Additional Information about

Finale for Windows

Finale Read Me, July 2017
Copyright 2017, MakeMusic, Inc.

IMPORTANT: Read this document before you begin working with Finale; you may want to print a copy of
it to keep with your Finale information.

This file contains important information about Finale not included in the User Manual, as well as
information about converting older files into the new version's format. Please note that Finale files cannot
be opened in versions of Finale prior to 2014 without being converted to a different format.

The Read Me contains the following sections:

Running Finale
Interface Changes in Finale
New Features in Finale
Fixes in Finale

You may also visit www.finalemusic.com for updated information about Finale and information on new
releases.

Running Finale
System Requirements
Windows 7 (SP1)/8/10 (64-bit compatible). Intel Core 2 Duo processor or AMD Athlon processor (Intel i3
or AMD Athlon II X2 and above recommended). 600MB hard drive space required for software.

USB port required for installation or high-speed Internet connection for download. 800x600 minimum
monitor resolution (1366x768 and above recommended). Minimum 2GB RAM (8GB or more
recommended for optional use of Garritan and Tapspace (VST) sounds: more RAM = more available
sounds.) An additional 2GB hard drive space is required for all included VST sounds. Internet connection
required for updates and help resources.

Optional: MIDI interface. MIDI input and/or playback device. Printer. A soundcard, including standard
DirectSound, WASAPI, or ASIO, is required for playing VST sounds in Windows.

Installing Finale
If any previous version of Finale has been installed on the machine, Finale recommends that you restart
your computer and log on as System Administrator before installing. This will prevent erroneous font
warnings.

We recommend that you install Finale, and any other software, when logged in as System Administrator.

If you encounter problems during installation, we recommend that you do the following:

1. Turn off any programs running in the background. Virus detectors can often prevent Finale from
installing necessary files and updating the registry. Rest assured, your Finale USB does not
contain any viruses.
2. Press CTRL-SHIFT-ESC and click on the Process tab. In the Processes Tab, click on "User
Name" to sort the running programs by user ID name. This lists every process that is running on
the system.
3. Under the User Name column, look at all of the processes ("Image Name") with your account
name. Click on each one, and then click "End Process" and select OK. Do this for every process
assigned to your name except taskmgr.exe, explorer.exe, and System Idle Process.
 4. Close the Task Manager.
5. Check your system tray (lower-right corner of the screen) for any running programs, especially
antivirus software, which can interfere with proper installation of programs. Right-click each and
choose Close.

User Manual
For full, up to date documentation on how to use Finale, choose Help > User Manual. Finale opens the
User Manual using your default browser and accesses the latest online content from MakeMusics servers.

To download the manual for offline use, visit the Finale Knowledge Base.

Authorizing Finale
The first time you launch Finale, you will be prompted to authorize. To authorize a single copy of Finale,
click Authorize Now to open the Authorization Wizard (or, choose Help > Authorize Finale). Then
follow the instructions to authorize your copy of Finale via the Internet or mail. If you choose not to
authorize, you will be prompted to do so each time you launch Finale. If you do not authorize within thirty
days, printing and saving are disabled until you choose to authorize.

Note that the User/Authorization Codes are computer specific, and will only work on the given computer
installation. Make sure that the Authorization Code is typed in using capital letters, and also verify that the
correct serial number has been entered. Your copy of Finale can be authorized on two computers
simultaneously, and, with an Internet connection, authorization can be moved from one computer to
another at will. Simply choose Help > Deauthorize Finale to open up a free slot. Your copy of Finale can
now be authorized on a different computer. When you deauthorize, printing and saving are disabled until
authorization has been restored.

If you make a change to the computer (such as replacing the hard drive or motherboard, or installing a new
operating system), then you will need to re-authorize the installation. If you no longer have access to the
computer or hard drive that previously had an authorized version of Finale installed, go to the My Account
page at www.makemusic.com. Click the My Software button and click Manage Authorizations. Here,
you can delete authorizations on machines no longer in your possession. If you have deleted the maximum
number of authorizations from your account, you will need to contact the Customer Success Team online at
www.finalemusic.com/support with your serial number and the location ID for the specific installation in
question. If the software is not "reminding" you to authorize when you run the program, then the
registration/authorization has been successfully completed.

Starting Finale - DLLs

Most applications (including MakeMusic products) require a set of files, the Microsoft redistributables, in
order to work successfully on your system. These redistributable files are normally already present on most
systems and are not generally included in application setup/install scripts. These files are constantly
updated by Microsoft and are operating-system specific; including these files in an application installer
could result in incorrect files being added in your system and subsequent problems.

In rare cases these files may be missing or out of date on your system. In this case an error will be reported
when you start the program. Here are some examples of the errors that could be reported:
If the files are missing...
'The dynamic link library MSVCP60.DLL could not be found in the specified path...'
or
'The dynamic link library MSVCRT.DLL could not be found in the specified path...'
If the files are out of date...
'The OCXTS.EXE file is linked to missing export MFC42.DLL:6880.'

