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Smart Shape Palette

How to get there

Choose the Smart Shape tool . Choose Window > Smart Shape Palette, if it isn’t already selected.

What it does

This resizable, movable, reshapable, dockable palette contains icons representing slurs, crescendo hairpins, brackets, dashed and solid lines, and other intelligent, self-stretching Smart Shapes.

Finale automatically determines the direction of measure-based Smart Shapes (though you can override the direction if you choose) by whether the cursor is above or below the middle staff line.

[Control+menu box]. Double-click this white square to hide the palette. (Choosing Window > Smart Shape Palette so that the check mark disappears serves the same purpose.)
[Title bar]. Drag this strip – at the top or left side of the palette–to move the palette.
[Sizable frame]. This border functions like any sizable frame in a Windows program. Drag the sizable frame to resize the palette so that fewer tools icons appear, or to reshape the palette. This frame can only be resized when floating, not docked.
Slur Tool • Dashed Curve Tool . Select these tools to create slurs and dashed slurs, respectively.
Decrescendo Tool • Crescendo Tool . Select these tools to create crescendos and decrescendos that move and break with your score.
Trill • Trill Extension Tool . Click one of these tools and position the cursor in the measure where you want the trill extension to begin. Double-click the mouse, holding down the button on the second click; drag to the right until the trill extension is the desired length.
8va •15ma Tool . Click one of these tools, then double-click and drag above a staff to enter an one octave up (8va) or two octaves up (15ma) marking in the score; double-click and drag below a staff to enter an one octave down (8vb) or two octaves down (15mb) marking. Choose Smart Shape > Smart Shape Options to set the font and size for the symbols (for example, if you prefer using 8va and 15ma below the staff as well), and choose whether symbols or numbers are used.
Double-Ended Bracket Tool • Dashed Double-Ended Bracket Tool • Single-Ended Bracket Tool • Dashed Single-Ended Bracket Tool • Line Tool • Dashed Line Tool . Click one of these tools, then double-click and drag to enter the Smart Shape in your score. When a bracket is placed under a staff, the ends of the bracket will point up. If the bracket is placed over the staff, the ends of the bracket will point down. If you selected the Dashed Double-Ended Bracket Tool or the Dashed Single-Ended Bracket Tool, then the horizontal line will be dashed instead of solid.
Glissando Tool . Click this tool, then double-click a note and drag to create an angled glissando, or double-click a note to attach the glissando to that note and the next. Use Smart Shape Options to edit the type of glissando and text used. See Smart Shape Options dialog box.
Guitar Bend Tool . Click this tool, then double-click and drag or double-click on the first note, or fret number in a tab staff, to create a bend shape. See Guitar Bend Options dialog box and To add guitar bends.
Bend Hat Tool . Click this tool, then double-click and drag or double-click on the first note to create a bend between notes or double-click a note to attach the bend to that note and the next. (These are actually just a special case slur.)
Tab Slide Tool . Click this tool, then double-click and drag or double-click on the first note to create a slide between notes or double-click a note to attach the slide to that notehead and the next.
Custom Line Tool . CTRL-click this tool to select, edit or create a user-defined Smart Shape. See Smart Line Selection dialog box and Smart Line Designer dialog box for more details.