wrapping word extensions

[Tallis]

Hi all,

I'm working with a document originally created in Finale 3.1... yes, I've been around that long! So the problems I'm facing may be related to it being a multi-legacy file.

But here goes: although I've enabled smart word extensions, I'm still having all kinds of problems with them. Sometimes they overlap the following words; sometimes they fail to wrap from one system onto the next; sometimes they appear in scroll view but not in document view, etc. You can see some examples of these issues between the first and second systems on the attached file, and in bar 17 on p. 2. I did find the word extension option box, yet no changes there seemed to make any difference in the visible score.

I can manually adjust them all, of course, but it seems worth it to see if there's a simpler solution that I've missed. For example, is there any way to globally remove them all, and then re-enable? Would it help -- and is it possible -- to pull all the lyrics into a single lyrics window? (Lord knows why they're scattered among so many verses and sections and choruses... I blame my 20th century self.)

Grateful as always for any help. This forum is a godsend. (If only it had existed in 1995, when I was first stumbling up this learning curve!)

[miker]

You hit it. The lyrics and verses are a complete dog's breakfast. If it were me, I would clear the lyrics, and re-enter them, being careful to put them in verses 1-4, to match the parts. I suspect that the word extensions will sort themselves out.

You might want to work the lyrics out in a word-processing program, and then flow them in. I do my lyrics as straight prose, and run them through https://juiciobrennan.com/hyphenator/ for hyphenation, before I flow them into the work.

[Tallis]

Thanks, Miker! You're probably right that it would be faster to simply start afresh. I'll give it a shot and see if it fixes the extensions....

[Tallis]

Okay, I tried deleting all the old lyrics -- wiping every verse, chorus, and section clean -- and then re-entering.

Unfortunately, the same wrapping problems show up. Bar 5 in the attached, for example: Soprano 1's text doesn't extend at all, Soprano 2 extends off the page, Alto 1 doesn't show the beginning of the word extension but shows the continuation on system two. So odd! Any suggestions?

[miker]

No attachment. Post it, and I’ii take another look.

[Tallis]

That's weird. I did attach it, but it disappeared. Trying again, and this time I'll double-check once posted!

Thanks for your patience...

[Bill Stevens]

I'm not popular for this, but don't use word extensions.

::: Bill

[Tallis]

Ha! Unfortunately, it's very much the standard in choral music -- and does actually make the line easier to read.

[miker]

I am at complete loss for an explanation. The only thing that I can think of, is that corruption has crept in somewhere along the line. I'm going to agree that the age of the doc is what's causing the problem. When I open it, all of the notes are a pale green (think hidden layer three.) But that's not the case; when I select Show Active Layer Only, it all turns black, as normal. I've tried copying into a new doc, but the WE problems are still there. Exported XML and re-imported it; no better.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[Tallis]

Oh my gosh, thanks for putting in so much time (for a stranger on the internet)! I really appreciate it, even if the issue is still a mystery.

And yes, mysterious errors creep in with age. My back can attest to that.

Back to the drawing board....

[Baroque Fiend]

I don't know if this will be of help, but I have worked out a way of getting smart word extensions to extend across rests and from system to system. I work mostly in Baroque opera in which vocal music is inevitably very florid. The smart word extension is fine for most melismas, but if the melisma contains rests, the word extension will stop at the first one. To get round this, when entering the music in Layer 1, I enter a note at the position of the rest, and hide it. I then switch to Layer 3 and enter rests of appropriate durations in the bar, and hide all but the one I want to appear when printed. After I usually have to adjust the stem directions in Layer 1. I repeat this process as needed to the end of the melisma. I find that this works, and copes with changes in layout, such as respacing on a page.

I apologise if this sounds complicated, but it works for me.

[Tallis]

Makes sense to me! Thanks for the input....

[David Ward]

I don't know if this will be of help, but I have worked out a way of getting smart word extensions to extend across rests and from system to system.… … … 

The screenshot illustrates another closely related way of dealing with this, which I used back in 2016. In my version there is also a hidden note (or notes), but the rest (or rests) is an expression. I don't know which approach is easier.