.TH "ABCM2PS" "1" 
.SH "NAME" 
abcm2ps \(em translate ABC music notation to PostScript 
.SH "SYNOPSIS" 
.PP 
\fBabcm2ps\fR [\fIoptions\fR]  [\fIabc-file\fR \fI[file-options]\fR]  [...]  
.PP 
\fBabcm2ps\fR [\fB-h\fP]  
.SH "DESCRIPTION" 
.PP 
\fBabcm2ps\fR translates tunes written in 
the ABC music notation format to customary sheet music scores in 
PostScript. It is based on \fBabc2ps\fR 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. 
.PP 
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. 
.PP 
Formatting parameters can also be set in `format files' and 
in the ABC files themselves. 
.SH "OPTIONS" 
.IP "\fB-0\fP" 10 
Split tunes across page breaks if necessary. 
.IP "\fB+0\fP" 10 
Start a new page if a tune doesn't fit on the current 
one (default). 
.IP "\fB-1\fP" 10 
Output one tune per page. 
.IP "\fB+1\fP" 10 
Output multiple tunes per page (default). 
.IP "\fB-a \fIa\fR\fP" 10 
Maximal horizontal compression when staff breaks are 
chosen automatically. Must be between 0 and 1 (default: 
0.65) 
.IP "\fB-B \fIb\fR\fP" 10 
Try to typeset \fIb\fR bars 
on each staff line. 
.IP "\fB+B\fP" 10 
Don't try to typeset a fixed number of 
bars on each staff line (default). 
.IP "\fB-b \fIb\fR\fP" 10 
Start measure numbering at \fIb\fR. 
.IP "\fB-C\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-c\fP" 10 
The continuation symbol is implicitly appended to each 
music line. This amounts to automatic line breaking. 
.IP "\fB+c\fP" 10 
Automatic line breaking is turned off (default). 
.IP "\fB-D \fIdirectory\fR\fP" 10 
Search format files in 
\fIdirectory\fR. 
.IP "\fB-d \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical interstaff space to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 46pt) 
.IP "\fB-E\fP" 10 
Output is generated in EPS format, one file per page. 
.IP "\fB+E\fP" 10 
Output is generated in multipage PS format (default). 
.IP "\fB-e \fIlist\fR\fP" 10 
Select which tunes from an ABC file to print. 
\fIlist\fR is a comma-separated list 
of tune numbers (as per the `X:' header). The 
\fB-e\fP option must occur after an ABC file 
name and applies to that file. Ranges of tune numbers may 
be specified like 
\fIt1\fR-\fIt2\fR; 
\fIt2\fR 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. 
.IP "\fB-F \fIfile\fR\fP" 10 
Read the format file 
\fIfile\fR.fmt. 
.IP "\fB+F\fP" 10 
Do not read the default format file. 
.IP "\fB-f\fP" 10 
Enable flat beams in bagpipe tunes. 
.IP "\fB-G\fP" 10 
Omit slurs on grace notes. 
.IP "\fB+G\fP" 10 
Draw slurs on grace notes (default). 
.IP "\fB-g\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-H\fP" 10 
Display the current values of the formatting parameters. 
.IP "\fB-h\fP" 10 
Display program usage hints and quit. 
.IP "\fB-I \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Indent the first line of the tune by 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0). 
.IP "\fB-j\fIb\fR\fI[b]\fR\fP" 10 
Output a measure number every 
\fIb\fR measures. If 
\fIb\fR is 0, the measure number 
appears at the left of each staff. The trailing 
\fBb\fP causes a box to be drawn around each 
measure number (default: no measure numbering). 
.IP "\fB+j\fP" 10 
Don't output measure numbers. 
.IP "\fB-k\fP" 10 
Equivalent to \fB-j\fP. 
.IP "\fB+k\fP" 10 
Equivalent to \fB+j\fP. 
.IP "\fB-L\fIenc\fR\fP" 10 
Set the language encoding to 
ISO-Latin-\fIenc\fR, where 
\fIenc\fR can take on values from 
\fB0\fP to \fB6\fP. The value 
\fB0\fP is equivalent to \fB1\fP but 
no PostScript encoding table is output (default: 0). 
.IP "\fB-l\fP" 10 
Generate landscape output. 
.IP "\fB+l\fP" 10 
Generate portrait output (default). 
.IP "\fB-M\fP" 10 
Suppress lyrics. 
.IP "\fB+M\fP" 10 
Include lyrics (default). 
.IP "\fB-m \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the left margin to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 1.8cm) 
.IP "\fB-N\fI[mode]\fR\fP" 10 
Number pages according to the 
\fImode\fR: 
.RS 
.IP "\fB0\fP" 10 
no page numbers 
.IP "\fB1\fP" 10 
page numbers at top left 
of page 
.IP "\fB2\fP" 10 
page numbers at top right 
of page 
.IP "\fB3\fP" 10 
page numbers at top left of 
even-numbered pages, top right of odd-numbered 
pages 
.IP "\fB4\fP" 10 
page numbers at top right of 
even-numbered pages, top left of odd-numbered 
pages 
.RE 
.IP "" 10 
For compatibility, 
\fB-N\fP is equivalent to 
\fB-N2\fP (default: \fB-N0\fP). 
.IP "\fB+N\fP" 10 
Equivalent to \fB-N0\fP (no page 
numbering). 
.IP "\fB-n\fP" 10 
Include notes and history from ABC tune `N:' fields. 
.IP "\fB+n\fP" 10 
Omit notes and history from ABC tune `N:' fields 
(default). 
.IP "\fB-O \fIname\fR\fP" 10 
Define the output file name. By default, the output 
file name is `Out.ps' for PostScript output and 
`Out\fInnn\fR.eps' for EPS output (see 
\fB-E\fP). If this option is given, the output 
name will be \fIname\fR or 
\fInamennn\fR.eps, respectively. If 
