LabanWriter License

The Ohio State University on behalf of its Department of Dance, Sullivant Hall,1813 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 U.S.A. (hereinafter referred to as LICENSOR) grants the use of the LabanWriter program subject to the following conditions:

1. Definition
As used herein, the term "LabanWriter" shall refer to a computer software program and accompanying documentation which is used for recording dance movements in Labanotation.

2. Grant LICENSOR hereby grants LICENSEE a non-exclusive revocable license to use LabanWriter. LICENSEE is permitted to make copies for internal purposes only and in no event shall LICENSEE modify the program or make copies for commercial distribution. LICENSOR is the copyright owner of LabanWriter and reserves all rights, title and interest in LabanWriter, including but not limited to the right to modify and distribute the software.

3. Distribution
This license agreement, and all accompanying documentation must be distributed with LabanWriter.

4. Term
This agreement shall be effective January 25, 2003, and continue indefinitely unless terminated by either party.

5. Rights Fee
The use of LabanWriter is granted without fee.

6. Termination
In the event this Agreement is terminated or canceled for any reason whatsoever, LICENSEE shall immediately cease use of the software and shall return to LICENSOR any and all diskettes and accompanying documentation related to LabanWriter.

7. Warranties
LICENSOR warrants that it has the right to grant the License conveyed to LICENSEE in this Agreement.

8. Disclaimer
LICENSOR SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE SOFTWARE IS LICENSED AS IS. ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED. LICENSOR DOES NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR FREE OR THAT ANY DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE ARE CORRECTABLE OR WILL BE CORRECTED. THE FOREGOING WARRANTIES ARE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.

9. Indemnification
LICENSEE agrees to indemnify and hold harmless LICENSOR against any and all claims, suits, and/or judgments including but not limited to reasonable attorney's fees, based upon and arising out of the use of LabanWriter.

Ad Lib

Find the two top ad lib and ad lib timing symbols in the Main Palette when you select the Ad Lib button. Both are stretchable and can be adjusted by pixel by holding down the Option key as you select, place and drag the symbol. To add more curves to the ad lib sign select the button with the wiggly line in the Manipulate Palette, then move the arrow to select the desired number of oscillations.

Add a Page

See Page Layout

Align

Choose the Alignment Palette at the bottom of the Manipulate Menu. It will become highlighted when any two symbols are selected. There are 10 options. Hold the arrow over each icon for a few seconds once the palette is highlighted, and it will tell you what type of alignment it performs. This should also make it easier to connect lines in floorplans and prop drawings. See also: Staffs

AutoPlacement

Staffs and floorplans automatically space themselves on the page and respace to accommodate when additional ones are added. If you don't want them to respace, turn off the AutoPlacement button from the Edit Preferences menu before adding. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE MAKING A SPECIAL LAYOUT though hopefully "Undo" under the Edit menu wil be able to save you.

Autosave

Autosave is set to save every 10 minutes once you name a document. To shorten or lengthen the time between savings, go to Preferences in the Edit menu.

Back to Normal

The hold weight, space hold, spot hold and their cancellation signs back to normal, release, undo, unfold, go away are found in the palette with the hold and release symbols on it.

Bend/Stretch

See Flexion/Extension

Body Parts

Click on the stickfigure button in the Main Palette to select body parts. If you need to put two parts together that aren't here, select the top part THEN hold down the Shift key while selecting the bottom part. They will be joined and enclosed in a box. If the message comes up saying "that compound symbol does not exist in LW4" and you have need of it, let us know so we can add it in the next version. labanwriter @osu.edu

To add surface ticks use the Manipulate Palette (2nd row, 4th button from the left) after selecting the symbol.

To change a part into a limb use the Manipulate Palette (2nd row, 2nd button from the right) after selecting the symbol.

To change size see Enlarge/Reduce

Bows

Horizontal and vertical bows are found in the Bows palette in the Main Palette. They can be lengthened or shortened by pixels by using the Option key when first placing them. If the symbol is turned the wrong direction on the palette for what you want , it should be flipped vertically or horizontally (cmd-1 and cmd-2 or selecting in the Manipulate menu ) before placing it.

A bow can be resized by selecting it, typing cmd-R or choosing Resize in the Manipulate menu, then grabbing the handles to lengthen and/or widen it. The addressing bows, the support bows and the "omit" bows have more than one part that can be lengthened or shortened.

The lines can be doubled, dashed or the thickness changed by using the Manipulate Palette, 1st row, 3rd button from the right.

Small floor plans next to staffs may be drawn by using the stretchable floor plan symbol in the Bow palette. They are drawn and moved like a bow using select mode and cannot be manipulated in floor plan mode.

Small premade bows that do not stretch are found in the palette with a caret and a bow on it.

Impulsive/Impactive bows can be made by combining one of the four accent signs at the bottom of the dynamics palette with a curved bow.

Butterflies

Select two direction symbols placed side by side, then choose Force into One Column (cmd- F) from the Manipulate menu.

Cancellation Signs

Open the palette with the hold, release & standard key sign on it to find the cancellation sign(s) you need.

Carets

Open the palette with the caret and small vertical bow on it.

Center Mark

See Floorplans

Circles/Ovals

Use the oval tool (O) to draw a circle or oval. Click and drag the cursor diagonally to make an oval. To ensure that you make a circle, hold down the Shift key. Make the circle dashed by selecting the dashed line on the Manipulate Palette.

To remove part of a line or circle or square, make a very small shape with this tool, place it on the line where the space is wanted and add Whitespace (cmd-shift-W).

To place a circle around text, select the text, then select Enclose in the Type menu and choose the surrounding shape. See Circle/Spiral Palette

Circle/Spiral Palette

Choose an oval, parts of an oval or circle, a full circle or a spiral of up to three revolutions, either clockwise or counterclockwise. Add an arrow to the head or tail (but if you forget, add it later by using the Arrowheads Palette in the Manipulate Palette). Create your new sign, then click and drag it to the size you want, or use Resize to adjust it later. If you want to pull your new symbol into a diagonal direction, select one of the diagonal icons at the bottom of the palette before you create your symbol.

