Transfer of Finale to Dorico

Dorico
1

I’m trying to bring a large orchestral score from Finale into Dorico. The Finale full score file has divided parts on shared staves. To effect the separation of the divided parts, I’ve extracted the individual parts in Finale and then exported them individually as .XML files into Dorico. Couple of questions:

  1. Once each of the extracted Finale parts are Exported into Dorico, how do I “assemble” the individual parts into a full score in Dorico
  2. How do I create multi-measure rests in Dorico. I tried creating them in Finale but the consolidation did not carry-over in the Export. Once in Dorico, the settings are correct for multi-measure rests but the individual empty measures continue to appear.

I would be most grateful for any assistance which can be provided for these specific questions and/or other recommendations for creating a new Dorico full score.

2

Be sure signposts have been turned on in the view menu. Many XML imports include hidden time signatures, which will prevent multi-measure rests even if multi-measure rests are called for in Layout Options > Players.

Are you trying to compile the score from linked parts? It might be easier to import the score via XML and then create additional staves and copy/paste-special (Explode) the shared parts onto individual staves.

3

This is obviously a lot of different things to address. My own approach has always been to export the full score from Finale, and then (because of all the junk that comes with it) make a NEW score fresh in Dorico which I then copy/paste the material in to. In theory, you could get the same effect by filtering and deleting stuff from the import, but I feel like there’s always little things snagging left over from that method that mess things up.

As far as your extracted parts go, it sounds similar to what I’d recommend (though more tedious). Time to start copy pasting into a full score.

As Derrek mentioned, most likely there’s junk in the XML that’s saying there’s “something” at every bar, which then prevents Dorico from consolidating rests into multi-rests. If you copy/paste into a new score, this should be resolved. If you want to stay within your import, then you’ll need to figure out what data it is, filter for it, select, and delete. My own experience with this (I just attempted this a couple days ago) was a failure. I could see the signposts, but I couldn’t figure out what filter I needed in order to select them all and delete them - and deleting one at a time, for every bar on every staff, is just mind-numbing to consider!

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4

@dhcfield

If you could post a sample XML that you are trying to import, we could probably give you more targeted help.

5

IIRC this has been mentioned before. (It also happens with PhotoScore XMLs). Multirests are imported as a single bar.

The only solution (I have yet found) is to work through each import and add the missing bars back (shift-b N). To simplify this I add a text note in the original (“add N”) at each multirest before exporting.

6

Dear Derrek:
I would really appreciate any help you can provide on this - I have a large inventory of Finale scores and I really want to bring them into Dorico.
I’ve uploaded two files to Dropbox Dropbox - Dorico - Simplify your life (too large to attach to this message). The first is the Finale file and the second is the XML import of that file into Dorico. Everything seems to line up properly until we get to Rehearsal 29 at measure 544 - then things go awry - see rehearsal 30. I hope there’s a simple solution to all of this but I’m not experienced in XML transfers to even know where to begin to look. Thanks very much.

7

On first look, I found two things:

  1. The Finale-to-Dorico trasition has somehow added two quarter-note beats at the former Reh. 30 location.
    a. Put your caret at the start of that measure
    b. Activate Insert mode in the left column
    c. Type SHIFT + B
    d. Type -2q into the popover
    That should move everything back two beats.
    Be sure to deactivate Insert mode after that.

  2. The Eb key signatures that were in mid-measure had been converted to local key signatures on each staff. They need to be individually deleted and replaced with a global/score key signature using the SHIFT + K popover.

The tremolos after Reh. 30 will have to be corrected using Force Duration and then have the tremolo direction reapplied.

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