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Dorico + Notation Express in Stream Deck

It has immensely sped things up for me. I did do some work to customize it for me but the end result really speed things up. I am not a professional so I can only say it speeds up my hobby work. I have the XL stream deck but I imagine it is also worth it for the 15 key version. I mostly use it for note entry and setting up new programs. I am trying to go full stream deck and keyboard when possible.
 
It has immensely sped things up for me. I did do some work to customize it for me but the end result really speed things up. I am not a professional so I can only say it speeds up my hobby work. I have the XL stream deck but I imagine it is also worth it for the 15 key version. I mostly use it for note entry and setting up new programs. I am trying to go full stream deck and keyboard when possible.
Ok thanks. I’ll go ahead and order one. People seem to be quite impressed generally speaking.
 
I use my own custom one I made for Windows users and offered it for free on the forum (with a contribution option)... There's two versions, for the regular and the XL. They're a life changer! Nothing like being able to concentrate on making music without having to be distracted by remembering a thousand different shortcuts!
 
I use my own custom one I made for Windows users and offered it for free on the forum (with a contribution option)... There's two versions, for the regular and the XL. They're a life changer! Nothing like being able to concentrate on making music without having to be distracted by remembering a thousand different shortcuts!
Thks. I’m using Max. Shame. Would have been interesting.
 
I use my own custom one I made for Windows users and offered it for free on the forum (with a contribution option)... There's two versions, for the regular and the XL. They're a life changer! Nothing like being able to concentrate on making music without having to be distracted by remembering a thousand different shortcuts!
I'm trying to find either one of them but nothing's coming up. Do you still happen to have a link?
 
Sorry. Typo. iMac
I'm sure you can still use it if you're willing to change the commands. I believe you need to substitute the CTRL for Command key. The hard bit is actually designing it and making all the icons, etc.
I'm trying to find either one of them but nothing's coming up. Do you still happen to have a link?
Sure thing:

XL: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tua2opubh8ltrnq/Dorico%20XL.streamDeckProfile?dl=0
Regular: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5f7lnc6ecv7z2na/Dorico.streamDeckProfile?dl=0
And if you want to thank me for work: https://wernermusic.co.uk/product/33

I have a much better version for the Regular, but it's not quite finished. It involves multiple profiles so it's much easier to navigate between multiple pages. If you decide to help me by purchasing it you will be automatically notified with any updates.
 
@Bollen, could you please help me? I have the Stream Deck XL and Dorico Pro v3.5 on Windows 10.

I've been trying to use your profile after also trying Notation Express, both to no avail.
The Stream Deck communicates with my PC (e.g. I can access web pages, etc. from it) but nothing happens when I'm inside Dorico. In Write note I cannot enter or edit notes, etc.
I cannot even press your SD buttons to switch modes (e.g. to go to Write or Play mode). It's like Dorico does not receive any command. :sad:

Am I supposed to set something special in Dorico to make use of the Stream Deck?
 
@Bollen, I'm OK, hubby solved it! The SD XL works in Dorico finally. I should never make fun of him... Here's the gist of it:

1) The SD app was already running with Admin priv.
2) I tried the one key test (define one button as "6", then changed to "7") and it worked!

Assuming it's the Notation Express or your profile which is corrupted he just deleted it from my SD XL device and went to a folder to delete the JSON file(s) there. OK, he did it. It works!

BUT another problem I had was that on that PC I use English (US), English (Canada), French (Canada) and Russian (!) Windows keyboards profiles. Apparently I NEED to be in ENglish (US) mode for it to work!
For example {[} means note accent but is an unavailable char in most keyboard templates/profiles other than US in Windows so I could not use it.

That's what the JSON file seems to indicate: EN for English (maybe should be "US" instead).
He thought the SD sent UNICODE char codes, not the actual keys defined in current Windows keyboard definition but it does not. Strange! he said.
 
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@Bollen, I'm OK, hubby solved it! The SD XL works in Dorico finally. I should never make fun of him... Here's the gist of it:

1) The SD app was already running with Admin priv.
2) I tried the one key test (define one button as "6", then changed to "7") and it worked!

Assuming it's the Notation Express or your profile which is corrupted he just deleted it from my SD XL device and went to a folder to delete the JSON file(s) there. OK, he did it. It works!

BUT another problem I had was that on that PC I use English (US), English (Canada), French (Canada) and Russian (!) Windows keyboards profiles. Apparently I NEED to be in ENglish (US) mode for it to work!
For example {[} means note accent but is an unavailable char in most keyboard templates/profiles other than US in Windows so I could not use it.

That's what the JSON file seems to indicate: EN for English (maybe should be "US" instead).
He thought the SD sent UNICODE char codes, not the actual keys defined in current Windows keyboard definition but it does not. Strange! he said.
Hi Tatiana, always happy to help! These profiles have been downloaded several hundred times all over the world and I've only had one person that struggled to use it (they were on a Mac). Let me try to help with a little checklist:

1.- The Stream Deck app does not need Admin privileges, but I can't imagine that having any effect.

2.- All the profiles I offered are for UK British keyboard layout, but this is irrelevant since then you can easily change key assignments within the SD App (DO NOT mess around with the JSON file).

3.- Are you using the correct profile for your device? I presume you are.

4.- The profile is configured to be triggered when you open Dorico. I can't imagine this would be the issue, but you can go to the profile setting and disable that.

So to summarise, the profiles are configured to work with Dorico's default keybinds but on a British keyboard. You can change every single setting within StreamDeck's App to work on any language layout, most of the commands will work universally.

Also, it doesn't hurt to download them again.

Let me know if you're still having any trouble.
 
Hi @Bollen ! Thank you for your detailed reply! Everything works fine now using the Notation Express profile exclusively (for the moment).

1) I gave the SD app admin priv, as I usually do and as suggested by people at Notation Express (NYC).

2) In my case I change continuously between keyboard layouts (US, CAN, FR CAN, RUSSIAN) so setting one in the SD app will not help me. I need to switch back to, say, US layout, when I want to use the SD and stick to it. The problem is making sure that I'm always in the right layout. My problem but an easy one to miss.

3,4) I use profiles made for the SD XL I have. See below.

Currently everything works using the Notation Express XL profile exclusively. I uninstalled yours for the time being. My remaining questions are related to 3) and 4) above:

- Is it possible to to use your profile in addition to the NE one?
- Can the two JSON files coexist in the same folder?
- Only one SD profile will be triggered when I start Dorico but will I be able to switch between them during the same session just by selecting them in the SD app?

Thanks again for your help!! Best, Tatiana
 
- Is it possible to to use your profile in addition to the NE one?

Yes and no. I have both and they have no problem coexisting. However, the NE uses its own shortcuts (hence why you need to install the JSON), whereas mine uses the Dorico default. You can simply change the commands on mine to be compatible with the NE.

- Can the two JSON files coexist in the same folder?

No because Dorico doesn't have a way to manage different Key Commands profiles. In any case, as explained above, mine doesn't have nor need a JSON, it works with the default. You can change the commands to make them compatible with whatever keyboard or profile you want in the SD App:
Capture.JPG

- Only one SD profile will be triggered when I start Dorico but will I be able to switch between them during the same session just by selecting them in the SD app?

Yes, this is how Stream Deck is meant to be used. However, since both do similar things I don't see the advantage. In any case, I have several I use for Dorico, Cubase, VE Pro, etc. and they all trigger automatically simply by clicking the appropriate window and none of them conflict with each other. I also have the NE one they sent me for free, because apparently I contributed to it somehow, and even though I don't use it, it sits there with all the other profiles without issue.

Don't hesitate to let me know if you need any further help.

Be well!
 
Thank you for clarifying @Bollen ! I thought that the JSON files were a necessary part of the profiles. So if the profile uses only standard Dorico shortcuts (like yours) then no JSON file is necessary if I understand well. That helps.

I'm scoring a large orchestral piece for the first time in Dorico Pro (used Sibelius, Notion and Finale before) so I will stay within one profile for now. When I feel more comfortable with Dorico I might very well switch back to yours :)

I'm also experimenting with Note Performer 3 for a change. Pretty cool stuff! I will also do the piece with my regular VSL libs to compare.

Many thanks again for you time !! ❤️ Tatiana
 
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I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but as of the latest update, no override of the key commands is needed for Dorico 4. This was the big reason I stayed away from NE before, but according to their release notes this is no longer needed!

Notation Express for Dorico 4 has been completely rebuilt. Every button has been re-programmed to take advantage of Dorico 4’s ability to receive commands directly from Stream Deck, instead of relying upon a custom key command profile as the intermediary.

What does this mean?

You may have noticed that earlier versions of Notation Express installed a custom key command (shortcut) profile. In Dorico 4 it is no longer necessary to rely on these commands.

This is a major change for the following reasons:

  • Reclaim your shortcuts – You can now reclaim all of the keyboard shortcuts for your own use, as you like, without them being reserved by Notation Express
  • Cross-platform support – One Notation Express profile works for both Mac and Windows, so you can use the same profile on both operating systems (no need to purchase separate versions)
  • Multi-language support – Notation Express is now supported in all languages, so you don’t need to switch to English to use it in Dorico (the icon labels will still only be in English, for now)
  • Faster – The direct connection to Dorico makes Notation Express significantly more responsive, because it passes commands directly to Dorico instead of invoking a series of macros that may involve opening and typing into a popover, for example
  • Control Dorico in the background – The direct connection to Dorico means that you can use your Stream Deck to control Dorico even when another application is running in the foreground
Source: https://www.notationcentral.com/notation-express-dorico-4-info/

I was staying away for now but I'm using Dorico more and more these days, and NE looks like a major productivity boost (vs. creating all my own Streamdeck commands which, while awesome, is also very time consuming).
 
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