The following Text Expression multi-copy shortcuts for Finale 2011 or later do not work with System / Score text Categories (e.g. Tempo Marks, Tempo Alterations and Rehearsal Marks), however, they can be used with Dynamics, Expressive Text and Technique Text.
(1) DUPLICATE AN EXPRESSION IN AN ADJACENT STAFF WITH A SINGLE KEYSTROKE
After entering a Text Expression into one staff of your score, select the expression handle, then type ALT+Down Arrow (Windows) or OPTION+Down Arrow (Mac) to quickly copy the expression into the adjacent staff below. To copy the expressions to the adjacent staff above, type ALT+Up Arrow (Windows) or OPTION+Up Arrow (Mac).
(1b) Positioning offsets applied to the source expression will be inherited in the destination staff. This is great, because it means that adjusted expressions requiring an offset in a particular part of the score will be vertically aligned with a single keystroke, without changing the default placement definition of the source text expression:
Note that vertical offsets of the expression relative to the source staff will also be copied.
(2) DUPLICATE MULTIPLE EXPRESSIONS AT ONCE TO AN ADJACENT STAFF
This quick duplication feature isn’t limited to a single expression. You can duplicate multiple expressions contained in the source staff to an adjacent staff, freely mixing Technique Text, Expressive Text, and Dynamics:
. . . and you can grab source expressions across several bars. Just drag – lasso the expressions in the source staff, then use the above key shortcut to duplicate them up or down the score to an adjacent staff:
(3) DUPLICATE EXPRESSIONS INTO MULTIPLE STAVES WITH ONE KEYSTROKE
Finale also provides you with a way to quickly duplicate one or more Expressions all the way to the top of the score above the source staff, or all the way to the bottom of the score below the source staff in one keystroke, while maintaining either the default positioning or the offset positioning of the source staff.
To multi-copy your selected Expression(s) all the way down the score from the source staff, select the source Expression(s) in the source staff, then type ALT-END (Windows) or OPTION-END (Mac).
To multi-copy your selected Expression(s) all the way up the score from the source staff, select the source Expression(s) in the source staff, then type ALT-HOME (Windows) or OPTION-HOME (Mac).
One caveat here is that if you have empty staves above or below the source staff at this location, Finale will simply add the expressions into these empty staves as if there were music in all the staves. But generally, especially in a big score, it is quite fast to Drag – Lasso – Delete a few expressions in, say, a few empty brass staves after all the new Expressions are in place. But, don’t start deleting unused expressions just yet . . .
(4) ADD EXPRESSIONS SELECTIVELY INTO MULTIPLE STAVES
Finale has also provided a way to specify the exact staves you would like to multi-copy non-score list expressions into. The nice thing here is that you can save “sets” of dynamics or techniques for later recall in the same score (e.g. “brass” or “woodwinds” or “strings”).
To use this feature, highlight the Selection Handle(s) on the Expression(s) you want to add to the score, then on Windows, type CONTROL+ALT+RETURN. On Mac, type COMMAND+OPTION+RETURN :
When the Assign To Staves dialog pops up, you can check any staves you want the expressions to show up in here, and optionally save it as a “set” for later use.
Again, the above techniques only work with Dynamics, Expressive Text and Technique Text or their derivatives, they do not work with System / Score text Categories (e.g. Tempo Marks, Tempo Alterations and Rehearsal Marks). Staff assignments for System / Score Text Expressions is defined in Finale’s Category Designer.
(5) CLEAR EXPRESSION OFFSETS
If you need to clear manual positioning offsets (paragraph 1b above) for a group of expressions vertically after the fact, with the Expression tool selected, Shift-Click or Drag – Select (lasso) them down the score, then chose “Remove Manual Adjustments” from the contextual menu to clear them :
That’s it! That’s all there is to it.
~robert
All these work with F 2010 as well as 2011 & 2012. I’d previously not really taken in the ability to multicopy expressions all down a score with the use of home or end, nor had I taken in the assign to staves dialogue.
Thank you for drawing attention to these. David Ward
Thanks for the info about Finale 2010, David. I usually keep the current and most recent previous versions of Finale active, and I can’t always remember when things were introduced!
~robert
For your last item (5) Clear Expression Offsets, it is even easier on the Mac to just hit the Clear button after selecting the handles. I don’t know the Windows equivalent.
Great tip – thank you, Christopher! – the keystroke on Windows to clear positioning is the Backspace key.
~robert
Great, Thanks again Robert!
A.
Thank you!
~robert
Also, the “assign to all staves / assign to staves” contextual menu option for dynamics is great, however, it doesn’t seem to exist for hairpins?
Arthur
Arthur,
Yes, that is correct, the assignment lists are for staff attached text expressions only.
You can quickly copy only the hairpins (or a combination of hairpins and dynamics text if you want) to specific staves using Finale’s Edit Filter. Go to Edit > Edit Filter, and when the dialog opens, check “Smart Shapes attached to Measures”, and optionally, “Expressions – Dynamics, Expressive Text, Technique Text”.
You can then quickly copy only the hairpins (or any other specific information) to any staff or staves you want.
I hope that helps!
~robert