Good evening! And welcome to Have I Got Documentation For You. I’m your host, Lillie Harris, and I’m thrilled to welcome you back for this first episode in our second series.
On the team to my left are two tantalisingly fresh faces on the documentation scene, please welcome New Features and Further Information! [applause]
And with the team on my right we’ve got two familiar faces but they’ve been away and had a makeover, please welcome Updated Screenshots and General Improvements! [applause]
(If anyone is confused, that might be because you aren’t familiar with Friday night political comedy panel shows on the BBC, which is fair. Search for “Have I Got News For You” for further information.)
Anyway, returning to normal service - I’ve just published Version 2 documentation. It’s available in both PDF and webhelp formats, and with differentiation between Pro and Elements.
Follow these links for the docs:
Mon 28th Jan update: Our wonderful manuals team has updated all the links so that you can now navigate to all the different manuals from the main Steinberg help site. Select Dorico for the product family, then the relevant option for you: “Dorico” is Version 1, “Dorico Pro” takes you to Pro Version 2, “Dorico Elements” takes you to Elements Version 2.
Firstly, some caveats:
- This release so far only covers up to 2.1’s major features (plus jazz articulations). New documentation for 2.2 features and 2.1/2.2 smaller improvements will be coming out as soon as it’s ready. I’m quietly optimistic that, now I’ve done the biggest job of updating all the screenshots and separating the features in Engrave mode that are retained in Elements, this won’t take long at all.
- Differentiation for Elements is incomplete: the largest chunk (Engrave mode and related options/features) is complete, but in the Notation reference in particular the differentiation needs more work.
New features
All major new features from 2.0 and 2.1 are documented. You can find them in the following places:
- Playing techniques editor - in the Playing techniques chapter in the Notation reference, under “custom playing techniques”
- Arranging tools - in Write mode, under “Arranging tools”. Some existing topics have been moved here from elsewhere, including swapping the contents and order of voices.
- Bar repeats - in a new Bar repeats chapter in the Notation reference, after Repeat endings.
- Rhythm slashes - in a new Rhythm slashes chapter in the Notation reference. Slash regions are documented here, while Slash voices are in the Voices chapter.
- Repeats popover - in Write mode, under Notations input>Input methods for repeats and tremolos
- Extra staves and Ossia staves - in the Staves chapter in the Notation reference.
- Divisi - in a new Divisi chapter in the Notation reference, after Staves.
- Automation - automation lanes are in the new-and-improved Tracks chapter/section of Play mode.
- System track - in Write mode under Introduction to inputting and editing. Adding/deleting bars with the system track is in the Bars chapter in the Notation reference.
- Video - in Setup mode
- Markers and Timecodes - in new dedicated chapters in the Notation reference, after Rehearsal marks
- Large time signatures/other changes - in the Time signatures chapter in the Notation reference.
- Swing playback - in Play mode
- Notehead set editor - in the Notes chapter in the Notation reference, under Notehead sets>Custom notehead sets
- Jazz articulations - in a new dedicated chapter in the Notation reference, after Glissando lines. Inputting tasks are in Write mode under Notations input>Input methods for ornaments, arpeggio signs, glissando lines, and jazz articulations
(N.b. The index is pretty comprehensive these days - almost every topic has at least two different entries in the index to make sure you’re able to find it. For instance, “tuplets popover” is under “tuplets>popover” and also “popovers>tuplets”. Where it’s reasonable, I’ve added loads of different ways to get to a topic. So if you’re struggling to find something, do try looking for it in the PDF index.)
Further information
Whilst updating screenshots and other bits of functionality, I added documentation and screenshots for things that had not yet been clearly documented, such as the instrument picker and interactive key commands map.
Other updates
- Editors (accidentals, chord symbols) updated to include the new options at the bottom of the dialog, including Cut-outs and Stem attachment positions.
- Options dialogs (Layout/Notation/Engraving/Playback) updated to show their new layouts in 2.2, with the Flows/Layouts lists on the right, and all dialogs have a page list with section headings shown in the page list below the selected page.
- Other dialogs, such as Paragraph styles, now have symbols for options like Save as Default
- User interface updated throughout, including brief descriptions of new options, such as Record in the Transport, Bracketing options in the Formatting panel in Engrave mode. (More detailed documentation of these new options is on its way.)
- Play mode has had some significant improvements, with much more comprehensive descriptions and labelling of tracks and functionality. Look out for “Event display” and “Tracks” in the Play mode chapter.
- An increase in the number of example screenshots throughout
Once again, thank you for your patience. I know this release is much later than we had hoped, and it’s a shame there is still more to be added at this stage. However, I feel that the heaviest lifting required to update the docs from 1 to 2 has now been done, and I am cautiously optimistic that 2.2 features might be complete in not very many weeks, with other improvements being added alongside and afterwards.
