Miscellaneous Utilities

Starting with version 5.05 of the Patterson Plugins, the Miscellaneous Utilities have expanded to include functions that streamline page layout and facilitate merging documents. For more on using these utilities to merge documents, see Strategies for Finale Merging Documents.

A number of functions available in earlier versions have been removed starting in v6.02 of Patterson Plugins. They have been replaced with Lua scripts. Click the link for more information about how to download and install them.

These functions are available on in the Plug-ins->Patterson Plug-Ins->Miscellaneous menu.

Add Arpeggiated Ties. Adds beat-attached slurs to resemble ties over an arpeggio. The beat-attached slurs are implemented with tie settings so that they resemble ties as much as possible and do not require further attention if the page layout changes.

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Add Continuation Ties. Adds beat-attached slurs to resemble laissez vibrer ties over barlines after a chord. The beat-attached slurs are implemented with tie settings so that they resemble ties as much as possible and do not require further attention if the page layout changes.

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You can also create "laissez vibrer ties" directly by selecting the notes themselves, as shown.

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Position Rolled Chord Marks. Automatically positions rolled chord marks (and other vertically repeating marks). By default, if rolled chord marks are on two vertically aligned chords (within the selection), they are converted into a single long mark with the other hidden for playback. If you select with the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows), each staff is positioned separately. (The example below is the default behavior.)

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Find Articulation... finds the first occurrence of an articulation starting at the beginning of the selected region or from the beginning of the document if none.

Find Expression... finds the first occurrence of an expression starting at the beginning of the selected region or from the beginning of the document if none.

Insert Measures... allows you to insert measures before or after the selected region and adjusts all subsequent measure number regions to account for the inserted measures.

Delete Measures deletes the selected measures and adjusts all subsequent measure number regions to account for the deleted measures.

Insert Systems... allows you to insert systems before or after the selected region and adjusts all subsequent measure number regions to account for the inserted measures. (Available in Page View only.)

Delete Systems deletes the selected systems and adjusts all subsequent measure number regions to account for the deleted measures. (Available in Page View only.)

Fill 5-Beat Bars Crumb-Style implements a notation for 5-beat note values invented by the American composer George Crumb. These note values must fill the entire measure.

Position Page-Oriented Expressions implements a scheme for movement titles and footnotes that appear on the correct pages of both score and parts.

Split Groups splits a group at the beginning of the selected region. To be split, the group must exactly span the vertically selected staves in the current view. The original group is set to end at the measure preceding the selected region, and a new group is created that starts with the first measure of the selected region and continues through the original final bar of the original group. Note that groups that are set up by the Score Manager as a multi-staff instrument are not affected.

Join Groups joins any group that starts in the selected region to its preceding group, provided that the preceding group ends in the immediately preceding bar and spans the same staves. It is particularly useful for undoing the effects of Group Split. Note that groups that are set up by the Score Manager as a multi-staff instrument are not affected.

Cache Staff System Layout copies the current staff system layout to a cache in memory. It addresses two issues. The first is that Finale adds new instruments to every system on every page, whether you want it to or not. The second is that it is easy to accidentally drag a staff for all systems instead of one, messing up all your work on prior pages. Run this to checkpoint your staff layout before adding instruments or periodically when working on page layout. Then you can use the Restore option to restore your layout to the cached state, which recovers from either scenario. The plugin maintains a separate cache per part or score of each open document.

Restore Staff System Layout reverts the system layout for the current window to its cached state. If there is no cache for the current window, the Restore utility is grayed out. If you select a region, only systems in that region are restored.

Change Lyric Number... changes the number of a verse, chorus, or section, preserving all syllable assignments and baseline settings.

Copy Page Layout... copies page layout from one file to another or one part of the piece to another.

Copy System Baselines... copies system baselines for lyrics, expressions, and/or chords from one file to another or one part of the piece to another.

Copy System Layout... replicates a particular staff system layout from a source system to a range of systems with the same document.

Move Expressions... Moves expressions from one location to another. This may be useful, e.g.,  when Speedy Entry leaves expressions stranded in the wrong bar or part of a bar. Move Expressions is often much quicker and more accurate than dragging the expressions to the right place.

Resize Selected Staves... Allows you to resize multiple staves at once by selecting the staves and systems you wish to resize. This avoids the limitation of Finale's Resize Tool that requires resizing each staff individually.

Bookmarks... allows easy navigation to bookmarks in any view.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the operation of the miscellaneous utilities, please feel free to contact me.

All of these options are bundled in a plugin file named "Force Full Names.bundle" (Mac) or "FullName.fxt" (Win).