Created on - Last updated on

Attention Mac Users
Apple will release macOS 15 (Sequoia) on Monday, September 16, 2024.
Finale v27 is not compatible with Sequoia and will not be updated.

For more information:
macOS 15 Sequoia and Finale Notation Products
Disabling Automatic macOS Updates

This article applies to Finale 2012 through Finale (v27) and PrintMusic 2014 (including PrintMusic 2014.5).

 

Choose your platform below to begin:

 

Windows

Finale (v25, v26, and v27)

  1. Exit Finale.
  2. Within File Explorer, locate the .dll file for your VST plug-in.
    • Finale v25, v26, and v27 support 64-bit VST2 plug-ins. 32-bit plug-ins are no longer supported, nor are VST3 plug-ins.
    • If you are unsure where to find .dll file for your VST2 plug-in, please consult your plug-in's documentation or contact the plug-in manufactures's support.
  3. Copy your VST2 plug-in's .dll file to this folder: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST2
  4. Relaunch FInale and open a Finale file.
  5. Verify that MIDI/Audio > Play Finale Through VST is checked. If not, click to check that option.
  6. Choose MIDI/Audio > Device Setup > Rescan for VST Plug-ins. This process may take a few moments and Finale may appear unresponsive.
  7. Choose Window > ScoreManager. Under the Instrument List tab, click within the Device column to expand the dropdown menu and verify that your plug-in appears.
  8. Click its name to select it, then click Edit Player in the Sound column to load an instrument patches on the appropriate channel.

 

If the plug-in is still not available in Finale, continue with the steps below.

  1. Go to MIDI/Audio > Device Setup > Manage VST Plug-In Directories.
  2. Choose Add...
  3. Navigate to the directory for the missing plug-in and click Add. This process may take a few moments and Finale may appear unresponsive.
  4. Repeat steps 6-8 above.

 

If the plugin is still not available, the steps below will reset Finale's plug-in cache

  1. Exit Finale.
  2. On your computer keyboard, press the WINDOWS key + R. The Run dialog box opens.
  3. Type "%AppData%\MakeMusic" without quotation marks and press ENTER.
    • Finale v25: "%AppData%\MakeMusic\Finale\PlogueEngine"
      Finale v26: "%AppData%\MakeMusic\Finale 26\PlogueEngine"
    • Finale v27: "%AppData%\MakeMusic\Finale 27\PlogueEngine"
  4. Move the files vst_filter_x64.cache and vst_x64.cache to the Recycle Bin.
  5. Repeat steps 4-8 above.

Still Not Working?

If you have followed these steps and you're still having trouble activating your 3rd party plug-in, please contact Customer Support by click Submit a request above.

 

Finale 2014.5, 2014, and 2012

  1. Close Finale.
  2. Copy your VST Plug-in's .dll* file to the following folder...
    • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\MakeMusic\Finale 2014 (or 2012)\VST Support
    • Windows Vista/7/8/10: C:\Users\[your user account name]\AppData\Roaming\MakeMusic\Finale 2014.5 (or 2014 or 2012)\VST Support
  3. Open Finale.
  4. Click MIDI/Audio > VST Banks & Effects.
  5. Select your VST Plug-in from the first Bank (Channels 1-16) in the VST Instrument column.

*If you have any questions about where to find your VST Plug-in's .dll file, please contact your VST Plug-in's support team to find out where your specific plug-in's .dll file is located. Be sure that you are copying the correct version of the .dll file for use with Finale. (the 32-bit version for use with Finale which is a 32-bit application).

 

Still Not Working?

If you have followed these steps and you're still having trouble activating your 3rd party plug-in, please feel free to contact MakeMusic Customer Success.

 

PrintMusic 2014

  1. Close PrintMusic.
  2. Copy your VST Plug-in's .dll file to the following folder...
    • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\MakeMusic\PrintMusic 2014\VST Support
    • Windows Vista/7/8/10: C:\Users\[your user account name]\AppData\Roaming\MakeMusic\PrintMusic 2014\VST Support
  3. Open PrintMusic.
  4. Click MIDI > VST Banks & Effects.
  5. Select your VST Plug-in from the first Bank (Channels 1-16) in the VST Instrument column.

*If you have any questions about where to find your VST Plug-in's .dll file, please contact your VST Plug-in's support team to find out where your specific plug-in's .dll file is located. Be sure that you are copying the correct version of the .dll file for use with Finale. (the 32-bit version for use with Finale which is a 32-bit application).

 

Still Not Working?

If you have followed these steps and you're still having trouble activating your 3rd party plug-in, please feel free to contact MakeMusic Customer Success.

 

Mac

Finale (v25, v26, and v27)

  1. Open Finale.
  2. Click MIDI/Audio > Audio Units Banks & Effects.
  3. Select your 3rd party VST/Audio Units plug-in from the first Bank (Channels 1-16) in the Instrument column.

If you are not seeing your plug-in listed, please follow the steps below to verify that your plug-in was installed properly.

  1. Close Finale.
  2. Click the Finder icon.
  3. Select (from the program toolbar) Go > Go To Folder.
  4. Type in the following directory...

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

  1. Press RETURN.
  2. Are your VST/AU Plug-in's components present? If not, please contact your 3rd party plug-in's support team to make sure that your plug-in was installed correctly.

 

If the plug-in is installed, please try the following steps.

  1. Go to MIDI/Audio > Device Setup > Rescan for AU Plug-In's.
  2. If the plug-in stil does not become available, close Finale.
  3. Go to the Go menu at the top of your screen and choose Go to Folder.
  4. Enter in the following

    ~/Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 27(or Finale 26 depending on your version)/PlogueEngine

  5. Then press RETURN.
  6. Locate the au_filter_x64.cache and au_x64.cache files and delete these.
  7. Restart Finale and check if the plug-in is now available.

Still Not Working?

If you have followed these steps and you're still having trouble activating your 3rd party plug-in, please feel free to contact MakeMusic Customer Success.

 

Finale 2014.5, 2014, and 2012

  1. Open Finale.
  2. Click MIDI/Audio > Audio Units Banks & Effects.
  3. Select your 3rd party VST/Audio Units plug-in from the first Bank (Channels 1-16) in the Instrument column

If you are not seeing your plug-in listed, please follow the steps below to verify that your plug-in was installed properly.

  1. Close Finale.
  2. Click the Finder icon.
  3. Select (from the program toolbar) Go > Go To Folder.
  4. Type in the following directory...

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

  1. Press RETURN.
  2. Are your VST/AU Plug-in's components present? If not, please contact your 3rd party plug-in's support team to make sure that your plug-in was installed correctly.

Still Not Working?

If you have followed these steps and you're still having trouble activating your 3rd party plug-in, please feel free to contact MakeMusic Customer Success.

 

PrintMusic 2014 and 2014.5

  1. Open PrintMusic.
  2. Click MIDI > Audio Units Banks & Effects.
  3. Select your 3rd party VST/Audio Units plug-in from the first Bank (Channels 1-16) in the Instrument column

If you are not seeing your plug-in listed, please follow the steps below to verify that your plug-in was installed properly.

  1. Close PrintMusic.
  2. Click the Finder icon.
  3. Click (in the program toolbar) Go > Go To Folder.
  4. Type in the following directory...

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

  1. Press RETURN.
  2. Are your VST/AU Plug-in's components present? If not, please contact your 3rd party plug-in's support team to make sure that your plug-in was installed correctly.

Still Not Working?

If you have followed these steps and you're still having trouble activating your 3rd party plug-in, please feel free to contact MakeMusic Customer Success.

 

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