Edit Accidental dialog

The Edit Accidental dialog allows you to create new and edit existing custom accidentals.

  • You can open the Edit Accidental dialog by clicking either New Accidental or Edit Accidental in the action bar at the bottom of the Accidentals section of the Edit Tonality System dialog.

Figure: Edit Accidental dialog

The Edit Accidental dialog contains the following sections:

  1. Name

    Allows you to enter a name for your accidental.

  2. Pitch delta

    Allows you to set a value for what effect this accidental has on notes to which it is added. For example, a pitch delta of 2 raises notes by two equal divisions of the octave.

  3. Accidental component selector

    Allows you to choose components to add to your accidental. You can add different types of components by clicking the respective tab titles.

    • Glyph, for example, ♮ or ♯. You can use different styles of glyphs by selecting different fonts and different ranges from the menus. Click Add Glyph to add the selected glyph to the accidental.

      Note

      A full list of the different ranges of glyphs is available on the SMuFL website.

    • Text, including numbers and other text. You can use numbers and text from the available Preset text list, or select any font available from the menu and enter your preferred text into the text box at the bottom. Click Add Text to add the selected text, or input text, to the accidental.

    • Graphic: Allows you to load a new graphics file, or select an existing graphic from the Select existing list, in SVG, PNG, or JPG format. You can see a preview of the graphic in the Preview box. Click Add Graphic to add the selected graphic to the accidental.

  4. Editor

    Allows you to arrange and edit the components that make up your accidental. You can use the controls at the bottom of the dialog to edit and arrange accidental components.

  5. Editor action bar

    Contains selection and view options for the editor.

    • Zoom

      Allows you to change the zoom level in the editor.

    • Select

      Allows you to select the next/previous component.

    • Delete

      Delete

      Deletes the selected component.

  6. Controls

    Contains controls that allow you to edit individual components. Controls are divided into tabs according to the aspect of the selected component they affect. For accidentals, only the Component, Attachments, and Cut-outs tabs are available as the Stem tab does not apply to accidentals.

    The Component tab contains the following options:

    • Offset: Controls the position of the selected component. X moves it horizontally, Y moves it vertically.

    • Scale: Controls the size of the selected component. For graphics, X controls its width, Y controls its height.

      Note

      Although some components scale their height and width independently, others retain their aspect ratio, meaning only one value affects their overall size.

    • Z order: Allows you to Bring Forward or Send Backward the selected component in relation to other components when they overlap.

    The Attachments tab is only available if the accidental comprises at least two separate components. It contains the following options:

    • Attachment from: Sets the attachment point on the component to the left of the selected component to which the selected component attaches. We recommend that you select a right edge attachment point for Attachment from.

    • Attachment to: Sets the attachment point on the selected component which attaches to the component to its left. We recommend that you select a left edge attachment point for Attachment to.

    The Cut-outs tab allows you to mark individual corners within an accidental component that can overlap with other accidentals, for example, in order to position accidentals closer together in dense chords. It contains the following options for each of the four corners, which are labelled according to their compass direction:

    • Width: Sets the width of the cut-out area.

    • Height: Sets the height of the cut-out area.

    • Add: Adds a cut-out to the corresponding corner.

    • Delete: Removes the cut-out from the corresponding corner.

There are eight attachment points for glyphs and graphics, and eleven for text, due to the extra space required for letters that extend below the baseline. The example diagram helps you visualize how these points relate to components.

The attachment points have the following names in the Edit Accidental dialog:

  1. Top Left

  2. Top Center

  3. Top Right

  4. Middle Left

  5. Middle Right

  6. Baseline Left (text only)

  7. Baseline Center (text only)

  8. Baseline Right (text only)

  9. Bottom Left

  10. Bottom Center

  11. Bottom Right