Changing staff names mid-score

[SamGroude]

I am working on an SSATB score. Wherever the soprano parts are in unison, I have hidden the second soprano staff. When the parts are not in unison, I show both staves and am trying to rename the top one S1 and the bottom one S2, using "Define" and "Apply" staff styles. I have no trouble renaming the first staff to S1, but when I rename the second staff S2, the first staff changes to S2 as well. I see that Finale has grouped these two staves together. How do I keep Finale from making the staff names identical? Many thanks.

Finale 25 on Mac

[Peter Thomsen]

One of the options in a staff style is Staff Name (Full name and Abbreviated Name).

Beware that the Full Name is used only in the very first system in the document; the Abbreviated Name is used in all the other systems.

From your description it sounds like you are using the same staff style on both staves.

Apply your staff style to the first staff.
In your staff style, set the Abbrev. Staff Name to S1.

Create a new staff style for the second staff.
In this new staff style, set the Abbrev. Staff Name to S2.

[SamGroude]

Thanks for your reply Peter. I applied different staff styles to each staff (with one named S1 and the other S2), but when I apply the S2 staff style to only the S2 staff, both staves change to S2. I think it has something to do with the fact that since they are both soprano parts, when I created the document, Finale grouped them together. I like the fact that they are grouped, but can't have both staves with the same name.

[Peter Thomsen]

Attach a (small) Finale sample document here, for the gurus to examine.
I am confident that someone can find the culprit.

[motet]

In the Score Manger, try unchecking "Auto-Number Style." If not that, I wonder if the soprano is somehow a grand staff.

[SamGroude]

As an update . . . I haven't been able to solve this issue, but my work around was to go to utilities/change instrument, and change the instrument for the staves needing a different staff name. Then I simply changed the abbreviated name of the new instrument to the name I needed. Still puzzled as to why I couldn't properly change the staff names by applying a new staff style.

[superuser]

I am returning to this thread to see if anyone has since come up with any useful alternatives to changing instruments and then changing the instrument abbrev. name. It seems like there should be a global staff attributes plugin for this!

[motet]

This is easily solved with a staff style.