You can also create PDF files via the Graphics Tool:

Graphics menu > Export Pages…

In the dialog box Export Pages, choose PDF.

Creating PDF files in this way is a little faster - and you get PDF files in true Black-and-White.

Have you tried creating PDF files via the Graphics Tool?

Mac or Windows? That makes a big difference here.

I could be wrong here, but I think that Peter Kienle is using Mac Finale.

Sorry. Yes, I am on Mac Sierra. Still used to the forums being platform divided.

Cool. If it was Windows, I wouldn't have had a clue. But I'm on Sierra and you made me curious. So... I ran some tests to further my education on the subject.

It's not your imagination — Finale 25 creates larger .pdf files through the Print Menu. OTOH, nothing appears to be wrong and there's different way.

First off, if you are on Sierra, why is your attachment limit so small? Apple Mail Client has a 20mB limit normally or 5G with MailDrop turned on.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202305

While we're at it, let's do a reality check — a 3mB .pdf you created in Finale 25 would not have been a 300k .pdf from any version of Finale. The original version of that test file I used was created in Finale 2002 and was 18 pages. That pdf file is still on my system and is 300k. The file I used below is a 281 page version I created in Finale 2011 and converted to .musx in 25.

A number of people complain that Print to PDF in 25 prints dark grey when that .pdf is printed to paper. Well, they're right. Grey makes for a larger file size, too. Only Graphics/Export Pages / PDF gives you true black. 

For this purpose, I created a 281 page 18 stave test file in the Jazz font with lyrics in 25 and printed to .pdf. I then optimized each file in Acrobat X Pro. Here the following results.

(Print Menu) Save as PDF — 7.2mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro: 4.5mB

(Print Menu) Save as Adobe PDF (Press) — 13.6mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro: 4.6mB

(Print Menu) Save as Adobe PDF (Standard) — 13.2mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro: 4.6mB

(Print Menu) Save as Adobe PDF (Smallest) — 12.6mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro: 4.6mB

Graphics/Export Pages / PDF — 3.6mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro: 2.1mB

Then, to compare, I opened that same file in 2014.5 and got the following results:

(Print Menu) Print/Save as PDF — 3.6mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro:  2.3mB 

Graphics/Export Pages / PDF — 3.6mB; Optimized in Acrobat X Pro: 2.1mB

So, back to beginning. If you follow Peter Thompsen's directions for exporting through Graphics, you will get extremely close to the old .pdf file size.

Adobe Acrobat Pro can get those files even smaller but it's pretty expensive. I wouldn't buy it for that use but none of the cheap/free ware can reduce file sizes to that extent. I bought it for use in my day job and it pays for itself every day.

Thanks, Mike

Good input.

It's usually not my attachment limit but a customer's which has me jumping through extra hoops. Especially painful if you have a work with many smaller movements where I used to be able to pack all of them in a .zip file.

I don't have older Finale versions on this machine to do my own tests.

But a few files in question from the recent batch saved to PDF in Finale:

25 page choir & piano score:

regular PDF save: 4.2MM, save as Adobe PDF: 690kb

14 page from the same work:

regular: 2.9MB, Adobe PDF: 420

2 page simple lead sheet:

regular: 319, Adobe PDF: 147

So, I admit it's not a tenfold size increase but still a good bit. Enough that I can't pack 10 of these in a compressed .zip and send to customer.

I know the work-arounds and think for myself using "Save as Adobe PDF" from the print menu works best. While I use Acrobat Pro and initially used that to make the files smaller it's even more steps. Not a big thing when you do this once or twice a day but do it a hundred times and those extra 30 or 60 seconds adds up.

Peter

You never said how big your file was. Using Graphics,/ Export Pages, my 18 page original still saves at 300K in F25 and gives is true black. So why not use that?

Graphics/Export is also much faster than any option in the Print menu. It only took a few seconds on a large score and gave me the smallest size. Optimizing that in Acrobat Pro, likewise, took a couple seconds, unlike the files from the Print menu.

What setting are you using in Save as Adobe to get the small file sizes? Everything I tried was larger — and it took way to much time.

Do you know how to get to the Graphics menu? Go to the Tools menu and click on Graphics. The Graphics menu will now appear between the Window and Help menus. Click on that to find Export Pages, PDF is found in the Type window.

You may not have access to older versions on your Mac but I do. In addition, I have a G4 with Finale 1998 (OS 9.2) and F-2002 (OS 10.4.11). Being nothing interesting on TV, I used a 25 page version of that score (mixed choral with orchestra, Jazz fonts).

