Symbol List dialog box

How to get there

1. Choose the Key Signature tool and double-click the measure in which you want the key to change. The Key Signature dialog box appears.
2. Choose Nonstandard from the drop-down list. The Nonstandard Key Signature dialog box appears.
3. Select the key format/signature that you want to edit by clicking the Next button.
4. Click the Attribute button, and click Symbol List ID.

What it does

Noteman says: For an example-based tutorial, see Nonstandard key signatures.

In this dialog box, you can specify a different character (or set of characters) you want to be used in place of each kind of accidental that appears in a key signature. For example, if you’re creating a quarter-tone scale, you’ll need to create a system for labeling the notes between C and C sharp and between C sharp and D.

• Symbol List (#). This indicator identifies, by number, the set of accidental/symbol pairings to be defined.
• List Element (#). This indicator identifies, by number, the currently displayed pairing of an accidental (as identified by the Alter amount, below—sharp, flat, or quarter-sharp, for example) with the symbol you want to represent it.
• Alter. The number in this text box identifies the amount of chromatic alteration for which you’re defining a new symbol. For example, in the normal scale, the amount of alteration for F sharp is 1; in a quarter-tone scale, however, the amount of alteration for F sharp is 2, because there’s an intermediate alteration step (F quarter-sharp). A negative number indicates a downward chromatic alteration (in the "flat" direction).
• Characters. In this text box, type the character (or characters) that represent the symbol (or symbols) you want to use for the displayed degree of chromatic alteration. The characters in this text box are the system equivalent of the actual symbols, regardless of the actual font you’ve chosen in the previous dialog box. For example, you’ll see a lower-case b in this text box if you’re using the Maestro music font and specifying a flat symbol.

  Note that you can use more than one character to represent a particular accidental—up to eight, in fact. In the quarter-tone scale, for example, you might want to use a pair of symbols—such as #$ to display —to indicate the third quarter-step (between C sharp and D, for example). This third quarter-step would have an Alter value of 3.

• Insert. Once you’ve created an accidental/symbol pairing, click this button to store it and add it to the Symbol List. Even though it may appear that you’ve replaced a set of existing pairing data (by typing over them), Finale saves both the old and new information.
• Delete. Click Delete to remove the currently displayed accidental/symbol pairing from the Symbol List.
• Prev • Next. Click Prev or Next to view the previous or next accidental/symbol pairing in the Symbol List.
• OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the accidental/symbol pairing changes you’ve made. You return to the Special Key Signature Attributes dialog box.

Tip: Enter a lowercase b for a flat and a # (SHIFT+3) for a sharp.