Sibelius Quick Tip: Tidy up!

When I first started using Sibelius 6, it quickly became evident that Magnetic Layout will save time. A lot. The program finally has the ability to avoid objects going on top of each other.

It still won´t fix everything, and the case in point is the free room between the staves; if there´s not enough room, You just have to grab the staves with Your mouse and do the drag.

But here comes the second most important feature in the version 6 (I think) to rescue: Optimize Staff Spacing (From "Layout"). Just select Your whole score, and Optimize. Few seconds will go by, depending on the size of the score, and the result should be a much cleaner-looking score. Assign a keyboard shortcut, and use frequently whenever Your score begins to look too crowded.

Another tidy-up tip: If some notes seem to take up too much horizontal space, or if Your lyrics start to collide with each other: Run the "Reset Note Spacing" (again from "Layout").

Use these two features at the same time, and enjoy good-looking scores like never before!