Hi,

one of the most common pop song formats is AABA. i.e verse chorus, verse chorus, middle 8, verse chorus.
So how do I do this in BIAB? I'm fairly up to speed with the repeats, intro, tag and endings menu box but I don't see a straightforward way of starting with an AABA setup. I must be missing something. Please enlighten me.

Most of what I do is AABA, (sometimes AABACA).
Over time I've found the easiest way (for me anyway) is to simply unfold the song linear - set number of choruses to 1 and type the lot in. Easier than you might think if you use copy and paste to add A section en masse.
I find I have more control over endings and because its linear, if I fancy a different chord in, say, the middle of the second A section, it affects nothing else.
HTH
Ian

Does this form assist you to setup the preferred layout?

Yes, the form box does appear to do what I want, but it is in linear form as per sixchannel's answer. The resulting leadsheet seems to be linear too, which is not very convenient if you want to produce something on one sheet for display on a tablet.
What I was looking for is a repeat of A with 2 endings followed by the B (middle 8) then a d.c. to the A part again with a coda sign to avoid the 1st and 2nd repeats but going to an ending instead. That's how I'd write it, old school style. Is possible in BIAB?

I suggest you write it as 3 endings. Build it as a linear song and then add the repeats.

The common section is "A" as you describe. The first ending is simple - let's call it "E", the second ending is E plus B, and the third ending is probably a modified E to include any special finish.

Then build the 1st, 2nd and 3rd endings in the dialogue, recognizing that the second ending is longer than the first.

I build almost all my songs this way, and can generally print them on two pages by carefully managing the bars per line on the fake sheet.

One tip - don't make the first ending too short. I usually make mine 4 bars, and print it on its own line, it will make lining up the print so much easier. I rarely use DS as it often is just as easy to make a third ending. I reserve DS for breaking out of the "A" section early if the third pass does not need a full "A" section.

AABA is Verse verse chorus verse

What you then indicated is ABABCAB. That is a song form that can be fairly long when it's done.

So.... no matter. Just details.

I find the best thing to do is to immediately UNFOLD to ONE CHORUS as BB likes to call it. That takes the song out of the 3x repeat and puts it into a linear form... One time through, start to finish. This lets you use your edit function to add the part markers you need to create the verses and the chorus as well as any middle 8 or bridge sections. It also lets you work out the intro and endings according to your vision for the song.

I tend to ALWAYS unfold the song form as it's also much easier to see what you're doing and more importantly, where you are at, in the song.

I always build "unfolded" then add the repeats/ endings afterwards. since the repeats, at this point, are print functions, you can create some pretty complex fake sheets. They work because the underlying song hasn't changed.
I like my fake sheets, with multiple lines of lyrics to fit on two pages. Never had a problem

I would call AABA, verse verse chorus verse

I usually think of AABA as one verse with the 'B' being the middle 8, or a bridge.

In case it wasn't clear from Herb's post, BIAB defines "one chorus" as jazz players do: once through the tune's whole form. This is because BIAB was originally designed to play jazz fakebook tunes. So in BIAB, one chorus could be AABA or ABABCAB etc.