I used Finale for a good 20 years and thought I was pretty satisfied with it. But now that I’m fully switched over to Dorico, I am enjoying the process of creating sheet music so much more than ever before! It’s hard to even put my finger on a lot of the reasons why, but the bottom line is that so many things just frickin’ work.
Yes, I get confused about whether to look in Layout vs. Notation vs. Engraving Settings, and the playback engine could be improved, and simple tasks occasionally become very difficult, and some things just aren’t possible to do “right” yet. But for the most part, the underlying architecture of the program is so solid and elegant. Compared to Finale, I can accomplish most everyday tasks more quickly and with less friction. And again…it’s just more fun. I’ve even been enjoying the process of converting my old Finale files to Dorico format.
So this is simply a big “THANK YOU” to everyone who has gotten this software to where it is today, and everyone who’s getting it to where it’ll be in another 5 years. Keep up the great work! I deeply appreciate it and I know a lot of other folks do too.
There’s a logic to it, but it doesn’t, imo, lend itself to easily remember which option is where. Layout settings can vary between layouts. Notation options can vary between flows. Engraving options are global. There is more to it than that, but those differences have the largest effect on where option appears. The jump bar, especially in the more recent versions, greatly aids in finding what you’re looking for.
I kinda wish all of these menus could be applied on a per-Flow and per-Layout basis. Yes it could get convoluted, but there are times in a project where I might want to apply a fixed number of bars per system differently in different flows, use a different staff line size for a score compared to parts, etc.
There are also some (what I believe to be) longstanding bugs lurking in the Notation Options, particularly regarding 5/4 beam and note groupings (which I have previously documented here) and not showing cautionary accidentals in chords if Modernist accidentals are selected when most or all of the cautionary settings for Modernist accidentals are enabled, and I hope these get ironed out in upcoming releases.
@ryanpetriello It appears that may be a long term goal. Notation Options can be individually applied to Layouts. Layout Options can also be individully applied to layouts and, if you have a layout for each instrument individually, one can apply Layout Options to individual instruments, sort of.
Thanks for catching my error. Yes Notation Options can be individually applied to Flows, not Layouts. But, again, it sort of can if you have individual layouts for flows which I do from time to time to facilitate engraving flows with different sets of instruments/voices.
I think a real game changer could be in Engrave Mode. If one could simply click and drag any item one chooses without having to choose text frames or graphic editing or staff spacing or note spacing… Just click and drag for positioning with the Property panel updating to whatever has been selected.
No problem using as is but sharing these types of things can stimulate group think for truly wonderful ideas that the developers could consider.
But yes, I am impressed and thankful for where Dorico is today. It is even far better than it was when I began using it in 2024.
That would be amazing, kasky1. Engrave mode works beautifully, but the need to switch between those tools or sub-modes is a consistent (if minor) pain point. I also would love click-and-drag functionality with note spacing and staff spacing, and greater responsiveness when making those types of adjustments. Probably already on the to-do list, I’d imagine.
Regarding settings, I think my personal ideal would be to have all settings consolidated into a single massive dialog box. Then there would be separate per-flow setting overrides and per-layout setting overrides. But that’s just me.
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you Dorico team. I used Finale since 1996 and found the switch hard work but when you get it right Dorico is so trustworthy.
I strongly disagree: that’s how things start getting messy.
This requires a shift from analytical thinking to intuitive decision-making. I can confirm this by simply observing my real desktop.
Goes to show you can never please everyone, haha. I just get a little tired of hunting for certain settings that are never in the first dialog box I open. I should probably lean more on the jump bar.
EDIT: Again, though, my main reason for posting was just to thank the developers. I vastly prefer Dorico over Sibelius and MuseScore, so I’m really grateful that it was an option when Finale bit the dust. And I have great faith that the software will continue to become even more powerful in future releases.
Once the concept is clearer, it will be easier.
I was just thinking the other day: yes, we do actually have all settings at a single place - via the Jump Bar. So typing J followed by the settings name does bring you directly to the setting. So problem solved?
No, because now it is you who will have to think “is this setting affecting this flow only, or is it changing my whole layout, or is it part of the global Engraving options?”
Doesn’t it make much more sense that you can plan this beforehand, id est the way Dorico’s concept is being built right now?
Project wide: go to Engraving options
restricted to Layout: Layout options
restricted to one flow: Notation options
.