Hi all, first post around here. I’m learning my ways around Dorico, after a lifetime using Finale, and getting used to the difference in quirks for each software.
One thing I am encountering right now is that Dorico seems to be using a different size for the “absolute”/“fixed” size. Finale was using 24pt for the full size staff, which meant that a staff-relative 12pt text would be perfectly inscribed in 1/2 staff. In Dorico, 12pt occupies more space, and the equivalent to 12pt in Finale seems to be 10pt in Dorico, meaning that the full size staff is 20pt (instead of Finale’s 24pt).
Is this correct? After many years of using it, I somehow understood Finale’s “logic”, so I would like to know why Dorico chose 20pt as a full size staff, and would it be possible to change it?
You’re right that Dorico uses a 20-point reference staff. So half the staff is relative 10 points; and a quarter (1 space) is relative 5pt.
No, you can’t change it - it’s fundamental to the way Dorico works.
I guess Dorico is metric 10ths, compared to Finale’s 12ths!
Hmm. Here’s two different 12-point typefaces inside a 12pt bounding box.
Thank you for taking the time in replying! I am aware that 12pt occupy different amount of space, depending on the font, sorry that I was unclear. I made the comparison using the same fonts, from which I know how much space they use. That’s why I could come to the conclusion.
Hmmm, this is misleading! While not standarised, the point is not a metric unit, far from it. I was expecting a different explanation, such as “7mm staff size very common, hence it was used as basis for the “absolute” size, and coincidentally, it measures close to 20pt”. In any case, apart from any personal taste, it seems that recalculating font sizes will be an added thing to work on in my adaptation to Dorico.
