Length of arpeggio signs

[John Ruggero]

Finale adds one or two extra links in its arpeggio signs, so that I am constantly adjusting their length. If they were one link shorter by default, the majority would be correct. And while I am now happy with the horizontal position setting for these signs, they still run into accidentals even though collision avoidance for articulations is checked. These issues are shown here:

Arpeggio signs.jpg (16.83 KiB) Viewed 3671 times

Is there is any way of correcting these problems? I may submit this as a feature request at MM.

[John Ruggero]

Ronald, thanks for sharing my frustration. I really should wait until later to adjust them, as you suggest, but they bother me so much I can't help myself! It may be my hand copying upbringing, where I was taught that "later" often means "never". I am trying to develop a work style using extensive macros that allows me replicate that everything-at-once philosophy. But it remains to be seen if that is anything more than a dream.

[Knut]

Ah, yes, this is really annoying!

The only 'solution' I know of is to create a dedicated font with arpeggio lines of different lengths, and assign each one to a metatool. The late Bill Duncan's Finale Productivity suite had a font precisely for this purpose. However, this isn't really practical unless you have to enter a lot of them.

Come to think of it, since you're using a macro program, clip files might provide another way to solve this, although I haven't tried it, and it would be a bit of work to set up.

[Rebecca Oswald]

I share this frustration too. I keep a file that has sample chords with these rolls set up as I like, then use the filter to copy and paste articulations only.

Rebecca

[Knut]

I share this frustration too. I keep a file that has sample chords with these rolls set up as I like, then use the filter to copy and paste articulations only.

Rebecca

This is how I pictured the clip files solution; by saving all necessary variations in separate clip files, they could be called upon and applied using a macro program.

Rebecca's solution is a bit more straight forward and much easier to set up, but with clip files you don't have to keep opening a separate document.

[John Ruggero]

Thanks, Knut and Rebecca, for some great ideas. Setting up such system would be well worth it since I do a lot of them.

And I am also going to submit this to MM. There needs to be an arpeggio style window so users can adjust the general behavior to their own taste.

Incidentally, Finale Forum users might want to submit their feature requests over there. There is genuine receptivity and interaction going on.

[David Ward]

I've just spent two hours adjusting every arpeggio sign in a modest 314 bar 20 minute piece for three performers.

I've now posted about this over at John's thread in MM's feature requests. One lives in hope.