Nikku, I would urge you to leave mouse input behind as quickly as you can. It’s the least efficient way of inputting notes in Dorico, by a long chalk. Personally speaking, I have ‘Enable note input with the mouse’ switched off, on the Note Input page of Preferences. This switches the selection tool, the arrow icon at the bottom of the toolbox on the left-hand side in Write mode, on by default whenever you open a project. When the selection tool is active, clicking in the score will never input a note (so you will no longer see the shadow note appear as you hover the mouse pointer over the page), but instead it will select things. This means that you can leave note input mode simply by clicking on another note. Inputting chords is much quicker either using your MIDI keyboard – simply play the chord you want to input – or by hitting Q to engage chord mode and then typing the letter names of the notes you want to have in the chord, building from the bottom up.
Okay Daniel, I’ll try this starting now. I was trying to use the carat and the enter key in conjunction with the letter keys and arrow keys on the 'board to enter notes but clearly I’m falling back on mouse entry too often. Disabling it will force me into the Dorico way of doing things.
However, I am still seeing to many situations in which I try to configure Dorico by doing (x,y) and it doesn’t work, but then it works the next time I try it.
I’m an electric bassist and guitarist by trade. I have the Akai 'board for my bad piano playing. I will have to try to use the keyboard more often for note entry. I just tried it and it’s obviously the best way to go but it will take some time to get used to entering notes that way.
This Corsair keyboard has given me no trouble and I have been using it for work in Cubase as well as all other typing work, but I really think I’m having some sort of mapping issue with it. We saw that slurs anomaly. I’m going to try a new keyboard as well.
I doubt it’s your keyboard, though I’m hesitant to ascribe it entirely to your confusion with trying to get to grips with Dorico after years of using Finale!
See, this is what I mean…
I just went to Edit–>Preferences–>Note Input and Editing and unclicked ‘Enable Note Input using the Mouse’.
Clicked Apply
Went back out and clicked in a staff just to make sure it was turned off. Nope. I can still enter notes just fine using the mouse!
Any ideas?
So wait… you said turning off mouse input would turn the Selection tool on by default? At the bottom of the toolbox along the left side in Write mode?
Do you mean the arrow pointing up and to the left? That icon?
So that icon did not turn itself on when I turned off ‘Enable Note Editing Using The Mouse’
I just turned it on though and now I cannot enter notes using the mouse. I’m guessing this is the mode you want me to be in for my acclimation attempts.
Ah… you said 'It will turn the Selection tool on when you open a project…
Nikku, the Product Manager of Dorico has taken the time to write to you directly. Read this again, twice, and understand that
a) if you switch off the selection tool yourself you can still use the mouse to enter notes
b) it takes effect when you open a project. Have you closed your project?
I’m pretty sure that none of the things you’re experiencing are down to a) your hardware or b) your Dorico installation. It’s totally fine for new users to be puzzled by the way things work, but the chances are that what you’re seeing is down to your inexperience rather than Dorico glitches.
Leo, I don’t think Nikku is flaming Dorico – I don’t read these posts that way at all. I think there’s a genuine confusion and desire to understand the software. Let’s not have Nikku leave the forum with the impression that we’re an unfriendly and unsupportive bunch!
I think I probably edited my post just as you were typing, Daniel 
I need a second cup of coffee…
Hey Leo, I was trying hard to make it clear that I thought the issue is either in my system (hardware, MIDI controller) or in my brain. You mentioned ‘accusations’ plural. Can you post links to all the accusations so that I can better understand what I’ve done wrong?
I also mentioned how great it is that the lead dev is here answering questions from tech-challenged people like me.
Thanks, I’m up for a few hours yet. Musician’s hours!
I went back and edited that post, because “accusation” was a little over the top. Sorry about that.
The ONLY thing you’ve posted that looks (to me) like a glitch is First minutes with Dorico - Multiple slurs - Dorico - Steinberg Forums, and that’s because you hadn’t restarted your computer after installing new software. Or it might be something to do with the MIDI keyboard you’ve now unplugged.
You’re brand new to Dorico, and that’s great. It’s amazingly intuitive software to many people that have never used any notation software before, and it’s quite intuitive to lots of people that have used other notation software before, but it’s never going to be an easy jump if you’ve been entrenched in Finale for 20 years, unless you leave all of your knowledge of Finale at the door.
For now, assume that if something’s not working the way you want it to, it’s user error. The manual, here: Dorico Help is searchable. You’ve already been pointed to the Youtube videos. This forum can be searched quite effectively if you follow the instructions in the pinned FAQ thread (or if you resort to using Google directly). We are generally a friendly bunch, here. It’s just me that’s grumpy
Oh, and bear in mind we’re all in different time zones.