In the articulation designer window for the staccato are all of the positioning parameters. Change them as needed.

I tried that first.  It's not at all clear what these positioning parameters.  A simple "distance from note" option would have been helpful,  I always attempt solutions on my own before posting here, which didn't work in this case.  I was hoping for something for a bit more helpful that "find the parameters."  Thanks

Well, I just looked at the parameters and I see "distance from entry". That sounds like what you just asked for.

And showing us a screen shot would be helpful. At this point we don't know if the standard parameters are displaying properly, or are you having a problem with a FAN file?

And, of course, we didn’t know what you had tried before you posted.

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/215729367-General-Discussion-House-Rules

Okay, I'll try that.  What's a FAN file?  I don't know that acronym.  Thanks

The letter combination FAN means Font Annotation.

In the Finale folder hierarchy there is a Font Annotation folder, containing .fan files for the music fonts.

Finale uses a .fan file for info about the precise outline of each font character.

This info is used for positioning e. g. slurs and ties without collisions with the notes.

Thanks, Peter