IWBNI there were an option that could be used to specify that the ears of a pair of nested eared group brackets that terminate at the same vertical position should be merged into a single ear.

As it is now, the ears of a nested pair of brackets are displayed as shown in the following figure:

Some engravers prefer to have the ends of such nested brackets merged by using the ear of the inner bracket. In this case the curved section of the outer bracket is replaced by a horizontal section that joins the inner bracket as shown in the following figure:

Others prefer to use the ear of the outer bracket. In this case the ear of the inner bracket is removed as shown in the following figure:

This feature could be implemented by adding a menu item called Brackets to the Options>Document Settings submenu. This menu item would display a new dialog box called Bracket Options that could contain the following controls:

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Bracket Options Dialog Box

[ ] Merge Nested Eared Brackets
    [ ] Use Inner Bracket Ear
    [ ] Use Outer Bracket Ear
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Note: A button called Piano Braces could be added to this dialog box to display the existing Piano Braces dialog box.

Created: April 14, 2000 (based on a submission from Andrew Stiller)
Last Updated: April 14, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b