Fretboard Editor dialog box

How to get there

  1. Choose the Chord tool . The Chord menu appears.
  2. Choose Chord > Manual Input, then click any note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached.
  3. In the Chord Definition dialog box, click the Edit button in the Fretboard area if you have fretboards created. Otherwise, click Select, then Edit.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to create custom fretboard diagrams.

  • Name. Displays the name of this group of fretboard diagrams.
  • Show/Hide Group. Click the Show Group button to expand the dialog box to display all of the fretboard thumbnails for this group. Click the Hide Group button to collapse the dialog box and hide the thumbnails.
  • Instrument • Edit Instrument. Click this button to change the number of strings, tuning and other aspects of the selected instrument. From this drop-down menu you can choose to show fretboards for banjo, dulcimer, gamba. 7-string guitar, bass, lute, mandolin, requinto, sitar, ukulele, and vihuela. You can also edit these styles to account for custom tuning. See the Fretboard Instrument Definition dialog box for details.
  • Fretboard Tools: Hand Grabber • Eraser • Open Circle • Closed Circle • X • Open Diamond • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • T • Barre. Click on the Hand Grabber tool then click and drag the fretboard to move your view of the fretboard. You can also select the Hand Grabber Tool with the shortcut of right-click and drag. Click the Eraser, then click on any marking on the fretboard to remove it. Click the Open or Closed Circle, X, Open Diamond, a number, or T; then click on a string to add the marking. Click on the Barre, then click and drag to draw a barre. Clicking on a mark with its associated tool will erase the mark.
  • Clear Items. Removes all of the fretboard markings to display a blank fretboard.
  • Multiple Items per String. Check this box to allow more than one marking on each string.
  • Number of Frets. Type in this text box the number of frets to display in this fretboard diagram.
  • Play. Click this button to have Finale play the chord as an arpeggio.
  • Fretboard Number: Show • Number. Check the Show button to display the text fr. and the number of frets in the number text box. To adjust the fretboard number text or placement, see Fretboard Styles dialog box.
  • View: Percent • Style. Choose a view percentage from the drop-down menu to change the display, but not resize the fretboard.
  • OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the changes to the fretboards and return to the Chord Definition dialog box. Click Cancel to return to the Chord Definition dialog box without modifying the fretboards.
  • Generate. Click on Generate to have Finale create new fretboards in this group based on the nearest already existing fretboard. Finale only changes unlocked fretboards.
  • Clear Unlocked • Lock All • Unlock All. Click Clear Unlocked to clear the contents of unlocked fretboards. Click Lock All to freeze all of the group fretboards. Click Unlock All to unlock all of the group fretboards and allow Generate to make changes. Next to each root’s fretboard diagram is a small lock icon. These icons indicate the lock status for each fretboard. They may be clicked to lock or unlock the individual fretboard.

See also:

Chord symbols

Chord Definition

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