View¶

View is the Leadsheet.app reader: the digital music stand you use to read a score, rendered from the neumaRk text. It's designed for quick access and works even without signing in.

Opening a song¶

A song can reach View in several ways:

from a link you received — fly link, hard link or reactive link (see Links & sharing);
from a public song in the catalogue;
by opening a .nrk file from your device (the Open file button or by dragging it into the window);
from a collection (book or playlist), going through the songs one after another.

For public songs and fly links no sign-in is needed. For someone else's private song you need permission: if you don't have it, you can request it (and if the link is password-protected, you're asked for the password).

Reading and fitting the page¶

View mode: page (one page at a time, with a strip to jump between pages), papyrus (continuous scrolling) and, on short screens, strip.
Fit to width / height, Zoom and Density to adjust how much fits on screen and how compact it is.
Screen stays on: while View is in the foreground, the screen doesn't turn off by itself (handy with an iPad on a music stand). It only works if the browser allows it: on iPad and iPhone it needs iPadOS/iOS 16.4 or later, and if you add View to the Home Screen it needs 18.4. It starts at the first touch on the screen; if you switch apps or lock the screen by hand, it comes back when you return to View. If the device is in low-power mode or the browser doesn't support it, the device's own auto-lock timeout applies (Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock).
Fullscreen.
Turning pages (page and strip modes): swipe sideways on the score (the page follows your finger, and comes back if you let go before the halfway mark or stop with your finger still), or tap the left or right edge of the page. On a computer, click the side edges (they darken as you move the mouse over them and show the page they lead to) or swipe sideways with two fingers on the trackpad. ←/→ work too. If you are zoomed in so far that the score scrolls sideways, dragging moves the view instead of turning the page: use the edges or the arrows. Where there is room next to the sheet, a stack of page edges shows how many pages you have read and how many are left; otherwise a small bar at the bottom of the window does the same, and it fades in and out if it would cover the last system.
Inspect (from the menu): a lens that magnifies up to 6× to read the details, with pinch and drag; a red border shows it's active, Esc or the ✕ closes it. Above the inspected measure a small bar shows its number and, if you can comment on the song, the Comment button. The bar's NRK icon opens the Source panel: on the left of the score (full screen on a phone) it shows the neumaRk text of the measure, one block per line (Markers, Chords, Notes, Lyrics, Articulations…; the second voice is Notes · voice 2, and with several staves stave N appears). At the top, Context in → out sums up time signature, key signature, last note and clef. Each block can be edited: Apply redraws the song with the correction, in memory only (nothing is saved), and Undo restores it; if the correction introduces errors it is refused and the errors appear under the fields. After Apply, Resulting source shows the changed fragments, highlighting what the system added. The Keep at the end box (Pitch, Duration, Time signature, Key, Clef, all ticked) makes the system, when a correction changes the state the measure hands over, append a measure-context object that restores the original one, so the music that follows does not change (e.g. c d e f corrected to c' d' e' f' becomes c' d' e' f' (@,,,,)). Opening the panel fits the score to the remaining area and keeps the selected measure in view. Esc closes the Source (inspection stays), a second Esc leaves inspection. Selecting another measure with the panel open shows its source; unapplied edits are discarded.
Keyboard shortcuts (after clicking the score; single keys act only without Cmd/Ctrl/Alt, so Cmd/Ctrl+P stays the browser's print and Cmd/Ctrl+F its search): W fits the width, H the height, F changes the music font, P the view mode, +/− zoom, Cmd/Ctrl + +/− density (also Cmd/Ctrl+=), ←/→ page, ↑/↓ scroll. Write uses the same keys.
Export PDF of the score, in pure black, even fitted on fewer pages → Exporting to PDF.
Measures that can't be drawn: an empty staff takes their place and a notice lists them (system and measure). The song needs fixing in Write.

Exporting to PDF¶

Export PDF... (in the score menu) opens a window with a preview of the pages. Write opens the same window.

The PDF reproduces the score as you see it: your score settings (font, chords, measure numbers, beaming…), the transposition and the version you chose all apply. For a PDF that differs from the screen, change the settings before exporting. The colours are the exception: the PDF always comes out in pure black, whatever ink you use on screen, and only the watermark in the footer stays grey. The window reminds you with a line at the top.

You can choose:

the file name;
Vector (the default, sharp at any zoom) or Raster (pages as images);
the page format (A4, A3, A5, Letter, Legal, Tabloid), portrait or landscape orientation, and the margin;
the page count: the preselected option follows the Save pages setting (see below); next to it, for this export only, you get the other spacing options (Airy, Normal, Compact) when they give a different page count, and Fit on N pages options, with the zoom each one needs. Systems are packed closer first and the music shrinks only if that is not enough, never below 70% and the same on every page. Each option is tried while you look at the preview (calculating…) and becomes selectable only if it keeps its promise. Use it when the PDF has more pages than you see on screen: the on-screen page stretches up to Legal height, the paper sheet does not;
which pages to export (for example 1-3, 5, 7-end; empty = all);
page numbers, with their position (top or bottom, left, centre or right).

