[solved!] First TAB measure is misbehaving

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mrfunk
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:41 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5
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Post by mrfunk » Tue Oct 10, 2023 5:14 pm

I'm still new to creating tabs, but trying to follow instructions.

I'm getting a first tab measure that behaves in a strange way; it's as if most of the measure area is somehow unusable and inactive, with the active area squeezed into the very end of the measure, too small to even select.

The workflow:
First, I notated the guitar using normal notation.
Then, as instructed, I created a new instrument in Score Manager > Add Instrument > All > Tablature > Guitar [TAB].
Next, I'm instructed to select the normal notation and drag the material onto the tab. This is where it goes wrong: when trying to drag onto the tab, the rectangular destination indicator that appears onto the tab will only start from measure 2 even though I'd obviously want to copy from measure 1 onwards. If I drag the cursor as far left as it will go (while keeping the destination rectangle and the + sign), a horizontally tiny area from the right edge of the first tab measure will also show up as if it were a possible copying destination. So while I'm expecting the entire first measure to become a destination just like the other measures, it's only that tiny, tiny bit at the right edge, at best.

Edit measure attributes is not something I've used a lot, but on a quick glance, the specs for measure 1 don't notably differ from those of other measures (the width for example is in a similar range.)

Putting material into tab measure 1 messes up the layout:
If I copy notated material into that tiny narrow area in tab measure 1, the tab numbers will appear at the bar line between measure 1 and 2, and force all the normal notation in measure one to compress into a pile. The same happens if I take the simple entry tool and insert a note into the tab.
Even if the copied material consists of several notes in time, they seem to sit at the bar line, possibly on top of each other as I can only see one column of them (for a chord).
The update layout command will not fix this, so all I can do is go back.

Measure 1 is not selectable:
If I try to select the first tab measure with a mouse, it will not get highligted and selected, it just acts as if it's not there. If I try to select the supposedly tiny bit at the rightmost edge of the measure, it's probably too narrow to even select as I'm not able to highlight it at all.
At this point, I'm actually not able to highlight the first measures of other instruments either, but the notes on those measures do look normal (as long as I don't try to add anything to tab measure 1.)

Screenshot 1:
copying.jpg
I managed to copy all material normally starting from measure 2, it's just measure 1 that makes no sense.
Here as an example I'm trying to drag material from measure 2 onwards, onto tab. The actual destination rectangle seems to disappear when I press down the keys that will take a screenshot, but you can see that red line at the end of the first tab measure, it's in that tiny space where it seems to think that the material should go.

Screenshot 2:
after copying.jpg
Since measure 1 and 3 are the same but I can't select measure 1, I tried to drag masure 1 to tab measure 1. And here's what it looks like when it places it at the bar line between measures 1 and 2, and squeezes that first measure into a tight mess.


Any ideas why this is happening and how I could fix it?
Last edited by mrfunk on Tue Oct 10, 2023 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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N Grossingink
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Post by N Grossingink » Tue Oct 10, 2023 5:30 pm

It sounds like the first measure is defined as a pickup measure. Delete the pickup using the document menu. Any difference?
N. Grossingink
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mrfunk
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:41 pm
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Post by mrfunk » Tue Oct 10, 2023 5:58 pm

Ah! Thank you so much, instantly fixed it!

I don't understand how it had turned into a pickup measure; I created the file from my custom template as I always do, and started notating normally as I always do (the composition doesn't even have an intro just yet.)

Glad that was solved so quickly!

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