I have a minor quibble/question, but I’d like my parts to look as professional as possible. Sometimes when entering lyrics, I’d like a phrase to end, but Dorico continues a line consisting of small dots, over rests even, until the next phrase begins As you’ll see in the attachment, the connecting dots are continuing from the previous page, over the rests until the next phrase, and then OVER the eighth rest and onto the next stave. It seems at times I can make them end with ENTER, or with the space bar, but it’s not consistent. Is there an official way to say, phrase ends here!?
Normally, when you press the space bar after having written a syllable, it means this syllable is still sung over the next note (and any note at which you press space again). There is then a line showing the singer he/she has to go on singing on those notes. When you enter a new syllable in the popover, the line stops at the previous note, which makes perfect sense. If there is no new syllable to enter (end of the song), the line should stop on the last note sung.
I must say I have different problems with the screen shot here. First, I am not sure that it is not faulty french (ok, I am french, and very niggling about the language. If I had to sing that, I think I would love to ask the writer what he/she meant ! On first reading, without any comas, I would suggest “Ô les vils souvenirs des vil-les” could be correct, with the last syllable on the last note)
Second : I do not understand why there is not a solid line. Have you changed Engrave options ? I am no professional engraver, but professional singer, and I do not recall dashed lines for lyrics that go on different notes.
Third : It is really VERY strange that the line does not stop at the last B. Have you shortened that note after inputting the lyrics ? I guess that was a workaround to be able to write lyrics over rests (which is rather strange from a singer point of view, but why not…)
It appears the OP has pressed a hyphen after villes rather than a space. The program is (it seems) looking for the next syllable to end the hyphenated word.
The line is from a poem by Paul Eluard (“L’absensce”), “Ô villes souvenirs de villes”. I added “les villes” because I originally wrote the melody on the English translation, “O cities memories of cities”, and “les villes” seems correct enough. You’re right though, I inadvertently left the s off of souvenirs. I would also guess “des villes” rather than “de villes”, but that’s what he wrote. Otherwise I always try to stick to Eluard’s text.
I think I figured out the problem though, which Derrek pointed out. I was using the hyphen when I wanted a syllable to be stretched over several notes, but it seems to just continue then beyond the last note. I have to hit space bar on the last syllable, and the singer will see the slur connecting the additional notes and I hope know to sing that syllable over them. I don’t know where to change the engrave options to a solid line though, I certainly never changed them. The best would be for a solid line extending the length of the notes over which the syllable should be stretched, as it does automatically with a tied note, but I can’t seem to do that (or with dotted line).
Thanks for the input.
If you hit ‘space’ after the final word (across all the notes that the slur governs), it will put the solid horizontal line across the notes following. Then, at the next note (after the rests) type in the next syllable/word above the first note. This should get you what you are after.
Ah, thank you, that was it!
I love Eluard. I’ll read this poem «L’absence» 
I just wanted to add one thing about french singing… “Villes” can be sung on one note, but it usually is sung as two syllables (at least two notes). If it is sung «Vill’s», it sounds more… familiar, less classy.
And of course Eluard wrote « souvenirs de villes » which is absolutely correct, accordingly to your translation “memories of cities”. I just misread when I replied…
Singer will singing each syllable they come across, and keep singing it until they get another one!
Dorico, like any other notation app, will automatically put hyphens between syllables of words, and put extension lines on melismas for the last syllable of any word. You shouldn’t need to change anything: just use spaces between words and hyphens between syllables.
Merci beaucoup, Marc. To be more exact, if sung over two syllables, would it be “vil-les” (sounding like “vil-luh”)? I’m quite unsure often about dividing French words over two syllables (like “lar-mes” pour example, “tom-be”, “guer-re”, or “cet-te”), but I’m sure there are conventions about singing them. I’m in the German part of Switzerland, so there are not that many around I can bother with these questions.
It is exactly what you have written, you master french hyphenation !
I would suggest that you keep the last syllab for the very last note, as the tonic accent is on “vil”, and not on “les”.