How can I play only the flows that are part of a layout?

I have a layout set to only include specific flows. They all appear one after the other in write mode, but in setup mode there are several inactive flows in between. When I play, I expect it to move from one flow in the layout to the next – but it seems as if it plays all the flows as defined in setup. So there’s a long silence because the interim flows are not part of the layout I’ve selected.

How can I play only the flows that are part of my currently selected layout?

Short answer: you can’t. Dorico has to have a single global timeline for flows for various reasons concerning the video feature added in Dorico 2.0. If the inactive flows are sketches etc. then you could consider moving them to the very start or the very end of the list of flows.

Gotcha. I haven’t done any video yet but I think I see what you mean. And yes, I have lots of sketches. I am really appreciating how Dorico allows me to put a ton of material into a single project, all in different stages of completion, while still getting really clean separation / views of it all. As I’m starting to grok layouts more, I am finding I do not miss Sibelius Ideas panel at all – and I’m a big fan of Ideas, even if you weren’t completely satisfied with it :slight_smile:

I hate to revive a 5-year old topic, but I also hate to re-ask a question that’s already been addressed. My question is a follow-up.

I assume the video feature requirement is still in place. Here’s what I need:

  • All scores must use the same full score or part page set.
  • If the default full score or part page sets change, all scores should receive the change (no local customizations).
  • The parts for most instruments should have a subtitle of “for those instruments
  • Piano reductions need a subtitle of “for Piano”.
  • Piano reductions live in the same file as the original work.
  • When playing any part, rewind takes me to the beginning of the visible music and playback ends with the last visible bar.

The subtitle in question comes from the flow subtitle. With one flow, I can’t give the piano part a different subtitle without altering the page template. If I use two flows, I can make everything look great, but the playback works (for my uses) incorrectly.

The only solution I’ve come up with is the ugly one of adding a new first page template to my default full score page template set where the subtitle is always “for Piano” rather the the flow subtitle.

Is there a better solution?

Additional Notes

Even if this feature is needed for video, it’s very confusing, There is nothing in any of the views that clues the user that the system is playing something that is not visible. There were times when the green playback position indicator was visible but not moving even as the time counter was progressing.

One potential clue would be to indicate which flow is playing.

While Dorico may need to have a single global timeline for flows, this does not preclude having an option to only play the flows contained within a part. It may require some internal work to allow playback and the playback controls to support this option, but I can’t see that the global timeline requirement rules it out. Admittedly, I wouldn’t prioritize this enhancement.

I’m not sure I’ve fully understood, but could you use the Layout name as the Subtitle?

Interesting idea. I didn’t think of that, but if I have a piece with many parts, then the layout names would be the same for all of them except the piano.

For example, if I have a piece for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet, the subtitle should be “for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet” for all the parts except a piano reduction, if there is one. Since most pieces don’t have a piano reduction, I’d rather not require extra work for them.

What I wound up doing (and it seems to work although it was a pain to set up) was to add an extra page template called “First - for Piano” that has a subtitle with a fixed value of “for Piano”. I apply this page template to in place of the “First” template if I have a piano reduction,.

The playerNames token provides a list of all the instruments in the Layout, in one line.

The playerList token puts each player on a new line.

These won’t give you an ‘and’, but asyndeton is underrated, IMO.

At worst, you could just enter the specific text you want in a text frame in any layout that needs custom text.

Thank you, Ben, for introducing me to a new word . :+1:
(As a former English teacher–among other things-- I still have an interest in the subject.)

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Thanks, but that doesn’t work either. The flute part shouldn’t say “for Flute”, it should say “for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet” because that is the subtitle of the work of which the flute is one player. There is a separate field that identifies that this part is for the flute (using the part name).

I’m assuming playerNames list all players in a layout.

The piano reduction is a special case. The title page still says “for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet” because that is the subtitle of the work. The first page says “for Piano” because that is the sole instrument being used.

In thinking this through a bit, I think the title page for the piano part might be clearest if I wrote “for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet (Piano Reduction)”. This would require a new page template–yuk! (I say that because, since I’m modifying the default page template sets, I have to generate and edit XML files, so it takes a bit of tedious work).

Sorry, I missed this. In my case, I want to use standard page templates for all projects. If I make a change, I want the change to affect all projects (with a little help from the Library Manager). If I start adding custom text in specific projects, that screws up my attempts to maintain a consistent look that is modifiable (I’ve already tweaked the look a bit and further page layout work might expose the need for further revisions).

In any case, I feel I’ve hijacked this thread a bit, even though one solution to my particular problem would have been only playing flows that are part of a layout.