The lines for spirals will appear darker and thicker on the screen, but will print out as fine lines.

Closing Documents

Select Close in the File menu. If your document has not been saved already, the Save dialog will appear.

Color

Select the symbols or text (in the correct mode), choose Color from the Attributes menu and select from the word list or use the other options by selecting "other" in which case a screen will come up with 4 methods to choose from. With CMYK Picker you can mix your own colors, with Crayon Picker you can choose from a pre-made color. With HLS Picker and HSV Picker to see the range of colors move the scale at the bottom of the screen to 100%. Then click on the color you want.

Note that you need a color screen to view this and a color printer to print it out.

Columns

The default is to show 9 exterior columns on both sides of the staff by dots. These are used as guidelines and will not print. It is better not to overlap columns of different staffs, so if you need fewer columns lower the number in Preferences under the Edit menu. Deselect Show Columns there if you do not want to see the dots.

Selecting any symbol(s), holding down the Shift key and clicking on an arrow key will move the symbol one column width to the right or left and 7 pixels (the width of a column) up or down on the page. This is an easy way to count what column you are placing a symbol in.

Note: To change the number of outside columns for a staff, select Change under the Staff menu and select the number of columns for each side of the staff . Or, with the staff selected, take the cursor to the bounding box of the staff where it changes into a double arrow and drag the columns in or out. Or before beginning a document, set the number of default outside columns in Preferences.

See Align to line up symbols in the same column.

Copying from LW 4 to LW 3

In LW4 copy and paste into the Scrapbook. From the Scrapbook copy and paste into LW3. What is pasted is now a picture and cannot be manipulated.

Or drag from LW4 to the Scrapbook, that works too.

Copying LW3 to LW4

Open LW4, then go to Open and select the LW3 document. You will be asked if you want to open it in LW4, hit "yes" and proceed as in a LW4 document. On closing a converted document, LW4 will automatically attach "LW4" to the end of the name, so the old file won't be overwritten.

This is a quick and easy way to update all of your documents. WARNING: Do proof your new 4 document as spacing may shift slightly and fonts may have changed.

When you copy & paste from LW3 directly into LW4 the material arrives as a picture and cannot be manipulated.

Copying

In the correct mode, select a staff, or floor plan(s) or symbol(s), hold down the Option key and drag whatever is selected anywhere on the document. To select more than one symbol, hold down the shift key while clicking on each one, or surround them with the marquee by clicking and dragging the mouse to select all symbols inside the rectangle.

To copy to another drag-aware document do the same thing but it is not necessary to hold down the Option key. Programs that predate drag and drop, and therefore are not drag-aware, include: Word 5, SuperPaint, LabanWriter 3.x.

See Copying from LW4 to LW3 and Copying from LW3 to LW4

See Flipping

See Staffs

Counts

Counts can be added to one staff at a time. Set up the staff with the needed outside columns on the left so the numbers will come out at the edge of the bounding box. (Numbers can be selected and moved out later if columns are added.) In Measure Mode select the measures where consecutive counts are to be added and choose the count to begin with if other than 1 under the Measure menu. If two ajoining measures of four counts are selected then counts 1-8 will appear. To edit the numbers use Text mode. To move or delete use Select mode.

Covering

Sometimes a pin will seem to disappear when placed inside a symbol or whitespace will not show up. Select the symbol (or where it should be) and choose Bring to front or Send to back from the Manipulate menu at the top of the screen.

Curves

To draw Clockwise Curves select the Curve tool (C) in the Main Palette, click to place and drag to the desired length. To draw Counterclockwise Curves hold down the Control key. Holding down the Option key allows you to fine tune the length of a curve. You can draw most curving floor plan paths by putting a series of curves together. You can flip curves horizontally (cmd-1) or vertically (cmd-2). They can be resized (cmd-R) and thickened (choose Line button in the Manipulate Palette) but not doubled.

Add an arrowhead by using that feature in the Manipulate Palette (bottom row, 3rd button from the right). You can also place an arrowhead by hand by selecting an arrowhead from the Pin palette.

Let us know if some of your needs are not met here: labanwriter@osu.edu

Cut or Copy & Paste

Use this method to copy a staff or floor plan without its contents or selected symbols. Choose the correct Mode, then select what you want to cut (cmd-X) or copy (cmd-C) and paste (cmd-V) onto whichever page or document you like or into the scrapbook. It will appear in the center of the page and then can be moved to place. (Duplicate (cmd-D) will also copy only the staff and floor plan, not the contents, and the copy remains close to the original rather than in the center of the page.)

To copy the staffs or floorplans with their contents, select them, hold down Option and drag.

Decrease/Increase

See Enlarge/Reduce

Deleting

Select the correct mode, select the item(s) to be deleted, touch the Delete key. You can retrieve the symbol(s) if you immediately select Undo (cmd-Z) in the Edit menu. To Delete a Page see Page Layout

Disappearance

Sometimes a pin will seem to disappear when placed inside a symbol or whitespace will not show up. Select the symbol (or where it should be) and choose Bring to front or Send to back from the Manipulate menu.

Divided Column

Select two direction symbols placed side by side, then choose Force into One Column (cmd- F) from the Manipulate menu.

Two symbols in one column are often refered to as "Butterflies."

Duplicate

To duplicate a notation symbol, staff or floorplan select the symbol, and choose Duplicate (cmd-D) in the Edit menu. The cursor becomes the symbol which can be easily placed on the page. When selecting a staff or floor plan, you can see the duplicate overlapping the original. Click on it and move to the desired location.

Note: Duplicate is best for copying a single symbol, often several times, since becoming the cursor it is very easy to place. When a group of selected symbols is duplicated, they do not hold their formation, but bunch together and have to be separated. Best to use click Option drag in that case.

Dynamics

The dynamic signs are found in the palette with the accent sign on it, or make the various Effort symbols by opening the Effort graph palette right beside this one.