\fIname\fR is `=', the output file name 
will be the name of the ABC source file with the extension 
`.ps' or `.eps'. If \fIname\fR is `\-', 
the output is written to stdout. 
.IP "\fB+O\fP" 10 
Revert to the default output file name (`Out.ps' or 
`Out\fInnn\fR.eps') 
.IP "\fB-o\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-P\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-p\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-Q\fP" 10 
Print tempo (metronome) indications (default). 
.IP "\fB+Q\fP" 10 
Omit tempo (metronome) indications. 
.IP "\fB-R\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-S\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-s \fIscale\fR\fP" 10 
Set the page scale factor to 
\fIscale\fR. Note that the header and 
footer are not scaled (default: 0.75). 
.IP "\fB-T\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-u\fP" 10 
Use implicit decorations as in 
\fBabc2ps\fR (default: off) 
.IP "\fB-V\fP" 10 
Output version number and quit. 
.IP "\fB-v\fP" 10 
Obsolete option; ignored. 
.IP "\fB-W \fIv\fR\fIp\fR\fP" 10 
Display a tin whistle tablature for the voice numbered 
\fIv\fR, where 
\fIv\fR is the internal voice number 
that is incremented as new voices are encountered; it is 
not the voice name. \fIp\fR is the 
base pitch of the tin whistle. Up to four tablatures may 
be defined, as in `\fB-W1c \-W2Bb\fP'. 
.IP "\fB+W\fP" 10 
Don't output tin whistle tablatures (default). 
.IP "\fB-w \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Adjust the right margin such that the staff width is 
\fIlength\fR (default: none) 
.IP "\fB-x\fP" 10 
Include the `X:' tune number in the title. 
.IP "\fB+x\fP" 10 
Do not include the `X:' tune number in the title 
(default). 
.SH "FORMATTING PARAMETERS" 
.PP 
The following formatting parameters can be used in format 
files. They can also occur in ABC files when they are preceded 
by \fB%%\fP, or as \fBI:\fP headers (even 
in the middle of a music line). 
.IP "\fBalignbars \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Align the bars of the 
next \fIint\fR lines of music. This 
works only when the music contains only one voice 
(no \fBV:\fP 	    or \fB%%staves\fP) (default: 0). 
.IP "\fBaligncomposer \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
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). 
.IP "\fBannotationfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the annotation font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Helvetica 12) 
.IP "\fBautoclef \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Adjust the clefs when they are not defined in `K:' or 
`V:' lines (default: 1). 
.IP "\fBbarnumbers \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Synonym for \fBmeasurenb\fP. 
.IP "\fBbarsperstaff \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Try to typeset with \fIint\fR bars 
per line (default: 0; command line: \fB-b\fP, 
\fB+b\fP) 
.IP "\fBbeginps\fP" 10 
Start a sequence of PostScript code lines extending 
until the next \fBendps\fP line. This parameter 
may only occur within ABC and format files, not on the 
command line. 
.IP "\fBbotmargin \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the bottom margin to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 1cm) 
.IP "\fBbstemdown \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
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). 
.IP "\fBcomball \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If this is set together 
with \fBcombinevoices\fP, voice combination takes 
place in all cases. Otherwise, notes which are too close 
together in pitch are not combined. 
.IP "\fBcombinevoices \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If this is set, simultaneous notes of the same duration 
belonging to voices on the same staff are combined into chords 
(default: 0). 
.IP "\fBcomposerfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the `composer' font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Italic 14) 
.IP "\fBcomposerspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before the composer name to 
\fIlength\fR (Default: 0.2cm) 
.IP "\fBcontbarnb \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
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). 
.IP "\fBcontinueall \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If this is set to true, ignore the line breaks in a 
tune (default: 0; command line: \fB-c\fP, 
\fB+c\fP) 
.IP "\fBdateformat \fIformat\fR\fP" 10 
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") 
.IP "\fBdeco \fIname\fR \fIc_func\fR \fIps_func\fR \fIh\fR \fIwl\fR \fIwr\fR \fI[str]\fR\fP" 10 
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 \fBformat.txt\fP and 
\fBdeco.abc\fP for details. 
.IP "\fBdynalign \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
When set, horizontally align dynamic marks (default: 1) 
.IP "\fBencoding \fIenc\fR\fP" 10 
Set the language encoding to 
ISO-Latin-\fIenc\fR, where 
\fIenc\fR can take values from 0 to 
6. The value 0 is the same as 1, but no PostScript 
encoding table is output. 
.IP "" 10 
Alternatively, \fIenc\fR may take 
one of the predefined values \fBus-ascii\fP, 
\fBiso-8859-1\fP, \fBiso-8859-2\fP, 
\fBiso-8859-3\fP, \fBiso-8859-4\fP, 
\fBiso-8859-9\fP, \fBiso-8859-10\fP, 
or \fBnative\fP (meaning encoding vectors will 
not be changed). If \fIenc\fR is anything 
else, it must be a string which is taken to be PostScript 
commands that set up a suitable encoding vector. 
.IP "\fBexprabove \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw expression decorations above the staff. If 
neither \fBexprabove\fP nor 
\fBexprbelow\fP are `true', expression 
decorations are drawn above the staff if there are lyrics 
on the staff, and below 
otherwise. \fBexprabove\fP takes precedence 
over \fBexprbelow\fP (default: 0). 
.IP "\fBexprbelow \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw expression decorations below the staff. If 
neither \fBexprabove\fP nor 
\fBexprbelow\fP are `true', expression 
decorations are drawn above the staff if there are lyrics 
on the staff, and below 
otherwise. \fBexprabove\fP takes precedence 
over \fBexprbelow\fP (default: 0). 
.IP "\fBflatbeams \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw flat beams in bagpipe tunes (default: 0; command 
line: \fB-f\fP) 
.IP "\fBfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR]\fP" 10 
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. \fIencoding\fR defaults to the 
encoding set up by the \fBencoding\fP parameter. 
.IP "\fBfooter \fItext\fR\fP" 10 
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 separated by the characters `\\n' (not 
a real newline). Each of the lines consists of three 
areas, left, center and right, which are separated by tabs 
(real tabs, not '\\t') and may be empty \- if the left area 
is empty, the \fItext\fR must be 
quoted. 
.IP "" 10 
The `$' character introduces variable 
expansion: 
.RS 
.IP "\fB$d\fP" 10 
The date and time of last modification 
of the ABC file 
.IP "\fB$D\fP" 10 
The current date and time 
.IP "\fB$F\fP" 10 
The current input file name 
.IP "\fB$P\fP" 10 
The current page number 
.IP "\fB$P0\fP" 10 
The current pagenumber (when even) 
.IP "\fB$P1\fP" 10 
The current pagenumber (when odd) 
.IP "\fB$T\fP" 10 
The current tune title 
.IP "\fB$V\fP" 10 
`abcm2ps-' followed by the program's 
version number 
.RE 
.IP "" 10 
For example, the command line option 
\fB-N3\fP is equivalent to `%%header "$P0        $P1"' 
(note the two tabs). (Default: none) 
.IP "\fBfooterfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the footer font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 12) 
.IP "\fBformat \fIfilename\fR\fP" 10 
Read the format file 
\fIfilename\fR (default: none). 
.IP "\fBfreegchord \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Prevent the characters `#', `b' and `=' to be 
displayed as the sharp sign, the flat sign, and the 
natural sign, respectively, in guitar chords. When this 
flag is set, the display of the accidentals may be forced 
by escaping the characters (`\\#', 
`\\b' and `\\=') (default: 0) 
.IP "\fBgchordbox \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw a box around guitar chords. Can be set to 
`true' using `%%gchordfont' below. (Default: 0) 
.IP "\fBgchordfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR [box]\fP" 10 
Set the guitar chord font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR. If \fBbox\fP               is specified, draw a box around guitar chords 
(default: Helvetica 12, no box) 
.IP "\fBgraceslurs \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw slurs on grace notes if true (default: 1; command 
line: \fB-G\fP, \fB+G\fP) 
.IP "\fBheader \fItext\fR\fP" 10 
Define the text printed at the top of every page. See 
the \fBfooter\fP parameter above for the syntax 
(default: none) 
.IP "\fBheaderfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the header font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 12) 
.IP "\fBhistoryfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for history entries to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 16) 
.IP "\fBhyphencont \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If an under-staff lyrics line ends with a hyphen, put 
another hyphen at the beginning of the next line 
(default:0) 
.IP "\fBindent \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Indent the first line of a tune by 
\fIlength\fR (default:0; command 
line: \fB-I\fP) 
.IP "\fBinfofont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the information line font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Italic 14) 
.IP "\fBinfoline \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Display the rhythm (`R:'), the origin (`O:'), and the 
area (`A:') of the tune on a single `information line' 
