4/4 beaming of quavers

[Hector Pascal]

Hi all,
I notice that when I am in time signature of 4/4, Finale sometimes beams four quavers together, so I have two groups of 4 beamed quavers.

Should I be retaining that beaming, or splitting the beams into 4 groups of 2 beamed quavers? I am after a general rule of thumb...

Cheers,
Hector.

[Peter Thomsen]

… I notice that when I am in time signature of 4/4, Finale sometimes beams four quavers together, so I have two groups of 4 beamed quavers …

The beaming principle is set in the Document Options.
You can toggle the options on/off as needed:

… Should I be retaining that beaming, or splitting the beams into 4 groups of 2 beamed quavers? I am after a general rule of thumb …

When Finale beams four 8ths together, it obeys an old tradition.
Some engravers have requested this option because they are paid to beam 8ths in that way.

However, here is an idea that some users like:
Take a look at the actual music.
Is there a change for every half note? Then beam four 8ths together.
Is there a change for every quarter? Then beam the 8ths two by two.

By The Way:
Something to try:
Select a region where the time signature is not 4/4, and go to
Utilities menu > Rebeam > Rebeam to Time Signature…
In the dialog box Rebeam to Time Signature, choose a time signature of 4/4, and click OK.
Note what happens.

[Hector Pascal]

Thanks, Peter. As always, you are so helpful!

Cheers,
Hector.