Finale not displaying accurate page size (legal v. letter)

[kglong]

I'm running version 26.3.1.643 on a Macbook Pro, and when I change the page size to legal, the page view is not reflecting that. This makes it so that when I print, the formatting is off because the page on the screen is stuck at letter size. I've tried adjusting things in the "view" drop-down menu to get it to switch over, but nothing works.

Any idea how to fix this?

Thanks in advance!

[motet]

Go to the Page Layout tool and pick Redefine Pages.

[Peter Thomsen]

… when I print, the formatting is off because the page on the screen is stuck at letter size. I've tried adjusting things in the "view" drop-down menu to get it to switch over, but nothing works …

If I understand you correctly, you need to change the Page Size for all the pages in the entire document - right?

And you are printing the Score (not a linked part) - right?


1) Do not use the View menu.

Instead, go here:
Document menu > Page Format > Page Format > Score…

In the dialog box {Page Format for Score}, change the Page Format as needed (Page Size, Page Margins, &c.).

When you have done so, you will not see any change in the Score Layout.
This is by design, and what users have requested.

To update the document pages with the new Page Format settings, switch to the Page Layout Tool.
Page Layout menu > Redefine Pages > All Pages of Current Part/Score

Now the layout on the screen will display as set in {Page Format for Score}.


2) Also, take a look at
File menu > Page Setup…


3) Be careful that you are both making the layout formatting in the Score, and are also printing the Score,
If you make the formatting in the Score, and then print a linked part, then you may not get what you see on the screen.

[BuonTempi]

This is by design, and what users have requested.

Really? I'd be very surprised if the current implementation was either requested or designed.

At the very least, there should be controls to Redefine Pages in the actual Page Format dialog, so you can set your dimensions and apply them, without having to traipse over to another tool and another dialog.

(Not forgetting that the Page Layout > Redefine Pages sub-menu has four different options, plus a fifth option which is a dialog that replicates all the four options....)

I can't think of a single other application where a "Document Setup" dialog does absolutely nothing after you change values and press OK, until you then apply those settings to specific pages.

It would make much more sense to have a "Score Format" dialog whose settings were instantly applied to the entire document, and then if you wanted to change the margins, staff size, or even page size, for a specific page, then that should be done in the Page Layout tool as a "Change" on that page from the defaults -- in fact, we can already do that, independently of the Page Format dialog, so nothing would be lost.

Surely the vast majority of documents would have consistent values, and a small proportion might need 'local' changes made on a few pages. As always, Finale caters to the exceptional at the expense of the everyday.

And then there's the whole business of having two different values for the Staff Size, whose contents are mathematically intertwined. Is there really any merit in setting the staff height, and then scaling it by a percentage? If it were up to me, I'd either hide the System Scaling field behind a "Legacy settings" disclosure panel; or remove it altogether, and calculate the actual Staff Height and use that single value.

It's neither efficient, nor user-friendly, and I'd welcome any improvement to make the process simpler and faster.