Measure Number

$image\Measure_Number.gif$

How to get there

Click the Measure Tool $image\Measure_Tool.gif$ and select Edit Regions from the Measure Numbers submenu of the Measure Menu.

What it does

From the Measure Number dialog box, you can create new measure number regions (which may overlap), cycle through each region in your score, and display and change settings for regions. It’s easy to set up measure numbers, edit their appearance, hide or show them, and position them in the score. A popup list provides common measure numbering styles—1, 2, 3….a, b, c…, and so on—without requiring you to type in several settings to define the style; and if you prefer, you can create your own style. Options for selecting enclosures are available, and you can select common enclosure shapes from a popup list.

Region. To display the settings for a region of measure numbers in your score, select the desired region from the dialog box.
Includes Measure ___Through ___. Enter the numbers of the first and last measures of the specific region. These are the actual measures in the piece, regardless of what number you want displayed on them. For example, you’d enter 1 through 49 here to tell Finale that measures 1 through 49 belong to the region, but you might use a completely different numbering scheme for the same measures in your score (see First Measure in Region below).
Delete • Add • Sort. Click Delete to remove the currently selected measure number region. Click Add to create a new measure number region after the selected region. Finale will copy the settings of the currently selected measure number region into the newly created region. Click Sort to sort all measure number regions in the order they’ll appear in the score.
First Measure in Region. Enter a value for the measure number on the first measure in the region. If you selected a numeric style for your measure numbers, enter the first number that you want to appear in the region (1, or 2, or 3, and so on). If you selected a letter style, enter a number that corresponds to the position or order of the letter in the alphabet, such as 1 for A, 2 for B, 3 for C, and so on.
Prefix • Suffix. Enter a number, letter, or symbol in the Prefix text box that you want Finale to display before every measure in the region. Similarly, any number, letter, or symbol entered in the Suffix text box will be displayed after every measure in the region.
Style. Choose the numeric style (1, 2, 3, 4…), one of four alpha styles (a, b, c...aa, bb, cc…; A, B, C...AA, BB, CC…; a, b, c...aa, ab, ac…; A, B, C...AA, AB, AC…), or Time from the Style popup menu. If you’d rather define your own measure numbering style, choose Other, then set up your own style in the Measure Number Style dialog box. If you choose Time, Finale displays the Time Style dialog box where you can specify the format of the time to be displayed in the score. The time is based on Finale’s playback taking into account tempo changes applied with the MIDI Tool, Tempo Tool, and Expressions. (Time markers do not take into account tempo changes applied with Human Playback.) See Measure Number Style dialog box. For some of the examples above, you may need to check Double Up in the Measure Number Style dialog box.
Set Font. Click Set Font to select the font Finale will use for the measure numbers in this region. The font that is currently selected appears next to this button.
Enclosure Shape: None • Square • Circle • Ellipse • Triangle • Rectangle • Pentagon • Hexagon • Septagon • Octagon • Other. Use the Enclosure Shape drop-down list to choose the geometric shape of the enclosures that you want to appear on measure numbers in this region. Choose None if you want no shape displayed with the numbers. Choose Other to display the Enclosure Designer dialog box, where you can edit a shape. For more information, see Enclosure Designer dialog box.
Edit Enclosure. Click this button to display the Enclosure Designer dialog box, where you can edit the settings of the currently selected shape.
Show on: Every Number • Selected Numbers. Click Show on Every Number to display the enclosure shape on every measure number in the region. Click Show on Selected Numbers to display the enclosure only on selected measure numbers in the region.
Show Measure Number Ranges on Multimeasure Rests • Bracket range using Left/Right. Select this option to have multimeasure rests in your piece display a measure number range. When the Show box is checked, you can enter the character to use for left or right brackets, such as parentheses or square brackets. Leave the Left/Right boxes blank for no bracket.

Show Measure Numbers at Start of Each Staff System • Show Every ___ Measures Beginning with Measure ___. Select Show Measure Numbers at Start of Each Staff System if you want measure numbers to appear at the beginning of every line. To display the measure number every few measures (every 5 measures, for example), starting at a particular measure number, select Show Every ___ Measures Beginning with Measure ___, then enter values for the measure number and the display interval.
Hide First Measure Number in Region. When this option is selected, Finale will not display the first measure number in the region. For example, many copyists hide the measure number on the first measure in the score. When the option is not selected, Finale displays the measure number.
Always Show on Top Staff • Always Show on Bottom Staff Exclude • Other Staves. Select Always Show on Top (or Bottom) Staff to tell Finale to always show a measure number on the top or bottom staff of each system, regardless of which staff happens to be at the top (or bottom) of the system. Check Exclude Other Staves to show measure numbers on the top and/or bottom staves of systems only (depending on which of these options is checked).

Tip: Select one of these options if you’ve optimized your score so that all resting staves are removed from the staff systems in Page View. That way, if you want a measure number to appear in the score above the top staff, or on the bottom staff, one will always appear, even if measure numbers are normally turned off for that staff.

Always Show on Top Staff • Always Show on Bottom Staff • Exclude Other Staves. Select Always Show on Top (or Bottom) Staff to tell Finale to always show a measure number on the top or bottom staff of each system, regardless of which staff happens to be at the top (or bottom) of the system. Check Exclude Other Staves to show measure numbers on the top and/or bottom staves of systems only (depending on which of these options is checked).

Always Show on Multimeasure Rests. When this option is selected Finale will display the measure number ranges in brackets for all multimeasure rests. For example, if you have measure numbers set to only appear at the start of a system and the multimeasure rest appears in the middle of a system, this checkbox will override that setting.
Viewable In: All Views • Page View Only • Scroll and Studio Views Only (will not Print). Use these options to specify in which views the selected measure number region will be visible.
Position. Click to display the Position Measure Number dialog box, where you specify the default position of measure numbers in the score for this region. For more information, see Position Measure Number dialog box.
OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing the measure number settings. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score. The measure numbers appear, according to your specifications.