Effort & Shape

Select the palette with the Effort graph on it. The center diagonal line is always there. Select what you want to add to it and deselect if you change your mind. Double the center diagonal if you need Shape symbols. Click on Done and place your symbol on the page.

If you wish smaller symbols, select the half of the line closest to the central diagonal line.

Enlarge/Reduce

For stretchable symbols: Select them, hold down the Option and Control keys and drag to the desired size. Select the button in the top row on the Manipulate Palette with the horizontal lines to increase the thickness of the lines, if you wish.

Note: If you find it difficult to click onto the resize handles, enlarge them by going to the Edit menu, choosing Preferences and enlarging them by a number of pixels.

For non stretchable symbols: Select the symbol, choose either the increase button on the Manipulate Palette (top row with the arrow slanted upwards) or the decrease button with the arrow slanted downwards. Choose changing by 1, 2, 5 or 10 points at a time and click increase or decrease until the desired size is achieved.

OR To increase/decrease size by a particular percentage select Enlarge/Reduce in the Manipulate Menu at the top of the page and type in the percentage. When first selected the symbol is at 100% so 50% will make it half the size, 200% will double the size, etc.

Enlargement Menu

You can view and print your score at 200% and 400% magnificiation. Make your choice at the bottom of the Main Palette. A one page document at 200% will print out on 4 pages, a document shown at 400% will use 16 pages.

Exporting as a Graphic

LabanWriter can save your whole document as a PICT (limited to two pages), a JPEG or in PNG format by using the popup menu in the Save dialog box.

Using the Export command from the File menu, you have evenmore flexibility. You can save the entire document as one image, each page as a separate image, or only specified pages as either PICT, JPEG or a PNG file. The Export command also gives you the option of including the page headers with your image.

PICT files allow you to export your document into painting and drawing applications. PICT files have an upper size limitation so large scores can't be saved in this format. JPEG and PNG images are useful for web pages and CDROM work.

You can also make a PICT of specified symbols by selecting them and dragging them directly to another application, or to the desktop for use later.

See Scrapbook

Fingers

The symbols for right and left fingers are found in the Body Signs Palette, the one with the stick figure button. There is also a special palette for fingers and toes where you can make your own finger/toe symbols by selecting the various parts. Choose hand or foot, left or right first and then the desired fingers/toes and their parts. Click Clear to erase your selections and Done when you are ready to place your symbol.

Finger symbols generated by the finger palette come in two sizes. Symbols for whole fingers are made smaller, but for special combinations of knuckles, LW creates a larger, more legible version.

Flexion/Extension

Choose the button in the Main Palette with bend and stretch on it. Be sure to select the degree first before selecting one of the symbols below the degrees. If the symbol is inside the clock, select it and then select how it is turned by clicking on the circumference of the clock.

Flipping Symbols

OR select the top left button on the Manipulate Palette and choose operations from there

OR go to the Manipulate menu and select the kind of flip.

Floorplans

To draw a Floorplan

Select the floorplan icon from the main tool palette, and a Floorplan menu will appear in the menu bar. Select Add from the Floorplan menu at the top, choose from the options in the dialog box, click OK. A text box below and wing space at the sides of floor plans can be selected so that text or pins in those areas will be attached to the floorplan and move with it. As guidelines you may choose to have a grid, a center mark as well as horizontal marks for wings and horizontal paths and vertical marks for vertical paths. These do not print unless Print Floorplan Marks is selected in Preferences.

Make your floorplans as you go along rather than lay them all out in the beginning. Note that when pins are placed directly on floorplans they now change size slightly. This change was made to be able to center the nose with a path line drawn directly from the nose. Fill in the first floorplan then select the plan (in floorplan mode) and Option drag to place it where the next plan will be. With it still selected, choose Copy End Points from the Floorplan menu. This will place a pin (female pin is the default if you have not chosen another sex in Preferences under the Edit menu) where each arrowhead finished on the previous plan. If an arrowhead has been added "by hand" rather than via the Manipulate Palette or Circle/Spiral Palette, copy End Points is not available.

Adjust the facing of the pin, if necessary, and change the sex of the pin using the dialog box in the Manipulate Palette (last button top row). One sixteenth pins that require two "noses" on the staff will change to a single "nose" when placed on the floor plan.

To change a Floorplan

Select Floorplan mode, select the floorplan(s), select Change from the Floorplan menu at the top, choose from the dialog box that appears, click OK. Note: the floorplan will change but not the contents in it.

To copy a floorplan

Select floorplan mode, select the floorplan, hold down the option key, click and drag to place. This copies the floor plan and its contents. To copy the floorplan alone, after selecting it choose duplicate (cmd-D) in the edit menu or copy (cmd-C) and paste (cmd-V) in the same menu.

To draw Lines, Curves, Rectangles and Squares

Select the Line tool in the Main Palette, click to place and drag the desired length. Hold down the Shift key to draw a vertical, horizontal or 45 degree angle line and Option to fine tune. Add an arrowhead by using that feature in the Manipulate Palette (bottom row, third button from the right). You can also place a single or double arrowhead by hand by selecting an arrowhead from the Pin palette.

The curve tool draws clockwise curves. Hold down Control to draw counterclockwise curves, and Option to fine tune. The curves can be flipped horizontally or vertically using cmd-1 and cmd-2 or choosing those options from the Manipulate menu.

Small floorplans next to staffs may be drawn by using the stretchable floor plan symbol in the Bow palette. They are drawn and moved like a bow using select mode and cannot be manipulated in floorplan mode.

Gathering & Scattering

One symbol is found in the Paths palette. It may be flipped to the right or left (cmd-1) or forward and backward (cmd-2) to create the symbol(s) needed.

Grid

The default is for all symbols to click to a ten squares to the inch grid. This helps you fit symbols into the columns of the staff easily and helps you count the squares as you lengthen or widen a symbol. If you want to disregard the grid totally, deselect the setting in Preferences under the Edit menu.

If you want to disregard the grid momentaily to adjust the size of a symbol pixel by pixel, hold down the Option key while dragging. If you want to place a symbol so that it doesn't jump into a column, hold down the cmd key.

