I am working with a Finale file exported to the music xml file and then imported into Dorico for corrections. After making corrections I changed spacing in the layout to get the music down to 4 pages iwthout compromising readability. However, the 2nd and 3rd grouped staffs on the first page have no vertical space between them. All the other grouped staffs are spaced correctly. How can I fix this problem in this one spot in the music without changing the rest of the music (which is spaced correctly)?
BobS, there can be a couple of reasons, why this is happening - and a couple of ways to get your layout right. If you can post your project here, we can easily help.
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Home for the Holidays adjusted layout.dorico (1.2 MB)
Here’s the project. In fact, here is the project before I changed the layout to get it down to 4 pages from the original 6 when I imported it into Dorico.
Home for the Holidays.dorico (1.1 MB)
Thanks for your help.
If you go to Engrave Mode you will see that your page is more than 100% full:
Go to Layout Options, reduce your Rastral size.
If you show bar numbers only at the beginning of systems you might have more space for the actual music.
I notice that you use slurs instead of ties.
If you tie two notes of the same pitch, use T.
If you slur two notes of different pitch, use S.
I didn’t see in the Engrave mode the more than full being obvious, other than the fact that when I printed the document the overlap occurred . Fortunately I had the version before I made layout adjustments to get it down to 4 pages (from 6. In looking at that version most of which was generated from exporting from the Finale file then importing into Dorico I realized that the import put some of the places where alternate lyrics were and had been above the staff that they were not tied to any notes and somehow were ignored by Dorico when doing the spacing. I removed and re-entered those alternate lyrics but tied them to a line of notes (voice 1, since voice 2 contained the main lyrics), but then placed them closer to above the staff. Also made some other changed and you can see the result in the file I’m attaching to this message.
Home for the Holidays fixed.dorico (1.2 MB)
This tells me that when importing files from Finale, watch out for lyrics in the import.
Is there a recommended way to add comments so they are attached to a note. I know that I can use the Lyric too and maybe identify it with a different number than any existing verse numbers, but is that a good way to do that?
When making changes to this song I was adding breaths and found that I was not happy with the placement of rhe breath marks in the write mode and had to go to enbrave. However, the display sometimw changed a lot and made it difficult to find where I was. Is there a cure for this?
It is best to use Dorico in a way that it helps you. Let it do the work for you. A lot of your work will be at the moment to find the places where to change settings. Example, if you don’t like the placement of your breath marks, don’t shift them manually, instead look for the place where you adjust those settings (Engraving Options).
Regarding Lyrics, use them how they are intended to be used in Dorico. Read up about it or watch the below videos. It is very cleverly designed.
Thank you. I will check the two videos you included references to for lyrics.