In Raster mode you also get the resolution (72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI), the image format (lossless PNG or compressed JPEG, with its quality) and a grayscale option.

Customising the look¶

Settings... (in the score menu) opens the Score settings panel, which controls how the score is drawn. Write has the same panel.

No choice changes the song: only the way you see it.
The settings are yours, for every song: signed in, you find them on every device; otherwise they stay in this browser. The exception is the This song section, which applies only to the open song.
Paper color and ink color are separate for View and Write: you can read on white paper in View and write on grey paper in Write. The PDF always comes out in pure black anyway.
The panel has a search at the top (Search settings…) and the list of sections on the side; each section has its own Reset to defaults button (the one in Others leaves the colors alone).

Section	Setting	Values (default in bold)	What it does
This song	Chromatic notation	on / off	shows accidentals inline instead of a key signature; implied for atonal songs. If the author wrote the song as chromatic, the item becomes Force key signature
Clef & Key	Clef & key signature	Classic · Sher · Key reminder	Classic: clef and key on every staff; Sher: only on the first system; Key reminder: key on every staff (with a ")" reminder), clef only on the first
	Reprint at each new page	on / off	repeats clef and key on the first staff of every page too
	Keep Classic on multi-stave systems	on / off	on systems with several staves (piano, for example) keeps repeating clef and key on every staff
	Announce clef and key changes	on / off	a change that falls on a line break is announced at the end of the previous line; before a repeat, shows the key you go back to
	Announce time signature changes	on / off	the same for the meter
	Simplify enharmonic spelling	on / off	respells redundant accidentals (E♯→F, C♭→B); off keeps the author's spelling
Measure Numbers	Measure numbers	Never · First of page · First of system	where measure numbers appear
	Font size	slider (12 px)	size of the measure numbers
Alignment	Page Margin	slider	space around the page
	Line Margin	slider	extra vertical space between staves. The base distance is automatic: each system rests against the real ink of the one above, column by column, and where columns are free the systems interlock
	Save pages	No · Normal · Maximum	how much systems may squeeze together to fit the piece on fewer pages. They squeeze only if it really saves a page; otherwise they keep their natural spacing and, if the piece takes several pages anyway, the pages are balanced. No: never squeeze. The PDF follows it too
Hide	Hide credits	on / off	title, composer and the rest of the header
	Hide lyrics	on / off	the words under the staff
	Lyric font size	slider (14 px)	size of the words
Chords	Hide chords	on / off	the chord symbols above the staff
	Slash notation in empty measures	on / off	fills empty measures that carry chords with slashes
	Force slashes	on / off	replaces every note with a slash; the chord symbols stay
	Omit repeated chords	on / off	shows a chord symbol only when the harmony changes
	Restate chord at line start	on / off	when a line starts on a harmony that carries on, redraws the symbol
	Repeat break barline on new line	on / off	a double or final barline that falls on a line break also appears at the start of the next line
	Disambiguation brackets (close systems)	on / off	a direction that is the outermost ink of its column and ends up close to the neighbouring system is bracketed, with a line above (above the staff: flow directions, `A)` and `M)` texts, chord and note labels) or below (`D)` texts), to show which staff it belongs to. Section markers and play directives are left alone. More brackets appear when systems are squeezed
	Chord stagger (isolated high notes)	on / off	an isolated high note lifts only its own chord symbol, the others stay low in a row
	Volta compression	on / off	when space runs short, the ending bracket (1./2.) moves down toward the chords instead of shrinking the notes or adding a page
	Chord rhythm distance	slider	distance between the highest notes and the chord rhythm
Others	Note spacing (horizontal)	slider (5)	how much extra room long notes take: high = very proportional, low = more even
	Music Font	Bravura · Petaluma	the typeface of notes and symbols (also with the `F` key)
	Tuplet Type	Bracket · Slur	how triplets and the like are drawn
	Articulation Placement	Classic · Always above	staccato, accent, tenuto: inside the staff or always above
	Beam grouping (x/4 meters)	Per block (2/4·3/4) · Per beat (1/4)	how eighths and sixteenths are beamed in meters with denominator 4
	Beaming over rests	Per block · Per beat · Off	whether beams run over inner rests
	Paper color · Ink color	palette	on-screen colors (defaults: pure white and pure black in View, warm grey paper and soft black in Write)

For beaming, the marks written in the song in Write (/ breaks, - joins) always win over the two settings.

