Open Recent Menu isn't Populating (Mac)

Many users rely on Finale's ability to recall past files you've worked on so that they can be quickly relaunched. On Mac, this is actually a device-wide feature for many applications that can be enabled/disabled from System Settings (macOS 12 Monterey and earlier: System Preferences). 

If you find that Finale's Open Recent menu (from File menu, Launch Window, or when long-clicking the Finale Dock icon) is empty and not populating, even if you've opened several scores in Finale, you likely need to adjust your computer's settings:

macOS 14 Sonoma:

1. Quit Finale.
2. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of your screen and select System Settings.
3. Navigate to the Control Center section in the left menu.
4. Scroll down to Menu Bar Only and look for Recent documents, applications, and servers.
5. Make sure the number is set to something other than none (10 is the default setting). 
6. Close System Settings and relaunch Finale.
7. Open some files and then check File > Open Recent. The files you opened should be listed.

macOS 13 Ventura:

1. Quit Finale.
2. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of your screen and select System Settings.
3. Navigate to the Desktop & Dock section in the left menu.
4. Scroll down to Menu Bar and look for Recent documents, applications, and servers.
5. Make sure the number is set to something other than none (10 is the default setting). 
6. Close System Settings and relaunch Finale.
7. Open some files and then check File > Open Recent. The files you opened should be listed.

macOS 10.13 High Sierra through macOS 12 Monterey:

1. Quit Finale.
2. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of your screen and select System Preferences.
3. Choose General.
4. At the bottom, make sure Recent items: is set to something other than none (10 is the default setting). 
5. Close System Preferences and relaunch Finale.
6. Open some files and then check File > Open Recent. The files you opened should be listed.