Edit Playing Techniques Global

Hi! I created some specific organ pedal markings in Custom Playing Technique (Edit Playing Techniques) for a particular score. It all worked great, except I started another organ score and those markings are not available in the new score. I was hoping those new markings would be available globally but they don’t seem to be.

Are the custom techniques (Edit Playing Techniques) only available for a specific score? If not, how do I make them global to be seen in all future scores in which I would like to use them?

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum @jfarnes1! They’re only in the project in which you create them, unless you click the Save as Default star button so it appears filled-in. That makes it available in multiple projects.

Welcome to the forum, @jfarnes1. Playing techniques are indeed specific to the score in which you design them, unless you click the little star button in the action bar in the left-hand list in Engrave > Playing Techniques, which saves them as a default for future projects. Thereafter any new project that you create will contain the item(s) you have saved as a default.

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Okay. Thanks Dan, and Lillie for your quick response. Very much appreciated.

Can I go back to the original score, save those as defaults, and have them show up in the new one?

Once you go back to the original score and make those PT’s defaults you will have to open a new file for them to appear.

Okay. Thank you!

Actually it’s my understanding that once saved as default, a playing technique will be available in any subsequent project you open - new or existing.

I think Derrek is right. I’ve just saved those as default and they don’t show up in the newly created score. Completed closed Dorico, went back in, and they weren’t there. Next test is to make sure they are there in a brand-new score.

Hi Daniel,
2.5 years later the subject returns in D5.1.21 on macOS Ventura.
Having libraries with prerecorded runs/glissandos (strings, harp, woodwinds) I have created dedicated playing techniques and corresponding meaningful texts that can be used in the score. The example would be: for A major run playing technique is “amaj” and the text is A/\ , for A# major would be a#maj and the text A#/\ . Obviously all of them were marked as global. Inside the initial project they all work perfectly, however for other projects I get a complete rubbish. I open a new, empty project and get the old version of these techniques. After longer experiments I found the following: when I assign amaj to A/\ and a#maj to A#/, close Dorico and reopen A#maj changes to A/\ and the assignment changes to pt.user.amaj.2 . So, there is probably a problem with using “#” in the playback technique name. It would be important for me if you could help solve this problem. Those new notations were used very sparsely, so if “#” is a problem, or perhaps the font I used is, the necessary corrections will take a short time and their impact will be limited. Also, I would like to check what I seemed to observe as well, that playback template also contains the complete set of playing techniques, ornaments etc. I saw it when I opened an empty project and activated my playback template and the techniques changed. If that is normal, is there a smart way to update this template without loading all instruments so all endpoints are fully activated and new version could be safely stored?
Thanks
Witold

A complete overview of “what get saved where and what is loaded when”, would indeed be a very precious piece of information.

Like… if we create a new file from a custom template, is it loading the current default set of (expression Maps/Playback Techniques/Playing Techniques) or the set that was valid at the time of the creation of the template ? How do Playback Templates interfere with all this ?

YES!! Definitely!!
I love Dorico for the level of control it gives the user plus the richness of options, but at the same time this richness creates unusual level of complexity and by now Dorico lacks a profound enough manual. I tried to get the clear info in the subject I described earlier, but had to give up. It either was non-existent or hidden so well I did not succeed in finding it. So yes, an in-depth VERY WELL REDACTED document would be very much appreciated.
Witold

You could always just copy the initial project, empty it and save it as your new project. All your customisations would be retained.

Hi,
The problem has been identified and solved. I found the inspiration in expression map form, where any # was immediately transposed to the above flat. A# became Bb. So for my runs and glissandos I replaced sharps by flats and voila: all works.
So, WARNING!!
DON’T USE A “#” CHARACTER IN PLAYBACK TECHNIQUE NAMES!!!

Witold