See also Floorplans

Headers

To create headers select Headers from the Layout menu. Fill in where on the page you want the headers. They will be just inside the margins marked on each page unless you indicate otherwise. Change font style and size if you like. Select arabic or roman page numbers, what number to begin with and whether to place them at the outside edge of the top of the page or centered at the bottom. Numbering at the top is especially for printing on both sides of the paper, upper right corner for odd pages and upper left for even ones.

If you need to change headers frequently in a document, you will find it easier to use the Text tool, to insert them by hand.

Hold Signs

The hold weight, space hold, spot hold and their cancellation signs back to normal, release, undo, unfold, go away are found in the palette with the hold and release symbols on it.

Importing a PICT File

You can cut or copy and paste PICT files or text from other applications into your LW document. If you paste text you must be in text mode and have a text box already selected.

You can also drag a PICT file in from the scrapbook or another program.

Increase/Decrease

See Enlarge/Reduce

Joint Areas

Make a joint area by selecting a joint sign then opening Adding Surface Marks in the Manipulate Palette (2nd row, 4th button to the right) . Add a box around it if it does not have one already, select the kind of tick to be added to designate a surface of the joint and then choose one of the arrows to designate the area of the joint or body part. If you want to place more than one tick, hold down the shift key.

Jumps/Springs in Motif Notation

Click on the button with the wedge at the bottom, the one just above and to the right of the Manipulate Palette button. Open the menu with the spring and stillness symbols on it and select the spring sign. It is a stretchable symbol and when selected can be altered to show the five basic springs by using the dialog box in the Manipulate Palette. You can resize it by clicking and dragging the handles or change the time in the air by dragging the horizontal lines.

Justify

See Text

Key Commands

Key commands are found opposite the words in the menus and the whole list in the Manual (pp.76-77) may be printed out.

Note: You cannot use the key commands A or S or F or M when in the text mode as you will type only a letter. The Escape (esc) key will take you to the selection mode or click on the appropriate mode on the Main Palette.

Key Map

You can download the Key Map, a key showing which letters correspond to which symbols should you want to type them, from the LabanWriter homepage

Key Signs

Key signs are found by selecting the palette with the hold, release and standard key signs on it. All the keys are at the bottom, set off by a box.

Layout Menu

See Page Layout

Levels

Select a direction symbol and on the way to placing it type cmd-L (low), cmd-M (middle), cmd-H (high), cmd-B (blank). OR type the key command first so the whole Direction palette changes to one level before you select the direction OR place the symbol first and then with the symbol still selected choose a level under the Attributes menu.

To show more than one level within a symbol draw the symbol selecting the central level in the symbol if there are three. Then use the Manipulate Palette, 1st row, 2nd button, to add one or more levels from the bottom or the top of the symbol. The default is to fill by square but there is the option to select filling "by pixel." Always click the top arrow to fill whether you are filling from the top or bottom and the bottom arrow to remove the filling.

Distance between stripes in a high level symbol and in turns can be changed. See bottom of the Change Level Palette in the Manipulate Palette. Click the top arrow to increase the space and bottom arrow to decrease it.

Limbs

Some limbs, like the whole arm or leg or the sign for a limb, are found in the Body Parts palette. To make limbs from the joint signs, select the joint then choose the Limbs & Surface of Limbs' button in the Manipulate palette (2nd row, 2nd from the right) and select Plain Limb. Click the under or top side, or the thumb or little finger side, as needed. Also, designate whether it is the right or left limb.

Lines

To draw Lines select the Line tool (L) in the Main Palette, click to place and drag the desired length and angle. The line can be drawn in any direction. Hold down the Shift key to ensure a vertical, horizontal or 45 degree angle line and Option to fine tune the length. They can be resized (cmd-R).

Add an arrowhead by using that feature in the Manipulate Palette (bottom row, 3rd button from the right). You can also place an arrowhead by hand by selecting an arrowhead from the Pin palette.

To increase the thickness of a line or make it dashed, select the line then click on the line button in the Manipulate palette (top row, 3rd from the right) and increase or decrease the thickness or double the line or make it dashed. The contact, support and addressing bows can be doubled and dashed. Distance between double lines can also be increased or decreased. Paths, turns, horizontal bows, lines, and circles can also have dashed lines.

Also see Curves.

LMA (Laban Movement Analysis) Symbols

Find these symbols by clicking on the Popup Palette with the wedge in the Main Palette just above and to the right of the Manipulate Palette. Select the bottom menu that comes up and choose the symbol you want. See Appendix D in the Manual for explanation of the symbols and how to find them on the keyboard when typing in a word processing program.

Manipulate Palette

This is the yellow M located in the middle of the Main Palette on the left of the screen. To access it, click on the button. The icons tell you what each function is.

Top Row from left to right:

Flip symbols, Change Levels, Turn Symbols, Increase Symbols, Decrease Symbols, Make Line Changes, Change Degrees of Symbols, Change Sex of Pin

Bottom row:

Add Whitespace, Number of Ad Lib Oscillations, Edit Repeats, Add Tick Marks to Body Parts, Make Areas Around a Joint, Add Arrowheads to Lines and Curves, Make Limbs from Joints, Springs/Jumps (Motif Notation)

Margins

A half inch margin is drawn on the four sides of the page. Stay within this limit to ensure that your symbols will be printed by the computer and any copy machine.

Measures

Insert Measures

Select measure mode (M) in the Main Palette below the Circle tool. You can add a measure above or below so select a measure and from the Measure menu that will appear choose Insert Before or Insert After, make selections in the dialog box and click OK.

Change Measures

Click into measure mode ( M), select the measure or hold the shift key while selecting several measures, select the "Change" menu item from the Measure menu and choose a different number of beats or squares per beat or make ticks invisible. Click OK. Use this procedure for mixed meters.

Number Measures

Click into staff mode (S), select the staff(s) to be numbered, select Numbering from the Staff menu, type in the number to begin with, changing font or size if desired, click OK. Note: If staffs are connected, select only the left one for numbering.

