Hi! I have three bars in a piece that I want to change without changing the overall musical content:
The surrounding bars are 4/4, and then comes: 1 bar 5/4, 1 bar 4/4, 1 bar 3/4, then the 4/4 continues.
I want to change that, without altering the contents in any way, rhythmically and melodically, into straight 4/4 all over it.
Is that possible in a very simple way?
Yes, if I understand correctly. just select the consecutive 5/4, 4/4, 3/4 and 4/4, and press delete.
Jaaaa! Great, thanks!
Iām doing something fundamentally wrong with this. When I change a bar into 4/4, it stays with 3 counts in it. Is there a general tutorial about how Dorico handles this?
How can I insert one 4/4 bar in a piece containing only 3/4 without having to insert a 3/4 bar and then changing the time signature.
How can I force Dorico to make the bars in the proper length, so there are no 4/4 bars with 3 counts in it.
Another one: how can I remove a selection of bars without having to count them?
It feels like Dorico and I think totally differnt about this. Iād like to learn to work the way Dorico thinks.
The easiest way is to use Insert mode (Global Adjustment of current bar). With that mode activated, you can add notes or lengthen (or shorten) the values, and the correct time signatures will be automatically created:
Sorry it was not exactly your question, but based on the same feature, you can proceed like this:
Can you show us the passage?
Deleting a barline actually creates a ācustomā time signature thatās now twice as long as before. You should see the red signpost, which indicates that thereās a time signature that isnāt what it appears to be.
Deleting a time sig should just re-bar the music, using the previous prevailing metre.
Adding a time signature of, say, 4/4, three beats before another time signature will produce a bar with only three beats, until you add an extra note (beat) using Insert mode.
Dorico will automatically beam and group notes (e.g. with ties) depending on the current time sig. If the time sig changes, then the notes will be re-beamed and re-grouped to the metre, along with the settings in Notation Options.
A friendly tip: once youāve carried out the procedure, do remember to switch off insert mode. Iāve forgotten to do this before, and it was a disaster!
Oh yes!! I should have included it, and in bold!
This is all so very helpful and thereās so much to learn for me, Doricoās features are brilliant and vast!
And many thanks for the warning to stay away from the insert side, Luke! The function that shall not be named. I allready had to repair several hours because of neglecting the power of the button that leads to pain. As well as itās not wise to insert thā¦ okay iāll stop! 
I already made āIā as a shortcut to make oversized slash noteheads, more use- and less harmful ā¦
Just a suggestion - Make use of the backup files! You can specify a larger number of them while youāre learning and save before doing something new and unfamiliar! 
It has helped me as I got used to how things work. You can delete the backups (or the oldest of them) when youāre happy with the final version. You can also use the āsave asā or work on a duplicate! (Things I donāt remember until itās too late!)
ā Jim
Thanks! But hereās the catch with insert-mode-on-without-knowing:
Undoing or going back to backup is automatically undoing the work you did in insert mode. And that can be a lot!
A lot of creative people are also very unattentive; for them, the insert function is a very big problem. If you donāt see the problem or you know enough solutions, you probably have no attention deficit. For me the only solution that always works is disableing the shortcut and never without exception ever use the insert mode. So despite the great advises up here 
Iāll probably have to figure out something else regarding my time signature problem as a structural solution. For now, Iām going to try this as Iām currently studying Le Sacre, so a plethora of Time Signature changes.