By crescendo tool, I am guessing you mean the Smart Shape Tool. What have you tried to do, and how have you tried to accomplish it?

• I just hold down the "<" key and double-click and drag where I want the hairpin to go.
• If I want a text "cresc." I use the Expressive Text sub-menu of Expression Tool and add the cresc . from there.
• If my Human Playback settings are on, it plays back fine, but I won't expect a change in volume on the held note of a struck instrument such as a piano, glockenspiel, or chime.

As Adrian says, the trick is the double click and drag. But it's not really a double click!! It's more of a click and a half: Click>release>click>hold down and drag. You would use this with all of the smart shapes.

I like to think of it as a "dotted click."

With a track pad, tap once with one finger, then put down three fingers, and drag.

I have tried all the above suggestions without success.  So I'm left with actually typing in Cres. or are there any other suggestions that I could try please?  I have been using Finale for about 17 years and have always been absolutely delighted with it, especially with the support.  Now I need some more help please.

Pat

Gloucester UK

What happens when you try each of the suggested methods above?

What computer type (laptop with touchpad? desktop with mouse) are you using?

What version of Finale are you using?

What Operating system and version are you using?

Do the other Smart Shapes (slurs, lines, etc.) work correctly? What is your computer operating system and version? What is your Finale version?