ABCM2PS(1) General Commands Manual ABCM2PS(1)
NAME
abcm2ps -- translate ABC music notation to PostScript (or SVG)
SYNOPSIS
abcm2ps [options] [abc-file [file-options]] [...]
abcm2ps [-h]
DESCRIPTION
abcm2ps translates tunes written in the ABC music notation format to customary sheet music scores in PostScript or SVG. It is based on
abc2ps 1.2.5 and was developed mainly to print Baroque organ scores that have independent voices played on multiple keyboards and a pedal-
board. The program has since been extended to support various other notation conventions in use for sheet music.
Options given immediately after the command name apply to the run as a whole; options given after an ABC file name apply to that file.
Formatting parameters can also be set in `format files' and in the ABC files themselves.
OPTIONS
Options may be grouped if they have no arguments; the last option in a group may have an argument.
Where appropriate, starting an option (group) with +, or finishing it with -, disables the option(s).
--parameter value
Set formatting parameter parameter to value. Values established in this way will override values given in format files,
and be implicitly locked. See below for a list of formatting parameters.
-a a Maximal horizontal compression when staff breaks are chosen automatically. Must be between 0 and 1 (default: 0.65) See the
maxshrink parameter below.
-A This option (`annotate') inserts reference elements into the PostScript or SVG output.
-B b Try to typeset b bars on each staff line. See the barsperstaff formatting parameter below.
-b b Start measure numbering at b. See the measurefirst formatting parameter below.
-c The continuation symbol is implicitly appended to each music line. This amounts to automatic line breaking. See the continueall
formatting parameter below.
-D directory
Search format files in directory.
-d length Set the minimum vertical interstaff space to length (default: 46pt). See the staffsep formatting parameter below.
-E Output is generated in EPS format, one file per page.
In this mode, each tune is written to a separate numbered file unless the -O is given; output cannot be directed to standard out-
put.
EPS files are useful for embedding into PostScript documents, but can also be used to generate images in (pixel-oriented) graph-
ics formats via GhostScript.
-e list Select which tunes from an ABC file to print. list is a comma-separated list of tune numbers (as per the `X:' header). The -e
option must occur after an ABC file name and applies to that file. Ranges of tune numbers may be specified like t1-t2; t2 may be
omitted which means `all remaining tunes until the end of file'. Note that filtering may cause problems, e.g., with global (non-
tune) definitions in the ABC file.
-F file Read the format file file. If file does not have a suffix, .fmt is implied.
+F Do not read the default format file.
-f Enable flat beams in bagpipe tunes. See the flatbeamsformatting parameter below.
-G Omit slurs on grace notes. See the graceslurs formatting parameter below.
-g Produce SVG output instead of EPS. In this mode, each tune goes to a separate numbered output file unless the -O is specified. If
output is directed to standard output (-O-), all SVG images are output without an XML header.
-H Display the current values of the formatting parameters.
-h Display program usage hints and quit.
-i Display red circles around errors in PostScript output
-I length Indent the first line of the tune by length (default: 0). See the indent formatting parameter below.
-jb[b] Output a measure number every b measures. If b is 0, the measure number appears at the left of each staff. The trailing b causes
a box to be drawn around each measure number (default: no measure numbering).
See the measurenb formatting parameter below.
-l Generate landscape output. See the landscape formatting parameter below.
-M Suppress end-of-tune lyrics. See the writefields w parameter below.
-m length Set the left margin to length (default: 1.8cm). See the leftmargin formatting parameter below.
-N[mode] Number pages according to the mode:
0 no page numbers
1 page numbers at top left of page
2 page numbers at top right of page
3 page numbers at top left of even-numbered pages, top right of odd-numbered pages
4 page numbers at top right of even-numbered pages, top left of odd-numbered pages
For compatibility, -N is equivalent to -N2 (default: -N0).
If a header is defined using the header formatting parameter, this option is ignored.
+N Equivalent to -N0 (no page numbering).
-n Include notes and history from ABC tune `N:' fields. See the writefields formatting parameter below.
-O [directory][name]
Define the output file directory and/or name. By default, the output goes to the current directory, and the file name is
`Out.ps' for PostScript output, `Outnnn.eps' for EPS output (see -E), `Outnnn.svg' for SVG output (see options -g and
-v), or `Out.xhtml' for XHTML+SVG (see -X).
When name is present, it replaces `Out' in the output file name. If name is =, it is replaced by the name of the ABC source
file.
