Using Special Tools

1. Choose Window > Advanced Tools Palette. Choose the Special Tools tool .
2. Select the layer you want to edit by clicking a Layer push button at the bottom of the document window.
3. Click the tool you want to use on the Special Tools Palette.

   Choose Special Tools > Show Handles to control whether handles appear for elements.

4. Click the measure you want to edit. Handles will appear on all the related elements of the selected tool if Show Handles is selected.
5. Edit the element. Depending on what tool is selected, you can either edit an element by dragging its handle or by double-clicking its handle to display a dialog box where you can enter values.

1. Choose Window > Advanced Tools Palette. Select a Special Tool , and click the measure you want to edit.
2. Drag-enclose (by positioning the cursor at the first element’s handle and dragging the cursor over the handles of the elements to be selected), SHIFT-click (click the first handle, then hold down SHIFT as you click additional handles), or choose Edit > Select All.

   The Select All command is available to the following Special Tools: Note Position, Notehead Position, Note Shape, Accidental Mover, Stem Length, Custom Stem, Beam Angle, Beam Extension, Secondary Beam Angle, Tie, Dot, Beam Width and Beam Stem Adjust Tools.

3. Drag, nudge, or double-click the selected handles. Any changes you make will affect all the selected elements in the measures.

1. Choose Window > Advanced Tools Palette. Select a Special Tool , and click the measure you want to edit.

   To increase or decrease the number of pixels to nudge by, choose Edit > Preferences and select Edit. In the Movable Items section, enter a new amount, then click OK.

   If you need to make adjustments that are even more precise than the settings specified in the Movable Items dialog box, choose a larger view percentage under View > Zoom. For example, doubling the view percentage by zooming in will offer twice the nudging precision.

2. Click a handle. The status Bar displays the current adjustment for the selected element.
3. Press the UP or DOWN ARROW (nudge keys) to move the element vertically by one pixel (or the amount specified in the Movable Items dialog box, if applicable). Press the left or right arrows (nudge keys) to move the element horizontally by the specified amount.

1. Choose Window > Advanced Tools Palette. Choose Edit > Preferences and select Edit.
2. In the Movable Items section, choose whether you want to automatically constrain movements to the initial direction of the drag.

   When auto-constrain is selected, Finale limits the dragging direction to vertical or horizontal movements only. You can press SHIFT to drag an element freely in any direction when auto-constrain is selected. When auto-constrain is not selected, you can drag an element in any direction. Press SHIFT to constrain movements horizontally or vertically, depending on the direction of your initial drag. By pressing and releasing SHIFT, you can switch between constrained and unconstrained movements while you drag an element.

3. Click OK. The auto-constrain setting you specify will be used throughout the program whenever you drag an element, not just for Special Tools. Press SHIFT to temporarily override your setting.

1. Choose the Dot Tool and click the measure you want to edit. Handles appear on the dots in the measure. If a note has one dot, only one handle appears. Two handles appear for notes with more than one dot.
2. Drag the first (or only) handle to move the first dot away from or closer to the note. When you drag a handle, Finale uses the auto-constrain setting in the Movable Items dialog box. Press SHIFT to temporarily override the setting.
3. Drag the second handle (which appears for notes with more than one dot) to adjust the space between dots. Finale automatically adjusts any dots between the first and the last dot so they are evenly spaced.

See To change an individual tie’s shape and placement by dragging it on the score.

1. Enter the notes including accidentals with your preferred entry tool.
2. Choose Window > Advanced Tools Palette. Choose the Special Tools tool , then click the measure containing an accidental to adjust.
3. Choose the Accidental Tool . Handles appear on each accidental in the measure.
4. Double-click on a handle. The Accidental Settings dialog box appears.
5. Click in the Resize To __% text box and enter a reduction, such as 75.
6. Select Allow Vertical Positioning. The vertical text box becomes active.
7. Select a different font or an alternate character in the selected font to mix different accidental styles. For example, use Fughetta font to create square bracketed accidentals. For more information on Fughetta and other specialized fonts, see Alternative music fonts.
8. Click OK.
9. Click on an accidental handle and drag it until centered above the note.