Additional Information about
Finale for Mac
Finale Read Me, June 2020
Copyright © 2020, 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
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
macOS 10.12 Sierra/10.13 High Sierra/10.14 Mojave/10.15 Catalina. 4 GB RAM minimum. 1280x800 minimum monitor resolution. High-speed Internet connection required for download, authorization, updates, and help resources. 1 GB hard drive space required for software with an additional 8 GB required for Garritan Instruments for Finale. CoreAudio or ASIO audio supported. 

The system requirements listed are current as of release but are subject to change. Visit www.finalemusic.com/system-requirements to see the most up-to-date system requirements. 

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 MakeMusic’s 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). Follow the on-screen instructions to authorize your copy of Finale. 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 Computer ID and Authorization Code are computer specific and will only work on the given computer installation. 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. 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 www.makemusic.com and click My Account. Log in, 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 Support Team online at www.finalemusic.com/support with your serial number and the location or computer name 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.

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.

Finale Trial
The Finale trial 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 Support 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. 

Finale Preferences File
The Finale Preferences file contains many program settings, from the configuration of your tool palette to the display colors you select. Finale stores this file in your System Folder's Preferences folder, although it will look first in the same folder for a Preference file.

Finale does not share the preferences file with older versions of Finale. Finale will automatically load the new Finale default settings upon launching Finale for the first time. To use Finale's default settings at any time, simply reset your Finale Preferences file by choosing Finale > Preferences and clicking the Reset All Preferences button. A new preferences file will be generated the next time you start Finale.

Keep in mind that older versions cannot read the newer version's preferences. 

New Features in Finale 

Dark Mode Support
•	Finale now includes a more comprehensive user experience when running the application while in macOSs Dark Mode.

Navigation
•	Finale's underlying drawing mechanism has been updated to offer better performance and responsiveness while editing and scrolling.

Saving. 
•	If Finale encounters a problem saving a document, a warning is displayed with suggestions for further action.

MusicXML
•	Music written with percussion clefs using standard rather than percussion notation now exports correctly.
•	Music written on 2- or 3-line percussion staves now exports and imports more accurately.
•	Percussion notation rests set to a specific staff position now export and import more accurately.
•	Custom Clef Designer definitions are now exported.
•	Stacked chord symbols are now exported and imported.
•	Measure numbers now export more accurately from documents with multiple measure number regions.
•	Stems shortened to nothing using the stem length tool are now exported correctly.
•	MusicXML import no longer changes MIDI quantization settings.
•	When notes display in other layers when rhythmic notation is applied, their stem directions now export correctly and articulations are displayed after import.

•	For a full list of features introduced in previous versions, see New Features in Finale in the User Manual. For a full list of interface changes and more information regarding specific menu command changes, see Interface Changes in the User Manual.

Fixes in Finale

•	Simple Entry. Stems maintain correct thickness at all zoom levels.
•	Fonts. The order of font-family submenus has been corrected for macOS 10.15 Catalina. 
•	Special Characters. Zero-width characters now display correctly regardless of zoom level, font size and proximity to page edge.
•	Text. Rotated text (such as in custom Smart Lines) now displays correctly at all combinations of staff reduction and zoom level.
•	EPS Export. EPS graphics exported from Finale now import and display correctly.
•	Chord Symbols. The Handwritten document style now uses consistent fonts for chord symbols, and chord symbols with flats are now recognized in Type Into Score mode.
•	Setup Wizard. The Setup Wizard now chooses a default duration when the pickup measure checkbox is selected and a time signature other than 4/4 is selected.
•	Chord Tool. Finale no longer crashes when exiting the Chord Definition dialog box.
•	Staff Tool. Finale no longer hangs when repositioning staves causes a staff system to move to a different page.
•	Playback. The playback cursor is now drawn correctly over page breaks and when music scrolls vertically.
•	Virtual Instruments. The playback cursor is now synced properly with audio during playback when using virtual instrument plug-ins with latency, such as NotePerformer.
•	Undo. Undo functionality is no longer disabled when choosing Cancel in the Resize Note dialog box.
•	UI Text. Linguistic coverage has been improved in the Spanish-language version.

For a full list of fixed defects in previous versions, see Fixes in Finale in the User Manual.