You can input pick-up bars as part of time signatures using the time signatures popover, both during note input and by adding them to existing music. You can also input time signatures with pick-up bars only on specific staves.
Dorico Pro does not automatically add beats to fill bars according to the new time signature at the end of the affected region unless Insert mode is activated.
Procedure
Result
During note input, pick-up bars are added at the caret position as part of the specified time signature, even if this is in the middle of an existing bar.
When adding pick-up bars to existing music, they are added at the rhythmic position of the earliest selected item as part of the specified time signature. If you selected an existing time signature, the new time signature with pick-up bar directly replaces the existing one.
All subsequent bars follow the input time signature, until the next existing time signature or the end of the flow, whichever comes first. Dorico Pro automatically inputs and moves barlines as required so that subsequent music is barred correctly. However, in open meters, you must input barlines and add beats manually.
Any time signatures you input after an interchangeable time signature that are specified in it are hidden automatically until you end the interchangeable time signature.
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Dorico Pro does not automatically insert beats at the start of existing music to which you add time signatures with pick-up bars. If you add a pick-up bar at the start of a flow, that flow now begins in the pick-up bar, not in the first full bar. You can insert beats at the start to push existing music to later rhythmic positions.
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You can use the Global Adjustment of Current Bar Insert mode scope to create and delete pick-up bars by deleting notes/rests in the first bar in the flow. You can also use it to shorten the last bar in flows that start with a pick-up bar.