Lock Spacing

[kacydawn]

I am working on 4 part harmony music (SATB). There are many times that I have adjusted everything and find that I need to change one note or add an accidental and all the spacing I have adjusted gets shifted and I have to start all over. It seems like there should be a way to lock everything after you adjust. Can someone help me? Thanks so much!

[Peter Thomsen]

You are talking about the horizontal spacing (not the vertical spacing) - right?

You are not leaving the music spacing as it is done by Finale, but rather adjusting the music spacing manually - right?

Take a look in
Preferences - Edit > Automatic Settings

Is the option Automatic Music Spacing on or off?

[miker]

We have long asked for a "leave it alone, dammit" setting.

[motet]

Turning off automatic music spacing is leaving it alone, no? If you do that, does Finale mess with the spacing?

[BuonTempi]

In an ideal world, you shouldn't have to turn off Automatic Music Spacing -- if Document Options > Music Spacing > Manual Positioning is set to either Ignore or Incorporate, then Finale should still be able to space out the music, but take your adjustments into consideration.

According to the help pages, Ignore spaces the music 'normally', but then applies your manual adjustments; Incorporate "includes any manual adjustments into Finale’s spacing calculations".

However, this only applies to "manual dragging you’ve done with the Speedy Entry tool (who knew?) or the Special Tools". It doesn't apply to Beat adjustments in the Measure Tool. If you so much as change the pitch, or add an accidental, the system is respaced, and you lose any of those adjustments.

If it's the case that standard workflow should involve turning off AMS when you start tweaking the spacings, then (as has been said countless times), it shouldn't be an Application setting, but a Document Option.

[miker]

I prefer to do my spacing as I go, selecting a system, and applying Music Spacing with CMD-4. This is all done after all elements (including lyrics) have been done. Then I go back to the beginning, and tweak a system at a time.