Special characters handling in Dorico

Dorico
#1

Hi, just transferring over to Dorico efter 10+ years with Finale. I have layout problems, especially when using the b accidental. In graphics below, top row is from Orchestral template, first part name (in part, no b accidental at all?) and then how it looks in the score which is fairly close to what I want . Then experimented myself, found a b character in some forum and used it in the layout name. Strange gaps around it, but looks good as part name (Petaluma script), but awful in Garamond (part name in pages > 1). How can I make this more consistent when using tokens? Best thing would be to be able to have different fonts already in the layout name so they show up nicely when using them- is this possible? Or are there other tips & tricks to make the layout look professional?

And oh, generally, how can I use “special characters” from a font in e. g. display names or texts? I use Dorico Pro 3.5 on Win10. Thanks!

image

#2

Welcome to the forum, from a fellow Finale-to-Dorico convert! Many fonts, including Garamond and Minion Pro, don’t display the kerning correctly for flat glyphs. For that, you’re best changing to Academico, which has much better kerning.

In some situations, you may find it easier to use the token {@ flat @}. (I had to put spaces after the ampersand because the forum thinks I’m tagging someone…)

If you’re new to Dorico, you may find my Beginner’s Guide helpful.

#3

Alright, thanks. The “flat” token works fine also in layout name, great tip. I change to Academico. That looks way better for the accidental, and even is Garamond is great I can live with the other one :-). Saw that special characters can be used in “graphic texts” in Dorico (Alt+nnnn) which is fine, seems a little trickier to use in e. g. text fields such as layout name? At least Alt+nnnn seems to not work.

By the way, while I have the attention, if I have a master page set with two pages, First and Default; can I set different page margins for the two? Thanks //DT

#4

No, page margins are layout-wide. But you can reduce the size of the music and text frames by editing the master page itself.

#5

Thanks! :+1: :pray: