Hi there! New Dorico user here (latest version). I am going through the Udemy tutorial and I’m actually very excited! I love what I’m seeing so far. There is one thing about the vertical alignment of dynamics that I came across by accident and I’m just trying to understand the mechanics behind this. I’ve searched the forum for similar topics but I couldn’t find my question exactly. If I’ve missed it, I do apologize. What I’ve come across is the following:
The screenshot is in Write mode (Galley view) but it appears the same in Page view and in Engrave mode. You’ll notice that in bar 7 (both notes in the staff) the dynamics are perfectly aligned. However in bar 8 (both notes below the staff), for some reason the mf is further away from the note than the p. It seems to me that for some reason, the vertical alignment point of the mf has changed to the top of the f rather than the top of the m which it is in bar 7. My Engraving Options for Dynamics are at the default settings. I know this can be fixed by grouping the dynamics, I’m not looking for a fix as much as I’m searching for a reason why this occurs… is it a bug or a feature? Thanks in advance!
What you’re seeing is what I would expect to see. Dorico is using a bounding rectangle around the whole of the mf dynamic, rather than a raggedy shape that traces the ascender and descender of the f closely. So if you imagine a rectangle drawn around the extent of the dynamics, you can see why Dorico decides to push the mf downwards.
Thanks a lot for your very quick reply! That makes a lot of sense actually. I just assumed that the top of the m would be used as an alignment point because of the arrow in this graphic in the settings:
Although I did figure that an override to that particular setting would probably occur when there are notes or other items below the staff.
I’m actually blown away by Dorico’s speed and efficiency when it comes to inputting and aligning dynamics, or anything you can add through a popover for that matter. Looking forward to learning more! Thanks again!
You’re right that that picture is a bit misleading. It should really show a kind of dashed box around the whole dynamic, and then have the arrow go from the edge of that dashed box. I’ll make a note to review this in future.
Thanks in advance!