Layouts in Dorico

A typical project for an ensemble contains several layouts. By default, Dorico projects contain a single full score layout that contains the music for all players, and a part layout for each player that only contains their music. However, you can also create as many layouts as required.

When you add the first player to a project, Dorico automatically creates a full score layout and a part layout. For all subsequent players you add to the project, Dorico creates a part layout for each player and assigns them all to the existing full score layout.

Layouts can contain any combination of players and flows. They share the musical content of these players and flows, such as the notes each instrument plays. For example, when you change the pitch of a note in the full score, that note’s pitch is also updated in the corresponding part layout.

You can control practically every aspect of page formatting in each layout independently, including note spacing, staff size, page size, margins, and casting off; that is, the positions of system breaks and page turns. Changing these aspects in one layout does not affect other layouts. For example, inserting systems breaks in a part layout does not change the casting off in the full score.

Similarly, you can change the visual appearance of many items only in one layout, without affecting other layouts, using local properties. For example, you can hide text items in the full score layout but show them in part layouts.

The default formatting of pages in layouts is determined by page templates. By default, full score layouts use a different page template set to part layouts; however, you can apply a different page template set to each layout.

Deleting layouts does not delete any music from the project.