-Some unit dimensions are measured in staff spaces, while others
-are measured in millimeters.
-The pairs
-(@var{a},@var{b}) are intervals, where @var{a} is the lower edge and
-@var{b} the upper edge of the interval.
-
-
@node Breaks
@section Breaks
@seealso
Internals: @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}, @rinternals{NoteSpacing},
-@rinternals{StaffSpacing}, @rinternals{SeparationItem}, and
-@rinternals{SeparatingGroupSpanner}.
+@rinternals{StaffSpacing}, and @rinternals{SeparationItem}.
@knownissues
if you look at previous pages and it looks like there is plenty
of room left on those.
-When investigating layout issues, @code{annotate-spacing} is
-an invaluable tool. This command prints the values of various
-layout spacing commands; see @ref{Displaying spacing}, for more
-details. From the output of @code{annotate-spacing}, we can
-see which margins we may wish to alter.
+When investigating layout issues, @code{annotate-spacing} is an
+invaluable tool. This command prints the values of various layout
+spacing variables; for more details see the following section,
+@ref{Displaying spacing}.
+
+@menu
+* Displaying spacing::
+* Changing spacing::
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Displaying spacing
+@subsection Displaying spacing
+
+@funindex annotate-spacing
+@cindex spacing, display of layout
+
+To graphically display the dimensions of vertical layout variables
+that may be altered for page formatting, set
+@code{annotate-spacing} in the @code{\paper} block:
+
+@c need to have \book{} otherwise we get the separate systems. -hwn
+@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
+#(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
+\book {
+ \score { { c4 } }
+ \paper { annotate-spacing = ##t }
+}
+@end lilypond
+
+@noindent
+All layout dimensions are displayed in staff spaces, regardless of
+the units specified in the @code{\paper} or @code{\layout} block.
+For example, @code{paper-height} has a value of 59.75 staff
+spaces, using the default staff size of 20 points, which is
+equivalent to 148 millimeters, the height of @code{a6} paper in
+landscape orientation. The pairs (@var{a},@var{b}) are intervals,
+where @var{a} is the lower edge and @var{b} the upper edge of the
+interval.
+
+
+@node Changing spacing
+@subsection Changing spacing
+
+The output of @code{annotate-spacing} reveals vertical dimensions
+in great detail. For details about modifying margins and other
+layout variables, see @ref{Page formatting}.
Other than margins, there are a few other options to save space:
@itemize
@item
-You may tell LilyPond to place systems as close together as
-possible (to fit as many systems as possible onto a page), but
-then to space those systems out so that there is no blank
-space at the bottom of the page.
+Force systems to move as close together as possible (to fit as
+many systems as possible onto a page) while being spaced so that
+there is no blank space at the bottom of the page.
@example
\paper @{
@end example
@item
-You may force the number of systems (i.e., if LilyPond wants
-to typeset some music with 11 systems, you could force it to
-use 10).
+Force the number of systems. For example, if the default layout
+has 11 systems, the following assignment will force a layout with
+10 systems.
@example
\paper @{
@end example
@item
-Avoid (or reduce) objects which increase the vertical size of
-a system. For example, volta repeats (or alternate repeats)
-require extra space. If these repeats are spread over two
-systems, they will take up more space than one system with
-the volta repeats and another system without.
-
-Another example is moving dynamics which @q{stick out} of
-a system, as in the second bar here:
-
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
+Avoid (or reduce) objects that increase the vertical size of a
+system. For example, volta repeats (or alternate repeats) require
+extra space. If these repeats are spread over two systems, they
+will take up more space than one system with the volta repeats and
+another system without. For example, dynamics that @q{stick out} of
+a system can be moved closer to the staff:
+
+@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
e4 c g\f c
\override DynamicText #'extra-offset = #'( -2.2 . 2.0)
e4 c g\f c
@end lilypond
@item
-Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. See
-@ref{Changing horizontal spacing}, for more details. Here's
-an example first showing the default behavior:
+Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. For more
+details, see @ref{Changing horizontal spacing}. The following
+example illustrates the default spacing:
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,ragged-right]
+@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
\score {
\relative c'' {
g4 e e2 |
@end lilypond
@noindent
-and now with @code{common-shortest-duration} increased from the
-value of @code{1/4} (a quarter note is the most common in this
-example) to @code{1/2}:
+The next example modifies @code{common-shortest-duration} from a
+value of @code{1/4} to @code{1/2}. The quarter note is the most
+common and shortest duration in this example, so by making this
+duration longer, a @q{squeezing} effect occurs:
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,ragged-right]
+@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
\score {
\relative c'' {
g4 e e2 |
\context {
\Score
\override SpacingSpanner
- #'common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 2)
+ #'common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 2)
}
}
}
@end lilypond
@noindent
-Note that this override cannot be modified dynamically, so it must
-always be placed in a @code{\context@{..@}} block so that it applies
-to the whole score.
+The @code{common-shortest-duration} property cannot be modified
+dynamically, so it must always be placed in a @code{\context}
+block so that it applies to the whole score.
@end itemize
+@seealso
+Notation Reference:
+@ref{Page formatting},
+@ref{Changing horizontal spacing}.