Feature Request - add Transpose to right click menu in Write

[k_b]

@kasky1

In my experience, most software, in general, greys-out properties that are not adjustable in that context rather than greying out the property because it is turned off.

Kent you have spotted the very point which we have all struggled with at the beginning. Dorico tries to run completely without the user having to change a property. It will run with all the Default settings to automatically give you an Engraving to your liking. The Engraving Options is the place where you can, in very fine detail, define your personal Engraving Options. Dorico will follow those. Only, if you want to change those on a one case event locally or globally, you will have to disable the automatic behaviour and make an override to the default.

[Romanos]

@kasky1

Never-the-less, I just wish there was a way to block those who are inappropriate with their commentary from my views so I don’t feel compelled to read their drivel. That way, I could concentrate on the helpful information that is actually being shared.

If you go to your user profile, then the sub-header of “users” you can “ignore” or mute other users so they no longer appear in your feed.

[judddanby]

@judddanby

I want to be sure I understand you, @kasky1. Which part is ill-mannered and unprofessional: having a gap in one’s knowledge pointed out or someone being brusque in the process?

@kasky1

the latter

Understood. Please know, though: recent “Finale refugees” are definitely welcome here! We’re happy to assist, directly and — as everyone takes the time to properly study the software and its design principles — by referencing good resources for further study.

If it’s any consolation, those few who have a brusquer tone have done so for at least the two years I’ve been active in the forum. It’s definitely not a unique response to recent- and new comers. And while I imagine we might all prefer a Marcus Welby approach to being helped, occasionally a Doc Martin does walk into the clinic/surgery— we still get excellent care, but it’s not necessarily “gentle!”

And, yes, this is the place for making (non-duplicated) feature requests. The Dorico team makes a note of them, and the forum members suggest alternative methods that might be equivalent and/or discuss how/why it might be in conflict with Dorico’s design. None of that discussion is intended as a personal “assault.”

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I hesitate to add any more to this side-thread that managed to “hijack” your own OP, as it really feels like a separate one.

However, I feel I need to say a bit more in defense of the forum:

@kasky1

There seems to be a not so subtle undertone that many users would prefer that we, Finale “refugees”, would not post anything here.

I fully suspect that some of the irritation you’re perceiving stems from the onslaught of new users over the past month (not all!!) who, after only cursory or no study of the software, started making “shouty” declarations like “why can’t Dorico…?!?!” and “Dorico SHOULD…!” about things that Dorico can already do. Not all were as polite and thoughtful about the request as you were, @kasky1, and didn’t even take the time up front to realize that the request wasn’t necessary. So please forgive us for some occasional lapses in responding gracefully — it really has been quite a month here!

I believe that if you truly pause and survey the activity here since Aug. 26 you’ll see that the positive from established members far outweighs the negative. I have watched with awe and admiration over these past 4.5 weeks as my fellow members and the Dorico team have “stepped up” to assist newcomers. Many have made extra time in their day specifically to do so, even forgoing their own work to try and help. And the Dorico team members have seemingly worked extra-long hours seven days a week to assist.

Just a few examples just from ''regular'' fellow users:

• @benwiggy made a special effort to create four dedicated getting-oriented videos during the first week after MakeMusic’s announcement.
• Ben also started a “welcome” thread (which, alas, quickly became invaded by negativity) for new users.
• Almost immediately upon the news breaking, @Mark_Johnson started a thread for users to share fond memories of Finale and even share some grief (which, alas, quickly became invaded by negativity).
• Many members spent time curating online manual and video links — and making their own mini-tutorial videos — to share in answer to new users’ questions.

I am genuinely saddened that you’re currently having such bad feelings towards the space, @kasky1. I can only hope that with more time and good experiences here you’ll find it a valuable place to come for help.

[judddanby]

OT: I never paid attention to that, @Romanos. Thanks — now I know why all my (ahem) excellent jokes haven’t landed me that HBO stand-up special yet…

[k_b]

@judddanby

but it’s not necessarily “gentle!”

To add to this, for probably 40% of the Dorico forum users (my guess), English is not the first language; and what might be a clear statement in my language and culture, might come over as harsh and unfriendly when directly translated to English.

[judddanby]

Great point, @k_b!

[Sergei_Mozart]

And hyperbole, my favourite figure of speech, is lost too.

[Romanos]

@kasky1

There seems to be a not so subtle undertone that many users would prefer that we, Finale “refugees”, would not post anything here.

“The mode of hearing occurs according to the mode of the hearer.”

