How to fix page layout corruption when transferring files from Finale to Dorico with MusicXML

Since the occurrence of the Finale sunset problem in the summer of 2024, page layout corruption when importing MusicXML files from Finale to Dorico has been one of the major topics I’ve been talking about. I have organized the steps to fix the problem and compiled them into a 6-minute video. *

*This video was originally prepared as one of the materials for our “Dorico Intensive Course”, but we have heard many people say that it is difficult to fix the page layout corruption, so we have decided to make it public. Note that Dorico’s “Preferences > MusicXML Import” is in the default setting.

Unfortunately, I have to say it is not a very easy task to fix a page layout that has collapsed once in Dorico.

However, I feel that there are roughly some patterns for the causes and countermeasures of page layout collapse after importing a MusicXML file in Dorico.

As mentioned in the article “Will Dorico 5.1.60 fix the layout issues when importing MusicXML?” on October 10, 2024, this is often caused by a lack of vertical space, so the basic idea is to remove each element that is an obstacle to securing vertical space.

If you think about it in this way, you can see the points to look at even in page layout collapses that seem chaotic and pretty tough to fix at first glance.

Specifically, the following five items correspond to this, for example.

(1) Reduce the page margins (00:56)

A common idea in music notation software such as Finale, Dorico, and Sibelius is that “the layout is first solidified from the outside”.

Compared to Finale, Dorico's music area (called the “Music Frame” in Dorico terminology) is slightly narrow by default, so widening it is the first step towards fixing it.

(2) Set flow headings to “Always None” (01:21)

Dorico's product specifications convert the title entered in Finale's Score Manager when importing MusicXML into a Dorico-specific element called “Flow Name”, which is then forcibly displayed.

Usually, the first page is already narrow because it contains the title, composer’s name, etc., but flow headings consume valuable space on this first page, so for scores that do not use flows, you shoul manually hide them each time after importing MusicXML.

(3) Set chord symbols to “Above top staff of system” (01:46)

(4) Hide blank staves (02:09)

Above mentioned elements (3) and (4) are completely different elements in terms of notation, but they both have in common the fact that something that was originally hidden in Finale is forcibly redisplayed in Dorico.

This seems to be the current specification for Dorico when handling MusicXML files, and for this reason, the more hidden settings a Finale file has, the greater the layout disruption during migration may appear.

However, once you know the cause, it is easy to deal with. Simply hide these items in Dorico and the layout will be greatly improved.

(5) Set the vertical spacing of the staves with “Optimal Spacing” (02:38)

This function is a bit tricky, and it often does not work as expected if there is not a certain amount of space vertically.

Judging from the fact that it worked fine when the staff size was reduced, it seems that the frame usage rate of the page is probably affecting the operation of this function.

Therefore, it is best to set this at the end after securing as much vertical spacing as possible with steps (1) to (4) above.

In any case, the trick to mastering Dorico's layout function seems to be to keep the density of the music below a certain level and leave room for Dorico's automatic adjustment function to work.

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Due to its product specifications, Dorico is currently more prone to page layout problems when transferring files from Finale than other software, but once the transfer is successfully completed, I personally have high hopes that it will surpass Finale in terms of its Finale-level engraving functions and DAW-level playback functions.

If you are unable to solve the layout problem and are still using Finale after shelving your Dorico purchase, I hope this article will be of some help to you.