I find myself having to guess words when using the jump bar. Instrument names? No it’s labels. Indents? Doesn’t bring up anything useful at all, despite Indents being a category in Staff Labels. Type in “First” and you get over 50 options, none of which have the word “First” in them.
Perhaps I just don’t get the jump bar…
I find it quite useful, but only if you use it for macros and custom commands. Using it as a substitute for simple keycommands doesn’t really seem useful for me, but lots of people like to use the Notation Express template that way. I’ve also hacked my keycommands_en.json file to add a bunch of key commands that aren’t available through the normal Dorico interface.
Icons are simple to design. The SD XL uses icons that are 144 px x 144 px so you can create them in any simple graphics program. I used Illustrator but that’s obviously overkill for something like this. I didn’t like the cluttered appearance of all the text so tried to keep it as simple as possible with graphics. You can copy and paste musical glyphs from the SMuFL site to help make SD icons.
Here’s my layout (sorry for the dust, LOL):
I have the larger stream deck and Notation Express XL, because I couldn’t bother to set up everything for myself.
I copied all the commands I use regulary to the Custom page, so that I don’t have to switch pages on the stream deck. I have all the grouping and linking dynamics commands and some of the insert special commands (duplicate and move below or above) and some filter options and a few more on that page. Works good for me.
Welcome to the forum, @Rufus2!
As I have written elsewhere, I use a 32-button Stream Deck (SD) with the Notation Express (NE) profile, which I have modified slightly.
Some pros:
Some cons:
I still use it constantly and am very glad to have purchased it and the NE profile!
At some point I hope to take a cue from @FredGUnn and other deeply experienced and thoughtful users here and create more of a keyboard shortcut/SD separation in my workflow, with the SD used more for “bigger” things like invoking macros, while learning/making key commands for the “smaller” things I want to be able to do quickly as I work.
I also want to get a MIDI-controlled office chair and program an “Eject” button on the SD to send me up out of my chair when it’s time to stand up and take a break! 
I’m so glad you said this. That’s my issue as well and why I only occasionally use J, since it’s probably often faster to either use the Menu Bar commands or look up specific keystrokes with a double-sided printout of Dorico’s cheat sheet. I have to type the precise term(s) and I suspect that’s because it’s tied to a specific data table of various commands. And Go To I rarely use since it’s probably faster to just scroll there or use a different means to get to a specific page. When I used Finale, it was pretty easy (since I was always in Page View, which is also how I use Dorico) since all I had to do to jump to a specific page was to go to the bottom of the window and enter the desired page number then hit Return.
Since some of my music is really long (as in 2-4+ hours long) and has a ton of pages, this was really helpful in Finale. I do wish, come to think of it, that Dorico had a small page number at the bottom of the window so one could enter a page, hit Return and go there. Even MS Word has this.
The Stream Deck is terrific. I have three, two for my main studio and the other in our house. NE is basic but essential. I have a custom profile and copied a few NE commands there. I also use it with other applications typically in combination with keyboard maestro.
If you can afford it, I’d definitely recommend you get one and also NE.
Here’s my setup, using NC’s template:
Several buttons are using the short/long press functionality, and therefore can’t use the icons provided by NC, I had to make my own…
Thank you Thank you to all of your responses. I am blown away at the amount of people responding. I love it!! It is a bit difficult for me coming from Finale 2.0.
I thank you all.
Rufus
KEEP SWINGING!
Rufus Reid
I really only use the Jump bar for Go To and it’s incredibly fast for this. Hit J then p112 Return and you’re on page 112. If each movement is a separate Flow, J then f3 Return takes you to the 3rd movement. This seems faster than having to click into a page number box with a mouse.
(Deleted because I misread @FredGUnn’s post)
Each to his or her own, but I can’t see how hitting J, selecting Go To (or use a keyboard command id have to remember to get to Go To) then type in the page is faster and/or easier than merely mousing to the bottom of the window, entering the page no and hitting return.
You don’t have to select Go To. It’s automatically selected if that’s what you used last. (Which it always is for me.) All I hit here is J then p55 return. It takes basically no time at all.
I actually assigned J to the Go to part of the jump bar because that’s the only part I actually use semi-regularly. I did have to get used to it (in Finale I used to navigate to bar numbers in scroll view the same way you did with page numbers in page view), but now that I’m used to it I don’t think it’s any slower. 
Oh, I didn’t realize that was an option. Just changed that myself. Thanks for the tip!
I think the real turning point here was when the jump bar was introduced.
I used to use my SD extensively, but post-jump bar, I can do almost everything with my hands already on the keyboard with a few jump bar aliases. In the “before times” it was a different story.
Purely staying in Dorico I prefer the key commands too. But when working with Dorico and VEP or VSTs, or whatever other software - it’s the “ doesn’t matter which app or window has the focus, now I want you to …” capability where the stream deck really excels IMO. It cuts out a lot of finding and clicking on different windows when you have different things going on. That it’s not just for Dorico, but any of the apps. The playback related keys are worn shiny on mine.
Yes! It’s worth emphasizing to anyone unfamiliar with the SD that the more one makes app-specific profiles — which can easily be configured in Elgato’s app to switch automatically with changes in which app is foregrounded — the more the SD can become a part of a seamless “workflow ecosystem.”*
On another related workflow note, I just wanted to mention that the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse also supports app-specific profiles. I have the forward and back buttons set to easily navigate through parts when Dorico is in the foreground.
I have that same mouse! I use the forward/back buttons to switch between Write and Engrave mode but I like your idea a lot. I’ll try it.
Some serious Borg-Collective peripherals…! 
Your next task is to design a computer controller with sax keys, @FredGUnn!
I always lament that so many of these hipper (i.e., feature-laden) ergonomic mice are RH-only. While right-handed myself, for years I have moused LH due to chronic shoulder issues. Anyone know of a similar recommendation?
