The Smart Shape Editor allows you precisely to edit the start- and end-point assignments of beat-attached Smart Shapes. You can edit both their metric (beat) positions and their horizontal and vertical offset values. In Score View you can also change their measure assignments. The plugin also provides limited support for editing the offsets of note-attached smart shapes. Because some types of smart shapes restrict the value of the end-point's vertical offset, this plugin does not always allow the user directly to change its value relative to the start-point's vertical offset. However, any smart shape can be made horizontal by use of the Make Horizontal button.

To use the plugin, select a region within one or more measures covering one or more staves and invoke the plugin. The Smart Shape Assigment Editor dialog box appears.

Shapes Selected: <List of Shapes>. Displays a list of every smart shape fully contained within the selected region. In Page View left-, middle-, and right-continuatiuon chunks will appear if the entire shape is not selected. Continuation chunks permit modification only of horizontal and vertical offsets.

Include: { Beat-Attached | Note-Attached }. Allows you to filter in or out the types of shapes you wish to edit. Due to a limitation in Finale, you can only modify Note-Attached shapes if they were previously manually altered. A simple work-around is to click a shape's main handle and hit the up-arrow and down-arrow in quick succession. Then the Horizontal and Vertical Offset fields will become active for that note-attached shape.

Start Point/End Point

Measure. Specifies the measure of the assignment. You can only modify this is score view.

<Beat/EDU> [Value]. Similar to Finale's Select Region and Mid-Measure Clef dialog boxes, the popup allows you to specify the metrical assignment of the shape using either beat position or EDU value. The value itself is the beat or edu offset of the assignment, and it can be any fraction of a beat. (It is not limited to the even-beat anchor locations that Finale's user-interface restricts you to.) Note that this value cannot be be modified in part view.

Horizontal Offset. Specifies the horizontal EVPU (or other Measurement Units) offset from the metrical position. The concept is the same as for mid-measure clef assignments and expression assignments. This value can be unlinked, and if you apply it while viewing a part it will be unlinked from the score and any other parts that might contain the staff.

Vertical Offset. Specifies the vertical offset from the Staff Reference Line in EVPU or other Measurement Units. If the shape is forced horizontal or if Maintain Vertical Angle is checked, the user can only change the value of the start-point. The plugin automatically adjusts the end-point value to maintain the same relative difference in value between start- and end-point. This value can be unlinked, and if you apply it while viewing a part it will be unlinked from the score and any other parts that might contain the staff.

Apply Beat Pos. and Horizontal Offset Settings to [All in List/All of Same Type] { Both | Start Point | End Point }. Allows you to vertically align all the Shapes Selected (optionally limited to the current type) without having to enter the same values for each one. Additionally, the radio buttons allow you to align only the right or left side (or both sides) of the selected smart shapes.

Match These Relative Vertical Offsets to [All in List/All of Same Type]. Allows you to match the left-to-right angle of the current shape to allin the Shapes Selected (optionally limited to the current type).See the Recommendations for reasons you might use this.

Make Horizontal. Sets the value of the end-point's vertical offset equal to the start-point's vertical offset. If you apply the button while viewing a part the changes will be unlinked from the score and any other parts that might contain the staff.

Flip. Flips the direction of the a shape. So a slur over is changed to a slur under, a cresc. hairpin to a decresc. hairpin, etc. Only Beat-attached shapes can be flipped, and not all shape types are flippable. If the button is grayed out it means the shape cannot be flipped.

Apply. Applies all specified changes to the smart shapes (and redraws the screen) without closing the dialog. Smart Shape Editor is a modeless dialog box that can remain open while you work.

Recommendations

Much as the Expression Assignment dialog is useful for precision-editing expression assignments, this plugin is useful for precision-editing smart shapes. However, it may be particularly useful for beat-attached Slurs and Dotted Slurs, since the beat-attached user-interface has not been implemented for them (as of Finale 26.3). But this difference is only skin-deep, and under the covers Finale treats them like any other smart shape.

A reason you might choose to use Apply Beat Position and Horizontal Offset Settings to [All in List/All of Same Type] rather than Finale's Vertically Align feature is that the plugin offers precise control over aligning both metric and spacial offsets. The radio buttons also allow you to choose to align only the right or left side. (This is a feature missing in Finale.)

A reason you might use Match These Relative Vertical Offsets to [All in List/All of Same Type] is to align glissando marks on chords, especially when crossing a system break. This option would make all the glissando lines parallel to the current line, even if it is not horizontal.

The Smart Shape Editor is available and useful within Finale 2012. However, because Finale 2012 does not have the beat-attached user-interface, the plugin must be used with care. Issues to consider are:

• Finale 2012 does not support horizontal offsets within its user interface, however the internal engine does support them. So you can use the plugin to change a shape to be oriented to an exact beat location with a horizontal offset, just as you would in Finale 2014+.
  
• However, horizontal offsets in beat-attached shapes do not unlink in Finale 2012 unless the file and unlink were created in Finale 2014 or later and then the file was exported back to Finale 2012. In this case, (based on empirical testing) the horizontal offsets remain unlinked.
• Any edit made to a beat-attached smart shape with Finale 2012 (not using the plugin) causes the horizontal offsets to revert to zero and the beat value to slide to an arbitrary point that matches the horizontal location. Thus, once a shape has been edited with the plugin in Finale 2012, you should always use the plugin to edit it from then on.
• If the file is a musx that was downgraded to Finale 2012, it is highly recommended to use this plugin rather than Finale 2012 to edit pre-existing beat-attached smart shapes that were created in Finale 2014+. This is especially true if there is an intention is to upgrade the file back to musx at a future date.
• In either case, if you must use the built-in editing features of Finale 2012, you may need to re-edit the endpoints with the plugin every time you use the built-in features.
  

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the operation of Smart Shape Editor, please feel free to contact me.