TextLine help needed

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hello all,

Please consider the snippet included below this email.

1. Is there a better way to “hang indent” the stage-direction, so that the left 
parenthesis sits a little to the left of the “left margin” of the text? I 
played around with \halign and \hspace until I was blue in the face…

2. What would be the best way to get all the texts on a single system to be top 
aligned?

3. Is there a[n easy] way to make this whole (e.g.) three-column blob a spanner 
that would automatically sit “centered” over (e.g.) two measures, without 
affecting the underlying “note spacing”? I would love a function where I could 
specify a number of measures — which might or might not be only rests (like 
these) — and have the block of text columns place itself accordingly.

Thanks!
Kieren.
__________________________

%%%%  SNIPPET BEGINS

\version "2.17.97"
\language "english"

\layout {
  \context {
    \type "Engraver_group"
    \name "TextLine"
    \consists "Axis_group_engraver"
    \consists "Text_spanner_engraver"
    \consists "Text_engraver"
    \override TextScript.baseline-skip = #2.25
    \override TextScript.self-alignment-Y = #UP
    \textLengthOn
    \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-affinity = #DOWN
    \override VerticalAxisGroup.remove-empty = ##t
    \override VerticalAxisGroup.remove-first = ##t
    \override VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing =
        #'((basic-distance . 4) (minimum-distance . 2) (padding . 2) 
(stretchability . 0.5))
    \override VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing =
        #'((basic-distance . 4) (minimum-distance . 2) (padding . 2) 
(stretchability . 0.5))
    keepAliveInterfaces = #'( text-interface )
  }
  \context {
    \Score
    \accepts TextLine
  }
}

#(define-markup-command (mm-feed layout props amount) (number?)
(let ((o-s (ly:output-def-lookup layout 'output-scale)))
  (ly:make-stencil "" '(0 . 0) (cons 0 (abs (/ amount o-s))))))

#(define-markup-command (put-mm layout props dir amount arg)
(ly:dir? number? markup?) (interpret-markup layout props
  (markup #:put-adjacent Y dir arg #:mm-feed amount)))

#(define-markup-command (dialogue layout props charname text) (markup? 
markup-list?)
  #:properties ((column-width 24)
                (bline-skip 2.375)
                (char-skip 2.5)
                (f-size 10.5))
  (interpret-markup layout props
    #{ \markup
           \abs-fontsize #f-size
           \override #`(baseline-skip . ,bline-skip)
           \line {
               \bold \concat { #charname : }
               \hspace #1
               \override #`(line-width . ,column-width)
                   \put-mm #DOWN #char-skip \wordwrap #text } #}))

#(define-markup-command (stage-direction layout props text) (markup-list?)
  #:properties ((column-width 24)
                (bline-skip 2.375)
                (char-skip 2.5)
                (f-size 10.5))
  (interpret-markup layout props
    #{ \markup
           \abs-fontsize #f-size
           \override #`(baseline-skip . ,bline-skip)
           \override #`(line-width . ,column-width)
           \put-mm #DOWN #char-skip
           \translate #'(1 . 0) \wordwrap { \halign #1.5 ( \hspace #-0.4 
\italic #text \hspace #-0.5 ) } #}))

FTE_FairyTaleEnding_global = {
  %%  intro
    R1 \break
    \repeat "volta" 1 { R1 \noBreak R1 }
}

FTE_FairyTaleEnding_script = {
  %%  intro
    s1^\markup \italic { Lights up on JILL. }
    s2^\markup \column {
        \dialogue COP { Number one, step forward and state your name. }
        \dialogue WOLF { Harry James Furble. }
    }
    s2^\markup \column {
        \dialogue COP { Harry Furble, a.k.a. ‘Wolf’, a.k.a. ‘Big Bad Wolf’, 
a.k.a. ‘Grandma’… Turn to your right. }
    }
    s1^\markup \column {
        \stage-direction { The BIG BAD WOLF turns to the right. }
        \dialogue COP { Step back. }
        \override #'(column-width . 34) \stage-direction { The BIG BAD WOLF 
steps back into the line-up. }
    }
}

\score {
  <<
    \new TextLine << \FTE_FairyTaleEnding_global \FTE_FairyTaleEnding_script >>
    \new Staff \FTE_FairyTaleEnding_global
  >>
}


%%%%  SNIPPET ENDS