Change Measure Numbers

Select staff mode (S), select staff(s), select Numbering under the Staff menu at the top, type in the new starting number . OR In select mode (A) select the numbers and drag them to another position, or delete them. OR In text (T) mode select the numbers and type new ones as with any text.

Enclose Measure Numbers

Set off numbers of sections, etc. by enclosing them in a circle, rectangle or diamond. When one of these shapes is selected, the text it surrounds stays to the front so you can continue to work on the text. To select the shape to delete it, send the text to the back using the Manipulate menu, deselect then reselect the enclosed text and hit delete.

Hide Measures

You may want text to appear between measures or it may help keep entrances and exits lined up or it may help line up tricky page layouts. Select the measure you want to hide and choose Hide from the Measure menu. It disappears but still exists. Select the measure you want to reappear and choose Show from the Measure menu.

Delete Measures

Select measure mode (M), select the measure(s) to be deleted, hit the delete key.

Change Bar Lines

Select measure mode (M), select the measure(s) and from the Measure menu choose the type of bar line.

See Repeats

Mixed Meter

To create a staff with mixed meter, first make a staff with measures of the same meter. Next select Measure mode on the Main Palette and select the measure (hold down the shift key if you want to change more than one) that needs to be changed. The Measure menu will appear at the top of the screen. Choose Change, answer the questions in the dialog box, then click OK.

Note you can select one measure and then choose to change all measures above in that staff.

Motif Symbols

Special Motif symbols like the stillness sign, the spring/jump sign, a step on either foot and "either" are found by clicking the button with the wedge at the bottom, just above and to the right of the Manipulate Palette button. Select the menu with the spring and stillness symbols on it. The jump symbol is a stretchable symbol and can be altered to show the five basic springs by using the Manipulate Palette. You can resize it by clicking and dragging the handles or change the time in the air by dragging the horizontal lines.

Some find it helpful to set up a staff with only the center line and perhaps tick marks which can serve as a guide for making a Motif score. In staff mode select New under the Staff menu at the top and deselect outside lines and any other items not needed. The center line can be removed on completion of the score by selecting staff mode, choosing Change in the Staff menu and unclicking the center line and anything else not needed.

Individual symbols can be enlarged (to make flashcards for example) in several ways. See Enlarge/Reduce.

Moving Symbols

Selected symbols move 1 pixel each time you press any of the arrow keys. They move one column if you hold down the Shift key and press an arrow key.

Select the correct mode, select the item and drag anywhere on the same document or drag onto another document. This will work only if you can drag and drop LabanWriter symbols between various drag-aware programs. Programs that predate drag and drop include: Word 5, SuperPaint, LabanWriter, 3.x .

To copy and move symbols see Copying.

Music Notes

Find these by clicking on the button in the Main Palette just above and to the right of the Manipulate Palette button, the one with the wedge at the bottom. Select the menu with the G clef on it to find music notes.

Music notes can be rotated singly by using Turn from the Type Menu (cmd-T )or by clicking on "rotate one unit counterclockwise" in the Manipulate Palette. After placing rotated music notes above one another in the score, use the Alignment Palette under the Manipulate menu to align them.

Increase or decrease their size by using the Manipulate Palette (top row, 4th and 5th buttons in).

Narrowing/Widening

See Symbols, Bows, Staffs, Floor Plans

New Page

See Page Layout

Numbering Measures

See Measures

Numbering Pages

Select Headers in the Layout menu, type in the page number to begin with and choose outside top or center bottom placement of the number on the page. The default is arabic, but you may select roman numerals.

Opening Documents

Select New (cmd-N) or Open (cmd-O) from the File menu.

Option Drag

To copy anything, select it, hold down the Option key and drag it anywhere on the same page, or onto another page in the same document. Use of the Option key is not necessary in order to drag something onto another drag aware document. Just select and drag.

Ovals

See Circles/Ovals

Page Layout

Add a page(s)

Select Add Page in the Layout menu at the top (cmd-shift-A).

Delete a page

Select Delete Page in the Layout menu at the top. Fill in the dialog box and hit OK. Remember the number must be the page number for the computer which is not necessarily the page number of your entire document.

Numbering a page

Select Headers in the Layout menu. Type in the starting page number in the Page Numbers Starting box. Select the number style (arabic or roman) and whether to place them at the outside edge of the top of the page or centered at the bottom. Numbering at the top is especially for printing on both sides of the paper, upper right corner for odd pages and upper left for even ones.

Redrawing a Page

If part of a symbol or staff seems to have disappeared or if extra lines appear after resizing a symbol, using Redraw (cmd-U) under the Layout menu to redraw the page may fix this problem.

Size of Page & Page Orientation

Select the size of page and page orientation by going to Page Setup under the File menu. In order to use A4 or paper other than US letter, you must change this setting under File when you begin your document. And you must check that the page is set that way before working on the document on reopening it, and again before printing. Otherwise the staffs will not space themselves properly on the page. Since LW is a bit americentric, it doesn't remember the default page size.

Palette Options

The default is set to keep the palettes open once you have selected them so that you are able to make multiple selections from the palettes without having to reopen them. Palettes will automatically close after you select a symbol if you check the Close Palette after Selection box in Preferences.under the Edit menu.

Palettes are set to save the position of the palettes if you move them about on the screen so they will appear in the same position the next time they are opened. Deselect Save Palette Positions in Preferences if you do not want this to happen.

Paths

All symbols in the path palette are stretchables, easy to lengthen or shorten when placed or resized (cmd-R) later on. To flip the path to the right or left , or forward or backward, use the key commands (cmd-1 or cmd-2) after selecting the symbol and before placing and dragging it.

Select a pin or direction to go inside the path sign, place it on the line, and type cmd -shift-W to surround it with Whitespace (cmd-shift-D to delete it). To enlarge or reduce Whitespace choose the first button in the 2nd row of the Manipulate Palette.

Pins

Select the Pin palette on the Main palette and choose the kind of pin that you want. It will appear in the center of the circle above the pins. Select the direction of the pin by clicking the circumference of the circle. The cursor becomes the pin and you can place it on the page wherever you want. The computer centers the pin in a turn, a direction or a path symbol. You can adjust the pin using the arrow keys or place it exactly by holding down the Command key.

