master pages / templates

Dorico
#1

I have formatted a project the way I want things to appear (players and instrument names, order, key signatures, fonts, spacing of staves, etc.) Can this be saved as template? Or as a master page?

If I import a file (XML or MIDI) - can I then apply this template, or can I import a file into a template?

What exactly is the meaning of master pages? Can a master page from my original project (or template?) be applied to an imported project so that everything appears the way I want it? Or do I have to re-format everything again for an imported project?

#2

We don’t yet have all of the features we need to allow you to reuse the work you have done in one project in another one. If you were to send me (e.g. by email) the project with the master pages you want to reuse in future projects, I could extract them for you and add them by hand to a user library file that would then allow those master pages to appear in each new project you start. We will (hopefully soon) have proper features that allow you to do this, but it will take a little time.

The simplest way to reuse your work at the moment would be to take your existing project in which all of the master pages etc. exist, and do File > Save As to save it under a new name, then delete the players and flows from it, so that it becomes effectively an empty shell. The only problem is that if you want to e.g. import a MusicXML file to make a start on a new project, you can’t import MusicXML into an existing project (which is something that, again, I hope we will be able to add relatively soon).

#3

I had the same question a few weeks ago and for now a work-around is (Daniel’s method) to save your work in an empty template-project. Reuse it for another project works fine that way.

About the import of MusicXML: just import the XML-file into a new project and copy/paste it into your template-project.

#4

We will (hopefully soon) have proper features that allow you to do this

yes, hat will be great to have! (in the meantime I am still working on a template to my liking/needs, which I’ll send you eventually, if I may.

you can’t import MusicXML into an existing project

that would be equally important to have, as well as being able to import a MIDI file into a project (which is almost more important to me since most of my preparatory/composing work is done in Cubase, therefore no XML export possible).

#5

save your work in an empty template-project. Reuse it for another project works

Absolutely, that’s actually what I usually do anyway (both in Finale as well as Cubase DAW work). Works fine that way.

#6

Thank you mikedit for referring me to this threat.

What Daniel described above is precisely what I am doing so far. The neat thing about creating one’s own templates is that one will not accidentally overwrite the original project. Templates are “seen” by Dorico (and other software) as an “untitled” project and when one saves for the first time, Dorico automatically assumes a “Save as…” method, giving one the opportunity to save the template as a new project (and not overwrite a previous project…which happened to me many times in the past because I forgot to FIRSTLY “Save as” my original formatted project file). I have examined Dorico’s “template” XML file and it will not be practical to add on my own “child” element…well…as I’m not sure HOW the HALion plugin is populated from this xml file. But, no rush…I can wait for a proper function by Dorico’s parents.