Do I understand correctly that the way to increase the width of a measure, and not simply add extra space after the last event before the barline, is to lasso select all of the handles from the first note in the measure until the end barline and use OPT/ALT-rightarrow? It seems like this should be such a basic thing that there must be a more direct approach.
Is it just one measure you want wider? If so, why? Controlling horizontal spacing by manually altering measure widths is a Finale-style approach, which came from hand copying methods. Sibelius and Dorico have never functioned this way, and never will.
If you want the music spaced wider generally, increase the note spacing rule in Layout Options. If you want to fix casting off at a certain number of bars per system, there is a setting for that.
If you need a bar to accommodate the width of some text directions or something, I’ll need an example in order to offer advice.
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I sometimes have measures with slashes and chord symbols and I want them wider and more evenly spaced. Sometimes I just want to increase the widths of those measures.
There are a number of intersecting aspects that affect general spacing, including — but not, I think, limited to — Space (Rastral) Size in Layout Options > Page Setup and, as @Mark_Johnson says, Layout Options > Note Spacing *(try a Default space for crotchet/quarter note value of 3.67 and see how you like it):
In the Engrave Menu, use “Change Note Spacing” to set a different value for those bars. Then add another one to reset the spacing to the default.
I don’t want to change the spacing overall. I just sometimes need to widen a measure or group of measures. I understand that it might seem odd, but I’m just wondering the most direct way to do this.
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Thanks for the example. If you want the half notes wider but not the eighth notes, you can try a larger value for custom note spacing ratio – increase that 1.41 to maybe 1.75. (2 = linear.)
Then again, since chord symbols differ in width, manual respacing of each beat might yield the best results!
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OK, that’s about what I figured. thank you.
As said, Use a Note Spacing Change.
And then another later on, to reset the spacing.
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This is a quick video demonstrating @benwiggy’s suggestion (thanks for the lesson, Ben!).
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You’ve got Signposts off — normally you get a signpost showing the Change points.
I actually consider Note Spacing Change one of the most useful and underestimated tools in Dorico. Being able to change the spacing between, say, sections of 3/8 and 4/2, is essential. And I’m not sure how many other apps can do it this easily.
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Yes, they were off for another example I shared in a different thread. Just to be clear, @jjm_335, the signpost status makes no difference in the spacing change working, it’s just handy to see them when working in certain modes:
Agreed! Even more so now that you’ve taught me this change-it-along-the-way technique.
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@jjm_335, here’s one more follow-up, using Ben’s solution:
One other nice advantage of this is that, when signposts are showing, deleting a change you’ve made is super easy.
(I obviously just tweaked an example I had going already rather than reproduce yours — but still, you can see that it will get you what you need.)
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Yes, this is certainly a great feature. However, for situations where I want to widen a measure or two on a single system, it’s much faster (for me, anyway) to select all the handles and then use the arrows. But what would be even FASTER would be if one could drag a single handle in a measure and expand or contract proportionally. For longer stretches, the note spacing change is of course much more efficient.
One big issue with this, I believe, is that you’ll lose that manual re-spacing if the music ever moves to a new system. The Engrave Mode Spicing change is “sticky.”
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Ah, I see. good to know!
If you assign a shortcut to it, it can be quite quick. And, like all Signposts, you can Alt-click to copy them in Write mode.
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How would you assign this? Via something like streamdeck, or by hacking the json keycommands file? There’s no way directly to set a key command that assigns a new note spacing is there?
I have the same question, as I was just looking around and can only find the option to make a shortcut for Reset:
EDIT: @jjm_335, I happen to use the Notation Express XL profile for Stream Deck, and there is already a “shortcut” there under (inside?) the “formatting” menu.