To place a pin in a box, select the pin , hold down the shift key and select the box to the left of the circle either before or after turning the pin into the desired direction. To make a surface sign using the open rectangle on the right, use the same procedure.

The last 3 pins on the top line only turn to the horizontal and back to the vertical.

Symbols below the line on the Palette do not turn. Just select and place them. You can change their size by selecting either button (top row, 4th & 5th in) in the Manipulate Palette or choosing Enlarge/Reduce (cmd-E) in the Manipulate menu and type in the percentage. When first selected the symbol is at 100% so 50% will make it half the size, 200% will double the size, etc.

Preferences

Go to Edit menu, select Preferences and choose items you wish to change.

Autosave

- the default is to save every 10 minutes. You may change this.

Save Headers with PICT/jpg

Saves the header text with the score when saving as an image.

Do Verbose Save

is set to off. Turning this feature on tells LW to add comments to the text which indicate the next symbol used in the file. This information is only useful to programmers.

Click to Grid

- the default is for symbols to click to the grid when placing them. Deselect to eliminate this.

Save Palette Positions

is selected. Deselect if you do not want LW to remember your last placement of the palettes on the screen.

Open Palettes on Launch

. Select if you want previously open palettes to be opened when the program is launched.

Close Palettes After Selection is deselected

. Select if you want palettes to disappear after you select a symbol rather than stay open.

Print Floorplan Marks

may be selected if you have selected the center mark, the grid or the vertical or horizontal marks to be shown on the screen.

Text

- the default font is Geneva 10 plain. Change according to your need and the fonts available.

Staff Preferences:

Staff Exterior Columns - the default is 9 columns on both sides of the staff that belong to the staff. Change this number if you need more or fewer columns so columns of staffs do not overlap.

Top & bottom pads

are 4 squares high. If more or less space is needed to contain staff information, augment or lessen the number of squares.

Auto placement

- this applies to the automatic spacing of staffs and floor plans when they are placed, added or deleted from a page. Deselect this feature when you are working on special layouts so additions to the page do not upset the spacing.

Show columns

- Deselect these markers of the outside columns of the staff if you do not want to see them as you work. They are only guidelines to help you with placement of symbols and do not print.

Pixels per square

- there are 7 pixels per 1/10" square of space. These may not be changed.

Resize Handle Width

- enlarge the default size of the resize handles if you find them hard to grasp.

Replace arrowheads in floorplans with

- is set for the white pin (female). Change to black pins (male) or either sex pins (tack) depending on your cast needs.

Ruler defaults

change units from inches to centimeters.

Print Preview

This is found in the File menu. Click on the arrows at the bottom to scroll the pages.

Printing

Display the document you want to print in the active window. Select Print from the File menu (cmd-P) , select the options you want to use and click OK.

Quick Start Demo

See p.3 of the Manual.

Quitting LabanWriter

Select cmd-W to close the frontmost score, cmd-Q to quit the program. If you have made changes since your last save, LW will prompt you to save.

Rectangles

See Squares/Rectangles

Redrawing a Page

If part of a symbol or staff seems to have disappeared or if extra lines appear after resizing a symbol, using Redraw (cmd-U) under the Layout menu to redraw the page may fix this problem.

Release

The hold weight, space hold, spot hold and their cancellation signs back to normal, release, undo, unfold, go away are found in the palette with the hold and release symbols on it.

Repeats

Enclose Repeats

Click into measure mode, select the measure(s) you want to enclose, select Enclose Repeat from the Measure menu at the top. Extended bar lines will appear which can be made longer or shorter by changing to selection mode, grabbing a handle and dragging. They can only be extended as far out as the staff box goes, so add extra outside columns (See Staff) to the staff if necessary. Add repeat signs which are found by clicking the repeat symbol on the button in the Main Palette on the left. Dots can be removed in the Manipulate Palette by selecting the A/5 button and clicking on the dot to be removed. Select the Text mode to type a letter or number to replace the dot, change to select mode, click and drag it into place.

Stretchable repeats

These are found by clicking the repeat symbol on the button in the Main Palette on the left. The four symbols above the line are stretchable and can be dragged, holding down the Option key, to the desired length and width. Dots can be removed in the Manipulate Palette by selecting the A/5 button and clicking on the dot to be removed. Select the Text mode to replace the dot with a letter or number and change to select mode to drag it into place.

Resizing Symbols

See Enlarge/Reduce

Resize Handle Width

If you find it difficult to click onto the resize handles which appear when you select Resize (cmd-R) after selecting a stretchable symbol, enlarge the handle width by going to the Edit menu, choosing Preferences and increasing the number of pixels. Resize stretchable symbols by squares by holding down the Control key, and by pixels by holding down Control and Option once the symbol is selected.

Retention/Hold Signs/Release/Back to Normal

The hold weight, space hold, spot hold and their cancellation signs back to normal, release, undo, unfold, go away are found in the palette with the hold and release symbols on it.

Revolutions

See Turns

Rotating Symbols

Select any symbol that rotates around the clock such as pins or flexion and extension signs, and click the Rotate button on the Manipulate Palette (1st row, 3rd from the left) . Then click the direction button to rotate the symbol by units or click the circumference of the circle for the desired rotation clockwise or counterclockwise.

Go to the Attributes menu, choose Rotation, then Clockwise or Counterclockwise.

Ruler

If you want to see the ruler at the top of the page and along the left side, select Show Rulers in the Layout menu. The default for the ruler is inches. You may change this to centimeters in Preferences under the Edit menu.

Red lines on the rulers will show you the current horizontal and vertical postition of the mouse.

Save as PICT

see Saving

Saving

Select Save (cmd-S) from the File menu. Select the directory and folder where you want to save your document or create a new folder by clicking the New button. Type the name of the document in the Save File As box. Click the Save button.

Save As is used when you want to create more than one version of a document. Selecting Save As allows you to save the active window to a new name without altering the original. Save As is found under the File menu.

