Unable to expand a system

[kcarpent]

Hi. My issue is one of spacing within a system
Plain and simply put....
I can't for the life of me insert an additional measure(s) into a system on page 5 of my score. As a result, I have a large vertical gap on that page. This one page is stuck on a certain width (which is not the .5 width of all the other pages in the score. As a result, any attempt at inserting an additional measure is stopped. Also, I cannot copy a measure from another system onto this page. If I do, the same shortened width is maintained and my Lyrics are thrown on top of the existing two measures Lyrics resulting in a mess. I have been laboring for hours now on this issue as my piece is essentially finished other than this serious problem.
Thank you,
Kim

[motet]

The easiest way to get to the bottom of it is if you can attach your file here. The big vertical space is probably because you expanded the system margin by mistake, but you should still be able to insert a measure. Or there could be a hard page break, etc. It would just be guessing without seeing it.

[kcarpent]

Hello:
Thank you very much for taking a look at my file and my problem.
I have attached the file. I am a Church Musician.
Thank you,
Kimball Carpentier

[Peter Thomsen]

… I can't for the life of me insert an additional measure(s) into a system on page 5 of my score. As a result, I have a large vertical gap on that page …

I do not see “a large vertical gap” on Page 5.

On The Other Hand, I do see a large horizontal gap on Page 5 - due to a strange Right Margin in System 5.
Also, there are some margin inconsistencies between the different systems in this document.

I suggest the following fix:

1) Document menu > Page Format > Score…
Enter the following settings:

PageFormatForScore.jpg

2) Page Layout Tool.
Page Layout menu > Redefine Pages > All Pages of Current Part/Score

[kcarpent]

I want to thank you for your reply. However, I think the units of the measurements are different. Our letter is 8 1/2 X 11 inches. I am in the United States. I'm sorry for this added complexity. Can you please redo for American measurement.
Thank you.
Kimball Carpentier

[kcarpent]

TO: Peter Thomsen
FROM: Kimball Carpentier

Peter:
Please ignore my previous message. All I had to do was simply type in the points and then select inches in the units selection box at the bottom. I'm good. My score is fixed. I thank you immensely for your help.
Sincerely,
Kimball Carpentier

[Peter Thomsen]

Kimball Carpentier,

The settings for Measurement Units is a program setting, not a document setting.
You can choose Inches, Centimeters, Picas, Spaces, Points, EVPUs.

Some of the American users (like yourself) have in the Finale program Inches chosen as the Measurement Units.
But some American users prefer other units, like Spaces, or Points, or EVPUs.

From examining your Finale document I could not see your program settings (like e. g. Measurement Units), only your document settings.

[Perotinus]

Plus:
One of my favorite tips in Finale (from the manual):

Even with one of these measurement units selected, you can override your global choice on a case-by-case basis. Just include the units, or their abbreviation, when you type any measurement number into Finale. For example, suppose you’ve selected Inches as your global unit of measurement. When you’re telling Finale how thick you’d like your slurs to be, inches may be slightly unwieldy for such a fine adjustment. Therefore, you might type “2 points.” Finale automatically converts 2 points into 0.02778 inches.

You don’t have to type out the word “points,” of course. You can enter any of the following abbreviations into any measurement-oriented dialog box:

Units/ Abbreviations
EVPUs/ EVPUs, evpus, e
inches/ inches, inch, in, i, ”
centimeters/ centimeters, cm, c
millimeters/ millimeters, mm, m
picas/ picas, p
points/ points, pts, pt
spaces/ spaces, sp, s

Noteman says: When you’re overriding the global setting by including units, you have a millimeters option that is not available in the Measurement Units submenu.

[kcarpent]

I want to thank Peter and Perotinus for your additional posts. Peter, I am not certain where the FINALE Program Settings are vis-a-vis the Document settings. I know you said though that in these Program Settings are the desired units.
Kimball Carpentier

[Perotinus]

Dear kccarpent:
Thank you for your question:
The suggestion I wanted to convey to you (I hoped it would be helpful) was that you don't need to change anything program-wide in terms of your default selection of measurement units in Finale, whether via "Program Settings" or "Document Settings." Stay with inches, if you feel like it, and if you want to enter a different measurement unit in any place that calls for a measurement unit (whether it be inches, picas, points, millimeters, centimeters), just enter a number with the abbreviation.

So -- let's say I want a small, minute increment in inches for something (such as how thick my staff lines are, or how far from the right margin my system should be). If I am faced with a dialogue box that asks for a measurement, and if I type in (say) "24pt," it will understand that I am asking for that as "24 points" (even though I otherwise work with inches as a default unit of measurement) and it also will convert the measurement to 0.02778 inches, once you type in that number with its abbreviation and hit the OK button.

I often make up measurement numbers, just to see how they work out, and then modify them if they are too much or too little.

[Peter Thomsen]

… Peter, I am not certain where the FINALE Program Settings are vis-a-vis the Document settings …

Kimball,

It is not that simple.

The program settings are spread over several locations.
You can find most of the program settings in the Preferences, but the Measurement Units sub-menu is located in the Edit menu (If I Recall Correctly).

The document settings, too, are spread over several locations.
You can find most of the document settings in the Document Options.