I’m having significant challenges getting an orchestral score to condense how I’d like it to. I’ve attached part of the score here, so feel free to try to replicate the issues.
I’d like the flutes to be on a single stem mm. 26–43, with m. 29 being the exception. Putting a condensing change (allowing mid-phrase unisons) in the flutes at m. 26 has no effect. I can put a condensing change at the flutes at m. 30, which corrects it from that point on, but…
I’d also like the oboes to be on a single stem mm. 26-43. If I put a condensing change at m. 30 and select both flutes and oboes, it puts the flutes on a single stem starting at m. 30 and the oboes on a single stem mm. 26-29. Putting a similar condensing change in both instruments at m. 29 puts the flutes on a single stem mm. 26-28 but has no effect on the oboes. Overall, the option to condense manually seems to behave quite sporadically.
I am not able to put a condensing change in the oboes alone—or in any other instrument—without also selecting the flutes. I’m able to select any players (or combination of players) in the panel to the left, but unless flutes are also selected, all notation options are greyed out.
I believe part of the issue here to be the mp sub. in Oboe 1 at m. 44, but I’m at a loss as to why. The rhythms and dynamics in the oboes are identical up to that point, so I don’t think condensing these parts should cause such a problem.
Here a corrected version of your file.
The issue was that there are no rests in the voices, and the mere Condensing changes that I applied (no need to check anything but the players in the dialogue) tell Dorico where to recalculate the Condensing.
Notice the three condensing changes near another (bar 26-30) with both flutes and oboes checked, and the CC on bar 44 only with the oboes checked (where it goes to oboe 1, without rests, and this influences the passage before, because there is no rest, and Dorico considers it all one phrase, dividing the stems in 2 because from bar 44 in the oboes there is no more the same rhythm between ob. 1 and 2: the CC in bar 44 forces the calculation of a new phrase, so that the passage before bar 44 oboes, can be on 1 stem).
(For the 1. label in bar 44 oboe, it is quite concealed into the barline, so some manual moving is desirable):
You decide which instruments the condensing changes applies to, in he Condensing Change dialogue itself.
You create condensing changes at a rhythmical position (and decide then in the dialogue itself, which instruments are affected by it): you can just click the barline and insert the CC there.
And generally with Condensing, look at rests (or absence of rests), because rests define phrases. And a Condensing Change (with only the instruments checked) forces the start of a new phrase (and a new Condensing calculation)