(default: 0) 
.IP "\fBinfospace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before the information line to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0). 
.IP "\fBlandscape	\fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Set page orientation to landscape if true (default: 0; 
command line: \fB-l\fP, \fB+l\fP). 
.IP "\fBleftmargin \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the left margin to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 1.8cm; command 
line: \fB-m\fP) 
.IP "\fBlineskipfac \fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set the factor for spacing between lines of text to 
\fIfloat\fR times the font size 
(default: 1.1) 
.IP "\fBmaxshrink	\fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set how much the output may be compressed horizontally 
when staff breaks are chosen 
automatically. \fIfloat\fR must be 
between 0 and 1 (default: 0.65; command line: 
\fB-a\fP) 
.IP "\fBmaxstaffsep \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the maximum vertical inter-staff space to \fIlength\fR (default: 800pt) 
.IP "\fBmaxsysstaffsep \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the maximum vertical system inter-staff space to \fIlength\fR (default: 800pt) 
.IP "\fBmeasurebox \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw a box around the measure numbers if true 
(default: 0; command line: \fB-j\fP or 
\fB-k\fP). 
.IP "\fBmeasurefirst \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Start measure numbering of the tune at 
\fIint\fR. 
This parameter is obsolete and should be replaced with 
\fB%%setbarnb\fP (outside the tune body) 
.IP "\fBmeasurefont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR [box]\fP" 10 
Set the font for measure numbers to 
\fIfont\fR at size 
\fIsize\fR. If 
[box] is specified, draw a box around 
the measure number (default: Times-Italic 14, no box). 
.IP "\fBmeasurenb \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Draw a measure number every 
\fIint\fR bars. If 
\fIint\fR is 0, the measure number 
appears at the left end of each staff. If 
\fIint\fR is \-1, no measure numbers 
are displayed at all (default: \-1; command line: 
\fB-j\fP or 
\fB-k\fP). 
.IP "\fBmusiconly \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, no lyrics are output (default: 0; command 
line: \fB-M\fP, \fB+M\fP) 
.IP "\fBmusicspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before the first staff of a 
tune to \fIlength\fR (default: 
0.2cm) 
.IP "\fBnotespacingfactor \fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set the note spacing factor to 
\fIfloat\fR. 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). 
.IP "\fBoneperpage \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, output one tune per page; if false, multiple 
tunes are output per page if there is sufficient room 
(default: 0; command line: \fB-1\fP, 
\fB+1\fP). 
.IP "\fBpageheight \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the page height to 
\fIlength\fR 	    (default: hardcoded) 
.IP "\fBpagewidth \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the page width to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 
hardcoded) 
.IP "\fBparskipfac \fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set the factor for spacing between text paragraphs to 
\fIfloat\fR  
(default: 0.4) 
.IP "\fBpartsbox \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Draw a box around the part names if true (default: 0) 
.IP "\fBpartsfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR [box]\fP" 10 
Set the font for part names to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR. If \fBbox\fP 	    is specified, draw a box around the part names. 
(default: Times-Roman 15) 
.IP "\fBpartsspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before a new part to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0.3cm). 
.IP "\fBpostscript \fItext\fR\fP" 10 
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 \fBdeco\fP. It should 
be processed before any output occurs, that is, in a 
format file or at the beginning of the first ABC file. 
.IP "\fBprintparts \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Print the part indications (`P:' header) (default: 1). 
.IP "\fBprinttempo \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Print tempo (metronome) indications (`Q:' header) if 
true (default: 1; command line: \fB-Q\fP, 
\fB+Q\fP). 
.IP "\fBpslevel \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Define the PostScript language level for output. Allowable 
values are 1, 2, or 3.(default: 2). 
.IP "\fBrepeatfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for repeat bracket numbers/texts to 
\fIfont\fR at size 
\fIsize\fR. 
.IP "\fBrightmargin \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the right margin to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 1.8cm) 
