Basic questions re. note input

Sorry for such basic questions, but I want to ensure I’m teaching myself accurately.

  1. Regarding note input, Page 164 in the Dorico Pro 3.1.1 Operation manual says:

If no notes or chords are selected in the music area and you select a duration, either by pressing its key command or by clicking it in the Notes panel, mouse input is activated. If you move the mouse pointer over the staff, a shadow note is displayed to indicate where the note will be input if you click.

Although this paragraph doesn’t specify it, I’m assuming that this also requires that the carat be activated – yes?

  1. With the carat activated, and a time value selected (either via the notes panel or computer keyboard), one immediately has the options of entering a note via the mouse, or via a note-letter on the computer keyboard, or via a midi keyboard. What I therefore don’t understand is the function of the select tool, as its function (if I understand it correctly) is to toggle between mouse entry and keyboard entry. Since both mouse and keyboard entry require no other action other than choosing the desired note (via mouse click or keyboard letter), isn’t the select tool redundant? Or is it potentially involved in other functions, that have nothing to do with note input?

  2. A propos carat activation: is there any way to activate it other than by double-clicking with the mouse?

Thanks, in advance, for your help . . . and your patience!

As long as the Select Tool is turned off, you can initiate mouse input by clicking a note value in the left panel and then clicking straight onto the page. You don’t need the caret, but as soon as you’ve inputted one note the caret will appear.

You can invoke the caret by selecting any item on the page and typing Shift-N. Most of the time Enter will also work, but it has a dual purpose - if you select something that can be altered by way of a popover, such as a time signature, Enter will open the popover rather than initiating note input. Shift-N will always invoke the caret.

As to the Select tool, I think its only purpose is to make it harder to click things onto the page by accident. I’m not 100% sure on that, though.

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Thanks, pianoleo - I’m glad I asked! For some reason, that (mouse without carat activation) wasn’t happening for me before, but I must have been doing something wrong, because it is working now. :smiley:

And thanks for the clarification re. Shift-N (and the less reliable “Enter”).

Best regards!