Insert/Delete Problems

Dorico
#1

This probably falls in the category of small, annoying problems but I hope you can put it on your radar for later consideration.

I’ve been working to typeset a quite complex romantic period piece.

Passage as it should be.png
Passage as it should be.png940×1102 114 KB

I discovered in proofreading that I had missed one bar in the piano and repeated a short segment in the viola.
Original incorrect passage.png
Original incorrect passage.png1012×1146 116 KB

I attempted to fix the problems turning on the insert bar to add the extra music and delete the unwanted passage. I noticed that I could not insert a rest when typing, but instead, had to type a note that I subsequently had to delete.

Almost everything moved correctly but I found that dynamics and editorial comments appeared to not move as expected but remained in their original positions in the bar when deleting. When inserting, dynamics appeared to move correctly but this may not be the case since I added a crescendo in the inserted passage.

Delete in viola and insert in piano.png
Delete in viola and insert in piano.png980×1154 117 KB

Since this was near the middle of the movement, it was necessary to proofread the rest of the score to correct many subsequent errors.

Hope this can be changed in a later release.
Thanks again,

#2

If you need to add a bar in one instrument, invoke the caret on the relevant stave at the position that you want to add the bar, then type Shift-B 1 Alt-Enter. This method will genuinely add a bar, and will push everything on that stave back, including dynamics etc.
Exactly the same method can be used to insert any number of beats - rather than typing Shift-B 1 Alt-Enter, type e.g. Shift-B 1q Alt-Enter for one quarter/crotchet, or Shift-B 8w Alt-Enter for eight whole notes/semibreves.
If you do need to type rests, you can do so by typing , (comma) to turn on rest input, then the number that corresponds to the rhythmic value (e.g. 6 for quarter/crotchet), then Y. This method is voice-specific: it pushes back the notes of whichever voice the caret is set to, and also and voice-specific dynamics, but not general text, dynamics etc.

#3

Thanks Leo:

I have tried what you suggested and am beginning to understand the difference between voice specific (insert bar, comma) and staff specific (Shift-B) options for inserting and deleting music from individual parts in a score.

I am still puzzled by this design choice when it comes to single voice instruments like the oboe.

  • If I want to insert two beats in a part, isn’t it logical to assume that everything not shared with other instruments should move regardless of the method used?


  • Why have the insert bar and comma behave as they do (not move dynamics or editorial comments) for single voice instruments?


  • If I insert two beats into a soprano part using the insert bar, should I not expect the dynamics to move with the music? The lyrics do. And further, if that same part divides 50 bars later, should I not expect the two parts to remain aligned?

I hope that this will be revisited.
Thanks,

#4

When you use Insert mode, it only affects things in the current voice, and dynamics are by default not assigned to a particular voice. We have long planned providing some additional control over what the scope of Insert mode operations should be, e.g. should it affect the current voice only, all voices on this instrument, should it lengthen the current bar, insert time for all instruments, etc. We’ve not managed to come back around to this, despite planning it from the very beginning, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to work on it soon.

#5

Thanks Daniel:

That would be great for those of us who do make mistakes…

#6

The other side of this question is that, if I want the woodwind section to swell in measure 4 and then decide to add a measure to the oboe part, do I really want the swell to occur in the oboe a measure later than the rest of the woodwinds? Perhaps so, but in that case I should handle the oboe dynamic separately/manually rather than have it accidentally shift away from the rest of the woodwinds.

#7

Thanks Derek:

Good point. This is why it would be nice to have more control over what exactly shifts when you insert so there are no surprises. If you are writing polyphonically, as I often do, I prefer individual dynamics and want them to move with the notes to which they belong.