The User Symbols editor – tools and functions
The toolbar contains the following tools and settings, from left to right:
- Object Selection
Use this to select objects – press Shift to select more than one. Click and drag to move objects – press Ctrl/Cmd to drag vertically or horizontally only or press Alt to copy.
To delete an object, select it and press Backspace or Delete.
- Line
Draws a straight line.
- Rectangle
Creates a rectangle. You can fill this with the Fill button if needed.
- Polygon
Creates a polygon – click where each corner of the polygon should be and close the figure by clicking outside the drawing area.
- Circle
Creates a circle. You can fill this with the Fill button if needed.
- Ellipse
Creates an ellipse. You can fill this with the Fill button if needed.
- Arc
Creates an arc.
- Text
Allows you to insert text objects. Clicking with this tool in the drawing area opens a dialog where you enter the text, specify font, style, etc.
You can double-click on a text object you have inserted to change its text or settings.
- Symbol
Clicking with this tool brings up a dialog where you can select any of the existing score symbols and incorporate this (at the desired font size) into your own symbol.
- Set Color of Frame
When this is selected, the Color pop-up menu is used to select the color for the object frame.
- Set Color of Fill
When this is selected, the Color pop-up menu is used to select the fill color for objects (if Fill is selected).
- Fill
Click this if you want the object to be filled – you can then select a Fill Color for it from the Color pop-up menu.
- Don’t Fill
Click this if you do not want the object to be filled.
- Color
Selects Frame or Fill Color for objects. The “Select Colors…” menu item brings up a standard color dialog.
- Line Width
Allows you to change the line width used for the selected object.
The Note Linked pop-up menu lets you create symbols linked to note positions. This affects the whole symbol, not a selected graphic object:
- Not Linked
The symbol is not linked to notes.
- Linked/Left
The symbol is linked to a note, appearing to the left of the note.
- Linked/Center
The symbol is linked and centered to a note.
- Linked/Behind
The symbol is linked to a note, appearing to the right of the note.
The Functions pop-up menu contains the following items (some of these can also be accessed on the context menu for the User Symbols section):
- New Symbol
Adds a new empty symbol to the section (and to the symbol list to the left in the editor).
- Delete Symbol
Deletes the current symbol from the section.
- Export User Symbols
Allows you to save the current section with all available symbols as a separate file on disk.
- Import User Symbols
Loads settings for a complete section from disk. Note that this replaces the current settings.
- Export/Import Symbol
Lets you save or load individual symbols to/from disk. Importing a symbol replaces the current symbol on the section.
- Delete
Deletes the selected objects.
- Select All
Selects all objects in the current symbol.
- Transform – Scale Symbol
Lets you scale (resize) the selected object by specifying a percentage.
- Transform – Mirror horizontal/vertical
Mirrors the selected object along the horizontal or vertical axis.
- Transform – Flip ±90
Rotates the selected object by + or – 90 degrees.
- Draw – Group
Groups the selected objects so that they are treated as one.
- Draw – Ungroup
Ungroups the selected group.
- Draw – Bring To Front/Send To Back
These items let you arrange the objects by moving them to the front or the back.
- Align – Left/Right/Top/Bottom/Center Vertically/Center Horizontally
Aligns the selected objects to each other.
- Display
Sets the zoom factor for the drawing area.