Easy Way To Reposition Smart Shapes To Avoid Collisions ???

[lunker]

I just upgraded to Finale 25 after being away from Finale for a few years.

I opened an old project, and the smart shapes are positioned horribly, and overlap each other and other parts of the notation quite badly.

Here's an example:



I don't know if it was like this in the old version of Finale that the file was created with (probably 2011, which I don't have on this computer), or if it was caused by the import/conversion function. The root cause doesn't really matter to me anyway.

Is there an easy option/tool that will make Finale try to reposition these to automatically minimize the overlaps? Or do I have to go through and reposition them all by hand?

If it makes a difference, I am using Windows 7.

[zuill]

Your attached image doesn't seem to be working. If we could examine the file, however, we could probably find the cause, which is really the root of the situation. Once the cause is determined, we can probably help. However, we don't know what it originally looked like. If you have the original 2011 file, that would also help us as we could open it in 2011 and see what difference there might be. So, maybe you could attach both files.

Zuill

[lunker]

Thanks Zuill!

I tried to include the URL to the image, but got a message that I am not allowed to post URLs yet. I wonder if the image isn't showing up because of restrictions on a new account.

I'll wait an see if i can get the image working, and then also post the original file as well once you know what to look for.

[N Grossingink]

Just a wild guess - do any of the staves utilize "Independent Time Signatures"? It's more than likely no, but that can be the source of such problems.

It's my experience that opening a Finale file in a later version usually does not result in any repositioning of elements, or if it does, it's not noticeable. A sample Finale file would help troubleshooting.

N.

[zuill]

As far as attaching a file, use the Upload Attachment tab below to upload a picture or document. Maybe you tried a different approach, I don't know.

Zuill

[lunker]

Let's see if this works. Attached is the image as an uploaded file.

What I really want to know is how to fix these -- not whether the problem is with the original file or with the import/conversion process.

If there is an option or a tool in the current version of Finale that will move the shapes to minimize collisions, that would definitely be a good start.

Things I would like to fix:

* slur lines crossing each other (e.g., measure 103)
* slur lines overlapping the staff above/below (e.g., measures 97-100 and measures 103-105)
* slur lines overlapping articulations (e.g., overlapping the "mp" marking in measures 98 and 103)
* tie lines overlapping hairpins (e.g., measure 101, Clarinet staff)
* unnecessarily "humpy" slur lines (e.g., measure 101, Flute staff)

[zuill]

There usually isn't a one-setting-fixes-all solution. Without the file to examine, we'll start with questions:

1. Was the file created in 2011, or earlier?

2. Do you have Engraver Slurs selected?

Zuill

[lunker]

Thanks Zuill,

I think you have answered my main question. I was hoping that there was a "redraw smart shapes" or "redraw slurs" function that might redraw these shapes with fewer collisions (similar to the functions for rebeaming notes).

I do have Engraver slurs selected (in Finale 25). I'm not sure if that option existed in the older version and if so, whether it was selected or not.

Attached is the original file. Looks like it was created with Finale 2009.r2, and is much older than I thought.

It's not a big deal if I have to correct these by hand. I was just hoping that there might be a faster/better way to do it.

[motet]

If you delete one of the wild slurs and recreate it, is it still wild? Could be a file conversion problem, especially if the slurs were hand-tweaked in Finale 2009.

[Michel R E]

does selecting a bunch of slurs and pressing [backspace] not reset their default position?

[zuill]

I tried both of those suggestions. Neither worked. Still working on a solution.

Zuill

[RMK]

TGTools has a function that converts slurs created in older files to engraver slurs. Perhaps that would help.

Not sure if this is included in the "lite" version that ships with Finale, but the full version is available free for a 30 day trial.

[lunker]

Thanks for taking the time to look at this and offer helpful suggestions.

I have been busy with my day job, and am just getting back to looking at it.

There's no telling if I edited these slurs manually in the original file. Very likely if I did, I did it in "scroll view" as I prefer using that view during the initial composing stage, rather than trying to get it to look pretty in "page view" while it is still a work in progress. I don't know if that might or might not have any effect on what the slurs look like now.

Anyway, thanks for looking into this. I will check out the TGTools suggestion. If it doesn't help, I can fix these manually. I was really just looking to see if there is a more efficient way to do it.