If name is - and standard PostScript or embeddable SVG output is selected, the output will be sent to standard output.
+O Revert to the default output directory and file name.
-q Quiet mode; display only error messages.
-s scale Set the page scale factor to scale. Note that the header and footer are not scaled (default: 0.75).
See the scale formatting parameter below.
-S Secure mode; disables file inclusion via %%format and %%EPS and disallows direct PostScript injection via %%beginps
and %%postscript.
-Tn[voice], +Tn[voice]
Activate (or deactivate) tabulature drawing. n is the tabulature number as defined in %%tabulature (up to a maximum of
8 tabulatures), and voice is the voice name, full name or subname as found in V:. When this is absent, the option applies to all
voices. Up to 4 such options may be given. See also format.txt.
-u Use implicit decorations as in abc2ps (default: off). See the abc2pscompat formatting parameter below.
-V Output version number and quit.
-v Produce SVG output instead of PostScript. In this mode each page goes to a different numbered file. Output to standard output is
disallowed.
-w length Adjust the right margin such that the staff width is length (default: none).
See the staffwidth formatting parameter below.
-x Include the `X:' tune number in the title. See the writefields formatting parameter below.
-X Produce XML+SVG output instead of PostScript. See -O for output file naming.
-0 Split tunes across page breaks if necessary. See the splittune formatting parameter below.
-1 Output one tune per page. See the oneperpage formatting parameter below.
FORMATTING PARAMETERS
The following formatting parameters can be used in format files. They can also occur in ABC files when they are preceded by %%, or
on the command line (using a double dash to introduce them).
Parameters specified on the command line or within an ABC file override definitions of the same parameter in a format file.
If the lock keyword is specified at the end of a parameter list, the value cannot be changed later unless the later definition also uses
lock. There is an implicit lock at the end of any parameter specified on the command line.
Abcm2ps distinguishes between "global" and "local" parameter settings. Global settings can be established through the use of format files,
or by specifying formatting parameters outside of tunes, i.e., at the beginning of a file before the first tune's `X:' or `T:' line, or
after the blank line at the end of a tune before the next tune's `X:' or `T:' line. Local settings can be specified inside a tune, and will
revert to the current global setting at the end of the tune. Do also note that the result of setting some parameters depends on where they
occur in the source file, i.e., setting topmargin within a tune applies only to the second and subsequent pages of that tune, not the first
page, since when the local topmargin setting is seen, output of the tune has already started.
abc2pscompat boolean
If true, set M as the +tenuto+ decoration and do a pitch translation if the notes are too high for a bass clef. Also, an octave
translation is applied to bass and alto parts (default: 0; command line: -u)
alignbars int
Align the bars of the next int lines of music. This works only when the music contains only one voice (no V: or %%staves)
(default: 0).
aligncomposer int
Define where to display the composer field. A negative value displays it flush-left, a value of zero centered, and a positive
value flush-right (default: 1).
annotationfont font [encoding] size
Set the annotation font to font with size size (default: Helvetica 12)
autoclef boolean
Adjust the clefs when they are not defined in `K:' or `V:' lines (default: 1).
barnumbers int
Synonym for measurenb.
barsperstaff int
Try to typeset with int bars per line (default: 0; command line: -B, +b)
beginps Start a sequence of PostScript code lines extending until the next endps line. This parameter may only occur within ABC and for-
mat files, not on the command line.
Each line between beginps and endps is included in the PostScript output file. The material may not exceed 128 KiB in
size.
When the output format is SVG, the PostScript code is executed by the small built-in PostScript interpreter. Sequences which
cannot be executed (like font redefinitions) must be made conditional based on the svg symbol:
/svg where {pop} {PostScript code that abcm2ps cannot execute} ifelse
beginsvg Start a sequence of SVG code lines extending until the next endsvg line. This parameter may only occur within ABC and format
files, not on the command line.
Each line between beginsvg and endsvg is included in the SVG output file. This makes it possible to add CSS to the generated SVG
files. The parameter is ignored if SVG generation has already started (i.e., after the first K: information field.)
bgcolor colour
Define the background colour of SVG images. This parameter is only used when the output is pure SVG (options -g and -v).