In the save dialog box you will find a pop-up menu that allows you to save your score as a PICT file, as a JPEG file or as a PNG file. PICT files allow you to export your document into painting and drawing applications or ones that are not drag-aware.

JPEG and PNG files are useful for putting notation examples directly on the web. These file formats are not restricted insize, as PICT files are, so you can save scores that are longer than two pages, the approximate maximum for a PICT.

For more options in saving your files in graphics formats, please see Export as Graphic

Scattering & Gathering

One symbol is found in the Paths palette. It may be flipped to the right or left (cmd-1) or forward and backward (cmd-2) to create the symbol(s) needed.

Scrapbook

To export a symbol, select the Scrapbook from the Apple menu, and click and drag the symbol(s) from LW into the Scrapbook.

To import from the Scrapbook, open the Scrapbook and scroll until the item you want appears. Click and drag it to the LW document.

For software that is not drag and drop aware, import and export from LW via the Scrapbook using copy and paste.

Selecting

You must be in the right mode to select something (Staff mode to select a staff, Measure mode to select a measure, Floorplan mode to select a floor plan, Text mode to select text, Select mode to select all other symbols). Then click on the object or drag a selection box around the object(s). You can be rather "messy" about selecting with the selection box or marquee because unless the entire symbol is enclosed, it will not become highlighted. For example, if the text box is longer than the text inside it, you must be sure to select the entire box.

Series of Symbols

To place a series of the same symbols, hold down the Shift key as you place the symbols. Release the Shift key before drawing the last symbol to stop making copies. OR Use Option drag to keep repeating the symbol you have already placed.

Shortcuts

You may want to print out the list of key commands in Appendix B of the Manual for the quickest way to select the Modes and Tools and Command Keys for placing a symbol exactly, copying, cutting, pasting, undoing, changing levels, etc. Key commands are also given in the menus on the screen.

Springs/Jumps in Motif Notation

Click on the button with the wedge at the bottom, the one just above and to the right of the Manipulate Palette button. Open the menu with the spring and stillness symbols on it and select the spring sign. It is a stretchable symbol and when selected can be altered to show the five basic springs by using the dialog box in the Manipulate Palette. You can resize it by clicking and dragging the handles or change the time in the air by dragging the horizontal lines.

Squares/Rectangles

Use the rectangle tool (R) to draw a rectangle or square. Click and drag the cursor diagonally. To ensure that you make a square, hold down the Shift key. To fine tune the size hold down Option.

To remove part of a line or circle or square, make a small shape with this tool, place it on the line where the space is wanted and add Whitespace (cmd-shift-W).

To place a rectangle around text, select the text, then select Enclose in the Type menu and choose the surrounding shape.

Staffs

Draw a staff

Click the staff button (to the right of the Circle tool) on the Main Palette, select New from the Staff menu in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Fill in the dialog box that appears and click OK. If you don't want staffs to respace when adding additional staffs, turn off the AutoPlacement button in the Edit Preferences menu before adding a new staff.

Note: to change number of squares per count or number of beats per measure or number of measures or number of staffs , delete the staff and begin again. Otherwise make changes by selecting Change in the Staff menu.

Another note: If two staves overlap, and you can't select one of them, first select the other, and choose "Send to Back" from the Manipulate Menu.

Align Staffs

Staffs align automatically when first placed on the page unless you have deselected Automatic Placement in Preferences under the Edit menu. Should you move them about and wish to align them in relation to one another select the staffs to be aligned and choose Align under the Manipulate menu. Staffs will align to the farthest symbol in the direction selected.

Change a staff

Click into staff mode, select the staff to be changed, select Change from the Staff menu, make changes in the dialog box, click OK. Note: to change number of squares per count or number of beats per measure, delete the staff and draw a new staff.

To change the number of outside columns for a staff, select Change under the Staff menu and select the number of columns for each side of the staff . Or, with the staff selected, take the cursor to the bounding box of the staff where it changes into a double arrow and drag the columns in or out. Or before beginning a document, set the number of default outside columns in Preferences.

Connect staffs

Select staff mode, select the staffs to be connected by holding down the Shift key and clicking on each one, choose Connect under the Staff menu at the top, fill in the dialog box that appears and click OK or Return.

Move a staff

Click into staff mode, select the staff(s) to be moved and move by dragging, or to move by pixels use the arrow keys, or to move by squares hold down the Shift key while using the arrow keys.

Copy a staff, but not its contents.

Click into staff mode, select the staff(s), select copy (cmd-C) and then paste (cmd-V), or use the duplicate command (cmd-D)

Copy a staff and its contents

in the same document. Click into staff mode, select the staff(s), hold down Option, while dragging the copy to the desired location.

Copy a staff and its contents

to another document. Click into staff mode, select the staff(s) and drag it to another document. This makes a copy and leaves the original. This technique works with all applications that are drag-aware, and will accept PICTs.

See Counts

Staples

Staples may be found by opening the palette with the caret and small vertical bow on it.

Stretch/Bend

See Flexion/Extension

Surfaces of Body Parts

Select the body part, then click on the Surface Marks button in the Manipulate Palette (2nd row, 4th button to the right) or the limbs button (2nd row, 2nd button from the right). Add a box around the part, if necessary, select the kind of surface mark and then the direction of the mark, if needed. Holding down the shift key lets you add more than one surface mark in some cases.

Symbols

The meaning of the symbols is not given in this program. Refer to various Labanotation text materials. "Labanotation" by Ann Hutchinson is the standard text. Find the family of the symbol you want in the buttons on the Main Palette at the left of the screen. Click on it and all the choices you need should be there.

Selecting Symbols

You must be in the right mode to select something (Staff mode to select a staff, Measure mode to select a measure, Floorplan mode to select a floor plan, Text mode to select text, Select mode to select all other symbols). Then click on the object or drag a selection box around the object(s). You can be rather "messy" about selecting with the selection box or marquee because unless the entire symbol is enclosed, it will not become highlighted. For example, if the text box is longer than the text inside it, you must be sure to select the entire box.

