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is there any way I can move the instrument names (and abbreviations) closer to the staff. Again with Finale it was so simple, with Dorico it’s impossible to figure out. I looked online, but the instructions provided were not working…
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With Finale I had the freedom to extend systems to wider on a side of the page, so I can have more room to implement notes in each bar. How can I extend a system (or systems) to like wider on the page, with less of a margin? I tried to do this in Layout Options, but I was not able to do it. Does Dorico restrict how we can stretch out a system? As you can see in the picture below, I’d like to extend the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th system wider with less margin, and the Dorico Margin option does not solve the issue…
Engraving Options > Staff Labels > Start of System (When I search the help file for “staff label positions”, the second returned result has this information.)
I think the approach here is not to stretch out the 2nd+ systems, but to set those systems the way you want them and then change the indent on the first system.
Hi Ash:
Your response: I think the approach here is not to stretch out the 2nd+ systems, but to set those systems the way you want them and then change the indent on the first system. That doesn’t answer my question unfortunately. Does Dorico not allow this, like Finale does so easily? And also your response to the first question still didn’t solve the issue.
You can accomplish both of the things you asked about, and I think I’ve indicated the correct way to do them. Here’s an example of changing the space between the staff labels and the music.
And for the second one, I think if you follow the instructions on that help page, you’ll get the look you want, in which the first system is more indented (i.e., narrower) than the others.
For example, here’s a screenshot with the relevant setting at 0, so that the system positions is determined entirely by the width of the staff labels:
If I change the to 12 (for example), I can get these systems to look like this:
If that’s not what you’re looking for, can you please give a clearer example?
Hi Ash, I’m still confused. How do I get to “Horizontal Position” to do this (after watching your video)? I don’t see it in Layout Options…
The first item (space between staff labels and system) is in Engraving Options, not Layout Options.
(Also, my first name is Aaron, but I can see why it looks like it could be Ash )
Hi Aaron. Enchanté. Ok thank you for the tip. I’ve figured out how to bring the staff name (and abr name) closer to the staff. 1st question sorted, but still would love to know how I can extend systems 2, 3, 4 more to the left of the page, as I tried to change the page margin but it was not working. Here is an example of a recent score in Finale where I am able to do that easily.
In Dorico, music is contained in music frames, and the frames can’t extend outside of the page margins. What I’m suggesting is that in order to achieve what you want in Dorico (first system more indented than the others), what you want to do is set your page margins so that everything looks good except for the first system, and then change the indent on the first system to make it narrower.
(This is actually how I do it in Finale as well – all of my systems have a 0 left indent, and the first system has a larger value. It sounds like you’re used to setting everything kind of narrow and then stretching systems 2+.)
Hi Aaron, not sure what you mean. In Finale, it’s a piece of cake to drag the Page+ icon in Main Tool Palette, and move over staff systems individually however you want (left, right, etc) whether you are going over the margin. Again, it seems Dorico does not let you do this, ONLY TO THE RIGHT, but it doesn’t let you move it more past the margin limit on the left, which Finale you can break through easily without any issues…
Hi @brianjmark, look here:
If this doesn’t work, as @asherber said below, please upload your Dorico Project, to see what is going on.
I’ve got Finale open right now, and I’m not able to drag the left side of a system past the left margin.
But in any case: Can you upload a small Dorico project, and maybe a screenshot from Finale showing how you want things to look?
Hi Aaron, Christian’s reply enabled me to figure it out. My score here is landscape, which is why I was confused…