Repositioning all systems in orchestra score

[jsantana]

This should be EASY! Just can't find the answer, though I used to know how to do it in older version. I'm using 2009.

I have an orchestra score with one system per page. I would like to reposition all of those (in this case, higher on the page), but dragging a system only moves one. I tried using select system range, but it didn't seem to do anything in this regard.

Also, I'm still confused over the handles and lines in page layout. Could someone tell me where I can find more about this in the documentation? I literally can find a reference to the handles.

Thanks again.

[michelp]

I would like to reposition all of those (in this case, higher on the page), but dragging a system only moves one. I tried using select system range, but it didn't seem to do anything in this regard.

Document menu->Page format->score
Redefine the margins of the systems.
But changes will only be visible if you make the final step :
Go to Page Layout tool, menu->Redefine pages->all pages.

[Peter Thomsen]

...I'm still confused over the handles and lines in page layout. Could someone tell me where I can find more about this in the documentation? I literally can find a reference to the handles...

When you are in the Page Layout Tool, you will see two sorts of handles:


1) System Margin handles.
Each system has two handles:
- Upper-left where the system's Top Margin intersects the system's Left Margin.
- Lower-right where the system's Bottom Margin intersects the system's Right Margin.


2) Page Margin handles.
These handles are located at the page edges.


You can read about the handles in documentation.
I suggest that you follow this path:
Help menu > Table of Contents
In the lower left corner, click "Index".
In the index column, grab the scroll bar, and scroll to "Page Layout".
Below the entry "Page Layout" you have an indented list of entries related to Page Layout.

To read about system margin handles, click "Systems".

To read about page margin handles, click "Changing the page margins".


The dashed lines you see when you are in the Page Layout Tool, are the system margins and the page margins.


Tip:
The four margins on a system constitue a rectangle.
A context-click inside this rectangle will reveal a context menu.
One of the useful menu items in this context menu is "Edit Margins...", giving fast access to the dialog box Edit System Margins.
You can also get to Edit System Margins via a submenu in the Page Layout menu, but the context menu is faster.

Another tip:
Finale lets you choose between six different measurement units:
- EVPUs
- Inches
- Centimeters
- Points
- Picas
- Spaces
When you work with layout margins, it's easier to use small measurement units, like Points or EVPUs, because you can use integers (and seldom need decimal values).


Peter