Mac OS 13.7 Ventura, MuseScore Studio 4.6.6, Finale 26.3, 27, SmartScore 64 Pro | Copyist for the Barbershop Harmony Society | wawoodman at aol dot com
You can do it on a system-by-system basis with the Staff tool, and "hide empty staves." This means that you have to set up your score so that the empty measures span a full system.
Do you have the "to coda" set to the proper measure number and pass?
What version of Finale are you running?
You may need to delete the preferences. https://usermanuals.finalemusic.com/FinaleMac/Content/Finale/Finale_Preferences.htm
Here's a tutorial I did a few years back. You can make one character, and then copy the components as needed. No playback, of course. http://www.specialmillwork.com/finaletips/X-notehead%20in%20P...
Every program is slower than the one you learned on, until you really learn the ins and outs! i don't know why the double dot doesn't work for you, but I'm not familiar with the Windows side.
For me, the fastest way to dot a note once or twice is to hit the period key as I enter the notes, using the QWERTY keyboard and number pad. But it may not be fastest for you. How are you entering ...
I use the period key to enter a dot on the already-entered (and selected) note. To remove it, I select the dotted note, and replace it with an undotted one (Opt-Numpad key.)
You are quite welcome! Enjoy your new program!
I'm sorry, Tricia. 2011 must be when they removed ("corrected") it. Yes, I am sure that 2014.5 has the option. Here is a screen shot: