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Document Options-Layers dialog box

How to get there

Choose Document > Document Options and select Layers.

What it does

The easiest way to notate simultaneous independent voices on a single staff is to use Finale’s Layer mechanism. Using these options, you can define the behavior of music in each layer—for example, you might want the second layer’s note stems always to go down, and you might want to make sure that second layer rests are out of the way of the upper layer. Note that the system of Voice 1/Voice 2 uses a completely independent method of flipping the stems.

Settings for Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4. Using this drop-down list, choose the layer for which you’re establishing your settings. For example, you may decide that stems in Layer 1 should go up, and stems in Layer 2 should go down. How you handle Layers 3 and 4—since there aren’t any more stem directions to choose from—depends on the structure of the inner voices in the particular piece you’re working on. This dropdown affects all settings except for Consolidate Rests Across Layers.
Freeze Stems and Ties • Freeze stems Up/Down. When you select this check box, you can choose an automatic stem direction for stems. Choose either Up or Down from the drop-down list. Most of the time you’ll want to freeze Layer 1 stems up and Layer 2 stems down, and also to select Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers; with this setup, Finale will flip all stems up only when necessary—when there’s another voice (that is, in another layer) on the same staff.
Freeze Ties in the Same Direction as Stems. When there’s only a single voice on a staff, a tie customarily arcs away from the noteheads it’s attached to—hence, in the opposite direction from the note stems. If there are two voices on the staff, however, ties that followed this scheme would overlap and be difficult to read. This option, then, tells Finale to flip ties the "wrong way"—in other words, if notes in Layer 2 are present, you’ll want ties in Layer 1 to flip upward, even though the Layer 1 stems are upward.
Adjust Floating Rests by ___ Steps. If you select this item, you can enter a number in the text box that tells Finale, in lines and spaces, how much higher (or lower) than usual you want it to position rests in this layer. For example, you may want to enter a 4 in the text box and also select Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers; with this setup, Finale will move the upper voice’s rests up out of the way only when there’s a second voice on the same staff. (Of course, you could accomplish the same thing manually, by dragging any rest vertically using the Speedy Entry Tool; position the insertion bar on it and then drag it up or down.) A typical setup might be an Adjust Floating Rest setting of 4 for Layer 1, and –4 for Layer 2.
Hide Layer when Inactive. When this item is selected, the notes in this layer will only appear when it is the active editing layer. When this item is not selected, the notes in a hidden layer will appear as grayed notes when you are editing other layers.
Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers. Select this option if you want the other options—involving stems, ties, and rests—to apply only when there’s another voice (in another layer). If you don’t select this option, Finale will flip all Layer 1 stems (for example), or adjust all Layer 1 rests, even when Layer 1 is the only voice in a measure.
Ignore Layers Containing Only Hidden Notes • Ignore Hidden Layers. Check Ignore Hidden Notes to have Finale skip Layer Options settings for measures where only hidden notes appear in other layers. Uncheck this box to have hidden notes affect when Finale applies the Layer Options settings, if the Apply Settings Only box is checked. For example, you may wish to check this box if you’re using hidden notes in another layer for playback of a notated trill. Check Ignore Hidden Layers to have Finale skip Layer Options settings if the entire layer is hidden by the Hide Layer when Inactive check box above.
Playback. If you select this item, notes in this layer will playback as normal. If you uncheck this item, notes in this layer won’t playback. For example, you may wish to leave layer 1 unchecked for playback for a notated trill. Note that the Play setting in the ScoreManager provides the same function.
Affect Music Spacing. If you select this item, notes in this layer will be considered when music spacing is applied. If you deselect this item, notes in this layer will be ignored during music spacing. For example, you may wish to leave layer 4 unchecked for Affect Music Spacing for written-out playback-only trills.
Consolidate Rests Across Layers. When checked, rests in two or more layers occurring on the same beat and have identical durations are combined and centered vertically on the staff (they can be manually repositioned like any other rest). Rests are combined in this manner only if there are no sounding notes in any layer on that beat. When combined, the rest is displayed as the currently selected layer. If a combined rest is hidden, the rest is hidden in all layers; any currently hidden rests are not combined even if this option is enabled. This option is enabled by default when creating a new document and disabled when opening older documents. It applies to the entire document and affects all layers. It must be enabled to make the manual Combine/Split Rests command available in the Speedy and Simple menus; see these topics in the User Manual for more information on behavior of combined rests.