Vertical position of multi-measure rest number

[John Ruggero]

Is it possible in Finale to change the vertical position of a multi-measure rest on a case-by-case basis? If so, how?

Is it possible in Finale to have two or more different default vertical positions for multi-measure rests in a single file, perhaps as a function of a staff style, so that, for example, the vertical distance would be different for a one-line staff than for a five-line staff if both types of staff were used in a single part?

[N Grossingink]

In the first case, right-click or control-click on the MM Rest and pick MM Rests > Edit. You can set the vertical position there. In the second case, I think you're stuck with doing them one by one. We'll see—maybe someone knows better than me.

N.

[motet]

Looks like if you edit the vertical position, it affects all the rests in the "stack", just the opposite of what you want.

The best solution I can think of is to make opaque expressions for the one-line staves which cover up the real number.

[motet]

With the proper positioning*, you could probably click them in with no adjustment required. The hassle would be having an expression for each number.

0745.png

0746.png

*Positioning something like

0744.png

[John Ruggero]

Thanks, N. At least one can do them one by one, which I assume is what is done now, because the result is unacceptable otherwise.

Motet, thanks for your suggestion, but I think that changing the position one by one would probably be easier for me.

What seems to be missing is a multi-measure positioning area under Staff Attributes or Staff Styles. To me, this is a glaring oversight. I would have made a "feature request" if that didn't seem pointless now.

[motet]

Maybe I misunderstood what you want, but if your part has two staves simultaneously, changing the rests one by one won't work, as I said (it will change both staves). If a single staff switches serially between 1 and 5 lines, then OK.

[Peter Thomsen]

… Is it possible in Finale to have two or more different default vertical positions for multi-measure rests in a single file, perhaps as a function of a staff style, so that, for example, the vertical distance would be different for a one-line staff than for a five-line staff if both types of staff were used in a single part?

If it is a single part, then would you not rather display a single number, between the two staves?

One way to do this:

Hide the Multimeasure Rest in the upper staff.

Now only the lower staff displays a number above it.
You can adjust the number’s vertical positioning.

Unfortunately only the lower staff displays a multimeasure rest shape.
To get a multimeasure rest shape on both staves, use a custom shape for this particular Multimeasure Rest.
Create the custom shape by duplicating the default shape.
Edit the duplicate copy so that it displays two multimeasure rest “beams”, at the correct vertical distance.

[John Ruggero]

Maybe I misunderstood what you want, but if your part has two staves simultaneously, changing the rests one by one won't work, as I said (it will change both staves).

Sorry Motet, You understood exactly what I want, and as you said, it changes all the measures "in the stack." I thought it was working and then misread what you wrote. Your workaround is the only way around this, and that is really intolerable. Have the engravers for the major publishers been working around this issue for all these years? Dorico does this correctly, incidentally.

Peter, that is not what I was talking about, but there is a very nice JW Lua plugin "DoubleStaffMMR" by Charles Lawrence that does those double staff MM rests admirably. It apparently only works up to Finale 2014, and it would be great if someone could bring it up to date.

For Charles Lawrence's plugin, see the thread that I started about this subject: https://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=6&m=462676 You were actually the first to answer my query back in 2015!

[motet]

Set up the opaque numbers I suggested with their own category and it shouldn't be too bad to click them all in. There should be no manual adjustment necessary. I agree with you that it's hokey to have to do this, but I'm guessing it won't take that long. Once you've done the first number, you can just make a copy and edit the number for the others.