I’am busty to make an arrangement for two solo baritons. In the beginning I made a casting off for 5 measures for each system. But in one of the pages are 8 bars. How can I set this to 5 measures?
In the Layouts list, select the layouts in which you want to fix the number of bars per system.
By default, the layout currently open in the music area is selected when you open the dialog. You can select other layouts by using the selection options in the action bar, clicking and dragging across multiple layouts, Shift-clicking adjacent layouts, and Ctrl/Cmd-clicking individual layouts.
In the category list, click Staves and Systems.
In the Casting Off section, activate Fixed number of bars per system.
(Please don’t use casting off. Just let Dorico layout parts according to your space size and note spacing settings. It will be much quicker and look much nicer. You can easily make minor adjustments if needed)
Hi @bklopman – make sure signposts are shown, and check for system break signposts.
It’s likely that there are two: one at the start of this system, and one at the start of the next system. Delete them both, and Dorico will no longer be forced to follow those system breaks rather than your casting off settings.
Janus, with due respect. Those of us that work in one of the commercial fields (film, TV, recording, jingles) have a daily need to absolutely have control over the layout of scores and part pages. These are decisions that are governed by musical content and phrases, not by cosmetics per se.
It is one of the areas where Finale excels, although I’ll say through practice and some assistance from forum people here (like yourself) it is no longer an issue. But it does require a “Dorico” mindset.
With equal respect, Dorico gives you total control over layout. In my experience, professional players prefer parts that are easy to read (at sight) over those awkwardly forced into a grid.
I think you sort of make my point about a sight readable part. Yes, you have control in Dorico, about the same as in Sibelius. Achieving what is needed for commercial projects is more tedious than it needs to be. I think there is a misunderstanding about what constitutes a sight readable part on a recording date though.
A part is never forced into a grid. If the form is 4/8/16 bars than 4 bars across is as readable as one could ask for. But there are times when a line of 4 is followed by a line of 5. Sometimes a wide spaced line of 2 bars is the best and most readable expression of the form at a given point.
In the commercial markets of New York, Chicago, Nashville and LA music prep people are expected to know how a part should be laid out even if it requires over riding what the software algorithms provide. To not do so means not getting called back.
In my experience the areas where this is less the case is symphonic and publishing, in those cases I would agree with you. That being said I have read a few other comments from others asking for more control over layout in subsequent upgrades and I hope that will be the case.
