I used autobeaming for a 4/4 time staff line containing eight notes. Autobeam paired them up in 4 sets of two notes each. I want them to be in 2 sets of 4 each. Perhaps I will try changing the time signature to 2/4 but other parts of the music will be inversely affected.
You are correct. NWC auto beams within the beat. If it is just a few measures, it is easiest to do alternate beaming manually. For larger passages, you can temporarily change the time signature to 2/2 withihn the passage, then change it back.