Style parameter changes for 4.0

This page lists style settings that were added, removed, or had their default values changed between the releases of MuseScore 3.6 and 4.0.

The following settings are always reset to the new defaults when migrating a score to 4.0: bracketDistance, measureSpacing, propertyDistance, propertyDistanceHead, propertyDistanceStem, articulationMinDistance.

Settings with updated defaults

Setting	XML Name	3.6 Default	4.0 Default	Reference PR
Thick barline distance 1	endBarDistance	0.70sp	0.37sp	#9138
Double barline distance 1	doubleBarDistance	0.55sp	0.37sp	#9138
Repeat barline to dots distance 1	repeatBarlineDotSeparation	0.70sp	0.37sp	#9138
Footer offset 2	footerOffset	(0.0, 5.0)	(0.0, 0.0)	#9193
Dynamics font sizes	dynamicsFontSize	11pt	10pt	#9395
Stem width	stemWidth	0.11sp	0.10sp	#9792
Shortest stem	shortestStem	2.25sp	2.5 (no units)	#9792
Broken beam minimum length	beamMinLen	1.3sp	1.2sp	#10613
Chord Symbol font size	chordSymbolAFontSize	11pt	10pt	#10613
Chord Symbol (Alternate) font size	chordSymbolBFontSize	11pt	10pt	#10613
Subtitle font size	subTitleFontSize	16pt	14pt	#10613
Minimum measure width	minMeasureWidth	5sp	8sp	#10613
Minimum note distance	minNoteDistance	0.2sp	0.4sp	#10613
Even footer, center	evenFooterC	"$: copyright:"	"$C" 3	#10613
Odd footer, center	oddFooterC	"$: copyright:"	"$C" 3	#10613
Measure repeat number position	mmRestNumberPos	-1.5sp	-0.5sp	#10616
Lyrics min. bottom margin	lyricsMinBottomDistance	2.0sp	1.5sp	#13496
Bracket distance	bracketDistance	0.1sp	0.45sp	#13496
Bracket width	bracketWidth	0.44sp	0.45sp	#13496
Brace distance	akkoladeBarDistance	0.4sp	0.35sp	#13496
Brace thickness	akkoladeWidth	1.6sp	1.5sp	#13496
Ledger line length	ledgerLineLength	0.35sp	0.33sp	#13496
Slurs/ties line thickness at end	slurEndWidth	0.07sp	0.05sp	#13496
Let ring line thickness	letRingLineWidth	0.15sp	0.11sp	#13496
Palm mute line thickness	palmMuteLineWidth	0.15sp	0.11sp	#13496
Articulation minimum vertical distance	articulationMinDistance	0.5sp	0.4sp	#13522
Articulation distance from notehead 4	propertyDistanceHead	1.00sp	0.4sp	#13522
Articulation distance from stem 4	propertyDistanceStem	1.80sp	0.4sp	#13522
Articulation distance from staff 4	propertyDistance	1.00sp	0.4sp	#13522

^{1: These distance-related settings used to indicate distance between the centers of elements. Now, they refer to the distance from the right side of one to the left side of the other. Consequently, the default values have been reduced somewhat. When migrating a score from an older version, the appropriate calculations are made to give the same visual result.}

^{2: See #9340}

^{3: i.e. copyright line will be shown on first page only}

^{4: previously called 'Notehead distance', 'Stem distance' and 'Articulation distance'}

Removed settings

Setting	XML Name	Description	Reference PR
Beam distance	beamDistance	Superseded by useWideBeams	#9937
Progression (of stem shortening)	shortStemProgression	Fixed at 0.25	#12472
	harmonyPlay
	multiMeasureRestMargin

Added settings

Mostly not yet exposed in the UI.

Setting	XML Name	Default	Description	Reference PR
	systemTrailerRightMargin	0.5sp	The distance between the system trailer and the right side of the stave	#9158
	ArpeggioAccidentalDistance	0.5sp	The distance between arpeggios and accidentals	#9097
	ArpeggioAccidentalDistanceMin	0.33sp	The minimum distance between arpeggios and accidentals	#9097
	alignSystemToMargin	true	Aligns the system to the margin (ignoring brackets) when staff names are hidden	#9277
	instrumentNameOffset	1sp	The amount of padding between staff names and the system	#9277
	staffHeaderFooterPadding	1sp	The min amount of space between the header/footer and music	#9193
	stemLength	3.5	The default stem length	#9792
	stemLengthSmall	2.25	The default stem length for small notes	#9792
	shortStemStartLocation 1	1	Number of spaces outside the staff that stems start to become reduced	#9792
	minStaffSizeForAutoStems 1	4	Minimum number of staff lines for automatic stem directions. Staves with fewer lines will have all stems pointing the same direction	#9792
	smallStaffStemDirection 1	Direction::UP	The default stem direction for small staves	#9792
	keysigAccidentalDistance	0.3sp	Default gap between accidentals in key signatures	#9389
	keysigNaturalDistance	0.4sp	Default gap between naturals in key signatures	#9389
Beam distance	useWideBeams	false	If beams are 1-space apart instead of the default 0.75-spaces	#9937
	tremoloNoteSidePadding	1.25	The amount of padding between a note and its tremolo (measuring from vertical centre of notehead to top/bottom of tremolo bounding box)	#10131
	tremoloOutSidePadding	0.5	The amount of padding between the tip of a stem and a tremolo	#10131
	headerSlurTieDistance	1.0sp	Distance between the system header and the start of a slur/tie/line	#12451
	alwaysShowSquareBracketsWhenEmptyStavesAreHidden	false	Always show thin square brackets even if only one spanned stave is shown on the system	#13634

^{1: never exposed; removed in 4.1}