In an older file that I just opened in Dorico 6.1.1, the older piano braces had been replaced by the newer ones, so I used the Library Manager>Music Symbols>Brace to change them to my usual User Library braces. I did this in the normal way and it worked correctly, turning the items to blue with check marks and changing the braces in the score. However, shortly after pressing Apply, the involved items turned back to red and the unequal signs reappeared. Fortunately, the braces remained changed to the correct braces. in the score and remained changed after closing and reopening the file.
Here is the way they look now and I do not understand why they do not remain showing as changed:
When I attempt to change all Music Symbol settings by turning the unequal sign to a blue arrow in the left column, the same thing happens. The two brace settings turn blue with check marks until after I click Apply, then all turn back to red including the general Music Symbol category. Here is a small section of the project:
Thanks so much @Carole_Prietto I think you may mean: did I check the stars to make my used-created braces my default braces under Library>Music Symbols>Brackets and Braves>Brace and Small Brace.
I had checked the stars when I first created the braces to replace the current Dorico piano braces, and therefore had assumed they were stored as my default braces in my user library. These seems born out by the fact that they were identified as such in red and could be changed in the Library Manager.
Yet when I open older files, the braces are not starred Library>Music Symbols>Brackets and Braves>Brace and Small Brace and this seems to cause the problem I was observing.
So your solution is the correct one, but I am puzzled by the behavior of the default system and will do some more study to see where my error lies.
Thanks @TonH What you said finally dawned on me. Itâs logical that new settings shouldnât be applied to old projects, but less obvious to me why a new music symbol design like the new piano brace would be applied to old files when one moves to a new version of Dorico, or why a music symbol would not show as starred when it is the default in the User Library, which I believe remains the same for all projects, past and present.
I may be mistaken but when we open old files in a new Dorico version, Dorico is actually making a new file so that is likely why you see the changes with version updates.
Thanks, @kasky1 So the new file you mentioned retains all the old settings but not older versions of Bravura glyphs? If that is the case, from my point of view, it was unfortunate that the piano brace design was changed and apparently given the same name as the previous piano brace, so one must change the braces in every older file one opens in Dorico 6 if one doesnât want to use the new design.
That is my understanding. Each update creates a new file of old files when opened in the new update. So it stands to reason that changes we make to defaults could/would update also. Perhaps a Steinberg staffer can validate for us?
I donât think this is true. User defaults are applied when a file is first created; when you open an older file in a newer Dorico version, itâs true that some of the internals are updated when you save it, but Dorico is not just creating a new file (with current user defaults) and copying the musical content over.
Some of the discussion in this thread is specifically about the piano brace. Iâm not sure if Iâm following it correctly, but note that the piano brace is a character in the default music font; when the font available to the system is updated, then the visual appearance of the brace in older scores will change when they are opened. This is because the character itself isnât stored in the Dorico file; the file just asks the default music font for character U+E000, whatever that may look like. (Iâm simplifying a little.)
In fact, there was a change to the piano brace character in Bravura in v6.1.10, and the effect on older scores was discussed. I think it would be nice (if cumbersome) if fonts were versioned like software; a change like this which is not backwards compatible (i.e., which changes the look of existing scores) should have a new major version number. It would correspondingly be nice (if even more cumbersome) for Dorico to have the ability to lock a file to a particular version of the fonts it uses, so that the music is always guaranteed to look as it did when the project was created.
Yes, that would be a great improvement, in my opinion. I am now âlooking forward toâ modifying the piano braces in my files every time I upgrade Dorico.
An alternative would be keeping around an older copy of Bravura, with the older piano brace, and re-installing that after each Dorico upgrade. You wouldnât get any of the new things added to Bravura, but youâd keep the old piano brace.
It would also be possible to edit the current version of Bravura and replace the piano brace with the old one.
Thank you, @asherber While I had been using the older Bravura piano brace, I am now using a piano brace created by benwiggy as my default piano brace, so it is a matter of making the braces in older files conform to my User Library as described in the OP.
I experimented with opening the older file in the Dorico version in which it was created, but that doesnât work either. The new piano brace still shows up.
I think that the practice of revising Bravura glyphs and retaining their original names is fraught with peril, and not just in the appearance. Who know what havoc could be created in spacing and layout of older files.