.IP "\fBscale \fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set the global page scale factor to 
\fIfloat\fR. This does not apply to 
headers and footers (default: 0.75; command line: 
\fB-s\fP). 
.IP "\fBsetdefl \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
When true, output some indications about the note/chord 
and/or decorations for purposes of customisation. These 
indications are stored in the PostScript variable 
\fBdefl\fP. \fINote:\fP This 
is a potential compatibility 
problem. The parameter was introduced in version 4.9.4. 
(default: 0) 
.IP "\fBsetfont-1 \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
.IP "\fBsetfont-2 \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
.IP "\fBsetfont-3 \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
.IP "\fBsetfont-4 \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set up alternate fonts for strings. In most strings, 
you can switch to one of the alternate fonts using 
\fB$1\fP..\fB$4\fP; \fB$0\fP 	    switches back to the default value for that string. 
(default: Times-Roman 0) 
.IP "\fBshifthnote \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
Usually in multi-voice tunes, when two voices are in unison 
and one has a half note and the other a note shorter than a 
quarter note, there is only one note head (the half note). If 
this flag is set, both heads are displayed (one is shifted). 
(default: 0) 
.IP "\fBslurheight \fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set the slur height factor to 
\fIfloat\fR (default: 1.0). 
.IP "\fBsplittune \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
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; command line: 
\fB-0\fP, \fB+0\fP). 
.IP "\fBsquarebreve \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, display breve notes in a square shape 
(default: 0) 
.IP "\fBstaffsep \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical inter-staff space to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 46pt; command 
line: \fB-d\fP) 
.IP "\fBstaffwidth \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the right margin such that the staff width is 
\fIlength\fR (default: none \- but see 
\fBpaperwidth\fP and \fBrightmargin\fP). 
.IP "\fBstemheight \fIfloat\fR\fP" 10 
Set the stem height to 
\fIfloat\fR (default: 20.0) 
.IP "\fBstraightflags \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, use straight flags on stems (mostly useful 
for bagpipe tunes (default: 0) 
.IP "\fBstretchlast \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, stretch the last staff of a tune to fill the 
whole line even though it may be underfull (default: 0) 
.IP "\fBstretchstaff \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, stretch all underfull staves to fill the 
whole line (default: 1) 
.IP "\fBsubtitlefont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for subtitles (second and subsequent `T:' 
headers in a tune) to \fIfont\fR with 
size \fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 
16) 
.IP "\fBsubtitlespace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before subtitles (second and 
subsequent `T:' headers in a tune) to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0.1cm). 
.IP "\fBsysstaffsep \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical system interstaff space to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 36pt). 
.IP "\fBtempofont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for tempo (metronome) indications to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Bold 15) 
.IP "\fBtextfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the text font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 16) 
.IP "\fBtextoption \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Set the default text option to \fIint\fR. 
This option is used for text between 
\fB%%begintext\fP and \fB%%endtext\fP. 
\fIint\fR may be a keyword; see 
\fBbegintext\fP for values. 
.IP "\fBtextspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before text blocks to  
\fIlength\fR (default: 0.5cm). 
.IP "\fBtitlecaps \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, output the tune title in uppercase letters 
(default: 0) 
.IP "\fBtitlefont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the title font to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 20) 
.IP "\fBtitleformat \fItext\fR\fP" 10 
Defines the format of the tune title. This format 
overrides the standard way the tune title is 
displayed. \fItext\fR is a sequence 
of letters, numbers, and commas. A letter stands for 
an ABC header (possible values include A, B, C, D, H, N, 
O, P, R, S, T, X, and Z) 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 (to display it 
flush-left); if no number is given the default is 0. A 
comma causes the next field(s) to be displayed farther 
down the page. Unrecognized characters will be ignored. As 
an example, 
 
