A few frustrations

[kasky1]

@TonH

In this sentence , I had to do the repetive task of pressing shift to get a capital as first letter. But I’m glad I have to, because sometimes I don’t want to start with a lowercase letter …

Well, now…I suppose someone of my age who took a typing class in high school back in the dark ages (managing 120 wpm with mistakes less than 0.1%), doesn’t really think about pressing Shift to get a capital letter because it is ingrained in my brain and I don’t have to think about it.

Now, force duration, on the other hand, is not ingrained and I must think about it because it is unique to the application. And, I appreciate your lack of opposition. Oh, and I never want to start a sentence or thought without a capital letter…well, most of the time as a default.

[jaskarbong]

I’m asking out of complete ignorance (but what else is new?)….

Is it possible to edit the json file (or some other controlling code) so that when one starts “note input” that “force duration” would also be activated? (I would expect I can do this with a Stream Deck button to start both but wonder if it can be made to work that way straight from the keyboard or mouse.)

— Jim

[jaskarbong]

@kasky1

typing class in high school

Never took a typing class… but I really miss being able to press the Shift key to release the Caps Lock!

[sebastring]

Yeah, everything you can run with the Script API can also be triggered via key commands when you manipulate your user profile JSON-File. You could add the API calls to Shift + N or come up with a totally different key command.

[jaskarbong]

So, if I’m understanding correctly, in order to have a single keypress do two things (in this case, start note entry and turn on force duration), first a macro should be recorded, then that macro can be called via the setting in the json file; the two commands cannot be set directly in the json file to run together (sequentially) but it can call up the macro. Do I have the gist of it?

[sebastring]

Actually both ways work. You can call a script via path reference or add the API calls directly to the shortcut. The later one is more flexible in case you move or delete your script file.

[asherber]

I could be wrong, but I don’t think you can configure a shortcut key in the key commands file to execute 2 commands in sequence, which is what @jaskarbong was asking.

If I’m wrong, can you please show what that looks like?

[jaskarbong]

@asherber

configure a shortcut key in the key commands file to execute 2 commands in sequence

Yes, exactly! An example would be very appreciated.

[sebastring]

Sorry, I confused it with the Remote API. So with multiple commands on one key command you have to stick to the script solution like this:

{
  "common": {
    "contexts": [
      {
        "context": "kWriteMode",
        "shortcuts": [
          {
            "Script.RunScript?ScriptPath=PATH_TO_SCRIPT/NoteInputScript.lua": [ "Shift+N" ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

[jaskarbong]

Thank you! I bet I’ll find a number of uses for this technique!

[asherber]

Note that you should use forward slashes as path separators even on Windows.

[Paul_Williams]

Couldn’t agree more. I was a Finale user, like you, for many years; and was very upset and daunted by having to move to a new software: but I am very, very glad I did. I find Dorico superior in so many ways, and now I enjoy writing music with it. So many of the ideas, once understood, make so much more sense. Like you I watched some videos, and used the forum (an excellent resource full of friendly and knowledgeable people). Very rarely does a new problem come up, so the answer is usually pretty quick!

[s_ferre]

Hi Rick,

What you have experienced is what a lot of us have experienced. I, too, was all in at Dorico’s inception. I was a beta tester, and what I experienced was really alpha testing. (I tested for Finale and for Score.) Nothing worked on my computer to any extent that I could make a report. Eventually, I gave up, and didn’t consider Dorico until v. 3.5, which quickly became 4 and then 5. I didn’t key in my first piece until v. 5, not because I didn’t want to, but because I was still using Sibelius and Finale for publishers, and none of them were ready to switch to Dorico. (They still aren’t.) I’m even still using Score once or twice a year. (I am right now, actually.)

Lately, I have been composing in Sibelius and then reading musicXML into Dorico. Some pieces (not all) sound better in Dorico than Sibelius using the same sound sets, but my focus is the notation. I’ve become better at predicting how thing works better in the transfer, for example, giving every instrument its own line, and using the consolidation feature to combine them. That makes extracting parts much easier. I haven’t tried that with Finale, but you could create a workflow that you input into Finale and transfer it into Dorico. Just because they have stopped development, doesn’t mean you have to stop using it. I haven’t stopped using Score, and there hasn’t been any significant development in 20 years. (There was a Windows version that was pretty useless. Too many bugs.) It is still considered by many as the gold standard for music publishing.

My problem is that because I use whatever software a publisher wants, I need to know 4 sets of keystrokes, and 4 different workflows - and none of my publishers are using Dorico, so I can’t keep in shape on it, unless I’m composing. Everyone says you have to think differently when using Dorico - it’s a different philosophy. That may be the case, but I’ve worked using different philosophies before and didn’t have a problem. I know what I want, and I don’t yet always know how to get it in Dorico, and I’ve been using it for at least 2 years now. There are so many presets that you should be able to set things up right the first time, but that really takes sitting down and working methodically through settings until you get something worth saving. And, of course, different publishers want different things, so you have to do it for every house style you use.

I find Dorico’s menus convoluted with various settings for the same feature scattered all over the place. Yes, I know, Daniel, there is a logical place for each, but unless you are using Dorico all the time, one can’t remember which one has the setting you want.

Concerning your dotted notes, Rick, you can set some presets that will get you close to what you want, but I find that one preset will get almost what I want, and then setting another undoes it. I want 4/4 bars to split in 2, except when there is a dotted half note at the beginning of the bar, and I want my beams to group in beats. As soon as I drop in the splitting the bar in half, it undoes the dotted half notes.

I like to be able to drop hairpins and dynamics into the middle of long tied notes, but without jumping through hoops I can’t really do it. I’ve taken to putting dynamics in before putting ties, and that’s a backwards way to work. I don’t like putting hairpins leading to the first note of a bar that cross the barline, but I can’t seem to find a default that stops it short of the barline, so I always have to go back and edit it.

That said, Rick, I feel your pain. Even as a native English speaker, some of Dorico’s jargon throws me. It is, unfortunately, something that you have to learn with each program, just to find what you want in the help guide. If you don’t use the right term, you get nothing, and sometimes, even when you do use the right term, the search will find loads of irrelevant pages.

There are people here willing to help, and while some do seem condescending at times, we all work with the program at different levels, and there is likely to be someone out there that knows the right answer to your problem.

Apologies for the long, convoluted reply.

[asherber]

@s_ferre

I want 4/4 bars to split in 2, except when there is a dotted half note at the beginning of the bar, and I want my beams to group in beats.

It’s true that you may not be able to find a combination of presets that automatically solves all use cases automatically – but that is why Dorico also gives you ways to override the global settings for individual cases.

For the particular description above, is this what you’re looking for?

I was able to get that by starting with factory settings and changing two notation options: Beam Grouping > 8th notes in simple time sigs with a half bar to “Break beams at beat boundaries”, and Note Grouping > Syncopation > Notation of short-long-short patterns that cross the half bar to “Split at half-bar beat boundary”. I understand that you may not have described everything that you want, and that these settings may therefore have undesirable results elsewhere. I also find it slightly visually confusing that the Syncopation examples use eighths and quarters, rather than quarters and halfs, even though the rules apply to both sets of values.

@s_ferre

I like to be able to drop hairpins and dynamics into the middle of long tied notes, but without jumping through hoops I can’t really do it.

You can do this by starting Note Input and moving the caret to where you want the dynamic, then entering the (immediate) dynamic.

For hairpins, once you’ve moved the caret to where you want the hairpin to start, open the popover with Shift+D and type > and Enter (or just > without the popover). Then press the space bar to advance the caret by the currently selected rhythmic duration, drawing the hairpin as you go.

I grant that this may not be obvious, but it is explained in the manual – and I would call these small hoops at worst!

[hrnbouma]

@s_ferre

I don’t like putting hairpins leading to the first note of a bar that cross the barline, but I can’t seem to find a default that stops it short of the barline, so I always have to go back and edit it.

It’s buried pretty deep but it is there, in Engraving Options > Dynamics > Gradual Dynamics > Advanced Options:

Also: if you are pre-expecting condescension, assistance offered in a neutral tone may well sound like it…

[charles_piano]

@s_ferre

I don’t like putting hairpins leading to the first note of a bar that cross the barline, but I can’t seem to find a default that stops it short of the barline, so I always have to go back and edit it.

It’s under Engraving Options > Dynamics > Gradual Dynamics > Advanced Options

Ninja’d by @hrnbouma!

[s_ferre]

Wow, that is buried pretty deep. Thanks. Even following your instructions, it took a while to find it. Hopefully, I’ll remember where it is.

[John_Ruggero]

@s_ferre

I find Dorico’s menus convoluted with various settings for the same feature scattered all over the place. Yes, I know, Daniel, there is a logical place for each, but unless you are using Dorico all the time, one can’t remember which one has the setting you want

Same here and I am using Dorico almost exclusively. Is it a Font Style or a Paragraph Style? Is it an Engraving Option, a Layout Option or a Notation Option? It’s all “logical”, and I often hit it right, but so much decision-making is required, it begins to wear on the energy and patience of someone like me whose memory is apparently not that good.

@s_ferre

I like to be able to drop hairpins and dynamics into the middle of long tied notes

I have found that one can just double click on a note in a tie chain (in Write mode) and enter the dynamic at that point. However, where you click is important. If you click directly on the note or the stem, the cursor will appear on the first note of the chain. You must click below the note if it is high on the staff or above if low on the staff and exactly in the rhythmic position you want the dynamic to appear.

Editing a tied note often involves first untying the notes, for example, to rebeam a group that involves tied notes. Undoing to do isn’t pleasant. It would be much better if, despite the great advantages of the way Dorico handles tied notes, it was also possible to select and edit a single tied note just like any other note. But the designers may feel the same way, but actual implementation would be very difficult.

[s_ferre]

@asherber

You can do this by starting Note Input and moving the caret to where you want the dynamic, then entering the (immediate) dynamic.

Where that comes up short is when the ties are many bars long. You have to move through many bars of 128th-increments (if that is what you have them set for). I would rather be able just choose the notes I want it to start and end on. (I know Dorico is playback based and it isn’t really possible as it it written.) I find it easier to either not key the ties in, or cut them out temporarily.

[TonH]

@s_ferre

Hopefully, I’ll remember where it is

If you set it as default, you won’t have to search again