Continuous flow change and alternate versions

If I have two flows A & B such that…

  • the same players are active in both,
  • the time signature at the end of A is the same as at the beginning of B,
  • and the key signature at the end of A is the same as at the beginning of B,

…then is it possible to create a layout in which the transition from A to B is simply a barline or system break, and the written music continues without being interrupted to restate the player names?

The use case I’m considering is: in arranging a song, I’m preparing two versions with different endings (as alternatives to accommodate singers’ vocal ranges). This seems like the sort of use for which Dorico’s flow/layout model would really shine:

  1. Write my song in a flow A that excludes the ending
  2. Write up my two alternate endings as separate flows B1 & B2
  3. Create one layout for each version, one that contains A+B1 and another that contains A+B2

Is this currently possible?

If not, could the functionality be added easily? Or, is there a different mechanism by which Dorico can facilitate writing multiple versions of a piece that differ in the contents of just one or two passages?

(Off the top of my head) a split with just a system break is feasible.

Go to Layout Options > Page Setup and under Flows select “Allow on existing page”. This will allow the flows to run seamlessly with just a system break between them.

Then it’s a case of preparing your flows and ticking the relevant flows for each of the two layouts.

Finally you’ll probably want to hide the time signatures and key signatures at the beginning of each of B1 and B2.

Let us know how you get on!

Thanks for the quick reply.

What I have so far is almost perfect; I have the first flow ending with a system break (not ideal, but not at all bad), but the part names are re-stated at the beginning of the second flow. That’s the text I’d like to suppress.

AFAICT it is not possible to select or do anything with the instrument names while working in Write or Engrave mode. Am I correct in thinking those can only be touched via Setup mode?

You can choose which name appears at each System break : click on the flag and watch the properties panel :wink:

Marc’s right (as always) - I knew I’d forgotten something!
By 11pm (in the UK) I’ve normally started on the wine…

Pardon my obtuseness, but: Flag? (Which mode should I be in? What am I looking for?)

The flag is the signpost for the system break: there may not be an actual system break at the start of the new flow, of course. So select the first note at the start of the new flow in Engrave mode and do Shift+S to create a system break, which won’t create any visible change to the layout but which will show a system break signpost. Select the signpost, open the Properties panel, and you can then set the staff labels not to show at the start of that system in there.

Beautiful! This worked perfectly.

Thank you all!