I would use a custom staff style that sets a custom Abbreviated Staff Name, and apply the staff style to that measure only.

Create a custom staff style for each instrument name.

Thank you for your immediate response.  I am sure that you probably assume I know how to create a custom staff style, but I don't.  I have gone to Staff>Define Staff Style>>Available files.drop down menu.... and the only thing I see that I can do is select the new button, and write in custom, which doesn't seem to do anything for solving my problem.  Will you please give me detailed instructions on creating the custom staff style to Abbreviated Staff Name and applying to that measure only.

In Finale 2012:

Staff Tool.

Staff menu > Define Staff Styles…

The dialog box is quite similar to the Staff Attributes.

However, your description

“Staff>Define Staff Style>>Available files.drop down menu”

makes me suspect that you arer not using th “full Finale 2012”, but rather PrintMusic 2012.

No I am using the full version of Finale 2012c.  Here is a picture of what I get after doing Staff menu>Define Staff Styles... and the dialog box.  Where do I  set custom staff style.

Kemara Skinner,

To create a custom staff style:

In the dialog box Staff Styles, click the button “New” (in the upper right corner).

Give your new staff style a name (e. g. “Abbr. Name: Piano”), and define your staff style as needed.

Thank you for the directions; but that is not what I asked to do originally.  I have a staff already created, with music written and I wanted to hide those blank measures with no music.  When I show that staff I need to name the staff.  I don't want the name of the staff to appear on every page thereafter.  It did not do that on the staves I didn't hide the measures.  The name of the staff only appears at the beginning of the song, first page.  I deleted the abbreviated names on the other pages.  Now you are saying I have to create a new staff to set up a custom staff style.  Finale is more complicated than it needs to be.  

Kemara Skinner,

I could be wrong here , but I think that you are confusing Staff Attributes and Staff Styles.

Staff Attributes are “global” (= for all the measures in the entire document).

On The Other Hand, a Staff Style can be “local” (= applied only to selected measures).

You can use a staff style to change the Staff Attributes “locally”.

Actually that is the idea about staff styles.

Thank you again for responding, however, you must have been one of the person who wrote this software because you cannot get down to my level.  As you can see from the screenshots I sent you, I am in staff styles, not staff attributes.  Please demonstrate to me how to not have the name of the staff appear after I put it in when the measures that are no longer hidden.  That's all I asked.  Can you send me a screenshot of how to do this?

Show me how to apply the staff style (local = applied only to selected measures) so that name will not show after the page I put it in or after the empty staves are no longer hidden.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

In this example let us say that the instrument is a flute.
There are two staff names:
- The so called “Full Staff Name” which is used in the score’s System 1. (= perhaps Flute)
- The so called “Abbr. Staff Name” which is used in the score’s System 2, System 3, System 4, &c. (= perhaps Fl. - or in your case nothing at all)

In the first measures of the score there is no music in the flute, and the flute is hidden in the first several measures.
Where there - after the empty measures - is music in the flute, you need the name “Flute” to display on that very system, but not on any of the following systems, right?
I would use a custom staff style that sets a custom Abbreviated Staff Name (= Flute), and apply the custom staff style to that system’s first measure only.
(Create a custom staff style for each instrument name)

To apply a staff style “locally” (= only to selected measures):
1) Select the desired region of the staff (= probably the first measure of the system where there for the first time is music in the flute).
In this example let us say that you select Measure 9 in the flute staff.
2) Staff menu > Apply Staff Style To > Current Part/Score
Finale will display a list of the ready made staff styles, including your custom staff style (which sets the Abbr. Staff Name to Flute).

Apply the staff style only to the measure(s) of the part where you need to show the staff name.

Perhaps if you attached a screenshot of what you want (or what you see and do not want, or both) we could understand your situation more clearly.

Thanks again for your patience with me .  Here is what I am doing.

These are the two instruments that I need to hide empty measures.

Let's only deal with the Panpipes.

First I hide the empty measures... in this case measures I through 12.

Hidden

Now I go to select region and choose measure 13-16

Now Staff Menu - Define Staff - New - Panpipes

Then I select OK

Now I go to Staff Menu - Apply Staff Style - Current Part/Score

This window appears and I select OK

Now I select Edit Abbreviated staff name, type in the name and I get this

AND I GET THIS:NOTHING AT MEASURE 13 BUT: NEXT PAGE AND EVERY PAGE THEREAFTER

So can you tell me what I am doing wrong.  Only want to show NAME one time only @ measure 13

THANKS AGAIN

Thank you for the illustration. (That must have taken some time.) I went at your problem the opposite way, turning off the staff name in Staff Attributes and only turning it back on with the Staff Style (which I only apply to the leftmost measure of the line, not the whole line). See if this helps. The key is that you did not want the abbreviated name reappearing. That provided some flexibility.

Kemara Skinner,

This is what you are doing wrong:

In the dialog box Staff Styles where you define your staff style, you have named your staff style Panpipes.

But that is just the name of your custom staff style.

To set the staff style’s Abbr. Staff Name to Panpipes, click the button “Edit” next to Abbr Staff Name.

Your screen shot reveals that you have not done so, since the line in the red rectangle says “Abbr. Staff Name:” and nothing else.

It should say “Abbr. Staff Name: Panpipes” (compare to my screen shot where it says “Abbr. Staff Name: Flute”).

Instead you are using the context menu to change the Abbreviated Staff Name.

Using the context menu is wrong because the context menu affects the (global) Staff Attributes, not the (local) staff styles.

I hope that this is clear?

If not, ask again.

I got it! I got it.  I went back in and by using the edit button in Abb. Staff Name, I put in panpipes. (like yours was flute), Then I went through the next steps and Eureka!!!!!!! name only appeared on that one page.

Thank You for working with me on this problem.