Key signature tweaking

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qanunji
Posts: 20
Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 21:15

Key signature tweaking

Post by qanunji »

Hi,
I'm dealing with a lot of microtonal scores, and wish Finale could let me adjust the space between individual accidentals,
because of this for example:
test1.jpg
test1.jpg (6.08 KiB) Viewed 10459 times
I tried to adjust the font annotation to the specific symbol, but it didn't work/
any suggestions?
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OCTO
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Location: Sweden

Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by OCTO »

Do you use the Custom time signatures, or how did you enter them?
Freelance Composer. Self-Publisher.
Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
qanunji
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Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 21:15

Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by qanunji »

OCTO wrote:Do you use the Custom time signatures, or how did you enter them?
yes
erelievonen
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Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 16:12
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Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by erelievonen »

The space between accidentals in a key signature can be adjusted in the Document Options, but only globally.
To have different space between individual accidentals is not possible within Finale's settings.
The desired look might be accomplished by modifying the font itself (by giving different accidental symbols different kerning properties).
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OCTO
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Location: Sweden

Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by OCTO »

Yes, what Ere says is the solution.
Freelance Composer. Self-Publisher.
Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
Knut
Posts: 867
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 18:07
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by Knut »

Unfortunately, I don't think Finale is sensitive to kerning properties when rendering key signatures or accidentals, so kerning adjustments won't do much good. Modifying the spacing of the accidental glyphs of your font isn't a viable option either, since it will only transfer the problem to individual accidentals in the score. Your best option is to create separate glyphs for use in key signatures, and only alter the spacing for those glyphs.

Short of this, you could hide the real key signatures and replace them with expressions made in the shape designer, but this would also require a lot of work, unfortunately.

This is a long standing limitation with Finale's handling of accidentals, and one which isn't helped by font annotation, since that only determines a rectangular bounding box for each glyph. Hopefully, though, when (if ever) Finale adopts SMuFL, this problem will be history, but until then you likely have to work around it, one way or another.
qanunji
Posts: 20
Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 21:15

Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by qanunji »

erelievonen wrote:The space between accidentals in a key signature can be adjusted in the Document Options, but only globally.
To have different space between individual accidentals is not possible within Finale's settings.
The desired look might be accomplished by modifying the font itself (by giving different accidental symbols different kerning properties).
yes, that was my idea. I tried to make it via the font annotation but it didnt work.
thanks
Knut
Posts: 867
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 18:07
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Key signature tweaking

Post by Knut »

qanunji wrote:
erelievonen wrote:The space between accidentals in a key signature can be adjusted in the Document Options, but only globally.
To have different space between individual accidentals is not possible within Finale's settings.
The desired look might be accomplished by modifying the font itself (by giving different accidental symbols different kerning properties).
yes, that was my idea. I tried to make it via the font annotation but it didnt work.
thanks
Font notation files aren't relevant to accidental spacing. The information they provide is only used to prevent collisions when certain elements like smart shapes and tuplets are involved.
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