Mid-Measure Clef dialog box

How to get there

After a mid-measure clef change has been created, choose the Clef tool icon and CTRL-click the mid-measure clef’s ClosedhandleA small square which appears on currently "selectable" elements in the score. Handles allow you to select, edit and adjust musical elements in the score.. Or, select the handle of the mid-measure clef and press Enter.

What it does

Noteman says: To convert a mid-measure clef to a standard clef change (before the barline), click and drag it across the left barline.

A mid-measure clef can be placed anywhere in a measure—you can even drag it back and forth among the notes of the measure to see which placement would be easiest for the player to sightread. As you drag the clef, the notes before and after it re-notate themselves accordingly. You can have more than one mid-measure clef in a measure; in fact, another mid-measure clef appears each time you double-click a measure in which one already appears.

After placing a mid-measure clef, you can access this dialog box to change the clef, choose its size, and specify its placement.

  • Clef Selection. Use these icons to select a clef. Each Finale document offers eighteen clefs, which you can edit or rearrange with the Clef Designer dialog box.
  • Clef Size ___%. Use this field to enter the size of the new clef as a percent of full size. The reduced size (expressed as a percentage of full size) is set globally in the Document Options - Clefs dialog box.
  • Allow vertical drag. Select this checkbox to allow the mid-measure clef to be moved vertically, in addition to horizontally.
  • Show Clef: When needed • Never • Always. Select When needed to display a courtesy clef if the clef is changing from the previous measure. Select Never to hide the clef. Select Always to force the clef to display.

    Tip: Use Never at the end of a first ending repeat to set the clef for the second ending without displaying it. See Repeats (barlines and text indications).

  • Distance from Beginning of Measure: H: • [Measurement dropdown menu] • Horizontal Offset • V: • Place clef after barline. The numbers in the text boxes specify the position of the clef in the measure. The H: (horizontal) number indicates the beat in which the clef appears. Use the dropdown menu for the H: text box to specify the musical position of the clef in the measure. For example, in 4/4 you could position a clef in Beat 1, or if you prefer EDUs, 1024 EDUs. See Durational units. The V: (vertical) number measures the distance from the top line of the staff (a negative number moves the clef downward). Use the Horizontal Offset to determine the space between the mid-measure clef and the next entry. You can position the clef by entering numbers in these text boxes, but you can also position it by dragging it once it’s in the score.

    Click Place clef after barline to display the clef immediately to the right of the barline when H: is set to zero. Note: Horizontal clef positioning can also be governed by the Avoid Collision Of: Clefs checkbox in the Document Options - Music Spacing dialog box.

  • OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press ENTER) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the changes you’ve made and return to the score.
  • Revert to Single Clef. Click this button to turn a mid-measure clef change to a single clef (a clef that appears just before the barline and affects a full measure at a time) using the Change Clef dialog box.

Tip: Choose Apply Note Spacing to Current Part/Score to avoid collision of clef changes.

See also:

Clefs