I think that many of us are thrilled that there are thousands of new users. Some of us have been vocal Dorico advocates since 1.0, but so many people wouldn’t give it even a passing glance because it wasn’t “one of the big two” or “free”. I’m delighted that so many people are seriously taking a look at Dorico now; those of us who have been around for a while are eager that others should come to love it the same as we do! I think the bigger issue is that many of the new forum users who have suddenly shown up here have come in “red hot” due to both frustrations at Finale ending and having to learn a new software that works differently. This has destabilized the equilibrium a bit.

And as the old saying goes, “sometimes, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”, and there have been a good number of ex-finale users tossing vinegar around… But in general, such posts are not the regular forum users. There has also been a relative lack of effort on the part of some new posters to do even simple searches to find answers to their already-asked (and answered) questions. There are often multiple threads addressing the same question—sometimes developing concurrently. So I’m sure that a few people have been a little testy answering the same question for the umpteenth time, but even the statement “I looked but haven’t found the answer yet” is enough to disarm any regular contributor, whether it’s sincere or not. But I hope anyone who has been a little testy and received pushback can at least understand why a few regulars have perhaps gotten defensive. It’s a bit like being abused by a visitor in your own house. (That’s a poor analogy, as we want you to come live here too… but you get my point.)

In any case, I’ll stop rambling, and hopefully anyone who has had their feelings offended will stick around enough to get a more accurate picture of what it’s really like. And just as importantly, hopefully you’ll find the answers you’re looking for, offered in a suitably charitable way. Don’t let one fly spoil the milk. (It is the internet after all. lol)

[judddanby]

I’ve said that, like, a million times, @Sergei_Mozart.

[Sergei_Mozart]

Now it’s my line
Imitation, the biggest compliment.

[Ryan_Raziano]

@kasky1 , another thing that I’ve seen pop up randomly, but not yet mentioned here is the use of a Streamdeck. I haven’t personally tried it and am not sure if I want to buy one - trying to memorize workflows and shortcuts first, but there is a profile sold by Notation Central which could be interesting to check out. You can buy a physical Stream Deck, or use the app on a phone or iPad. The reason I’m mentioning this is because of a post I just saw on the Facebook group (someone set up a button page just with different transpose options). It would probably take some setting up to do but seems like another useful avenue to explore!

[judddanby]

I happen to really like having a SD. (An investment though, to be sure.)

[LAE]

@kasky1

• I have spent nearly four weeks, 6-8 hours daily, 6 days per week learning Dorico and I am producing output but in about 3 times the amount of time because of how things function in this software; and
• I allowed myself two weeks with Finale and was twice as productive as I am now.

Just chiming in with some memories from when I started using Dorico. Coming from high level Finale using with lots and lots of JW plugins, TG tools, and customized AHK scripts, I found quite many things missing in Dorico initially (started from v 1.0, now the app is more mature of course) and also the Dorico way of doing certain things. This slowed me down in the beginning, but one thing that really was superior from day one was the final layouting. So for some time I was actually entering the music in Finale, doing some of the Finale Magic that I missed in Dorico, then xml:ing it over to Dorico to do the layout of the score and all the parts there.

In this way I was already more productive than in Finale. But I guess this also depends on what kind of music you work with.

Then my transition to using Dorico exclusively was gradual but after a month or did not open Finale any more if I did not have to.

I was primarily a Simple Entry user. I sometime miss things from Finale, like change articulations, beam to time signature, JW change, JW pattern, beam to lyrics, more flexibility for staff naming, but on the whole I can live with the lack of those things since the advantages of using Dorico are so great. The days when I was more time efficient in Finale are long gone.

So, what I quoted from you above may soon change. Just out of curiosity though, what music are you working on and what are you encountering that slows you down?

Can you give an example of a preferred workflow of yours that you are unable to do in Dorico?

[kasky1]

@LAE

Can you give an example of a preferred workflow of yours that you are unable to do in Dorico?

Thanks for your feedback. I would share my workflow when starting Dorico but it would be different now. I am very visual and a mouse user (well, trackpad) so transitioning to a more keyboard constrained process slows me down. On a laptop, the mixed use of keyboard and trackpad are a little challenging at times - much like virtuosic piano playing. So, I invested in a new Magic keyboard and Magic trackpad for my MBP and it’s a little easier and faster. Memorizing keyboard commands is a challenge at times but less than when I posted this request.

Never-the-less, I still believe that adding Transpose to the right click drop down menu in the appropriate context is a reasonable request and would not hinder or change anyone’s workflows. Thanks, again, for your feedback and supportive words. I’ve committed to Dorico so it’s not like I’m running away, I just want to be able to quickly and efficiently notate in a timeframe similar or better (sometime in the future???) to my timeframes in Finale.

PS. I had to run Finale v27 under Rosetta so that I could use ALL of my favorite JW plugins!