Someone should try to find Mark Johnson and give him a copy of Dorico if he will promise to write a Dorico: A Trailblazer Guide. Of course you might have to put up with American spelling (sacrilege?).
It would be very helpful if this complete list of documentary aids was accessible directly from Dorico’s Help menu, or otherwise from the Steinberg Hub.
Man… Basically my dream job. #nerdalert
But I suppose if someone is to write such a manual from the forum, it ought to be pianoleo or Marc!
Yes, Dan, pianoleo and MarcLarcher and a select few others would indeed be well qualified to write a guide to using Dorico but so are you, so don’t sell yourself short! In a comparatively short time you have gone from a beginner exploring Dorico’s new approach to music notation to one of its most knowledgeable and accomplished users. Your ability to articulate ideas clearly is enviable and your passion is beyond question. I am a reasonably accomplished music hobbyist/composer who some would say is doing fine, but would still benefit in a big way from an actual book I could refer to while working with Dorico. Considering your talents and passion, I encourage you to “go for it”!
Believe it or not, I’m half way through the postgrad degree I meant to start eight years ago, plus working to pay tbe bills. I shan’t be writing a Dorico book any time soon. Dan, get on with it 
I wonder, would such a document constitute any sort of copyright infringement, or require permission? How about using the existing screenshots from the online documentation, rather than having to create all new ones?
Such a document would work best with selected collaboration. I’ve never used percussion maps, for example, or expression maps. I could of course just take the existing manual and rewrite it prosaically, but it would lack any experiential knowledge for those sorts of functions.
I think a format that allows selected collaboration would be best (perhaps just a Google doc for starters). And done in sections.
One more thought: none of us has the time to write “The Complete Guide to Dorico.” Such an endeavor would be months and months, and would need to be sold for compensation.
Instead, what about “First Steps to Dorico”? It could cover the basics, not answer every question.
Any suggestions on formats or specifics?
My (perhaps almost half tongue-in-cheek) recommendation of Mark Johnson was not so much for his cuyrrent knowledge of Dorico but that he had a style which made Finale’s capabilities comprehensible and readable.
Finale was careless to let him get away, and Dorico would be lucky to have him as an advocate if that ever became possible.
But as I said, “perhaps almost half tongue-in-cheek.”
Here’s a couple pages to start with, just a rough first pass (and obviously just a fraction of the scope): Dropbox - A Beginner's Guide to Dorico.docx - Simplify your life.
Someone tell me if this more compact format would be helpful. If not, I won’t bother trying to tackle it!
If it’s helpful and worth doing, give feedback please.
And if it is indeed helpful, I’d really like other users to pitch in. I’m going from just what I know, and I’m sure there’s a lot I would miss. Plus it’s a little much for just one person’s labor of love. I could make it a shareable document with selected users, if anyone’s interested in helping.
Some thoughts to consider:
-the Dorico manual and update pages already do an excellent job of giving detailed information on how Dorico works. This information is vital but its scope can be daunting for new and even more experienced users simply wanting to gain reasonable working comfort with Dorico.
-it might be helpful to such users to have a much shorter book (or printable pdf document) that begins with an overview of the somewhat unique way Dorico “thinks” about music and how this impacts using the program effectively.
-a printed or printable Dorico guide might also outline sample projects that give “hands on” experience using Dorico. The advantage of projects in print is that they give the user confidence in having actually used the software and also allow for easy review and correction if something turns out differently than expected.
-many aspects of Dorico are simply not found in competing notation programs (for example: flows, master pages, expression maps, etc.) and I’m sure many (including yours truly!) would appreciate examples that walk users through using such features of Dorico effectively. Two such already-existing projects appear at the links below but I am unclear about how copyright issues might impact using them directly.
https://blog.dorico.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Getting-started-with-Note-Input-in-Dorico.pdf (author=John Barron at Steinberg)
Tutorial: Typesetting choral Preces and Responses in Dorico – Dorico (author=Daniel Spreadbury at Steinberg)
Mike, do you think the format and scope of the excerpt I posted would meet the first half of that request?
Dan, I was just going out when I made my last post or would have responded earlier to the huge amount of work you have done already. I have now had a chance to read your attachment and think you really are off to a strong start!
Dan, after returning home and reading through your document a second time while Dorico was open, I sent a couple of private messages outlining a small number of detailed suggestions you may or may not want to consider. Regardless of what you decide, though, I think you are working on an exceptionally fine guide to working with Dorico.
Thanks for your effort, Dan. But I think the bigger problem is - and that is what triangle was asking for - that the manual is still very rudimentary in the non-English versions. All the other helpful material (documents and videos) do only exist in English, except for a few translations to German I mentioned above. (I can’t speak for other languages). So I would prefer that Lillie and the translators manage to catch up with the astonishing development pace instead.
Yes, I understand it’s already moved OT. I’m afraid that, in regards to the German manual, ich kann nicht helfen!
Thanks for the feedback, mike. I’d like to know if others would find it beneficial (and would be willing to chip in) before I try to tackle it further.
Dear Dan,
I’ve been quite flattered by some remarks above ; I think if I commit myself in providing some documentation, it might well be a french translation of your document This could feed the FB page for the “utilisateurs francophones de Dorico”. There are already several people there with great spirit and who bring invaluable translations of Anthony Hughes’ videos for my fellow french-speaking friends.
Great work, Dan! Nice and concise, to get any newbie on track fast. The way you describe Dorico’s basic functions makes it seem exceptionally simple to use. Which, in the end, it also is, of course 
[edit: as we’re getting slightly OT here, I should have commented in Dan’s new dedicated thread]
Go dan!
Great work !!!
Excellent for newbees !!
I already downloaded it !
off topic and just as a curiosity: they offer printed volume (991 pages) of Sibelius’s german reference handbook