I am unable to solve this without help. Please tell me what I am doing wrong. On the first page two systems are too close, but on the second they are too far. The inter-system gap is set to 10, and it is automatic. Why the result is different?
Igor, your screenshot does not show the percentage your page is filled. These values are visible at the very bottom - if you are in Engrave Mode.
Then in Layout Options->Vertical Spacing (that’s the section that deals with the vertical distribution of your staves) change the threshold percentages. They are by default set to 60% and 80% - but in your case, depending on the numbers we can’t see on your screenshot, changes in this area will give you a better result.
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Thanks, yes it shows 56.2% - which is below 60%. Have a second look after you change that percentage to 55%.
It worked! I set it 55 to 85 and it fixed the spacing. Thank you for teaching me!
Super, for future reference, @benwiggy supplied a little cheatsheet for this: Guide to Vertical Justification
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Awesome! I downloaded the file.
And just to be clear (or make it clear for others that will find this thread in the future): The left page shows what Dorico produces using the current settings. The systems did not get pulled further apart because the result was below the threshold for doing so.
I find it always interesting to see what the current settings truly achieve - without Dorico applying additional magic.
The real eye opener for me was to understand that the “Ideal Gaps” setting ist independent of all the justification settings!
Actually, as soon as the justification threshold for systems and staves is passed (and justification is thusly activated!), ideal gaps are completely overridden!
To put it yet another way: Ideal gaps stop mattering once there’s anything justified on your page!
B.
That’s not entirely accurate. Justification stretches the existing spacings by the same proportion. You can try this by lowering the inter-system gap, and the staves will take up more space.
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I personally use 52 and 95 as default…
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Ah, mysteries wrapped in riddles wrapped in enigmas… 
I did not know that, and it’s very helpful to know now!
I tend to observe that the interdependencies of these settings tend to throw people off the most, together with the ever-insidious “wait for next system break” menace… 
Cheers,
Benji
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