If you see one of these messages, visit www.microsoft.com for more information regarding these files and
how to restore them.

Installation Details
To accommodate the autonomy of each of a computer's multiple users, and to prevent permissions issues,
Finale installs its components to various locations on your hard drive depending on their function and
required accessibility. See Finale Installation Details in the User Manual for more information.

Download and Finale Trial

Finale is available as a download from our website. The trial version is identical to the full version, but
does not include the Garritan sounds or music files. After the 30-day trial period, printing and saving are
disabled. To purchase the full version of Finale, along with all sounds and features, choose Help >
Purchase Finale. Trial users: after purchasing, another download is necessary to acquire the Garritan
sounds and music files.

Contacting the Finale Customer Success Team

For Finale support, visit www.finalemusic.com/support.

Converting Finale 2012 (and earlier) documents into Finale documents

Finale 2014 and later have a different file format than earlier versions and will open and convert older
versions' documents, giving them the default title "UNTITLED.MUSX. We recommend saving a newly
converted document with a different name than the original file, keeping the older unconverted file as a
backup. If you do want to save the file using the same name, choose Save As from the File menu. Finale
Maintenance is run automatically to check for any errors while opening old files as long as Clean Up File
Data is checked in Finale > Preferences > Open (checked by default).

Running older versions of Finale

Finale 2012 (and earlier versions) for Windows or Mac cannot open any standard Finale 2014 or later file.
To open a Finale 2014 or later document in an earlier version, choose File > Export > Finale 2012 (for
Finale 2012 only) or File > Export > MusicXML (all other versions). Finale for Windows includes the
MusicXML importer back to version 2003, and then back to 2000 using software available separately.
Finale for Mac supports MusicXML import back to version 2006, and back to 2004 (OS X only) using
software available separately. See www.musicxml.com.

Interface Changes in Finale

0 Key Signature Cancellations. The When Switching Between Sharps and Flats checkbox has
been added to the Document Options - Key Signatures dialog box. When unchecked, canceling
naturals are not displayed when moving between sharp and flat keys such as Bb to G or F to D.
1 Round Corners. The Round Corners checkbox and Corner Radius field have been added to the
Enclosure Designer dialog box and the Standard Frame dialog box. These options allow users to
add rounded corners for enclosures that surround expressions, text repeats, text created with the
Text tool, and measure numbers.
2 For a full list of interface changes and more information regarding specific menu command
changes, see Interface Changes in the User Manual.

New Features in Finale

3 Audio Devices. When Finale starts up without an enabled audio device, a dialog box appears to
inform users that playback will not work and allows them to enable a device from the Audio Setup
dialog box.
4 MusicXML 3.1.
5 Finale 25.4 now supports MusicXML 3.1.
6 MusicXML 3.1 has been updated to use Java 8u131.
7 Arrowhead symbols, circled noteheads, and additional dynamics (n, pf, and sfzp symbols) are
now maintained between MusicXML export and import.
8 MusicXML 3.1 export and import supports Finale's ability to hide the display of ledger lines.
 9 Enclosures with more than 4 sides are now supported with MusicXML 3.1 export and import.
10 MusicXML 3.1 no longer supports Open Score Format documents.
11 Finale and Dolet for Finale now has the ability to use the .musicxml extension when exporting
and importing MusicXML files, in addition to the .xml extension.
12 MusicXML 3.1 export and import supports expressions or text blocks that contain a mix of
Maestro text and symbols.
13 Parenthesized accidental marks are now able to be exported using MusicXML 3.1.
14 Unexpected Maestro symbols used for articulations are maintained between export and
import.
15 Distinction between Finale's two default percussion clefs (rectangle and vertical lines) has
been improved.
16 Unicode. File paths for linked and embedded graphics, audio files, and MIDI maps have been
updated to use Unicode characters.
17 For a full list of features introduced in previous versions, see New Features in Finale in the User
Manual.

Fixes in Finale
Opening Files with Special Characters
18 Finale successfully opens files when &, ", ', <, and > characters are used in linked graphics, audio
files, movie files, and percussion midi map file names.

Audio Devices
19 Finale recognizes a new audio device when it is connected without restarting the program.
Authorization
20 Authorization is maintained when launching Finale by double-clicking, or right-clicking and
selecting Open, a Finale file from any drive other than the Windows installation drive.

Document Options - Repeats

21 The Document Options > Repeats > Show On option is maintained between sessions for each
document.

Expression tool
22 The Expression tool no longer causes Finale to crash on occasion.
No Document Present
23 Finale does not crash when the Click and Countoff dialog box or the Device Error Log dialog box
is opened without a document present.
24 Selecting Import MusicXML from the Launch Window or File menu when there is no document
present and then canceling out of the dialog box, does not result in a crash.

Plugins
25 Finale does not crash regardless of how many or which plugins are installed.
Pro Tools
26 When Pro Tools 12 is installed, Finale launches successfully and does not crash.
For a full list of fixed defects in previous versions, see Fixes in Finale in the User Manual.