Complete layout control
These pages refer solely to the upgrade from Sibelius 1.x, 2.x, 3.x and 4.x to Sibelius 5. Please refer to the FAQ relating to the more recent upgrade to Sibelius 6.
Insert blank pages
You can now insert blank pages anywhere with a couple of clicks, then add text, graphics, etc. to produce title pages and performance instructions. They even work in parts too – in fact, you can make any blank page or title page appear in the score, the parts, or both.
Different margins for different pages
Scores no longer need to use the same margins throughout – you can set different margins on different pages, e.g. to allow room for titles and copyright lines. Plus you can now easily alter margins in parts.
House Styles
When importing a house style, or copying between scores, Sibelius 5 only adds extra text styles, line types, notehead types, symbols and so on where necessary, and won’t overwrite existing ones if they differ. You can now also move individual text styles and other object types between scores.
Flexible numbering
Bar numbers, page numbers and rehearsal marks now support special numbering formats used in some types of score.
Bar numbers: You can set any passage of music (such as introductions and inserted sections) to use special bar number formats, e.g. 1a, 1b, 1c… or a, b, c… in capitals or small letters. Or use your own prefix/suffix, such as 1 new, 2 new…, alt 1, alt 2… You can also number bars in any frequency you like, such as every 8 bars instead of 10.
Bar numbering can now take account of repeats in various formats. Automatic bar numbers can be selected, moved, hidden and filtered just like anything else. And to make it all easier, the main bar number options are now all in a single dialog.
Page numbers: Sibelius 5 lets you re-number, change the format of, or hide page numbers anywhere in a score. For example, you could number the introductory pages of your score i, ii, iii… or a, b, c…, with the music pages numbered 1, 2, 3...
Rehearsal marks: Add automatic prefixes/suffixes to rehearsal marks, e.g. 1A, 2A, 3A… And where rehearsal marks coincide with bar numbers, you can hide the bar numbers automatically to avoid collisions.
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What users say
“Bar numbers, page number changes and instrument changes are all stunningly simple!”
Robert Puff, copyist and engraver
What's new
Summary of what's new in Sibelius 5
Capture, use and re-use snippets
A new, clearer way of viewing music
150+ high-quality built-in sounds
Mix and match from different libraries
Instrumental parts made even easier
Flexible page layout and numbering
New fonts and plug-ins
Over forty other improvements
Questions about the upgrade
