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

It is possible to use the Finale Script plug-in to batch export PDF files of your scores.  This process will export PDFs for all Finale files in a folder.  Note that it is only applicable for the scores.  It will not create PDFs of linked parts from the score.

 

Batch PDF Export Steps for Mac

 

First, you’ll need to download the script files and  place them in the appropriate folder:

  1. Download this .zip file that contains two .xml files and a PDF file with these instructions.
  2. Open a new Finder window and locate the newly downloaded .zip file labeled “Mac Scripts.”
  3. Double-click this file to unzip it and display its contents.
  4. Open a new finder window and select Go > Go To Folder.
  5. Enter in the following file path: ~/library/application support/makemusic/finale 27/finalescript
  6. In the resulting folder, click on the Batch Process subfolder, then place the two XML files that were included in the downloads into the Batch Process folder.

 

Next, in your computer’s system settings, we’ll need to ensure that Stage Manager is disabled and that Finale is an enabled application in the Accessibility section within Privacy & Security:

  1. Open your System Settings on your Mac.
  2. Select Desktop & Dock.
  3. Ensure that Stage Manager is disabled.



  4. Select Privacy & Security, and then select Accessibility in the resulting list.
  5. Ensure that Finale is enabled (see screenshot).



From there, we’ll run the script inside Finale to complete the procedure:

  1. Choose Plug-ins > FinaleScript > FinaleScript Palette. The FinaleScript Palette appears.
  2. Expand the Batch Process folder to locate the new scripts.
  3. Select the script that you want to run.*
  4. Choose a method for running the script:
  • If you want to run a script without viewing or editing it first, click the Play button, or right-click the script and choose Run.
  • If you want to view or edit the script before running it, click the View Current Script button (or double-click the script). The FinaleScript Editor dialog box appears. Make any necessary edits and click Run Script.
  1. When the Browse For Folder dialog box appears, navigate to the folder containing the Finale files you wish to convert to PDF and click OK.
  2. When you run the FinaleScript, the PDF files will automatically save to the location you last saved to.

*Batch PDF Export (Main Folder) will only convert the files in the selected folder, however will not convert files within any subfolders. If the file contains subfolders (with additional Finale files in it), you will want to run Batch PDF Export (Selected Folder and Subfolders)

 

The script should then run.  You should see dialog windows that show that the file is opening and then that the PDF is being created.  After it's finished, you should see PDFs of each Finale file in the source folder.

 

Batch PDF Export Steps for Windows

 

First, you will want to download and place the FinaleScript files: 

  1. Exit Finale.
  2. Download this .zip file which contains two .xml files and a PDF file with these instructions.
  3. Open the Downloads folder in File Explorer and locate the .zip file, then click Extract All.
  4. Press the WINDOWS key + R. The Run dialog box opens.
  5. In the Run dialog box type the following filepath and press ENTER:
    • %appdata%\MakeMusic\Finale 27\FinaleScript\Batch Process
  6. Move the two .xml files to this Batch Process folder.

 

Next, you will need to tell Finale where to save the PDF files. Because the FinaleScript will save them in the most recently saved to location, you can perform the following:

  1. Launch Finale.
  2. Select File > New > Default Document. A new default document appears.
  3. Select File > Save As and choose the location where you want to also save your PDF files. When you run the FinaleScript, the files will automatically save to this location.

 

Lastly, to run the FinaleScript:

  1. Choose Plug-ins > FinaleScript > FinaleScript Palette. The FinaleScript Palette appears.
  2. Expand the Batch Process folder to locate the new scripts.
  3. Select the script that you want to run.*
  4. Choose a method for running the script:
  • If you want to run a script without viewing or editing it first, click the Play button, or right-click the script and choose Run.
  • If you want to view or edit the script before running it, click the View Current Script button (or double-click the script). The FinaleScript Editor dialog box appears. Make any necessary edits and click Run Script.
  1. When the Browse For Folder dialog box appears, navigate to the folder containing the Finale files you wish to convert to PDF and click OK.
  2. When you run the FinaleScript, the PDF files will automatically save to the location you last saved to.

*Batch PDF Export (Main Folder) will only convert the files in the selected folder, however will not convert files within any subfolders. If the file contains subfolders (with additional Finale files in it), you will want to run Batch PDF Export (Selected Folder and Subfolders)