Some while ago I imported a score from Sibelius Ultimate to Dorico 6 via MusicXML. The result was generally good, but I have been unable to find a solution for the problem shown in the attached image. It does not seem to be possible to move the notes in the Engrave pane, and deleting the offending passages and inputting the notes from scratch (meaning manually) leads to the same result.
Software versions: Dorico 6.2 running on a Mac under 15.6.1.
Are there System Breaks or fixed Casting Off?
What’s the System fullness for these systems? It looks like you just need to reduce the number of bars per line, either by removing manual breaks or casting off limits, and letting Dorico do its thing; or by adding System Breaks.
There are no manual breaks, and I just checked the Casting Off section of Layout Options, and the number of bars per system is definitely NOT fixed.
The systems show as overfilled, but I don’t understand why Dorico is unable to relieve the condition by itself.
Hi @krummholz, to diagnose the issue and suggest solutions, it would help to have the actual Dorico project file, to see what is going on. Can you upload it here?
Unfortunately no - I didn’t know about that option until you mentioned it. And yes, it’s checked by default so the MusicXML file probably was imported with the same casting off as in Sibelius. Unfortunately I don’t have the original MusicXML file any more, and my subscription to Sibelius Ultimate expired, so I’m pretty sure I’d be unable to re-export it.
In Engrave mode, try clicking the Reset Layout button, or doing Engrave > Format Music Frames > Reset Layout.
I have actually tried that; no joy.
I have a perpetual licence for Sibelius Ultimate. If you still have the Sibelius file, you can send it to me via private message (click on my round avatar icon and then click on Message) and I can try exporting it to musicxml for you. The Sibelius version which I have (late 2023) also has the Dolet plugin, which apparently can give better xml export results than the native Sibelius one.
As @Christian_R suggests, if you can upload the Dorico file here, someone can take a look to see what’s going on.
I am quite sure that you will see System Breaks, when you make your Signposts visible.
Well, the OP did say that Reset Layout didn’t help, so maybe there’s something else going on.
Sometimes it occasionally overfills; but I’ve never seen anything as bad as yours. What’s the Note Spacing value in Layout Options? What if you Reset the Layout Options to your defaults?
If you really can’t find any cause, then you’ll have to apply System Breaks.
I don’t recall, but I tried changing it and the change had zero effect. And as I said, what you saw there had actually been deleted and “penned” in by hand, from scratch. The way the notes were spaced was being forced by something imported from the xml file. I also tried adding system breaks, and could not.
HOWEVER, late last night I went on an all-out search for my original MusicXML file and finally found it, imported it without system breaks, and the problem is no longer a problem. So the forced import of the system breaks was indeed the problem, so thank you to @Janus for pointing out that the (imo broken) default setting is to import system breaks.
It’s hard to tell without seeing the original problematic file, but if importing without system breaks fixed the issue, then Reset Layout should have fixed it as well. Could you upload the “bad” file, just so we can see?
It depends on what your goal is. Some people want to import an XML file and have it look as close as possible to the original; if this setting were off by default, they’d all be complaining that their pagination has changed. No default setting will please everyone, but at least they’re easy to change!
