I converted a Sibelius document into MusicXML and loaded it into Dorico. There are colliding notes and accidentals. I see that Dorico respects the system breaks in the original. In the Sibelius files, these measures also occupy one system in an 8.5 in wide page with roughly the same margins, so somehow Sibelius is spacing the notes to avoid collisions. What should I do to get rid of the collisions in Dorico? Perhaps I should release these system breaks, for one thing. Or can I keep the same systems but convince Dorico to change its spacing?
Release the System Breaks. One could also look at staff (rastral) size combined with Note Spacing options.
One should also realize that Dorico uses a notehead size larger than standard. One could change the noteheads to the Default size to see if spacing more closely resembles what Sibelius uses, but I like the option Dorico uses.
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Yes, you can change the note spacing for the layout, in Layout Options > Note Spacing. Try reducing the first value (default space for quarter note).
The important thing to pay attention to is the system fullness indicator in Engrave mode, the number at the end of each system.
If this box is red and the number is over 100%, then Dorico is saying that it thinks the system is overfull, according to all of your settings, and the spacing results can be unpredictable.
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Only if you have set the option in Preferences>MusicXML Import to do so.
Many (most?) of us uncheck every one of these options, which allows our Dorico settings to be applied to imported files, resulting in few if any adjustments being required.
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