What on earth is Finale doing with dots?

General notation questions, including advanced notation, formatting, etc., go here.

Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker

User avatar
Jay Emmes
Posts: 227
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 4:29 pm
Finale Version: 25.4.1.164
Operating System: Mac

Post by Jay Emmes » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:44 am

Can anyone get the dot on the first quarter of the upper voice move to a more sensible position and have it remain there? There is no reason whatsoever for Finale to put it that far from the note it belongs to, but I can't get it anywhere else without Finale moving it right back to the absurd position it insists upon.
Attachments
Dot.musx
(84.88 KiB) Downloaded 140 times
Running Finale 25.4.1.163 in OS X 10.11.6


User avatar
N Grossingink
Posts: 1786
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 2:50 pm
Finale Version: 27.3
Operating System: Mac

Post by N Grossingink » Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:59 am

If you change the C# to D flat, which I think is better spelling, the problem goes away - see attached. I know that doesn't answer your question. I think there has been some buggy behavior associated with dots discussed in the past. Maybe someone can find a reference on the old Make Music forum.

N.
Attachments
DotFixed.musx
(84.79 KiB) Downloaded 132 times
N. Grossingink
Educational Band, Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble a specialty
Sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pFF5OeJDeLFGHMRyXrubFqZWXBubErw4/view?usp=share_link


Mac Mini 2014 2.6 Ghz, 8Gb RAM
OSX 10.15.7
Finale 2012c, 25.5, 26.3, 27.3

User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 827
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:41 am
Finale Version: Finale 25.5
Operating System: Mac

Post by John Ruggero » Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:50 pm

Here is the unedited result when I input your measure into a Finale 2014.5 default file and applied note spacing. The dots were correct both before and after the note spacing.
Dots.jpg
Dots.jpg (10.81 KiB) Viewed 4217 times


I then corrected the overlapping and still the dots were correct.
Dots 2.jpg
Dots 2.jpg (11.05 KiB) Viewed 4215 times
Perhaps something else is going on in your file?
2020 M1 Mac mini (OS 12.6) Finale 25.5, Dorico, Affinity Publisher, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard Maestro
www.cantilenapress.com

"The better the composer, the better the notation."

User avatar
zuill
Posts: 4418
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:35 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2011-v26.3.1
Operating System: Windows

Post by zuill » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:04 pm

The original file has some manual spacing that throws things off. That's what's causing the dot issue.

Zuill
Windows 10, Finale 2011-v26.3.1
"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

User avatar
Jay Emmes
Posts: 227
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 4:29 pm
Finale Version: 25.4.1.164
Operating System: Mac

Post by Jay Emmes » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:26 pm

Thanks for the help.
I see. Because Finale doesn't know how to space notes in a legible manner, I moved the quarters, which in turn messed up the positioning of one of the dots (but not the other — how's that for consistency?). I suppose I have a choice to be bitten by a dog or a cat, but bitten I shall be.

John, how did you correct the overlapping? Whatever I do always either magically disappears when I blink or messes up all kinds of other stuff.
Running Finale 25.4.1.163 in OS X 10.11.6

User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 827
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:41 am
Finale Version: Finale 25.5
Operating System: Mac

Post by John Ruggero » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:31 am

Hi Jay. The best way to respace multiple voices is with the Measure Tool. After selecting the measure with the Measure Tool, click on the lower of the two little squares at the top of the right bar line (edit—not "left bar line" as I wrote initially) and other little squares appear that you can move to respace the notes and chords in the measure. Do this after you have applied the Note Spacing command (Utilities>Music Spacing>Apply Note Spacing) and what you have done will stay put when you save; it may not if you reapply the Note Spacing command.
Last edited by John Ruggero on Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2020 M1 Mac mini (OS 12.6) Finale 25.5, Dorico, Affinity Publisher, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard Maestro
www.cantilenapress.com

"The better the composer, the better the notation."

User avatar
Jay Emmes
Posts: 227
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 4:29 pm
Finale Version: 25.4.1.164
Operating System: Mac

Post by Jay Emmes » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:37 am

I see. Thanks for the tip.
It is tempting to correct things when you stumble upon them and frustrating to see that all corrections have been undone in the blink of an eye. Will have to take notes of what and where to correct and only apply them when the score is definitely completed. Must I mention that I loath proofreading?
Running Finale 25.4.1.163 in OS X 10.11.6

User avatar
Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6605
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:05 pm

Generally it is a good idea that you pay attention to all automatic features = features where Finale is doing things without asking you for permission.
Examples:
Respect Instrument Ranges when Copying or Changing Instruments
Automatic Music Spacing
Automatic Instrument Family Group Brackets
Automatic Instrument Family Measure Numbers and Endings & text Repeats

Remember that you can toggle these automatic features off.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

User avatar
Michel R E
Posts: 702
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:16 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2012, 25, 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by Michel R E » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:33 pm

you can also freeze some manual placement using the JWChange plugin so that autospacing doesn't affect it.
User of Finale since version 3.0 on Windows.
Now using a mix of Finale 2012, Finale 25, and 26.1
GPO, Garritan Solo Stradivari violin, Gofriller Solo Cello.
XSamples Chamber Ensemble.
Absolute convert to NotePerformer3.

Post Reply