Hi,
I’m a new user of Dorico! I love it! I have one issue that just came up. I imported an XLM file of a piano track and now I’m trying to add a lead vocal part. The vocal part appears, but there is nothing there just TACIT and no way that I can figure out to add notes. There’s not even a staff there, just blank.
Please advise!
Devin Thomas
You need to assign that player to the flow. Setup mode, select the player, check the box to select the flow at the bottom.
For XML imports, new players are not assigned by default to the imported flow.
That doesn’t work for me. I think this is a bug. I was only able to add a new player after creating a 2nd Flow, coping the piano to the new Flow (deleting the first Flow) and then adding the player to the second Flow. I tried this with several files.
No offense, but I see you’re a new member on the forum. If you’ve been using Dorico only a short time, it’s possible you’re not yet using Setup mode correctly. Of course I don’t know that, and maybe you’ve used Dorico for years. 
No problem is totally bug-free, but you’re describing a pretty common workflow. If there were bugs in this workflow, they’ve been long-squashed. I import piano tracks from XML and MIDI all the time, and I’ve never had a problem assigning players to flows.
If you’re comfortable with it, you could zip the file and post it here to let one of us have a go at it.
When you create a project by importing MusicXML and then add new players, those players won’t automatically be added to the flow that was created by way of importing a MusicXML file. But it’s easy enough to add them: select the flow in the Flows panel, then activate the checkbox for the player you want to be included in the flow in the Players panel.
Hi Daniel,
You nailed it, BUT I retraced my steps to wee where I went wrong and I think there is still some confusion on my part. After importing the Music XLM file, I added a player (Lead Singer), The player appears with a + sign next to it - I assume that it’s added to the flow at that point. Then I select the LEAD part from the top drop down and I get a blank page with TACIT on it. Do you see my confusion? Nothing gives me any indication that the player is not added. However, it seems that if I start a new project from scratch the player IS assigned, right? So the behavior is different and that is what is confusing to me.
Also, another thing that I thought might happen is that the Music XLM tracks would merge into the existing Flow that I had already created. I guess Dorico doesn’t work like this. So why ask me on import if I want to merge the tracks? I seems that if they are always going to appear in a new Flow, then there is no point in merging anything. Am I missing something here?
Thanks again for the quick response and you were absolutely right on with your answer!
Devin Thomas
no! the + sign next to a player is for adding another one.
It has nothing to do with the flows (which you will find in the bottom panel in Setup Mode).
I think you are getting a bit confused between Flows and Players (and possibly Layouts as well).
When you import an XML file, it asks if you want to re-use existing Players where possible. For example if your project already has a piano and the XML file also has a piano, you probably want the imported music to go to the existing piano, not to create a second piano in your project.
All the imported music will always go into a new Flow (otherwise, it would probably overwrite some of the existing music, which isn’t what you want!)
Yes, thanks to all who responded. I am new to Dorico and I am starting to get it sorted out in my head, but that said, I think there are some confusing aspects of the Set Up page. For example, everything interacts in a complex way, but a person has to know certain things going in. Or learn as they go!
If the bottom panel is closed, then it’s hard to know which flow is selected – and a player’s status is not visible. I’m sure this will all become clear to me soon, but for now, I’m glad have this resource to help!
Thanks!
This might help: there’s a brief written description of Setup mode. Dropbox - A Beginner's Guide to Dorico.pdf - Simplify your life
That’s a fair comment about the panels in Setup mode.
Maybe they should all be open by default, since the main window has no function except viewing the score.
Sarcasm, Rob? 
You may also find this topic about how players, layouts, and flows interact with each other useful. The screenshot shows an example where the piano player is not in the 2nd flow in the Flows panel at the bottom.
Not intentional.
But trying to explore how to use Setup mode with some of the panels closed would be an “interesting” experience.
Maybe the default is that they are all open. That’s the only way I ever used Setup mode so I can’t remember.
I expect I always have the panels open in Setup mode as well, but when you ended with that “no function except viewing the score,” it sounded ironically funny to me at least.
I had a TACET lost-flow event yesterday. Perhaps it is related, and yes, I’m new to Dorico. I think I selected something at the top of the workspace, and my screen went to a shiny blue and then black. When I closed the project, I saved (oops?) the file and when I re-opened it all I got was a TACET. I did manage to import the flow into a new file, but things are slightly different, perhaps because I’m working from a template I created and didn’t import into that template. This is solo piano with multiple movements, so it wasn’t about adding another player. Thanks! Lynette
We can only guess at the problem without seeing a sample project file, or a screenshot of the behaviour, at the very least.
I am new here too. I am trying to import a midi file into an existing flow. The flow is empty, set up for two players. I have two midi files to import. The manual just says to use the import menu item, and has no further info. I keep getting two new flows with TACET in them.
What mode or selection do I need to have enabled to get my midi into the existing flow?? Or even create a new flow with actual notes in it??
Where are you looking in the manual? As per our documentation structure, there’s a task that describes the steps you need to take, then a separate page that goes into all the details about the options in the MIDI Import Options dialog as a reference.
Generally, the dialog/panel reference page will immediately follow or precede the set of steps, and should also have a link with a fairly clear title listed at the bottom of the page. I.e. if a topic mentions “X dialog”, there’ll be a link titled “X dialog” at the bottom; click the link to read more about the options available in the dialog.
You can also drag-and-drop excerpts of MIDI from Cubase into the Key Editor in Dorico.
That said, if your existing flow is empty, why do you want to import MIDI into it? You could just import the MIDI as a new flow, and delete your empty one? You will have the option to use the existing players in the project anyway.
As of Dorico 4, that’s not true: take a look at the options available in the MIDI Import Options dialog.