The colour may be a colour name (white) or an RGB colour in hexadecimal notation (#faf0e6).
botmargin length
Set the bottom margin to length (default: 1cm)
breakoneoln boolean
If this is set, on finding an end-of-line (eoln), pretend that there was a space before the next note or rest. This prevents a
beam to be continued between two input lines (default: 1).
bstemdown boolean
If this is set, the stem of the note on the middle of the staff extends downwards. Otherwise it extends up or down depending on
the preceding note (default: 0).
comball boolean
If this is set together with combinevoices, voice combination takes place in all cases. Otherwise, notes which are too close
together in pitch (i.e., a second interval, in unison, or inverted) are not combined.
combinevoices boolean
If this is set, simultaneous notes of the same duration belonging to voices on the same staff are combined into chords.
(default: 0).
composerfont font [encoding] size
Set the `composer' font to font with size size (default: Times-Italic 14)
composerspace length
Set the vertical space before the composer name to length (Default: 0.2cm)
contbarnb boolean
If this is not set, the bar numbers of second repeats are set to those of the corresponding first repeats. If this is set, all
bars are numbered sequentially (default: 0).
continueall boolean
If this is set to true, ignore the line breaks in a tune (default: 0; command line: -c, +c)
This parameter is deprecated in favour of linebreak <none>.
dateformat format
Format for date and time output. The admissible values of this parameter are described in the documentation for the strftime(3) C
library function. Note that percent signs need to be escaped (default: "b e, Y H:M")
deco name c_func ps_func h wl wr [str]
Define a decoration. This is an experimental feature which is subject to change in future releases and requires good knowledge of
the internals of abcm2ps. See the files format.txt and deco.abc for details.
decoration character
Define the decoration separator. It may be set to either ! (the default) or + (for compatibility with the ABC 2.0 stan-
dard).
dynalign boolean
When set, horizontally align dynamic marks (default: 1)
dynamic position
Set the position of dynamic marks (`crescendo', `diminuendo') in relation to the staff. The position may be 0 (or auto) for
automatic positioning depending on the presence and position of lyrics, 1 or above to place them above the staff, or 2 or below
to place them below the staff.
If this parameter occurs outside a tune or inside a tune header, it applies to all voices. If it occurs inside a tune body, it
applies to the current voice only.
This parameter may also be set using the dyn= key of the V: information field.
encoding enc
Define the character encoding of subsequent ABC strings. This parameter is the same as abc-charset. The recognised charset
encodings and associated integer values are: us-ascii or utf-8 (0); iso-8859-1 or latin1 (1); iso-8859-2 or
latin2 (2); iso-8859-3 or latin3 (3); iso-8859-4 or latin4 (4); iso-8859-9 or latin5 (5 or 9);
iso-8859-10 or latin6 (6 or 10). The value native means that special characters are directly accessed from PostScript code.
flatbeams boolean
Draw flat beams (default: 0; command line: -f).
font font [[encoding] scale]
Define a font and its encoding. Use this parameter when you want to refer to specific fonts in ABC files/tunes. It must occur
before any PostScript output is written, generally in a format file.
encoding defaults to the encoding set up by the encoding parameter.
scale is the width factor to apply to the Times-Roman character width. It is needed to adjust the string width in case computa-
tion with the default widths gives erroneous values; if strings clash, set scale to a value less than 1.0, if there is too much
space, set it to a value greater than 1.0.
footer text
Define the text printed at the bottom of every page. There may be one or two lines. When there are two lines, these must be sepa-
rated by the characters `
' (not a real newline). Each of the lines consists of three areas, left, center and right, which are
separated by tabs (real tabs, not ' ') and may be empty - if the left area is empty, the text must be double-quoted.
If the footer begins with `-', it will not be printed on the first page of the document.
The `$' character introduces variable expansion:
$d The date and time of last modification of the current ABC input file
$D The current date and time
$F The current input file name
$Ix The value of header x of the tune
$P The current page number
$P0 The current pagenumber (when even)
$P1 The current pagenumber (when odd)
$T The current tune title
$V `abcm2ps-' followed by the program's version number
For example, the command line option -N3 is equivalent to `%%header "$P0 $P1"' (note the two tabs). (Default: none)
footerfont font [encoding] size
Set the footer font to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 12)
Note that the footer is not scaled.
format filename
Read the format (or PostScript) file filename (default: none; command line: -F).
gchord position
Set the position of guitar chords in relation to the staff. position may be: 0 or auto for automatic positioning (usually above
the staff), 1 or above for positioning above the staff, or 2 or below for positioning below the staff.
If this parameter occurs outside a tune or inside a tune header, it applies to all voices. If it occurs inside a tune body, it
applies to the current voice only.
This parameter may also be set using the gchord= key of the V: information field.
gchordbox boolean
Draw a box around guitar chords. Can be set to `true' using `%%gchordfont' below. (Default: 0)
gchordfont font [encoding] size [box]
Set the guitar chord font to font with size size. If box is specified, draw a box around guitar chords (default:
Helvetica 12, no box)
graceslurs boolean
Draw slurs on grace notes if true (default: 1; command line: -G, +G)
gracespace float float float
Define the space before, between, and after the grace notes (default: 6.5 8.0 12.0)
header text
Define the text printed at the top of every page. See the footer parameter above for the syntax (default: none)
headerfont font [encoding] size
Set the header font to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 12)
historyfont font [encoding] size
Set the font for history entries to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 16)
hyphencont boolean
If an under-staff lyrics line ends with a hyphen, put another hyphen at the beginning of the next line (default:0)
indent length
Indent the first line of a tune by length (default:0; command line: -I)
infofont font [encoding] size
Set the information line font to font with size size (default: Times-Italic 14)
infoline boolean
Display the rhythm (`R:') and the area (`A:') of the tune on a single `information line' before the first music line (default: 0)
infoname letter tag
Define the headers to be printed after a tune when writehistory is set. The tag is printed before the actual header value. By
default, this outputs the R, B, S, D, N, Z, and H headers, with tags `Rhythm:', `Book:', `Source:', `Discography:', `Notes:',
`Transcription:', and `History:', respectively.
infospace length
Set the vertical space before the information line to length (default: 0).
landscape boolean
Set page orientation to landscape if true (default: 0; command line: -l, +l).
leftmargin length
Set the left margin to length (default: 1.8cm; command line: -m)
linebreak separators
Define the character(s) for breaking music lines. separators is a blank-separated list of none, one, or more of: >EOL<
(system end-of-line character, the default), $, !, or >none<.
For compatibility, when >EOL< is in the list, the ! character also causes a line break if it does not look like it is
introducing a decoration.
The value >none< must be the only value in the list. In this case, the program computes the line breaks by itself. The same be-
haviour occurs if the separators list is empty. This replaces the former continueall 1 parameter.
lineskipfac float
Set the factor for spacing between lines of text to float times the font size (default: 1.1)
linewarn boolean
If set, outputs a warning when there are too few or too many elements in a music line (default: 1)
maxshrink float
Set how much the output may be compressed horizontally when staff breaks are chosen automatically. float must be between 0 and 1
(default: 0.65; command line: -a)
maxstaffsep length
Set the maximum vertical inter-staff space to length (default: 2000pt)
maxsysstaffsep length
Set the maximum vertical system inter-staff space to length (default: 2000pt)
When this parameter occurs on the global level or in the tune header, it applies to all staves. Otherwise it defines the maximum
vertical offset of the next staff.
measurebox boolean
Draw a box around the measure numbers if true (default: 0; command line: -j or -k).
measurefirst int
Start measure numbering of the tune at int. This parameter is obsolete and should be replaced with %%setbarnb (outside the tune
body)
measurefont font [encoding] size [box]
Set the font for measure numbers to font at size size. If [box] is specified, draw a box around the measure number (default:
Times-Italic 14, no box).
measurenb int
Draw a measure number every int bars. If int is 0, the measure number appears at the left end of each staff. If int is -1, no
measure numbers are displayed at all (default: -1; command line: -j or -k).
musiconly boolean
If true, no lyrics are output (default: 0; command line: -M, +M)
musicspace length
Set the vertical space before the first staff of a tune to length (default: 0.2cm)
notespacingfactor float
Set the note spacing factor to float. This value is used to compute the natural space notes take up. The base space of the
crotchet (quarter note) is always 40pt. When the duration of a note type is twice that of another note type, the space it takes
up is multiplied by this factor.
The default value increases the note space by a factor of 2 when the corresponding note's value increases by a factor of 4. That
is, the space of a semibreve is 80pt and that of a semiquaver is 20pt.
Setting this value to 1 sets all note spaces to 40pt (default: 1.414).
oneperpage boolean
If true, output one tune per page; if false, multiple tunes are output per page if there is sufficient room (default: 0; command
line: -1, +1).
ornament position
Set the position of ornaments (like mordent, trill, ...) in relation to the staff. position may be: 0 or auto (default) for
automatic positioning (usually above the staff), 1 or above for positioning above the staff, or 2 or below for positioning below
the staff.