Flipping symbols

If you want to flip the symbol, go to the Manipulate menu at the top and flip it horizontally (cmd-1) or vertically (cmd-2). To place a series of the same symbols, hold down the Shift key as you place the symbols. Release the Shift key before drawing the last symbol to stop making copies. OR Use Option drag to keep repeating the symbol you have already placed.

Size of symbols

Stretchable symbols (directions, turn, paths, bows, some ad libs, etc.) can be enlarged or made smaller when placing them by holding down the Option key as you click and drag the symbol.

Rotating Symbols

Select any symbol that rotates around the clock such as pins or flexion and extension signs, and click the Rotate button on the Manipulate Palette (1st row, 3rd from the left) . Then click the direction button to rotate the symbol by units or click the circumference of the circle for the desired rotation clockwise or counterclockwise.

Font symbols (body parts, pins, small, large, keys, retention signs, etc.) can be increased or decreased in size by selecting them and selecting the appropriate button in the Manipulate Palette, either the fourth or fifth button in the top row or use Enlarge/Reduce which does this by percentages in the Manipulate menu.

Deleting Symbols

Select the correct mode, select the symbol(s), hit the Delete key or select Delete from the Edit menu above. You can retrieve the symbol(s) if you immediately select Undo ( cmd-Z) in the Edit menu.

Move Symbols 1 pixel at a time with the arrow keys, or 1 square at a time by holding down Shift with the arrow keys.

Sometimes a pin will seem to disappear when placed inside a symbol or whitespace will not show up. Select the symbol (or where it should be) and choose Bring to front or Send to back from the Manipulate menu.

Resizing Symbols

See Enlarge/Reduce

Align Symbols

See Align

Coloring Symbols

See Color

Text

The default font is Geneva 10. This can be changed in Preferences under the Edit menu orunder the Type menu at the top of the screen where Size and Style can also be selected. Text can be justified within the text box to the left, right or center. It can be enclosed by a circle, rectangle or diamond. When one of these shapes is selected, the text it surrounds stays to the front so you can continue to work on the text. To select the shape to delete it, send the text to the back using the Manipulate menu, deselect then reselect the enclosed text and hit delete.

Placing Text

Select text mode, click on the page where you want to place the text and drag the text box to the desired width. Type the text you want. Note: You cannot use the key commands that are letters when in the text mode as you will only type a letter. The Esc (Escape) key will take you to the Selection mode or click on the appropriate mode on the Main Palette.

Editing Text

Select text mode, click in the text box where you want to make a change. The cursor appears there. Type any change or select any text by dragging across it to delete or change Font or Size or Style by using the Type menu at the top of the screen. Whenever you click on a text box, handles appear at both ends which can be dragged to resize the box.

Enclosing Text

Enclose text in a rectangle, circle or diamond by selecting the text and choosing which you want from Enclose in the Type menu above.

Turn Text

Turn text 90 degrees counterclockwise to place beside a staff by selecting the text (in the text mode) and using the Turn dialog on the Manipulate Palette , by typing cmd-T, or by selecting "Turn" from the Text menu. Text can be returned to horizontal using the same methods if you need to edit the text.

If text is in color, it can be turned, but when turned back, it will be black. When turned a second time, it will regain its color.

Justify Text

Text can be justified within the box to the left, right or center.

Use the Times font rather than Geneva to retain, when printed, the exact spacing of a paragraph of text, and particularly one in which you have inserted Labanotation symbols which are only inserted in a space. Font substitutions when printing may cause Geneva text to respace itself, and inserted symbols will not appear in the correct place.

Coloring Text

See Color

Tick Marks

Tick marks will automatically be added to the staff when the number of beats is selected for the Staff(s). See Staffs. They can also be change or deselected on the Staff menu. See also Surfaces of Body Parts

Time Signs

Find these by clicking on the button in the Main Palette just above and to the right of the Manipulate Palette button, the one with the wedge at the bottom. Select the menu with the G clef and time sign on it.

Increase or decrease their size by using the Manipulate Palette (top row, 4th and 5th buttons in).

Tips

Toes

See Fingers

Tools

See specific Tools: Select, Text, Lines, Curves, Rectangles, Squares, Ovals, Circles

Toward/Away

Find the toward/approach symbol in the Bows palette. Flip it (cmd-2) to change it to the away symbol.

Turns/Revolutions

Open the Turns/Revolutions palette and select the Turn/Revolution you want. Click and drag it on the page to the desired length and width. You can make it one or two columns wide and lengthen or shorten it by squares. To fine tune it by pixels hold down the Option key while you drag. Use cmd-1 and cmd-2 to flip the selected symbol right or left, or forward or back, as needed, on the way to placing it.

Undo

To undo a command choose Undo (cmd-Z) in the Edit menu. Choose Redo if that is not what you wanted. Undo actions are: Let us know if there are things that won't Undo for you: labanwriter@osu.edu

Upbeat

To create an upbeat for a new staff select upbeat on the new staff dialog box and fill in the amount of upbeat in the dialog box that will appear. To add or change an upbeat to a staff that is already made, select the staff (after selecting staff mode), then select Change under the Staff menu at the top and fill in upbeat information after selecting Upbeat.

Whitespace

Whitespace can be added to pin, direction, turn, grasp, body part and other symbols to offset them from a level or a line. It can be added to a line or a curve to show right-of-way on a floorplan. Select the symbol to be offset, then type cmd-shift-W or select Add Whitespace from the Manipulate menu. Cmd-shift-D deletes Whitespace.

To increase or decrease the Whitespace go to the first button on the 2nd row of the Manipulate Palette.

Sometimes the Whitespace or the pin seems to disappear. Since two layers are involved, try selecting Bring to the Front or Send to the Back in the Manipulate menu after selecting the symbol.

Small squares or circles can be filled with Whitespace and used to break a line or circle in a floor plan or to take out a line when writing a turn from one foot to two or from two feet to one.

See Floor Plans.

Widening/Narrowing

See Symbols, Bows, Staffs, Floor Plans

Wing Space

See Floor Plans