Variables in finale script

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Daniel Grunwald Posted December 03, 2016 00:00 Not planned

During my last project I used finale script for reformatting and cleaning up my documents. I used it in former projects for exporting. In all These context I missed the possibility to read back filename or the availability of a certain menu or similar from the application.

This comes in very handy when working with Stimmenauszüge (I don't know the correct english term). If would like to export all Stimmenauszüge I have to know which ones are existing and how they are called. Otherwise I cannot select them one by one and call the export function.

Also when I would like to delete all Stimmenauszüge from a document I need to know, wether there are any and what are they called.

Since Finale Script is truely a huge help I recommend to enhance it by implementing variables, making it possible to run scripts with different parameters.

I am using Finale 25, running on Windows 7.

9 comments

Date Votes

Official comment

MM_MICHAEL JOHNSON January 10, 2017 00:51

Hi all:

FinaleScript is very powerful, but rather limited from a scripting perspective. No variable, no flow control, no integration with common IDEs. We're looking into providing better scripting support throughout Finale. In the meantime, Jari's Lua approach is outstanding. He has not yet released a 64-bit version, but you can run the plug-ins in Finale 2014.5 on the same file that will open in v25.

Cheers,
Michael Johnson
VP, Professional Notation
MakeMusic

Harald Schollmeyer Posted December 03, 2016 23:38

You should definitely look into JWLua. It has variables and can do much more than FinaleScript.

Harald

J ADRIAN VERKOUTEREN Posted December 04, 2016 17:24

Is JWLua compatible with the new 64-bit versions of Finale (v25 & 25.1) yet?

Harald Schollmeyer Posted December 05, 2016 00:33

> Is JWLua compatible with the new 64-bit versions of Finale (v25 & 25.1) yet?

No, not as far as I know. I'm still on 2014.5 and JWLua 0.45 in 32bit.

BTW, Daniel, "Stimmenauszüge" is either "extracted parts" if they are done with "Datei->Stimmen herausschreiben" or "linked parts", if they are done with "Dokument->Stimmenauszüge verwalten".

Harald

Harald Schollmeyer Posted January 10, 2017 10:14

Michael - thanks for the answer. Yes, a powerful built-in scripting language would be very good. Just a suggestion: keep future scripting languages in english please, even if Finale itself is translated...in the german Finale version, we can write FinaleScripts in german, but those scripts can't be shared and discussed in international forums. The scripting community isn't so big, so it would ease the exchange if there would be only one language.

Instead, the international translators/distributors of Finale could provide a dictionary with a translation of Finale's menu items. Much like our french friends: http://finale-logiciel-aide-gravure-musicale.eu/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5232

Harald

Daniel Grunwald Posted January 10, 2017 23:04

I did not try JWLua yet. (Since I still have 2014.5 installed I will give it a try.) However if it is as good as it is said to be I think Finale Script is sufficient the way it is. Then You should consider adding this plug-in to the distribution, providing extended control for those who need it.

I agree with Harald, it would not be a problem to drop the scripting language translation. Additionally it would save development time, I think.

MM_MICHAEL JOHNSON Posted January 11, 2017 20:36

Hi Harald:
Thank you for the feedback on the language choice. I see your point. I would hope we could implement a solution that would be graceful and robust depending on what localized version of the application you were using. Cheers,

Michael Johnson

VP, Professional Notation

MakeMusic

Dr. Raphael D. Thöne Posted January 30, 2017 20:09

Hi Michael,

are there any plans to include JW Lua as part of the regular Finale software?

MM_MICHAEL JOHNSON Edited January 31, 2017 17:46

Hi Dr. Thöne:

There are no plans at this time to include JW Lua in Finale natively. I can certainly appreciate the desire to do so based on the power of the plug-in and the scripting nature of Lua.

Cheers,

Michael Johnson

VP, Professional Notation

MakeMusic

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