If this parameter occurs outside a tune or inside a tune header, it applies to all voices. If it occurs inside a tune body, it
applies to the current voice only.
pageheight length
Set the page height to length (default: hardcoded)
pagewidth length
Set the page width to length (default: hardcoded)
parskipfac float
Set the factor for spacing between text paragraphs to float (default: 0.4)
partsbox boolean
Draw a box around the part names if true (default: 0)
partsfont font [encoding] size [box]
Set the font for part names to font with size size. If box is specified, draw a box around the part names. (default:
Times-Roman 15)
partsspace length
Set the vertical space before a new part to length (default: 0.3cm).
pdfmark mode
If mode is different from 0, output PostScript marks to generate a PDF index after translation to PDF.
If mode is greater than 1, generate marks for titles and subtitles; if mode equals 1, generate marks for main titles
only (default: 0).
postscript text
Define a postscript sequence to be included in the header of the output file. This formatting parameter may be used to override
any postscript function or to define new functions for use in deco. It should be processed before any output occurs, that is, in
a format file or at the beginning of the first ABC file.
repeatfont font [encoding] size
Set the font for repeat bracket numbers/texts to font at size size.
rightmargin length
Set the right margin to length (default: 1.8cm)
scale float
Set the global page scale factor to float. This does not apply to headers and footers (default: 0.75; command line: -s).
setdefl boolean
When true, output some indications about the note/chord and/or decorations for purposes of customisation. These indications are
stored in the PostScript variable defl. Note: This is a potential compatibility problem. The parameter was introduced in version
4.9.4. (default: 0)
setfont-1 font [encoding] size
setfont-2 font [encoding] size
setfont-3 font [encoding] size
setfont-4 font [encoding] size
Set up alternate fonts for strings. In most strings, you can switch to one of the alternate fonts using $1..$4; $0
switches back to the default value for that string. (default: Times-Roman 0)
shiftunisson boolean
Usually in multi-voice tunes, when two voices are in unison there is often only one note head. If this flag is set, two note
heades are output (one is shifted) if one is a minim (half note) and the other a crotchet (quarter note) or shorter, i.e., a
"black" note, or if one note is dotted and the other is not. The parameter is really spelled "shiftunisson" (default: 0).
slurheight float
Set the slur height factor to float (default: 1.0).
splittune boolean
If false, a tune is output on a new page if it doesn't fit on the one currently being output. If true, a tune may be split across
page breaks (default: 0).
squarebreve boolean
If true, display breve notes in a square shape (default: 0)
staffnonote boolean
If false, staves not containing notes are suppressed. This includes staves that only contain visible rests (default: 1)
staffsep length
Set the vertical inter-staff space to a minimum of length (default: 46pt; command line: -d)
staffwidth length
Set the right margin such that the staff width is length (default: none - but see paperwidth and rightmargin).
stemheight float
Set the stem height to float (default: 20.0)
straightflags boolean
If true, use straight flags on stems (mostly useful for bagpipe tunes (default: 0)
stretchlast boolean
If true, stretch the last staff of a tune to fill the whole line even though it may be underfull (default: 0)
stretchstaff boolean
If true, stretch all underfull staves to fill the whole line (default: 1)
subtitlefont font [encoding] size
Set the font for subtitles (second and subsequent `T:' headers in a tune) to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 16)
subtitlespace length
Set the vertical space before subtitles (second and subsequent `T:' headers in a tune) to length (default: 0.1cm).
sysstaffsep length
Set the minimum distance between staves in a system to length (default: 36pt).
This parameter applies to all staves if it occurs on the global level or within the tune header. Otherwise, it defines the mini-
mum distance to the next staff.
tempofont font [encoding] size
Set the font for tempo (metronome) indications to font with size size (default: Times-Bold 15)
textfont font [encoding] size
Set the text font to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 16)
textoption option
Set the default text option to option. This option is used for text between %%begintext and %%endtext, %%text, and %%EPS.
option may be a keyword; see begintext for values.
When option is skip, no text (nor EPS) is output.
textspace length
Set the vertical space before text blocks to length (default: 0.5cm).
timewarn boolean
If true, a cautionary time signature is added to the end of the line before if a time signature change occurs at the beginning of
a line of music (default: 0).
titlecaps boolean
If true, output the tune title in uppercase letters (default: 0)
titlefont font [encoding] size
Set the title font to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 20)
titleformat text
Defines the format of the tune title. This format overrides the standard way the tune title is displayed. text is a sequence of
letters, numbers, commas, plus and minus signs.
A letter stands for an ABC header (reasonable values include A, B, C, D, H, N, O, P, R, S, T, X, and Z, but any letter may occur)
and can optionally be followed by a number. This number may be 0 (to center the header), 1 (to display it flush-right), or -1 or
- (to display it flush-left); if no number is given the default is 0.
A plus sign may appear between two fields, in which case these fields are concatenated (this only works if they are of the same
type and alignment).
A comma starts a new `box' below the previous one. In each box, the fields are placed in their respective alignment zones.
Unrecognized characters will be ignored.
As an example, `%%titleformat R-1 P-1 Q-1 T C1 O1, T + T N1' will display two stacked boxes. The first box contains the rhythm,
part, and tempo on the left, the first (main) title in the centre, and the composer and origin on the right. The second box
(below the first) will contain the concatenated subtitles (if any) in the centre and any notes on the right.
titleleft boolean
If true, output the tune title flush left (instead of centered) (default: 0)
titlespace length
Set the vertical space before the tune title to length (default: 0.2cm).
titletrim boolean
If true, if the last word of a title starts with a capital letter and is preceded by a comma and a space, this word is moved to
the beginning of the title. For example, T:College Hornpipe, The is printed as The College Hornpipe (default: 1).
topmargin length
Set the top margin to length (default: 1cm)
topspace length
Set the vertical space at the top of a tune to length (default: 0.8cm)
transpose int [#|b]
Transpose the music by int (a signed number) halftones for display.
If this parameter appears on the global level or inside a tune header, it applies to all voices. If it appears inside a tune
body, it applies to the current voice only.
If a # or b is present, the new key signature(s) will have sharps or flats in case of enharmonic keys.
Note that textual guitar chords will not be transposed.
tuplets when what value
Define how to draw tuplets. The when parameter can be 0 (to decide automatically whether to draw a slur or bracket over the
tuplet), 1 (to never draw one) or 2 (to always draw one). The what parameter defines what to draw: 0 means a bracket, 1 a slur; 2
extends beams across rests (does not work yet). The value parameter defines how to annotate the tuplet: 0 means to write a sim-
ple number (p), 1 writes nothing, and 2 writes a ratio (p:q).
vocal position
Set the position of lyrics in relation to the staff. position may be: 0 or auto (default) for automatic positioning (usually
above the staff), 1 or above for positioning above the staff, or 2 or below for positioning below the staff.
If this parameter occurs outside a tune or inside a tune header, it applies to all voices. If it occurs inside a tune body, it
applies to the current voice only.
vocalabove boolean
If true, output lyrics above the staff (instead of below it) (default: 0)
vocalfont font [encoding] size
Set the font for lyrics inside a tune to font with size size (default: Times-Bold 13)
vocalspace length
Set the vertical space between a staff and its lyrics to length (default: 23pt)
voicefont font [encoding] size
Set the font for voice names (default: Times-Bold 13).
volume position
Set the position of volume indications (!p!, !fff!, ...) in relation to the staff.
position may be: 0 or auto (default) for automatic positioning (usually below the staff), 1 or above for positioning above the
staff, or 2 or below for positioning below the staff.
If this parameter occurs outside a tune or inside a tune header, it applies to all voices. If it occurs inside a tune body, it
applies to the current voice only.
wordsfont font [encoding] size
Set the font for lyrics at the end of a tune to font with size size (default: Times-Roman 16)
wordsspace length
Set the vertical space before the end-of-tune lyrics to length (default: 0.5cm)
writefields list boolean
Determines which ABC information will be output. list is a list of ABC header letters. boolean determines whether that header
will be output or not. (default: COPQTWw 1; command line: -M, -x)
The following formatting parameters can only occur inside tunes and not in a format file:
%%begintext [mode]
Start printing a free-form text. The text to be printed appears on the subsequent lines of the the input file up to a line con-
taining %%endtext. The text lines may start with %%.
The parameter may be:
obeylines Line breaks in the input file are kept (default)
align or justify
Lines are justified
ragged or fill
Line breaks are ignored but output is left-justified
center Lines are centered
skip The text lines are not printed at all
If mode is omitted, it defaults to the current value of %%textoption.
Inside the text, an empty line starts a new paragraph. Page breaks cannot occur in the middle of a paragraph.
