This is pretty in the weeds, but I’m hoping someone can de-weed and offer a solution.
I’m looking for a way to ensure graphics stay in their proper position, while also being able to adjust the size-ratio (change the height but not the width, for eg). Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
add graphic frames - this is great in the score. They’re attached to a specific page, which is a pain when the measures on that page change for any reason, but so be it. It’s also great because I can resize the graphics easily, in any dimension (i.e. change the size-ratio). BUT - when I look at parts, it’s a disaster. All the graphics on pgs 4 and up are gone, cuz that part has no page 4. I could re-add them in the part, but then they’d be in the wrong place in the score. Dealbreaker.
Create playing techniques that house my graphics. These are great - easy to create + insert in score with a popup, and also are attached to a measure, so stay in correct position in parts. BUT - though I can change the size within the playing techiques editor, the size-ratio is always locked. When the height changes so does the width.
I can always adjust ratio in a graphics program, but then I have to go back and forth many times to get it just right. This seems unnecessarily complicated… Am I missing something?
Hi @Perthecomposer, what I would suggest for the time being, is to make a duplicate project just for the parts layout, where you can edit your graphic frames as needed without changing the full score
Ah, so moving/adding a graphic frame in a part won’t affect the score? Still a huge problem though. If I have 5 parts, that means I need to re-enter every graphic frame in every part. For example, I have graphics for pitch bendy/shreiky stuff following a sax note, like this:
(there are ways to approximate this built into Dorico, but I like the way mine own graphics look)
So if I have 10 of those in my score, I’d need to carefully place them and resize them in my score. Then for the part, I’d need to carefully re-place (and resize, which is easy with graphic frames) every single one. Multiplied by 5 parts. And if I change anything in the score… Certainly doable, was just hoping for something easier.
Excellent question! I have a number of graphic related requests for sure:
probably the most helpful one would be the ability to tie a graphic frame to a measure. I’m not sure how that work work in terms of UI though - I can’t see how it would work as a property. The closest analogy would be the two different shortcuts to create measure-attached vs. system-attached text.
speaking of which, it would be great if there were a better way to change text attachment - from measure-attached to system-attached, for example. Again, not sure about the UI…
Back to graphics: After getting to know the way graphics work when embedded as a playing techniques, I’d like to be able to change their proportion. As it is, when editing the graphic itself, it’s possible to change the height and width of the surrounding box independently. But the graphic itself stays in the same proportion - just like in a graphic frame when Fit mode=Aspect Fit. I’d like the equivalent of Fit mode=Fill. Maybe a contextual menu (right click) for that?
Better yet (definitely not sure if this fits the UI guidelines) it would be great to be able to resize a graphic embedded as a playing technique with the mouse, just like a graphic frame. If that were the case, there could easily be property dropdown for Fit mode.
Thanks for entertaining my deep dive into graphics! I appreciate the help!
Also loving Dorico, just want a bit more stuff added
Oh nooooo! Just tried this out and it’s so much better than what I’ve been doing (embedding graphics as playing techniques)! Only because it doesn’t push everything else out of the way. So many manual adjustments! Well, too late for this score, I managed to wrangle everything back into place. But thanks for pointing me in a better direction for next time!
Ok, we definitely have a winner. Thanks everyone for your help with this! To make sure it’s all in one place (so when I’m searching for info about this problem in a year I can find it :), here’s a summary:
There are (at least) 3 ways to add graphics to a score:
Use a graphic frame - but this is attached to the page not the measure, so won’t adjust to changes in the score, and won’t work for parts.
Create a new playing technique and embed the graphic - this works fine, but when added to the score pushes everything out of the way. Existing items get pushed upwards, causing all kinds of problems.
Make your graphic into a line annotation and use it as the start cap of an invisible horizontal line - this seems to be the best way by far. It’s attached to the measure and it doesn’t push things out of the way.
The last tip was found here (thanks for pointing me to it YourMusic.Pro!):
Instructions on embedding a graphic as a line annotation:
A) Create a new Line Annotation:
open the Edit Line Annotations dialog (Library->Line Annotations…)
from the Category dropbox, select Music Symbol
create a new one (+ button at bottom) or duplicate an existing one
a new Edit Line Annotations dialog opens (that should probably be renamed, same name for two different types of windows…)
on the right, click the Graphic tab button
choose a graphic and customize size, etc.
close the window, returning you to the first Edit Line Annotations dialog
give your graphic annotation a name (at the top) and close out of the dialog
B) Create a new invisible line:
open the Edit Line Bodies dialog (Library->Line Bodies…)
Category: Generic
create a new one (+ button at bottom)
give it a name (“invisible”?)
for Line width: enter 0
click OK to close dialog
C) Create the actual line with graphic:
open the Edit Lines dialog (Library->Lines…)
create a new one (+ button at bottom)
name it
from the Body style: dropdown, select your invisible line
make sure Annotation: is set to None
from the Start cap: dropdown select your graphic annotation
