Dorico Tutorials

Avoid Big Score Rendering Issues in Dorico

The Problem – Slow Performance

Dorico’s engine renders every Flow, Player, and Layout in real time. When you’re working in a Full Score containing dozens of Flows, the software continuously recalculates spacing, system breaks, and staff visibility across the entire project. For large works like ballets, films, or concert scores with many scenes, this can lead to sluggish redraw and editing lag.

A common suggestion is to create a separate score layout for each Flow, but that quickly becomes unmanageable when you have forty or more. Since Dorico doesn’t yet support folders or grouping within the Layouts panel, we need a smarter way to work efficiently without cluttering the layout list.

A Smarter Workflow: Two Custom Score Layouts

This approach keeps your project responsive while maintaining a professional delivery structure.

Create your Custome Score Layouts

• and give them memorable names, like Current Score and Delivery Score

In Setup Mode, each Flow appears in the lower panel.

► Flows need to be added manually to any Custom Layout.

To Add a new Flow To a Custom Score layout:

• Click on the new Flow’s blue rectangle in the bottom panel. The Layouts associated with the Flow will highlight in the right panel.
  • It will already show up in the Full Score and all the parts automatically, but not your Custom Score Layouts.
• Click the Layout Name(s) in the right panel to activate it for the Layout.
• That’s it, you’ve added the new Flow to your Custom Layout(s).

Activate and Deactivate Your Flows

Then, you can use checkboxes next to the Flow name in the bottom panel to activate it or deactivate it for the Layout. Checked Flows are active for that layout; unchecked ones are hidden. This allows you to keep only the current movement, scene or cue visible while Dorico ignores all others in the background, keeping redraws lightning-fast.

Selecting a Layout

There are 2 places in the UI for selecting Layouts – one is the right panel, and the other is in the Layout Selector dropdown at the top.

The Top Layout Selector

The Top Layout Selector dropdown is used for changing the Layout focus for

• Writing
• Editing
• Exporting
• Printing

scores and parts.

The Right Panel Layout List

The Right Panel Layout List is used for

• Managing connections between Layouts and Flows
• Choosing Layout Focus for Layout Options and Setup options and actions
• Creating New Layouts

Use only the needed Players for a particular Flow

Activating and Deactivating Players: In the Players panel (upper left of Setup Mode), each Player has a checkbox next to it. Use these to include or exclude instruments from the current Flow.

To Deactivate Players for a Partcular Flow:

• ► Click the Flow’s blue rectangle in the Bottom Panel
• Check or uncheck Players.
  For example, if the brass are silent in the current Flow, uncheck them here. Their parts will still exist and show a Tacet heading for that Flow automatically in the final Full Score and parts.
• Note that these changes only effect the Layout currently selected in the Right Panel.

NOTE! Layout-Specific Control: These checkboxes are per-layout settings — meaning you can deactivate a Flow or Player in one score layout without affecting any others. Your “Current Flow Full Score” should show only the Flow you’re working on, and might contain all the Players in the Project. (You never know, you might need them).

Activating Relevant Players

First select the desired Layout in the top Layout Sector dropdown, then click on a Flow in the bottom panel to select it, then choose to select or un-select Players in the left panel. The order is important:

• Select Layout (top)
• Select Flow
• Select Players
• Repeat for your Delivery Score or Full Score layout (depending on which you already did first).

Tacets

When a player is deactivated for a Flow, Dorico automatically creates a Tacet indication in the Flow Header (inline)and omits any music display for that Flow, or creates an entire Tacet Sheet (depending on whether Flow Headings are set to “Always Start New Page” in Layout Options>Page Setup>Flows.

This independence is what makes custom layouts so powerful: you can streamline your workspace without losing any content elsewhere in the project.

This gives you a light, flexible workspace where you can compose and orchestrate without hiding staves or condensing—perfect for keeping divisi visible and active.

Finalize your “Delivery Score” Layout

• If you’re delivering movements or sections incrementally..
• Activate just the current Flow for delivery (the one you just wrote, that is)
• Use the same engraving setup as your final Full Score (large time signatures, system objects, margins, and page size).
• Before exporting:
  1. Select All → Filter → Time Signatures
  2. In the Properties panel, enable Custom Scale and set it to 50% (or your conductor’s preference)
  3. Export as PDF or MusicXML for delivery

This gives you a one-flow preview of the finished score layout, with all final engraving conventions applied—without bogging down your working file.

Reserve the “Full Score” Layout for Final Assembly

• Leave all Flows active in this master layout.
• Keep your final formatting: large time signatures, Flow headers, and all system object settings.
• Check your Player activation states again for each Flow to automatically generate TACET headings in unused parts.
• If there are any global edits, like decreasing the size of oversized time signatures, do these now
• Use the Full Score Layout only at the end for orchestral delivery and librarian-ready PDFs.

Why This Works

By dividing your workflow into two lightweight “child” layouts, you avoid the performance hit of rendering every Flow simultaneously while keeping consistent Player assignments and formatting. Working in Galley View further minimizes redraw load, and Instrument Filters let you focus on just the sections you need at any moment.

Bonus Tips

• Assign keyboard shortcuts or Stream Deck buttons to switch between layouts instantly.
• Use Save As periodically to compact project files and keep backups by section.
• Disable unused VST endpoints to shorten load and playback times.

Conclusion

When scoring large, multi-Flow projects, staying in the main Full Score layout can cripple performance. Instead, build two Custom Score Layouts—one for writing in Galley View with Instrument Filters (Current Flow Full Score), and one for proofing and delivery (Delivery Score). Reserve the master Full Score only for final output. Your workflow stays light, responsive, and perfectly formatted for professional delivery.