%%center text
Print one line of centered text
%%EPS filename
Include filename as an EPS file
The file content is aligned to the left or right or centered according to the current value of %%textoption.
%%endtext Finish a block of free text started by %%begintext
%%multicol command
Define multicolumn printing. command may be:
start Save the current vertical position and left and right margins. These margins may then be changed to print music or
text.
new Reset the vertical position to the place of the previous start and restore the left and right margins. These can then
be changed again to display another column.
end Restore the left and right margins and skip down the page to a `safe place'.
This command may also be used to group some tunes and text on the same page.
%%newpage [int]
Start a new page, restarting page numbering from int if applicable.
%%repbra int
Repetition brackets are normally displayed as written in a voice. %%repbra 0 suppresses them for the current voice.
%%repeat [n [k]]
Replace a sequence of notes by one or many repeat marks. When placed after a bar line, n indicates the number of measures to be
repeated, either 1 or 2. If n is 1, k gives the number of repetitions of the preceding measure. If n is 2, k is not used. When
placed after a note or rest, n gives the number of notes and rests to be repeated, and k gives the number of repeats. When omit-
ted, n and k default to 1.
%%score definition
See below.
%%sep [h1 h2 length]
Print a separator (line) of length length with vertical space h1 above and h2 below (defaults: h1 and h2: 0.5cm; length: 3cm)
%%setbarnb int
Set the number of the next measure to int. When not inside a tune body, this is equivalent to %%measurefirst.
If the option appears at the beginning of the tune (after K:), the second measure will have the new number.
%%staff [+|-] num
Put the following material on staff num (or the num-th previous or next staff if a sign is given). This will lead, e.g., to beams
between notes in different staves. Useful for keyboard music; see, for example, sample4.abc.
%%staffbreak length [f]
Leave a space of length in the current staff. If length is greater than 0.5cm, the left side of the staff (system) is redrawn. In
a multi-voice tune, a staff break must be specified in each voice.
If the f is not given, the staff break is removed if it occurs at the start or the end of a line.
%%staves definition
See below.
%%tablature arguments
Define a tablature for the current voice. See format.txt for the details.
%%text text
Output a single line of text.
%%vskip length
Leave vertical space of height length. length may be negative, in which case the following material is moved closer to that
above.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Clefs
Clefs can be given in K: and V: headers. The full syntax is
[clef=]type[line][+8|-8] [middle=pitch]
The `clef=' can be omitted when the type is a clef name.
type denotes the clef type. It may be:
A note pitch (G, C, or F)
The pitch indicates which clef is meant: G is the treble clef, C the alto clef and F the bass clef. It also gives the name of the
note that appears on the clef's line.
A clef name
The available clef names are treble (clef gives the pitch for G), alto or tenor (C), and bass (F)
perc or P In percussion mode, accidentals change the glyphs used for note heads. By default, sharp notes are drawn as `x' and flat notes as
circled `x'. This may be changed by redefining the PostScript functions pshhd and pflhd.
none No clef will be displayed.
The line gives the number of the line within the staff that the base clef will be written on. The default values are 2 for the treble clef,
3 for the alto clef, and 4 for the tenor and bass clefs.
The +8 and -8 options draw an 8 above or below the staff, respectively. `middle=pitch' (or `m=pitch', for short) is an alternative way of
defining the line number of the clef: The pitch indicates what note will be displayed on the middle line of the staff.
When no clef is specified, clef changes between bass and treble will be inserted automatically.
Multi-voice typesetting
Multiple voices may be defined within the header or the tune using
V:name definition ...
where name is a word consisting of letters and digits only (like violin1). In the tune body, the following notes refer to this voice until
another V: is encountered. A definition can be one of:
clef=... See above
name=name or nm=name
The name will be displayed at the beginning of the first staff. It can contain
sequences which will force line breaks. If it
contains whitespace it must be double-quoted.
subname=name or snm=name
The name will be displayed at the beginning of all staves except for the first. It can contain
sequences which will force line
breaks. If it contains whitespace it must be double-quoted.
merge The voice goes on the same staff as the previous voice.
up or down
Forces the direction of the stems for the voice.
dyn=up or dyn=down or dyn=auto
Forces positioning of dynamic marks (above or below the staff) or reverts to automatic positioning (the default)
gstem=up or gstem=down or gstem=auto
Forces the direction of the stems of grace notes (always up or always down) or reverts to automatic positioning (the default)
stem=auto Reverts to automatic positioning of note stems (up or down) (the default)
lyrics=up or lyrics=down or lyrics=auto
Places lyrics above or below the staff or reverts to automatic positioning (the default)
gchord=up or gchord=down
Places guitar chords above (the default) or below the staff.
stafflines=value
Sets the number of lines on the staff in question. (default: 5)
staffscale=value
Sets the scale of the associated staff up to 3. (default: 1) All other definitions are ignored.
