RE: what do you use ragged-bottom for?

[Mark Stephen Mrotek]

Mr. O'Hara:

My use of the ragged bottom is very particular. I use Lilypond to set piano
scores for viewing on a tablet (easy page turning!). In a set of variations,
some (if not all) of the variations might not be long enough to fill the
page, and two consecutive variations would be too much. Each variation is
started on a new page. Without the "ragged-bottom" the distance between the
staves is "stretched" to occupy the entire length of the page. From page to
page this change in distance confuses my "eye." With the ragged-bottom the
distance between staves is consistent and my eye tracks comfortably. Another
solution may exist. This is the one that I found and use.

Thank you for your efforts to improve an already marvelous program.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: address@hidden
[mailto:address@hidden On Behalf Of
Keith E OHara
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2013 8:01 PM
To: address@hidden
Subject: what do you use ragged-bottom for?

I'm fixing a bug involving the ragged-bottom setting (issue 3281).  By
default, ragged-last-bottom=##t so the last page can have blank space at the
bottom.  Currently, "ragged-bottom" is implemented to *always* under-fill
the page, *never* compressing to fit one more system.

As a default, that is wrong, because all the other pages are best-fit, while
the last page is under-filled.  The situation has caused me quite a lot of
confusion: wondering why LilyPond likes to put the last system on its own
page, decreasing the staff-size, or trying page-turn-breaking -- and then
wondering why so much material moved back to earlier pages, so that the last
page is again the least full.

For now, as a workaround, in these cases we can say \paper {
last-ragged-bottom=##f }, which can go selectively in individual \bookpart s
if need be.

So 'ragged-last-bottom' should allow a gap at the bottom of the last page,
but let the page fill as the others are filled.  But I do not know what
'ragged-bottom' should do.  This is the option that applies to all pages.
Werner sees some sense in 'ragged-bottom' meaning that pages are neither
stretched nor compressed vertically, but cannot think of an example where
this behavior is useful.  (I wrote code with a new option to let us switch
the behavior, but have no idea if the added complexity gives any benefit, or
how to best set the defaults.)

So for what kind of music do you use ragged-bottom=##t ?

The manual (currently) suggests it for scores, where maybe just two systems
fit on a page; but then the systems are closer than they need to be on the
looser pages.  To give adaptable space at the bottom of the page, it is
better to use \paper{ last-bottom-spacing #'stretchability = 120 }

Sometimes we do want fixed vertical spacing of the music on the page; we can
make the 'minimum-distance as big as 'basic-distance, in all the spacing
settings, but that user-interface is difficult.

Maybe ragged-bottom=##t should continue to always under-fill pages, as it
does now?


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