.PP 
.nf 
%%titleformat T-1 T1 T1, R0 C1 A1 
 
.fi 
will display the first title header flush-left, the second 
and third titles (if any) flush-right, then the rhythm 
centered and a little bit lower, and the composer and area 
on the right. 
 
.IP "\fBtitleleft \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, output the tune title flush left (instead of 
centered) (default: 0) 
.IP "\fBtitlespace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before the tune title to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0.2cm). 
.IP "\fBtopmargin \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the top margin to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 1cm) 
.IP "\fBtopspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space at the top of a tune to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0.8cm) 
.IP "\fBtuplets \fIwhen\fR \fIwhat\fR \fIvalue\fR\fP" 10 
Define how to draw tuplets. 
The \fIwhen\fR parameter 
can be \fB0\fP (to decide 
automatically whether to draw a slur or bracket over the 
tuplet), \fB1\fP (to never draw one) or 
\fB2\fP (to always draw one). The 
\fIwhat\fR parameter defines what to 
draw: \fB0\fP means a bracket, 
\fB1\fP a slur; \fB2\fP extends 
beams across rests (does not work yet). 
The \fIvalue\fR parameter 
defines how to annotate the tuplet: \fB0\fP means 
to write a simple number 
(\fIp\fR), \fB1\fP writes 
nothing, and \fB2\fP writes a ratio 
(\fIp\fR:\fIq\fR). 
.IP "\fBvocalabove \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, output lyrics above the staff (instead of 
below it) (default: 0.8cm) 
.IP "\fBvocalfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for lyrics inside a tune to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Bold 13) 
.IP "\fBvocalspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space between a staff and its lyrics to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 23pt) 
.IP "\fBvoicefont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for voice names (default: Times-Bold 13). 
.IP "\fBwithxrefs \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, print the number from the `X:' header in the 
tune title (default: 0; command line: \fB-x\fP, 
\fB+x\fP) 
.IP "\fBwordsfont \fIfont\fR [\fIencoding\fR] \fIsize\fR\fP" 10 
Set the font for lyrics at the end of a tune to 
\fIfont\fR with size 
\fIsize\fR (default: Times-Roman 16) 
.IP "\fBwordsspace \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Set the vertical space before the end-of-tune lyrics to 
\fIlength\fR (default: 0.5cm) 
.IP "\fBwritehistory \fIboolean\fR\fP" 10 
If true, output notes and history (`N:' and `H:' 
headers) (default: 0; command line: \fB-n\fP, 
\fB+n\fP) 
.PP 
The following formatting parameters can only occur inside 
tunes and not in a format file: 
.IP "\fB%%begintext [\fImode\fR]\fP" 10 
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 containing \fB%%endtext\fP.  
The text lines may start with \fB%%\fP. 
.IP "" 10 
The \fIparameter\fR may 
be: 
.RS 
.IP "\fBobeylines\fP" 10 
Line breaks in the input file are kept (default) 
.IP "\fBalign\fP or \fBjustify\fP" 10 
Lines are justified 
.IP "\fBragged\fP or \fBfill\fP" 10 
Line breaks are ignored but output is 
left-justified 
.IP "\fBcenter\fP" 10 
Lines are centered 
.IP "\fBskip\fP" 10 
The text lines are not printed at all 
.RE 
.IP "\fB%%center \fItext\fR\fP" 10 
Print one line of centered text 
.IP "\fB%%EPS \fIfilename\fR\fP" 10 
Include \fIfilename\fR as an EPS 
file 
.IP "\fB%%endtext\fP" 10 
Finish a block of free text started by 
\fB%%begintext\fP 
.IP "\fB%%multicol \fIcommand\fR\fP" 10 
Define multicolumn 
printing. \fIcommand\fR may be: 
.RS 
.IP "\fBstart\fP" 10 
Save the current vertical position and left 
and right margins. These margins may then be changed 
to print music or text. 
.IP "\fBnew\fP" 10 
Reset the vertical position to the place of the 
previous \fBstart\fP and restore the left 
and right margins. These can then be changed again 
to display another column. 
.IP "\fBend\fP" 10 
Restore the left and right margins and skip down 
the page to a `safe place'. 
.RE 
.IP "\fB%%newpage [\fIint\fR]\fP" 10 
Start a new page, restarting page numbering from 
\fIint\fR if applicable. 
.IP "\fB%%repbra \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Repetition brackets are normally displayed as written in a 
voice. \fB%%repbra 0\fP suppresses them for the 
current voice. 
.IP "\fB%%sep [\fIh1\fR \fIh2\fR \fIlength\fR]\fP" 10 
Print a separator (line) of length 
\fIlength\fR with vertical space 
\fIh1\fR above and 
\fIh2\fR below (defaults: 
\fIh1\fR and 
\fIh2\fR: 0.5cm; 
\fIlength\fR: 3cm) 
.IP "\fB%%setbarnb \fIint\fR\fP" 10 
Set the measure number to \fIint\fR. 
When not inside a tune body, this is equivalent to 
\fB%%measurefirst\fP. 
.IP "\fB%%staff \fInum\fR\fP" 10 
Put the following material on staff 
\fInum\fR. This will lead, e.g., 
to beams between notes in different staves. Useful for 
keyboard music; see, for example, 
\fBsample4.abc\fP. 
.IP "\fB%%staffbreak \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Leave a space of \fIlength\fR in 
the current staff. If \fIlength\fR 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. 
.IP "\fB%%staves \fIdefinition\fR\fP" 10 
See below. 
.IP "\fB%%text \fItext\fR\fP" 10 
Output a single line of text. 
.IP "\fB%%vskip \fIlength\fR\fP" 10 
Leave vertical space of height 
\fIlength\fR 
.SH "ADDITIONAL FEATURES" 
.SS "Clefs" 
.PP 
Clefs can be given in \fBK:\fP and 
\fBV:\fP headers. The full syntax is 
 
