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Document Options-Key Signatures dialog box

How to get there

Choose Document > Document Options and select Key Signature.

What it does

Use these options to specify where to display key signatures, and configure key signature spacing.

Display Key Signature Only on First Staff System. When selected, Finale will display the key signature on the first staff system of each page only. This options is particularly useful for notating lead sheets.
In C, Display Naturals at Start of Staff System. If a key change to the key of C occurs at the end of a line, select this item if you want Finale to repeat the display of canceling accidentals by drawing them at the beginning of the new line. (The naturals appear at the end of the previous line whether this option is selected or not, if you’ve specified that you want "courtesy" key signatures to appear at the ends of lines.)
Redisplay Key Signature if Only Mode is Changing. Using the Key Signature Tool, you can create virtually any key signature; each can have any note of the scale as its root. This option has to do with key changes from one key to another that have identical sharps or flats in the key signature, but aren’t actually the same key (and are instead in different modes)—for example, from C minor to E major. Select this item if you want Finale to treat such a key change in the usual way—by canceling the first key signature before displaying the second. If you don’t select this option, Finale won’t cancel the first key signature before displaying the second.
Cancel Outgoing Key Signature. If the key is changing from a "sharp" key to one with fewer sharps, or a "flat" key to one with fewer flats, select this option if you want Finale to display "canceling" naturals in the courtesy key signature for any sharps (or flats) that are no longer sharped (or flatted) in the new key signature. Otherwise, no naturals will appear in the courtesy key signature.
Display Courtesy Key Signature at End of Staff System. If a time signature change occurs at the end of a line (system) of music, it’s traditional to forewarn the musician by displaying the incoming time signature at the rightmost end of the preceding system. If you want this "courtesy" key or time signature to appear, select this check box. If not, leave it unselected, and the new key or time signature will only appear at the beginning of the new line.
Preserve Octave When Simplifying Keys. When using Simplify Keys in a Staff Transposition, Finale will octave displace a note in some rare circumstances. Checking this box will prevent the octave jump while attempting to simplify the key for transposing instruments. This box is unchecked for documents converted from earlier versions.
Space Before Key Signature • Space After Key Signature • Canceled Key. The top two numbers determine the amount of space before and after a key signature in the score, respectively. The Canceled Key number sets the distance between a "canceled" (outgoing) key signature and a new one.
Space Between Key Signature Accidentals. This number determines the distance between accidentals in key signatures.
Extra Space Between Key and Time Signature. Here, specify the space between the key signature and time signature. You can use this setting as an alternative to the Space Before key signature setting.
Music Characters; Select. Here, specify characters to use for accidentals on key signatures. Select an accidental type from the drop-down list, then click Select to choose the character for the accidental. The available characters will depend on the default font for key specified in Font options.