A meter, key or clef change that falls on the first measure of a line is also announced at the end of the previous line, as in printed parts (before a repeat, the meter or key you go back to): you don't write it, the rendering adds it, and Announce clef and key changes and Announce time signature changes turn it off.

Transposing¶

By key: choose the new key (a grid for tonal songs, a stepper for atonal ones), also by octave. When the target key has two spellings (Gb/F#, Db/C# and, in minor, Eb-/D#-, G#-/Ab-, Bb-/A#-), tap the selected cell again to switch to the other one: from E +2 you get F# instead of Gb, with key signature, notes and chord symbols in sharps. Tapping the original key's cell changes only the spelling, without transposing. The choice is kept when you shift by an octave; picking another key starts again from the default spelling.
By instrument: transposition presets (e.g. B♭/E♭ instruments, octave down) so you read at your own pitch.

Versions and lyrics language¶

Versions: if the song contains %% variants, choose which musical version to show.
Lyrics language: if the song has several lyric editions (by language or author), choose which one to display.
Historical version: a link to an earlier saved version (for example the one copied in the Library with Copy link to this version) shows a notice "You're viewing historical version v…" with a Go to latest button.

Performing a collection¶

When you open a book or a playlist, a quick navigation bar appears: back/forward between songs and a quick jump to any of them from the list. The list shows each song's title, author and key, and opens on the one you are reading. You can also change song by swiping the title: left (or up, when the title is on the side) for the next one, right (or down) for the previous one. The title follows your finger and the neighbouring song's title slides in; let go before the halfway mark and nothing changes, and at the first and last song it just resists. On narrow screens the controls fold into a single button, whose menu holds the same list and steps. A playlist's per-item adjustments (transposition, form) are applied automatically. If the collection comes from a file and you're signed in, you can save its songs to your material.

Loading the latest version¶

A hard link shows the version that was current when you opened it, and doesn't follow later saves. To see the latest one without reloading the page, use Refresh (the circular-arrow icon in the menu): View reads the current version and redraws the score only if it changed; otherwise it tells you you're already viewing the latest version. It needs a connection. Refresh isn't offered on a version snapshot (a link to a specific historical version, which never changes) nor on a reactive link, which already updates by itself (see below).

Following a song live¶

If you opened a reactive link, the score updates by itself every time the song is saved in Write, for example by whoever has taken the Lead during a rehearsal or a lesson: you don't need to reload the page. The update happens without any notice and needs a connection. The source icon in the menu tells you which kind of link you opened the song with (for example "Source: Reactive link"). What reactive links are → Links & sharing.

Navigating to the other apps¶

From the toolbar you open the current song in Write to edit it, go back to the Library, or manage your account. The three click gestures apply (in particular Z+click to reuse an already-open tab): see the navigation gestures.

Adding to your library¶

If you're signed in, Add to my library (from the menu) brings the song into your Library: a song that came from a fly link is copied as your own song (if you already have one with the same title you're asked whether to create a copy anyway); a saved song (hard or reactive link) is added as a reference, if you don't already have a role on it.

Review comments¶

If the creator or an owner has enabled review on the song (from the Library, or in Write from Manage document) and you have a role on it, even just as a viewer, the Review menu item opens the comments panel. Write has the same panel.

Write a comment and press Send. Right-clicking a measure (or the Comment button in Inspect mode) anchors the comment to that measure.
Clicking the measure label (Go to measure) shows it on the score; if that measure has been edited since, the comment says so with Changed.
Everyone can edit or delete their own comments; the creator, owners and collaborators can also delete other people's and mark them as resolved (or reopen them).

The panel holds text only: no comment changes the song. Someone who is only subscribed to a public song can't comment: see Roles.

Reading offline¶

Songs and collections saved for offline from the Library open in View without a connection too, like fly links (which carry the song in the address).

Reporting content¶

The Report button (flag) lets you report a song or a fly link that infringes a copyright or the usage rules; the report is reviewed and the content may be removed.

In the form you choose the category, describe the problem and give your name and email. If the email isn't your account's verified one, you receive a link to confirm it: the report is recorded only when you open it and confirm, and the link is valid for 48 hours (if it doesn't arrive, check your spam). For the Child abuse category you're not asked for personal data.

Content removed¶

If content has been removed following a report, instead of the score View shows a screen with a Go to Library button:

for a fly link: "Content removed — This shared content has been removed following a report and is no longer available."
for a public song: "Song removed — This song has been removed from public access following a report and is no longer available."

What View doesn't do¶

View doesn't edit the song (to write or correct it you use Write) and doesn't play audio: to listen to a song, open it in Write.