Horizontal position of articulation

[sPretzel]

I have scoured the forum but have not come across a good answer.
Is it possible to precisely (with numbers) position an articulation horizontally? I don't see anything in the Articulation Desinger to this effect.
Thanks.

[Peter Thomsen]

You can set the articulation’s Default Positioning (horizontally and vertically) precisely (with numbers), as the so called Handle Positioning (in the Articulation Designer, click the button Handle Positioning).

The articulation will be entered at its Default Positioning if you use an articulation metatool, and enter the articulation by holding down the metatool trigger key while dragging across the staff.

[sPretzel]

Hi Peter,
I had tried the handle positioning before, did nothing. I tried it again after your post, worked. Not sure what I had done earlier.
Problem solved. Thanks.

[motet]

Why do you empasize dragging, Peter? Works for me to hold down the metatool and click.

[Peter Thomsen]

Why do you empasize dragging, Peter? Works for me to hold down the metatool and click.

Depending on the actual articulation settings you may not get the articulation positioned at its Default Positioning if you click.
Instead, the articulation will be positioned with some Manual Positioning.

When the articulation has been entered, you can clear its Manual Positioning so that it jumps to its Default Positioning.

If you - On The Other Hand - drag, then the articulation will be positioned at its Default Positioning.

[motet]

I've never gotten any manual positioning Shift-clicking with any of Finale's pre-defined articulations. It would be interesting to find out which setting results in manual positioning.

[Peter Thomsen]

I've never gotten any manual positioning Shift-clicking with any of Finale's pre-defined articulations. It would be interesting to find out which setting results in manual positioning.

Open a Default Document, enter some notes, and try metatool-clicking the Breath Mark (comma) articulation:
Hold down the letter B key, and click.

The comma’s position depends on where you click.

If - On The Other Hand - you hold down the letter B key, and drag, the comma will always be at its Default Positioning.

[motet]

"Center horizontally" seems to be the answer. With that checked, you don't seem to get manual placement.

[N Grossingink]

I have had some unusual experiences over the years with articulations in Finale. My normal workflow for any engraving job is to take the arranger's or composer's manuscript, already entered into Finale, make changes and corrections indicated by the music editor on a had copy of the score and produce a nice score and set of parts.

However, a long time ago I noticed many articulations were slightly misplaced from their defaults. Clicking on the articulation and hitting "Clear" would cause the symbol to jump ever so slightly. And it wasn't just one or a few, it was many, many. I noticed this on pieces that I entered from scratch, too. It's likely Peter Thomsen is on to something with his suggestion to drag-enter rather than click-enter.

Just to be sure, I got into the habit of running Utility Menu>Change>Articulations on a finished score. Select all and run the utility with no further settings. It will restore default positioning to the whole score.

[John Ruggero]

I got into the habit of running Utility Menu>Change>Articulations on a finished score. Select all and run the utility with no further settings. It will restore default positioning to the whole score.

Thanks so much G. This is why I read this forum. That trick just saved me a lot of work unscrambling a mess that Finale27 made out the fingering and trill indications of an older file that I had unwittingly saved in Finale27. The only issue is that it stacks all the fingering applied to a single notes into one spot, so trill and turn fingering has to be redone. But for simple situations, this command is a great thing to know.