Feature Requests: Reset to Saved Default Options, Page Template Groups, Custom Print Sizes

Hello everyone,

I have really enjoyed transitioning from Sibelius (after 14 years) to Dorico 3.5 and now 4.

The following requests may be apart of the program already and I am not aware. Please fill me in if you know. If I’ve overlooked these features, we can dedicate this thread to tips!

  1. One click “Reset to Saved Default Options” - I have been moving scores over from Sibelius via XML for the past month and I have gotten good at going into the various options (Layout, Notation, Engraving, Playback, Font Styles, Paragraph Styles) and clicking “Reset to Default Settings.” I think it would be much easier to have a single button that resets all of these at once. Is this a feature that I’ve overlooked?
  1. Default Page Template Sets without import - Every time I start a new score, I have to go to Engrave and upload my exported page templates. This doesn’t take long, but it has become an unnecessary boundary between me and my process. I must have overlooked this, right?

  2. Page Template Groups - Every time I start/finish a score, I add a cover page, title page, publication info page, program notes page, and a couple blank pages to the start of the score. It would be great to have Page Template Groups that groups these items into an order of your choice and implement them as a page override. This would be helpful for the self-publisher.

  3. Default Page Overrides - Related to my previous request, if Page Template Groups were added, then it would be great to make a page override default when starting a score, that way there would be no need to add all of that extra tedious work.

  4. Custom Print Sizes or Print options that match score size options- I print my scores on 9x12 paper and 12x18 booklets. (This is more common in the US.) I find it strange that I can choose “Concert (9x12)” as my page size, but I cannot print that size directly from Dorico. I would also like the ability to print 12x18 booklets in app instead of exporting PDF and using Adobe.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. Anything to add? Thoughts?

Probably the quickest way to reset the various options to their defaults is to open the Library Manager, not open a second project so that it defaults to your user library (in 4.0.10 it might default to the default/factory library, but in the next update it will default to the user library), then click the little category buttons for the five sets of options at the top left of the dialog, then click Apply.

For all of your page template things, for the time being I’d recommend setting up your own project template that includes your preferred page templates etc., and then start new projects based on that. If you are importing material via MusicXML, you can import into a project that you have already started based on your template: start a new project and choose File > Import > MusicXML rather than using File > Open to open the MusicXML file as a new project itself.

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OH! A default project with everything in it is a fantastic idea that I wish I had thought of a billion seconds ago. Thanks for the tips as always @dspreadbury :smile: