Same here.  I will not be upgrading to Finale 25.  However after all these years I am getting tired of putting everything in note by note.  As I get older I make too many mistakes.  Could you give me instructions how to scan in finale 2014.5?

BARRY KROEKER
Jan 14, 3:13 PM MST

I was EXTREMELY disappointed to see that the scanning/OCR functionality had been removed from Finale. My wife conducts a small student orchestra and she frequently purchases music for the ensemble, which changes instrumentation each year. I use the scanning feature to make small edits to existing parts to accommodate the students in her ensemble, and now MakeMusic has made it MUCH more time-consuming to customize parts for her ensemble, since it is more difficult to start from scratch than simply scanning and editing/transposing.
MakeMusic should embrace the full potential of OCR rather than act as "moral policeman" for its users, the bulk of whom will be operating entirely within the copyright law. Please RECONSIDER and restore the scanning functionality, at least as an educational option with some sort of waiver to absolve you from all blame for your user's creativity.

Hi Barry

Unfortunately I have version 25.4.1.163.  I have the same problem.  I tried finding an older version of finale but there were no downloads.  Do you know how I can get an older version of finale?  For example 2013?  Robert Rivera  mdesay@aol.com

Maybe you can get one on eBay from someone who is switching to Sibelius.

You will all be much happier if you accept the fact that Finale wimped out on the scanning, and get yourself a real music OCR app. I use SmartScore, although there are others. You can buy SmartScore for half price, as a Finale owner.

The major difference between SmartScore and the Lite version that shipped with Finale is that the full version allows you to edit the recognized scan, before bringing it into Finale. If you have ever spent time searching out and correcting time signature mistakes,  missed triplets, and layer confusion, you may have some idea of how helpful this is. Yes, it costs, and there is definitely a learning curve, but if you depend on scanning to save you time, it’s worth it. Download the demo, and try it out.

Trying to get a copy of Finale 2013 might be problematic, since Finale went from 2012 to 2014 version.

I downloaded the demo version of SmartScore Pro and the Guitar edition.  These are the full version of the program without the ability to save or print.  I highly recommend you try the demo version first.

I am doing some notation work from handwritten scores, seeing if it was possible to work from scans to save time.  At least with the handwritten scores, the recognition process was absolutely laughable.  Try the program out first before you purchase.  For my needs, this won't work.

Yes, the scanning programs - any of them - don’t work on handwritten scores. Nor do they claim to. So it’s a bit unfair to say results were laughable. It’s like saying that a screwdriver did a bad job of driving a nail. If you need to work on handwritten scores, polish your Simple or Speedy Entry skills.

But I have scanned hundreds of printed scores, and I know how much time scanning saves me.

"At least with the handwritten scores, the recognition process was absolutely laughable."

I read that the OCR of handwriting text, which is linear,  is still very challenging problem. Imagine, then, the far more difficult problem of the OCR of handwritten musical notation, which takes place in two dimensions.

Despite the fact that I am a keyboard player and can input very quickly with Hyperscribe, the OCR of printed music (SmartScore) is my first choice for input in Finale, and I use it whenever possible. 

"Yes, the scanning programs - any of them - don’t work on handwritten scores. Nor do they claim to. So it’s a bit unfair to say results were laughable. It’s like saying that a screwdriver did a bad job of driving a nail. If you need to work on handwritten scores, polish your Simple or Speedy Entry skills.

But I have scanned hundreds of printed scores, and I know how much time scanning saves me."

- Mike, if I am trying to drive a nail, I always go for a hammer.  :0)  Unfortunately, there is no tool out there yet that can assist with my needs.  I am pretty quick with Simple and Speedy entry, although if there was the ability to scan handwritten notation, it would save me days of work.

I have seen, but not tested, some tablet applications that can recognize inputed notation hand drawn with a stylus.  Seems like there is possibility for the future of OCR for handwritten notation, but we might be a few years out.