Local repeats in opposing directions

So, I’ve reached a point in engraving a piece for a client where I need some sort of indeterminate repeat structure (thank you pandemic-induced reliance on certain detestable choral gestures…). I know this is more in the realm of certain extended notation features that Dorico hasn’t really addressed yet, so I settled on what I thought would be a simple set of local repeat barlines around each repeating figure. Sometimes the end of one repeated figure lines up with the beginning of another repeated figure, and in that case, Dorico does this to the local repeat barlines:

Notice, the presence of both the repeat barline AND a normal barline in the second to bottom part. I like the former, not so much the latter. Perhaps I haven’t searched hard enough or I’m otherwise mistaken, but I can’t find any way to change this in any of the options menus or properties panel, nor any posts online about it. I also can’t find anything about this in Gould, so I assume it’s something the devs either found in published rep or came up with on their own. Any suggestions (in any direction, really)?

To add a wonderful extra wrinkle to it, the repeats are in time (with in-rhythm canonic entrances); the indeterminacy has to do with how many times the figures are repeated and where they end up lining up with other music later on.

(I suppose at the end of the day, if I can’t come up with something, I’ll likely remove the unwanted standard barlines in a PDF editor or something, but I’m generally loathe to show that kind of disrespect to Dorico :laughing: )

1 Like

I cannot help you but can confirm it is reproducible. Thanks for posting, as I am just diving into a remarkably similar project…I hope I can avoid it :slight_smile:

Yes, I’m afraid this is what I’d expect Dorico to do in this situation for now, due to the way those opposing end and start repeat barlines are spaced. I don’t think there will be any way you can coerce Dorico to produce a different result at present (or indeed in the near future).

Unfortunately, this is not possible natively without that unwanted barline. However, since I’m one of Dorico’s “Prince of Cheats”, I can offer this workaround, however unsatisfying it may be.

One can make a playing technique and place it in the middle of a measure which is made to be two measures long so the barline of the other instrument coincides with the middle of that double measure. Unfortunately, the repeat barline in Bravura is more slender than what Dorico actually uses, but I’m sure there could be a solution to that as well, right now, I’m just offering this pic as a proof of concept.

Ooh, that’s smart. Just a few threads down (l.v. across barlines - Dorico - Steinberg Forums), pianoleo is solving an unrelated problem by using graphic slices to export SVGs and then exporting them back in as playing techniques. I think that would take care of that!

In my case, it turns out to happen somewhat less frequently than I thought it was going to, so I’ll likely just “fix it in post.” Nonetheless, good to have in the back pocket!

Though I do have to say I’m somewhat embarrassed I didn’t think of it myself. I used to fancy myself quite the notation software cheater as well a few mere years ago, but I’ve generally hung up my spurs since switching to Dorico, and it’s seeming more and more that they’ve become irreparably rusty in the interim. I can’t decide whether it’s a shame or an improvement :laughing:

1 Like

Are there any news in this regard? I stumbled upon the same problem and I was surprised that this cannot be (yet, I hope) done properly in Dorico.

I’m afraid there have been no changes in this area since last summer.