Automatic Barlines Plug-in

How to get there

Select a region using the Measure Tool (or any other tool with regional selection). From the Plug-ins menu, choose Measures, and then Automatic Barlines. If there is no music selected when you invoke the Automatic Barlines command, it will ask you if you want to process the entire document. See Plug-ins menu for more information on plug-ins.

What it does

The Automatic Barlines plug-in allows you to automatically set up barlines, matching the key changes in your document.

In a high variety of music it is conventional to use a double barline when the key changes. The Automatic Barlines plug-in supports this convention by: (1) setting all barlines between measures in the same key to a single (normal) barline and (2) setting all barlines between measures where a key change is initiated to a double barline. Additionally, if the last measure of the selection is the last measure in the document, a final barline is placed in this measure. (Repeat barlines are not affected by this plug-in.)

If there is no music selected when you invoke the Automatic Barlines command, it will ask you if you want to process the entire document.

Using the Automatic Barlines Plug-in

Use the Measure Tool to select a region (or any other tool with regional selection) in which you wish to have the barlines match key changes, then choose the Automatic Barlines command from the Plug-ins menu. The plug-in will go through the selected region, measure by measure, and compare consecutive pairs of measures. If a pair of measures is in the same key, the plug-in will set the measure attributes of the first measure to use a single (normal) barline. If there is a change of key, the plug-in will set the measure attributes of the first measure to use a double barline. If the last measure in the document is included in the selection, the measure will be set to use a final barline (double barline with a thick second line).

Notes

• The Automatic Barlines plug-in recognizes that relative Major and Minor keys (for instance: C Major and A Minor) have the same key signature (in this case, no sharps or flats). In cases such as these the plug-in sets a single barline since it recognizes that the key signatures are identical, even though, technically speaking, the key has changed. However, the plug-in cannot analyze the key signatures of Non-Linear Key Signatures, nor of Linear Key Signatures beyond the conventional Major and Minor modes. If your music uses non-standard signatures and two adjacent measures use different keys with identical key signatures, the plug-in will “think” a key change has taken place. In this case, a double barline will be set between the two measures in question.

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