.PP 
.nf 
[\fBclef=\fP]\fItype\fR[\fIline\fR][\fB+8\fP|\fB-8\fP] [\fBmiddle=\fP\fIpitch\fR]          
.fi 
 
.PP 
The `\fBclef=\fP' can be omitted when the 
\fItype\fR is a clef name. 
 
.PP 
\fItype\fR denotes the clef type. It may 
be: 
 
.IP "A note pitch (\fBG\fP, \fBC\fP, or \fBF\fP)" 10 
The pitch indicates which clef is meant: 
\fBG\fP is the treble clef, 
\fBC\fP the alto clef and 
\fBF\fP the bass clef. It also gives the 
name of the note that appears on the clef's line. 
.IP "A clef name" 10 
The available clef names are 
\fBtreble\fP (clef gives the pitch for 
\fBG\fP), \fBalto\fP or 
\fBtenor\fP (\fBC\fP), and 
\fBbass\fP (\fBF\fP) 
.IP "\fBperc\fP or \fBP\fP" 10 
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 \fBpshhd\fP and \fBpflhd\fP. 
.IP "\fBnone\fP" 10 
No clef will be displayed. 	 
.PP 
The \fIline\fR 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. 
 
.PP 
The \fB+8\fP and \fB-8\fP options 
draw an 8 above or below the staff, respectively. 
`\fBmiddle=\fP\fIpitch\fR' 
(or `\fBm=\fP\fIpitch\fR', 
for short) is an alternative way of defining the line number 
of the clef: 
The \fIpitch\fR indicates what note will be 
displayed on the middle line of the staff. 
.PP 
When no clef is specified, clef changes between 
\fBbass\fP and \fBtreble\fP will be 
inserted automatically. 
 
.SS "Multi-voice typesetting" 
.PP 
Multiple voices may be defined within the header or the 
tune using 
 
.PP 
.nf 
\fBV:\fP\fIname\fR \fIdefinition\fR ... 
 
.fi 
.PP 
where \fIname\fR is a word consisting of 
letters and digits only (like \fBviolin1\fP). In 
the tune body, the following notes refer to this voice until 
another \fBV:\fP is encountered. A 
\fIdefinition\fR can be one of: 
 
.IP "\fBclef=\fP..." 10 
See above 
.IP "\fBname=\fP\fIname\fR or \fBnm=\fP\fIname\fR" 10 
The \fIname\fR will be 
displayed at the beginning of the first staff. It can 
contain \fB\\n\fP sequences which will 
force line breaks. If it contains whitespace it must be 
double-quoted. 
.IP "\fBsubname=\fP\fIname\fR or \fBsnm=\fP\fIname\fR" 10 
The \fIname\fR will be 
displayed at the beginning of all staves except for the 
first. It can 
contain \fB\\n\fP sequences which will 
force line breaks. If it contains whitespace it must be 
double-quoted. 
.IP "\fBmerge\fP" 10 
The voice goes on the same staff as the previous 
voice. 
.IP "\fBup\fP or \fBdown\fP" 10 
Forces the direction of the stems for the voice. 
.IP "\fBdyn=up\fP or \fBdyn=down\fP or \fBdyn=auto\fP" 10 
Forces positioning of dynamic marks (above or 
below the staff) or reverts to automatic positioning 
(the default) 
.IP "\fBgstem=up\fP or \fBgstem=down\fP or \fBgstem=auto\fP" 10 
Forces the direction of the stems of grace notes (always 
up or always down) or reverts to automatic positioning 
(the default) 
.IP "\fBstem=auto\fP" 10 
Reverts to automatic positioning of note stems (up or 
down) (the default) 
.IP "\fBlyrics=up\fP or \fBlyrics=down\fP or \fBlyrics=auto\fP" 10 
Places lyrics above or below the staff or reverts to 
automatic positioning (the default) 
.IP "\fBstaffscale=\fP\fIvalue\fR" 10 
Sets the scale of the associated staff (default: 1) 	All other definitions are ignored. 
.PP 
By default, each voice goes on its own staff. The `%%staves 
\fIdefinition\fR' 
pseudo-comment can be used to control staff assignment. The 
\fIdefinition\fR consists of voice names 
(from \fBV:\fP) and pairs of parentheses, braces 
or brackets. 
 
