Shouldn't flags be readable as well?

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Jay Emmes
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Post by Jay Emmes » Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:05 pm

I have always wondered why Finale doesn't use equal distance between 8th, 16th, 32nd etc. flags, but this time Finale goes one step further and makes flags close to unreadable (see image).
screenshot_146.png
The document options for flags in this document is exactly what it is in all other documents (no wonder, since I never adjusted any setting in this tab), yet the distance between 8th and 16th flag is nearly non existent.
screenshot_147.png
What gives? And, more importantly, how can this be fixed, as the current drawing of flags is absolutely unacceptable. As usual: thanks in advance.

EDIT: the latter (solving the problem) is resolved by setting the flag spacing to 28 EVPU. Why is this not standard?
Running Finale 25.4.1.163 in OS X 10.11.6


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motet
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Post by motet » Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:14 pm

What font are you using? Maestro:
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motet
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Post by motet » Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:27 pm

Sibelius's Opus font in Finale (it looks fine in Sibelius):
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miker
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Post by miker » Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:56 pm

Might it be an incorrect FAN? Also, note the space between the stem and the noteheads.
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motet
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Post by motet » Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:08 pm

Ah, good idea (my picture is from Windows). I wish I had a nickel for every font problem that's cropped up in the Mac version. :-)

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miker
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Post by miker » Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:17 pm

Well, I don’t use Sibelius fonts (or anything but Finale fonts) and I’ve never had a font problem.

Jay, is there a reason you’re using a Sibelius font? Is the appearance better for your purposes?
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motet
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Post by motet » Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:31 pm

It's not clear he's using the Opus font, but if he is, it wouldn't surprise me of the font annotation would need to be adjusted.

I was being flip, but I do see a lot of font problems with Mac users here and on Facebook. Perhaps it's a small percentage, though.

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Jay Emmes
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Post by Jay Emmes » Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:40 pm

Ehm … I'm not using a Windows font. Why would I or how even could I when working exclusively on a Mac? The font in use for flags in this document is Engraver Font Set plain 24 points.
screenshot_148.png
As I said in the EDIT, the problem is solved when I set the flag spacing to 28 EVPUs. Makes one wonder why the default setting is 20. Or, when 20 is fine with Maestro (I suppose), why doesn't it adjust to 28 when the Engraver font is used instead?
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motet
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Post by motet » Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:16 am

I think the fonts are exactly the same across both platforms.

When I switch from Maestro to Engraver Font Set using Document/Set Default Music Font (like it advises in your picture), Flag Spacing changes automatically from 20 to 24. Did you start your document with Maestro and then change the font some other way other than Set Default Music Font?
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Jay Emmes
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Post by Jay Emmes » Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:04 am

I'm not sure, but I doubt I ever changed fonts in a document I'm working on. I usually set up a new score with the Document Wizard, which offers to choose between Maestro and Engraver in the very first panel (I typically go for Engraver). I assume that's what I did with this document as well.

Nonetheless, 24 EVPUs in this document is still not correct:
screenshot_149.png
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I need to change it to 30 EVPUs to get a satisfiable result:
screenshot_150.png
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In both "Select Default Font" and under the Text menu the default font already set is Engraver. There is however a mixture of Maestro and Engraver in the fonts tab of the Document Options (notation). Most are Engraver, but Percussion Noteheads, Time (Parts), Time Signature Plus Sign (Parts) and Multimeasure Rest are set to Maestro. Is this normal? I see this mixture in other documents as well, so I assume it's what Finale typically does when chosing Engraver in the Document Wizard.
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John Ruggero
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Post by John Ruggero » Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:02 pm

Just to verify what Motet said: Engraver "Flag spacing" is set at 24 EVPU's by default on my system (Mac) and is only correct at that setting.
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motet
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Post by motet » Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:33 pm

Mysterious! I wonder if it is the Font Annotation business (which I know nothing about) as Mike suggested.

Another experiment you could try, I suppose, is switching music fonts to Maestro and then back to Engraver.

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Jay Emmes
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Post by Jay Emmes » Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:37 pm

John Ruggero wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:02 pm
Just to verify what Motet said: Engraver "Flag spacing" is set at 24 EVPU's by default on my system (Mac) and is only correct at that setting.
I'm sure it should be correct at 24, but as I show in the images below, I need to set it to 30 (or the secondary group adjustment to 12) to get a correct result.
It's apparently a document related problem, since it doesn't occur in older documents I checked. When the problem will be restricted to this document, I can live with it, not in the least because a solution has been found. It remains very weird, though.
Running Finale 25.4.1.163 in OS X 10.11.6

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