Graphics/Export Pages  was 410K and took less than a second. Optimized 265K took less than a second

Print/Save as PDF was 789K and took about 5 seconds. Optimized 528K took 2 seconds

Print/Save as Adobe PDF (Standard) was 1.46mB and took about 50 seconds. Optimized 564K took 7 seconds

Print/Save as Adobe PDF (Highest Quality) was 1.53mB and took about 25 seconds. Optimized 561K took 2 seconds

Print/Save as Adobe PDF (Smallest) was 1.49mB and took about 20 seconds. Optimized 564K took 2 seconds

Fonts and page density make a big difference, of course. I have no clue how a 25 page score can be so large printing to Preview, the built-in print to .pdf on a Mac—and then smaller using Save as Adobe PDF. I can guess it's whatever font families you are using. I tested a little of that, too.

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I fired up my G4, created a 25 page version of the original .mus file, printed to PDF, then opened it in F-2011 and did the same on my iMac. The results were nearly identical. I also tested on a 30 page score I created in Finale 1998 using Palatino and the files were smaller at 1.1mB / 296K. PDF is not an option in Graphics/Export Pages in 2011. I skipped F-2012 so I don't know when that was added.

Anyway, Graphics/Export Pages PDF will give you the same file sizes as older versions of Finale and it's the fastest way to generate a .pdf in Sierra. I have certainly proved that to myself, if no one else.

There are a number of older threads complaining about the fact that the Save as PDF does not print true black; only Graphics/Export pages does. Then, something like, "when is MM going to fix this bug?" I think you are the first to complain about the file size — that's what got me interested.

Apparently, they made this change on purpose and it's not a bug. Why? I certainly haven't a clue. No one asked for it as far as I know.

I know where the Graphics menu is because I use it all the time - to export 600dpi .img files that all my professional publishers request. It seems importing .pdfs into InDesign creates problems for them (and I have experienced these also in larger works via certain types of note heads just missing). Of course 600dpi images will give you huge files. But I use a bunch of AppleScripts and Quickeys shortcuts to do scripted image exports from Finale.

But back on topic:

I just looked at a 39 page score  for full orchestra, very dense, I finished in February 2015. That would have been Finale 2014 or 2014.5. Using the print dialog, regular PDF export back then yielded a 1.6MB PDF file. Opened the same score in current version of Finale and exported the same way, got a 3.9MB file. With PDF export from Graphics tool in current Finale and I got a 1.5MB file.

Wether it takes 1 second or 30 seconds doesn't bother me as much as how many dialog boxes and file selectors I have to click through.

I have all my Finale versions going back to V2.63 (running on a Atari Mac emulator). But removed those from my working machines that don't work well anymore.

Thanks for doing these comparisons. 

Peter

I just looked at a 39 page score  for full orchestra, very dense, I finished in February 2015. That would have been Finale 2014 or 2014.5. Using the print dialog, regular PDF export back then yielded a 1.6MB PDF file. Opened the same score in current version of Finale and exported the same way, got a 3.9MB file. With PDF export from Graphics tool in current Finale and I got a 1.5MB file.

Consistent with my findings. If you reinstall 2014.5 on your Sierra machine, Print Menu/Save as PDF will give you the same thing, more or less.

Wether it takes 1 second or 30 seconds doesn't bother me as much as how many dialog boxes and file selectors I have to click through.

Then you have a problem and need to figure out which workaround is best. Perhaps a FinaleScript to automate Graphics/Export Pages PDF could work but I don't know how to make it always go to the last page. 

Perhaps a FinaleScript to automate Graphics/Export Pages PDF could work but I don't know how to make it always go to the last page.

I could be wrong here, but it seems to me that Graphics/Export Pages PDF always by default creates a PDF file that goes from the first page all the way to the last page.

I could be wrong here,

No, you're right. I really needed my coffee before I had posted that. I often export pages instead of the whole score.

Wether it takes 1 second or 30 seconds doesn't bother me as much as how many dialog boxes and file selectors I have to click through.

Reality check pt 2:

a) Command-P (or click on File, scroll down to Print and release), Click on PDF, scroll to Save as PDF, Enter . Minimum 3 clicks or commands. Extra clicks if you have to rename or select a destination

b) Click on Graphics, scroll down to Export Pages, Enter.  Minimum 2 clicks. Extra clicks if you have to change from .jpeg, rename or select a destination. And it's the same file size and black as in older versions plus it's faster to generate the file.

I'm failing to see this extra work you are complaining about.