i did manage to use the “Note Spacing” tools to nudge things around and avoid collisions – but would there have been an automatic way to “fix” this system?
Hi, don’t start nudging around if you have not tried the following:
The system is overfull (104%).
That is why it is marked red.
Remove all your manual overrides (by selecting the red squares and hitting delete).
Then try, if a manual spacing override for that system only will bring you below 100%.
If that is not possible, you can replace the lyric font with one that is a bit condensed.
You could also try to carefully reduce the system size for one system only.
ok going to start trying those procedures
@k_b Removing the spacing overrides for a whole system is quicker using Engrave>note spacing>reset selected systems, rather than deleting them individually.
i’m actually having a tough time selecting a single system.
…there apparently should be a “system track,” but i don’t see it in Engrave Mode.
nope: “Reset Appearance” does not fix the issue…
…hmmm….
The system track is only in Write mode.
In Engrave mode, select anything in the system you’re interested in, and do Engrave > Note Spacing > Reset Selected Systems. That will clear all the manual note spacing (red handles) on that system.
All the note spacing boxes look blue, implying that the spacing has been reset.
It’s likely that the manual system breaks you have added are causing problems. You have a system break in the top system and the bottom system, and these are telling Dorico to put more music in the first system than it thinks will fit – that’s why the system fullness indicator on the right shows that the system is 112% full. Once that indicator goes over 100%, there’s no guarantee that Dorico will be able to space things correctly.
Edit: In general, it’s best in Dorico to work by adjusting options so that Dorico can follow your rules to space things the way you want them. And if you need to later make some adjustments, make sure you don’t wind up with systems or frames that are overfull.
i need 4-measure systems – and in a few cases 5-measure systems.
that is what this piece demands & it’s totally doable, i just need to figure out the proper settings.
do you have procedural suggestions that will help?
re “overfull,” this system is not overfull – i might need to reduce the scale on some things – or even the entire system, but it’s just not “overfull.”
i need the music to be displayed in 4 and 5 measure systems, so the task here is to figure out the Dorico settings & procedures that will display the music properly.
If you want a fixed structure with 4 or 5 bars, go into Layout Options and change the Rastral Size.
Until the red overfull markers disappear in Engrave Mode.
Also reduce the overall Note Spacing, if you have not done so.
There is also the possibility to reduce the margins.
If you post your project file here, someone will be able to help effectively.
ps.: overfull relates to your Layout Options and your Engraving Settings of your project. That’s why it is the first place to change things.
It is overfull according to the layout/notation/engraving options you have set up – that’s why the fullness indicator says 112%. Your settings are probably leading Dorico to put three bars per system; if you squeeze four bars onto the system, Dorico considers it overfull. That means it’s not able to honor all of your options at the same time.
As @k_b indicates, if you need 4 bars per system, then you need to change settings to allow more music in a system. Changing your page size or margins will give you more room on the page; changing Layout Options > Note Spacing will put notes closer together (although the lyrics will still push them apart); changing Layout Options > Page Setup > Space Size will make all of the notation smaller so that more of it can fit in one system.
I am not going to change the page size as a workaround and then print to A4. It makes sense to target the actual page size.
Margins? Why would I change the margins – I need to set professional margins and use those – the music or portions of the music must be made smaller – I should not be adjusting margins.
The way “this” was done in Finale was with a % for the system. i gather there is a Dorico equivalent so that the printed output is professional.
I will explore what “Space Size” in Dorico means and does…thanks for the tip, however I’m looking at adjusting 2 out of like 24 systems. Clearly I want the music to be as large as possible for easy reading – that is the “dance” that I am looking to figure out how to dance with Dorico…
