Trying to put two systems on first page of landscape

Dorico
1

It seems that Dorico does not allow two systems on the first page in Landscape, only the second page and so forth. Can someone please advise of how i can do this? From Finale, when you shortened the first system on the first page, the second system from the second page automatically went to the preceding page, since there was enough space (on the first page) to include two systems.

2

Hi @brianjmark, and welcome to the Forum.

Dorico calculates exactly and automatically the space needed, and if enough space available, it will accommodate the system in the first page. You could also force it with Make Into Frame, but is not the best method, at least I suggest first to change the global Options.

I suggest you look at this video:

To get two systems to fit into in the first page, you can:

  • reduce the ideal gaps between various staves types, and the inter-system gaps in Layout Option/Vertical Spacing

and/or

  • reduce the Page Margins and/or the Music Frame margins in Layout Options/Page Setup

and/or

  • reduce the Rastral Size in Layout Options/Page Setup

etc.

If you post your Dorico File here, we can show how you can have what you want, with a couple of clicks.

3

Hi there, I uploaded the file.

test file.dorico (463.7 KB)

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4

Here my reply :slight_smile:

5

test file.dorico (463.7 KB)
Here you go. Thanks Christian!

6

Hi @brianjmark, I made a short video for your case:

7

You have made the music frame (the blue box) smaller on page 1, so there is very little space on that page to fill with music!
Remove all your page overrides and normal service is resumed…
test file-edit.dorico (531.6 KB)

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8

Thank you Cristian, much appreciated, as I couldn’t find your instructions anywhere until now… I’m trying to jump ship now from getting to attached for Finale at this point as it flies into the sunset, so it’s a little nerve wracking for me, mastering Finale since 1999.

9

You are welcome @brianjmark

You find the Layout Options under menu Library.

Sorry: my explanation in my little video was very fast, and maybe not so clear.

In the suggested official video you will find enlightenment about the amazing automatic layout functionality of Dorico. Light years from other software!

My main suggestion is: first experiment with the global settings (Layout options, Engraving options, etc.), and only after tweak the local/manual settings, if those global options don’t give you the desired result. (normally is 90% global and 10% local adjustment needed :slight_smile: )

Also, first input all your music (best to do this in Galley view), and only at this point start thinking about the layout customisation. Dorico will do most of the work for you :wink:

Also I suggest the First Steps Guides, that you can find as PDF of Video (part 1 and part 2) from the Dorico Resources page.

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