8va dashed line

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Hector Pascal
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Post by Hector Pascal » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:11 pm

Hi all,

Regarding smart shape 8va, how does one elevate or lower the dashed horizontal line extending from the 8va------------------- ?

According to my Gould book, as I understand it, the dashed line (when indicating octave above) should be level with the top of the 8 or 8va, or level with the bottom of the 8 or 8va if it's used to indicate an octave below.

Thanks,
Hector.


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Michel R E
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Post by Michel R E » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:37 pm

you have to make your own, with new values for the line.

I had to go get another font because the "ba" part of the 8ba was also misaligned. The font was called Ottavina.

I don't understand why this isn't an option in Finale.
The "up" octave should have the line aligned with the top of the expression, while the "down" octave should have the line aligned with the bottom of the expression. It's simple, and logical.

Here's an example of (1st measure) my smartshapes for 8ve up and down, and then (2nd measure) Finale's default symbols.

My only issue with the Ottavina font is that the "ba" and "va" parts are too light, they don't match Finale's font.
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motet
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Post by motet » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:46 pm

I don't know that the Finale line position is editable, but I could be wrong.

I'm not in favor of slavishly following Gould, especially for something like this, but you can make your own with the SmartShape tool. HP doesn't seem to recognize it, but you could use a real one as well and hide it.

Here is real versus custom:

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motet
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Post by motet » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:52 pm

Michel beat me to it.

For some reason there isn't a baseline shift setting in the Smart Line text dialog (nor "Insert symbol", apparently).

Hector Pascal
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Post by Hector Pascal » Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:09 am

Thanks, everyone!

I have followed in your footsteps and succeeded in creating the new smart shape with elevated dashed line.
Screen Shot 2019-11-07 at 10.43.24 am.png
I am using the Petrucci font for this piece because I liked its look, but that font's 8va does not have the va lined up with the top of the 8, (as recommended by Gould, more on that in point 1.)

I note that the Maestro font does line the characters up correctly, viz.
Screen Shot 2019-11-07 at 10.52.26 am.png
1. Motet, I take your point regarding Gould, and I think that, whilst I will use the elevated dashed line, I won't worry about her dislike for uneven alignment of the 8va. (If I swap in the Maestro font for that alone, I would lose the design consistency with the Petrucci Ped. marking, etc.)

2. I am not sure how to have the (8va) automatically applied at the beginning of each new system, when I stretch my new smart shape over systems.

Cheers,
Hector.

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motet
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Post by motet » Thu Nov 07, 2019 5:05 am

2. "Left continuation."

Hector Pascal
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Post by Hector Pascal » Thu Nov 07, 2019 5:11 am

Oh, thanks Motet!
Cheerio,
Hector.

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John Ruggero
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Post by John Ruggero » Thu Nov 07, 2019 3:07 pm

Hi Hector. There is a thread on this topic at

http://notat.io/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=522
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