And going back to an earlier point: I want sfp. I do not want to have fp subito inflicted on me.
I can do it with Shift-X and Opus text, but is there a better way?
And really, why should dynamics need workarounds. This is so laborious.
Yes. Enter it as sfp, then change it in the properties panel from “sub” to “s.” Voilá!
Dan is right for a local change. For a global change, check the Engraving options > dynamics. You should be able to get sfp directly from there (I’ve been doing it all week!)
Sorry - I don’t understand - I’m looking at the Properties panel in Write Mode with the dynamic selected - you seem to be saying that (having entered sfp as a Shift-D dynamic) I should be able to see ‘sf sub.’ somewhere such that I can amend it?
Yes, it’s there, I promise!
At the bottom of the screen? I’m in Write mode and I’ve selected the dynamic that now says fp sub. The Properties screen shows:
Common:
Muted / Scale / Custom scale / Color
Dynamics:
Placement / Parenthesized / Hide intensity marking / Prefix / Suffix
Beat-relative position / Text alignment / Subito style / Subito forte style / Separator shown
Separator
There’s no text shown for me to amend. What on earth am I doing wrong this time?!
If I go into Engrave, still nothing. 
Ohhhh! Got it. Thanks! Boy, that’s not obvious is it.
I dunno… I find most functions pretty intuitive! But when they aren’t, the forum is here! 
This is the relevant option at the top of the Dynamics page of Engraving Options:
This is the relevant option in the Properties panel:
Thanks Daniel. What I found extremely confusing is that, Dorico having converted my sfp to fp sub., those buttons do not intuitively suggest that they will convert it back to what I input, and there’s nothing in the manuals (that I could find). I couldn’t even find anything about that button. However, it’s all added into my file of ‘useful things about Dorico’.
Dear piano888,
This matter is not simple, since some people will write sf for subito forte and others will input sf for sforzando… I guess the team wanted to be as precise in the meaning of the marking, in order to provide us with an accurate playback. Hence the “complicated” options. But once you find your workflow, it’s straightforward — that is why I suggested the very same option Daniel points out here. Save it as your default option and you’ll get what you want from the popover!
Indeed! and now I’ve learned yet something else, about defaults. Thank you!
And sfortzando should be an articulation, not a dynamic.
More complications. 