First of all, the Ossia Tool is a very old part of Finale.

Today we have other options.

Instead of using the Ossia Tool you can create the ossia as a separate staff - use the Staff Tool, and hide the staff where you do not need it.

In this way it is easy to make the ossia’s barlines align with the corresponding barlines in the score.

If barline alignment is not relevant, consider adding the ossia as a separate system.

You can use the Page Layout Tool to add an extra system.

Another method might be to create the ossia as a graphic, and paste it in the score.

I would like to add Ossia in a Footnote. How can I do this?

Probably best added as a graphic.

Any idea how would I tackle this and the footnotes in general? Sorry, I'm new to this and I was kind of expecting a footnote option but there seems to be none.

Thanks for your reply, btw :-)

What do you mean by "footnotes in general"? Text footnotes would just be done as text inserts. Musical footnotes are probably best handled as graphics. Create the passage in another score, select and export the section that you want, and insert it into your primary.

If you could give us a screenshot or drawing of what you want, we can advise you better.

Hi Mike, something like this, but it may need even more vertical space (for two piano bars)

I would do it the same way that was done. Just select the two-staff section. Adjust the layout as needed.

So you suggest that I adjust the page layout individually to make place for footnote at the bootom and add the text and graphic there (the example I made is a simple one that I could quickly find, I need more place at the bottom of the page, about 5 cm).

Thus, any changes in measures, formating, etc. will not reflect the position of the footnote (i.e. when the measure referenced moves to the next or previous page due to some changes, everything has to be adjusted manually)? Did I get this right?

I'm not sure. I don't know if graphics are measure-attached, or page-attached. I'm sure someone who knows will tell us!

I've tried, they do not move or at least I do not know how to make them. Still, even if they move it leaves the page layout that needs manually adjusting. I guess the best I can do is make sure that I do this at the end when everything else is done and measure movement is unlikely as it gets.

And thanks a lot for your you help so far!