Shape Designer

 

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How to get there

Click the Expression Tool  image\Expression_Tool.gif, and double-click a note or measure. Click Shape. To create a new Shape Expression, click Create, Select, then Create (or, to edit an existing Shape Expression, click it and then click Edit, then Edit again). Enter zero in the Select text box and click Select, then click Create.

You can also enter the Shape Designer dialog box when you’re choosing a multimeasure rest; a custom stem shape (Special Tools Tool); a Custom Frame for the Text Tool; an Executable Shape as part of the playback definition for an expression; custom barline; custom arrowheads for Smart Shapes, or articulation shapes.

What it does

The Shape Designer is Finale’s built-in graphics designer. You might create, for example, a harp pedaling diagram, or a custom barline. You can also design rectangles to use as frames when you’re creating text blocks, block rests to serve as multimeasure rests in extracted parts, and special shapes for use as custom stems.

There are a number of drawing tools at the top of the screen; to create a shape, you click the tool you want to use, then click or drag in the blank display area. Each time you do so, you create a separate, movable, resizable, reshapable object. Objects may be grouped together, sent behind or in front of other objects, copied or pasted.

Using the Shape Designer Menu, you can display a background grid, change the shading and line thickness of objects, and specify Font for text objects; see Shape Designer Menu.

To reshape an object, click it using the Selection Tool, so that its handles appear. Drag these handles to resize the object—or, if it’s a curve, slur, bracket, multiline or polygon shape, double-click to reveal a number of individually-adjustable control point handles. For more precision, you can also select a single control point handle and reposition it by typing numbers into the H: and V: boxes. These numbers are like plane geometry coordinates (horizontal and vertical, respectively). (After entering a number, press tab to see the change reflected in the display.)

At the top of the window are the drawing tools. Here’s a summary:

 

See Also:

Shape Selection

Expression Designer

 

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