Hi Alex,

It's easy—I do it every week—but we need some information: What version of Finale and what OS? It makes a difference in both cases.

Easy...I like the sound of that. Lol. OS is Windows 11. Finale version is 27.3.0.137.

Ok, thanks for providing your info. PDF is one area where Mac and PC are different. You have a few options:

Print to PDF using a 3rd party driver such as CUTE PDF (Windows does not have a native PDF printer as found in the Mac)

Export as PDF Graphic. You have control over background transparency, which you may need when preparing your slide. You can also select .tiff or .jpeg. Use what works best.

https://usermanuals.finalemusic.com/FinaleWin/Content/Finale/Graphics.htm?Highlight=graphics%20pdf 

I would just use the Export menu:

https://usermanuals.finalemusic.com/FinaleWin/Content/Finale/sub-export.htm?Highlight=export%20pdf 

Be tight on your margins. Any of the three will give you a nice, clear page.

What to do from there depends on how the slides are being laid out. If Word or any page layout app, a pdf page can be easily resized without losing clarity. 

How would you format a file to get music into either a church bulletin or a screen projector?

Perhaps I am not understanding. Are you wanting a slideshow to view on a large screen in the church for all to see? Or are you wanting a simple page or pages in a printed church bulletin?

If it is the first option I use OpenShot  https://www.openshot.org

It is free and open source. I am not very smart and don't have a lot of money so it is a good option for me perhaps for you too.

It made this video with very little effort on my part. https://youtu.be/oRPGvGtuZRc 

If your church has the Adobe Suit it will do whatever no matter what, you want. But it is not free and has a learning curve,

Mark, thank you so much! That was extremely helpful.

Ernest, to answer your question, in an ideal word, I would actually do both, have the music notation/lyrics on a projector screen AND in a bulletin. We have some older church members who can't see the screens, so an option that makes the music look really clear would be best. The few times I've put notation in the bulletin it's come out looking really blurry.

Your notation in the bulletin should not be blurry. I do this weekly. Knowing the layout app—that you haven’t told us—is where to start.

If you are using  a version of Word that’s older than 2016, there is your culprit.

So unfortunately I'm not sure exactly what layout app is used to actually make the bulletins because I don't make them. I just give the church secretary what I'd LIKE it in, and she adds it along with the rest. I will try and find out that information though. Thanks!

Well, if the problem is blurring music — one that should not exist — there are fixes but one must know the app so that you can help. Again, if a version of Word older than 2016, that will be the cause. Fortunately, legit copies of Office 2021 are available for around $35 if one knows where to shop. Anyway, this is easily fixed no matter what app is being used.