This is still one aspect of layout for which I haven’t been able to find a good working method. Occasionally Dorico allows too much (or too little) space between two systems and I can take care of this by nudging some elements, like a rehearsal number or a tempo marking. Since these are manual adjustments, Dorico doesn’t seem to take them into account. Is there a way of getting Dorico to do so, including redistributing the space between the other systems? If I do this manually, it just moves that one system, often causing problems with the system below. I know I can select all the systems in one go and nudge them all up (or down), but then they’re not justified with the bottom margin. I’m sure I’m missing something essential here…
For most items you’d occasionally need to manually move, there’s an “Avoid Collisions” switch in the properties panel (I think it might be a switch with a rock box). Make sure that, for these items, collision avoidance is turned off - that is to say: if it’s a switch and a tick box, turn on the switch and remove the tick from the tick box.
There is not at present a command to redistribute the space between systems. For part layouts in particular you might find that you prefer the results you get if you switch off the ‘Automatically resolve collisions between adjacent staves and systems’ option on the Vertical Spacing page of Layout Options. This will space the systems according only to the gaps defined in the ‘Ideal Gaps’ section above, and if you typically like to resolve any collisions by moving items rather than by moving staves, this should be a better starting point for you.
Sorry Leo, but I can’t find the switch you’re talking about.
Thanks for helping, Daniel. The trouble is, I generally like Dorico’s collision avoidance. As soon as I turn this off, I’m [almost] back to the hours of drudgery I’m used to in creating good layouts in the past, especially since turning it off will affect all staves and all systems in all parts (and the score).
No, it’s a layout option, so it can be turned on and off independently for each layout.