NOTATIO

I'm most definitely not a user of cutaway scores (having heard too many conductors complain about them and express just how much they hate reading from them), but I know they are a VERY much requested addition to Dorico.

I'm also curious whether MS can do them.

I know Finale does. Can Sibelius?

hmm, the little harp pedal widget is cute. I sort of wish Dorico had something like that. How does MS handle things like complex divisi of parts? (for example, strings that have multiple divisi in different configurations) How does MS handle these divisi between score and parts? what if a divisi sta...

I'd suggest getting the free version of Dorico, or the less-expensive limited version (Dorico SE). Go through tutorials slowly, and you'll get a grasp of how things work in Dorico. One thing I really love about Dorico is that you don't have to have a time signature. The cadenzas in my violin concert...

OCTO , I never have the need for particularly advanced notation (aleatoric, cut-out, microtones, etc...) my music being a bit more on the conservative side, but as far as I know, everything you describe can be achieved in Dorico. The transition for me was... not bad. I started out simply recopying ...

I recently tried opening Finale to look at a file, and was completely lost.
I'm now much more comfortable with Dorico than I ever was with Finale.

Add my vote for making beat divisions clear.
I tend to avoid the use of too many syncopations.
I particularly dislike B and C in the OP's post.

wasn't there a question of some score with the word "hum-ble" crossing a page turn, and the choir suddenly switching to "bouche fermé" at the bottom of that page?

I don't understand this "metrical enigma" issue. 6/4 and 3/2 contain the exact same amount of quarter notes. The overall pulse simply switches from dotted half to half, like in Bernstein's "America" (only in a slow tempo). What I've seen most pianists do (and what I've chosen to ...

But that brings up the famous controversy about Debussy's Prelude...Engulfed Cathedral. He appears to be saying that the quarter note is constant throughout. But in his own recorded performance he plays the quarter notes in the opening 6/4 at the same speed as the half notes in the following 3/2. P...

you see, I like the grace note notation because to me it indicates that the grace notes should be played distinct from the rest of the notes. in the chord notation, to my eye, it implies that the notes should be played as quickly as possible, and as much "in one go" as possible. it also al...