7. Layout tab
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You can specify whether the page dimensions should appear in millimeters, inches or points by
changing the Default measurement units option on the Files page of File > Preferences. 1
inch = 25.4mm (absolutely exactly), 1mm = 0.0397 inches (almost exactly), and 1 point = exactly
1/72 inch = 0.353mm (approximately).
Page margins
Page margins can be changed using the Layout > Document Setup > Margins gallery. Music can
go right up to the page margins, but not outside. To make these margins visible in the score (as
dashed blue lines), choose View > Invisibles > Page Margins.
For each page size, four choices of margins are provided: Standard, Narrow, Wide and Mirrored.
The margins are the same on left- and right-facing pages, except for Mirrored margins (sometimes
called “inside” and “outside” margins), where there is normally a larger margin on the side nearest
the binding.
Margins can be set for all four sides of the page, as follows (if Mirrored is not chosen):
* Top margin: where the top of the page number normally goes, if it’s at the top of the page
* Bottom margin: where the bottom of the page number normally goes, if it’s at the bottom of the
page
* Left margin: the left-hand side of the leftmost instrument name
* Right margin: the right-hand end of the staves.
In addition to page margins, Sibelius also uses staff margins, which control the distance between
the top and bottom staves on a page and the top and bottom page margins, and also the distance
between the left-hand page margin and the left-hand side of the system. These are a rather more
advanced kind of margins, and can only be set via the Document Setup dialog – see Document
Setup dialog below.
Orientation
The Layout > Document Setup > Orientation gallery allows you to choose whether your score
should be laid out using Portrait (which is taller than it is wide) or Landscape (which is wider
than it is tall) orientation.
Staff size
The staff size is the distance from the center of the top staff line to the center of the bottom staff
line. Everything in a score is scaled to be in proportion to the staff size – notes, clefs, text, etc. If
you want to make the music larger or smaller when printed out, this is done by way of changing
the staff size. (If you want to make the music larger only on the screen, you can simply zoom in or
out instead.)
To change the staff size, you can either type in a staff size into Layout > Document Setup > Staff
Size, or click the little arrows to change it in small steps. Click and hold the little arrows and you
can see the effect of the staves growing and shrinking in real time.