XML import from Finale: meters used in this flow

I am trying to investigate an issue why in some flows beam grouping options are overriden. I have especially selected all flows and then selected what I wish for in beam grouping section. Yet- there are inconsistencies in some flows.
I have a 5-flow document and first flows come with Finale export. The last flow is created in Dorico and all beam grouping prefs are reflected there.
I have my suspicion, I attach an image:
Screenshot 2024-10-04 at 13.28.27
As you see- some meters are doubled here. When I hover the mouse over them, they show exactly the same, for example 4/4 (q, 1+1+1+1) etc.
Why are those meters doubled in “used in this flow”? I strongly suspect that the inconsistencies reflecting my beam grouping preferences root here. Because the file is arond 2500 bars now, there are many time sig. changes. Apparently I have to start going over them manually, inserting all meter changes again. Ugh.

I’ve given up on using imported files directly. There are too many oddities in my opinion.

I create a new project – mostly from a template – with the appropriate bar scheme and copy the music from the imported file after cleaning up the force durations.

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Good luck with that with full-scale opera score!

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I have not seen this in any of my scores, nor am I able to reproduce it by creating different beat groupings of the same meter (which coincidentally this thread prompted me to try an hour ago).

Do you have time to make a minimal version of this project that shows the issue? I would really like to understand what the panel is doing. The manual of course says only “Contains any time signatures already used in the current flow” with no further specification.

I will make a copy and leave only Flauto 1 and one flow. That should be enough. Tomorrow I will post it.

FinaleTimeSignatureTest.zip (533.2 KB)
@Mark_Johnson here is a zip with original Finale file, xml file and Dorico file (please read the comments).
@dspreadbury , could someone at Steinberg see this and understand why this is happening?
I did not need to delete stuff from my huge file because I can just recreate the issue.
Can this be connected with time signatures being defined as 4/1024EDU in Finale? I did this in Finale, one time signature was 4/4 default, another 4/1024EDU etc. After getting them to dorico still all signatures were displayed once. After making new bars and assigning time signatures in Dorico- the doubles appeared.

I answer myself : NO. I just created a file in Finale with 4 standard time signatures. Got it to Dorico, added some bars, changed signatures and doubles appeared.

The double time signatures have no impact on this probably. I think I found a culprit: in imported flows when I “select all” force duration symbol lights up on the left side. So I turned force duration off in all flows. while everything was selected and no filter active. After that when deselect/select all again the force duration icon did not activate.
Why force duration is turned on in same places in imported file- no idea.
I have never used Force Duration myself so I did not search for it before.
But double time signature issue still stands.

There are options for Dorico’s xml import, whether to respect original notation (which would result in forced notation being on for certain occurrences). If you deselect all options for xml import, you will let Dorico do the work, based on it’s Engraving~, Notation~ and Layout options.

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The time signatures that appear in Used in this flow won’t be absolutely identical, but they may differ only in ways that cannot currently be distinguished according to the information that is displayed in the panel. Possibly Dorico should be a little more relaxed about how deeply it examines the time signatures in the flow to determine whether they are properly identical.

In the other thread I was thinking the opposite, that users would want beat groupings like [3+2]/4 vs. [2+3]/4 listed separately.

When I create a “3+1/4” meter and select it, nothing highlights in the panel when there is already a regular 4/4 earlier in the score. When I turn off its numerator style override, then “4/4” highlights in the panel, even though the beat grouping differs.

I have examined Tõnis’s files and I am still curious how the identical-appearing meters in the panel differ. In his XML, the meter definitions are all perfectly simple, like <beats>4 and <beat-type>4, with no other attributes.

Obviously you have much higher priority matters to attend to, but at some point …