.IP "   \(bu" 6 
When a voice name is not within a pair of special 
characters, it goes on a separate staff. 
.IP "   \(bu" 6 
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. 
.IP "   \(bu" 6 
For voice names enclosed in braces, all the voices 
go on two staves (keyboard score). There can be at most 
four voices between a single pair of braces. 
.IP "   \(bu" 6 
For voice names enclosed in parentheses, all the 
voices appear on a single staff.        
.PP 
The `\fB|\fP' character prevents measure bars from 
being drawn between two staves. 
.PP 
If `%%staves' occurs in a tune, all the voices not mentioned 
will not be output at all. 
.SS "Voice overlay" 
.PP 
You can add notes to a staff without introducing a 
complete extra voice by using the ampersand (\fB&\fP). 
A single measure can be split into two voices like 
 
.PP 
.nf 
|F2A2Bc&F2c2bc| 
 
.fi 
.PP 
The \fB(&...&...&)\fP construction 
allows splitting multiple measures: 
 
.PP 
.nf 
|!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| 
 
.fi 
.PP 
A double ampersand (\fB&&\fP) will allow 
overlaying more than two lines of music but this feature has 
not yet been implemented. 
 
.SS "Lyrics" 
.PP 
Aligned lyrics under a staff are written as a 
\fBw:\fP line directly below the staff line. For 
example: 
 
.PP 
.nf 
edc2 edc2| 
w:Three blind mice, three blind mice 
 
.fi 
.PP 
Each word in the \fBw:\fP line (delimited by 
blanks) is associated with one note, in sequence. The 
following special symbols modify this behaviour: 
 
.IP "\fB*\fP" 10 
Skips one note. 
.IP "\fB-\fP" 10 
Splits a word into two syllables which are 
associated with two adjacent notes. A `\-' is drawn 
between them. 
.IP "\fB|\fP" 10 
Advances to the next bar 
line 
.IP "\fB~\fP" 10 
Is output as a space, but unites two words 
so they appear under a single note. 
.IP "\fB_\fP" 10 
Draws a thin underscore from the 
previous note to the next.        
.PP 
To include more than one line of lyrics, use multiple 
\fBw:\fP lines. To include hyphens without 
splitting a word over multiple notes, use 
\fB\-\fP. 
 
.PP 
If a word starts with a digit, this is interpreted as a stanza 
number and outdented a bit to the left. 
 
.SS "Slurs and ties" 
.PP 
The direction of slurs and ties may be controlled using 
the \fB(,\fP and \fB('\fP, 
and \fB-,\fP and \fB-'\fP, constructions. 
 
.SS "Microtone pitches" 
.PP 
Microtone pitches are indicated by a fraction after an 
accidental, as in \fB 
3/4c\fP. When omitted, the 
numerator defaultes to 1 and the denominator to 2 (so \fB 
/c\fP is the same as \fB 
1/2c\fP). 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 
\fB%%postscript\fP (see 
\fBfeatures.txt\fP). 
.SS "EPS inclusion" 
.PP 
EPS files may be included inside tunes using the 
pseudo-comment `%%EPS \fIfile\fR'. 
.SH "SEE ALSO" 
.PP 
The original documentation can be found in files 
\fBfeatures.txt\fP, 
\fBformat.txt\fP, and \fBoptions.txt\fP, 
which on a Debian system are in 
\fB/usr/share/doc/abcm2ps\fP. 
.SH "AUTHOR" 
.PP 
This manual page was written by Anselm Lingnau <lingnau@debian.org> for 
the \fBDebian\fP 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. 
.\" created by instant / docbook-to-man, Mon 05 Jun 2006, 22:55