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JEROME KRINOCK Edited
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 For many years I've exported lead sheets from Finale on my Mac using File > Print > PDF… > Save as PDF….  Lead sheets are pretty much all I ever do.

 

After upgrading to Finale 25, it appends  - Score or - Part 0 to the filename even though the filename in the Save dialog does not have this suffix.  The latter occurs if I try to get clever and remove the Score name in the Score Manager.  If I switch off the Score checkbox in the Print dialog, then no file is exported at all.

 

Even when it warns me about overwriting a previous file (which I have fixed manually in Finder and therefore no longer has - Score or - Part 0 suffixed, and I click Replace, it does not replace that existing file but instead makes a new file with the damned - Score or - Part 0 suffix again.  This is driving me crazy because I often forget about or don't see the suffix until it is confused with an earlier version.

 

Am I doing something wrong, or is this a known bug in Finale 25?

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PETER THOMSEN Edited
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Yes, this is a known issue.

 

Fortunately there is a much better solution:

 

Instead, use the Graphics Tool to create PDF files:

Graphics menu > Export Pages…

 

Advantages of using the Graphics Tool:

 

1) It is a little faster than “printing” to PDF.

 

2) You get PDF files in true “Black-and-White” (= monochrome Black-and-White).

When you “print” to PDF, you do not get true Black, but rather a “grey-scale” Black (= another Finale bug).

The difference is clearly visible in the printet output.

 

3) Because of 2) you get smaller file sizes for your PDF files.

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ART SURIANO Posted
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Wow, very helpful.  Thanks.

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MIKE HALLORAN Edited
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JEROME KRINOCK Edited
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Amazing workaround, Peter.  Well, actually it would be amazing if this were not Finale :))  In fairness, though, I've always thought that File > Print > PDF…. was an amazing way to export a PDF, which the typical Mac user takes about 3 years to learn.

 

Regarding the Allow Transparency checkbox, I get 62 KB with the checkbox off and 58 KB with the checkbox on.  58 KB is also the size I get with File > Print > PDF….  So I'm using Allow Transparency.

 

As far as this not being a bug, Mike, I disagree.  In a Mac application, the filename I see in the Save dialog should be the filename that I get on the disk.  If an app wants to suggest a certain filename, that should appear in the Save dialog.  It should not be changed surreptitiously after the user clicks Save.  And, obviously, it should not ask my permission to Replace a file which is in fact not going to be replaced.  The problem is that Apple provides the PDF… button "for free", and its behavior does not play well with Finale's Print option to print selected multiple parts.  MakeMusic certainly did a huge amount of work on Finale 25 for the Mac, and this little bug was apparently let go in order to get it out the door.

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MIKE HALLORAN Posted
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>Amazing workaround ... As far as this not being a bug, Mike, I disagree. ... <

 

You misunderstand. It's not a workaround. It's how you get this done. MM did it on purpose and that makes it not a bug. Go ahead and disagree all you like—it doesn't matter. I am only the messenger. The old way was more than fine with me and I don't understand why they had to change it but change it, they did. 

 

By the way, Graphics/Export Pages is available in 2014, too, with a minor difference. Allow transparency was only available if you checked EPS. Few paid attention to is since the 2014 Print dialog is more Mac-like.

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ART SURIANO Posted
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I agree this isn't a workaround because it works fine.  I already tried it and the print quality is better than using the Print Dialogue box for PDF.  

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Sharon Lambert Posted
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This matter has been really annoying me for a while now. It bugs me - and therefore gets defined in my book as a "bug".

If I want an appendage to my file names like "score" or "part x"  then I will put it there, I don't need Finale to do it for me - I don't want my programmes second-guessing my needs - wrongly. The vast majority of the time I hate these extra words when saving music as a .pdf file.

Peter, your answer is truly excellent. Thank you so much for detailing this process. I would never have found it on my own.

I will no longer have to spend time "correcting" the file names Finale stupidly gives my files.

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MIKE HALLORAN Posted
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When it’s in there on purpose, it’s not a bug. Feel free to have your own definition but, when discussing with others, we all have to agree on a common set of terms.

 

What you want is a Feature Request. There is a place to make those.

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