The <system-layout> element

Parent elements: <defaults><print>

A system is a group of staves that are read and played simultaneously. System layout includes left and right margins and the vertical distance from the previous system. The system distance is measured from the bottom line of the previous system to the top line of the current system. It is ignored for the first system on a page. The top system distance is measured from the page’s top margin to the top line of the first system. It is ignored for all but the first system on a page.

Sometimes the sum of measure widths in a system may not equal the system width specified by the layout elements due to roundoff or other errors. The behavior when reading MusicXML files in these cases is application-dependent. For instance, applications may find that the system layout data is more reliable than the sum of the measure widths, and adjust the measure widths accordingly.

When used in the defaults element, the system-layout element defines a default appearance for all systems in the score. If no system-layout element is present in the defaults element, default system layout values are chosen by the application.

When used in the print element, the system-layout element affects the appearance of the current system only. All other systems use the default values as determined by the defaults element. If any child elements are missing from the system-layout element in a print element, the values determined by the defaults element are used there as well. This type of system-layout element need only be read from or written to the first visible part in the score.