By default, each voice goes on its own staff. The `%%staves definition' pseudo-comment can be used to control staff assignment. The defini-
tion consists of voice names (from V:) and pairs of parentheses, braces or brackets.
o When a voice name is not within a pair of special characters, it goes on a separate staff.
o For voice names enclosed in brackets, a bracket is displayed at the beginning of each line that joins the staves of the voices in
question.
o For voice names enclosed in braces, all the voices go on two staves (keyboard score). There can be at most four voices between a sin-
gle pair of braces.
o For voice names enclosed in parentheses, all the voices appear on a single staff.
The `|' character prevents measure bars from being drawn between two staves.
If `%%staves' occurs in a tune, all the voices not mentioned will not be output at all.
The %%score directive
The %%score directive occurs in the ABC draft 2.0 standard and is similar to the %%staves specification described earlier. The rules
are:
o Voice names within parentheses form a "voice group" and go on a single staff. A voice name that is not within parentheses forms its
own voice group and goes on a staff by itself.
o Voice groups within braces form a "voice block" and are preceded by a big brace in the output. This is especially useful for keyboard
music.
o Voice groups or voice blocks within brackets form a "voice block" and will be preceded by a big bracket in the output.
o If a `|' character occurs between two voice groups or voice blocks, the bar lines in all of the associated staves will be continuous.
o A single voice surrounded by two voice groups can be preceded by an asterisk to make it into a `floating' voice. This means that, for
each note of the voice, a separate decision is made whether it is printed on the preceding or the following voice group's staff.
o Voices that appear in the tune body but not in the %%score directive will not be output at all. If there is no %%score direc-
tive, each voice will be output on its own staff.
o A %%score directive inside a tune resets the mechanism so voices can be removed or added.
Voice overlay
You can add notes to a staff without introducing a complete extra voice by using the ampersand (&). A single measure can be split into two
voices like
|F2A2Bc&F2c2bc|
The (&...&...&) construction allows splitting multiple measures:
|!f!(&GG<G|GG F=E| E2 E(_D/E)|_D D C D |C4- |C
&DC<C|CC_D C|=B,2_B,B, |_A,A,(G,/A,/)B,|F,4-|F,)zzD=E|
A double ampersand (&&) will allow overlaying more than two lines of music but this feature has not yet been implemented.
Lyrics
Aligned lyrics under a staff are written as a w: line directly below the staff line. For example:
edc2 edc2|
w:Three blind mice, three blind mice
Each word in the w: line (delimited by blanks) is associated with one note, in sequence. The following special symbols modify this behav-
iour:
* Skips one note.
- Splits a word into two syllables which are associated with two adjacent notes. A `-' is drawn between them.
| Advances to the next bar line
~ Is output as a space, but unites two words so they appear under a single note.
_ Draws a thin underscore from the previous note to the next.
To include more than one line of lyrics, use multiple w: lines. To include hyphens without splitting a word over multiple notes, use -.
If a word starts with a digit, this is interpreted as a stanza number and outdented a bit to the left.
Slurs and ties
The direction of slurs and ties may be controlled using the (, and (', and -, and -', constructions.
Microtone pitches
Microtone pitches are indicated by a fraction after an accidental, as in 3/4c. When omitted, the numerator defaultes to 1 and the denomina-
tor to 2 (so /c is the same as 1/2c). The numerator and denominator values may not exceed 256. There is built-in support for quarter-tone
accidentals (1/2 and 3/2 sharps and flats); for other values, rendering functions must be defined using %%postscript (see features.txt).
EPS inclusion
EPS files may be included inside tunes using the pseudo-comment `%%EPS file'.
SEE ALSO
The original documentation can be found in files features.txt, format.txt, and options.txt, which on a Debian system are in
/usr/share/doc/abcm2ps.
AUTHOR
This manual page was written by Anselm Lingnau <lingnau@debian.org> for the Debian system (but may be used by others). Permission is
granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document as long as its origin is not misrepresented.
ABCM2PS(1)