If you use a virtual machine, most likely no. It can be used for many many years. But if you don’t use a VM and eventually need to migrate to a new computer as we all do, then finale will no longer open. I’m not finding that finale documents migrate easily but they can migrate. YMMV. You can safely update Sonoma to the latest version. It will likely be fine with Sequoia (I still have not run the development beta) but I would wait and see.

The bigger issue for me is whether it’s worth the pain and time of learning Dorico and forgetting Finale (you have to unlearn how things are done in Finale if like me you are a longstanding user) or keeping my recent MacBook Air for many years to run Finale, buggy as it remains, or use a VM.

Outside of virtual machines and keeping increasingly 'vintage' hardware running: yes, Finale will become unusable. The floodwaters of progress will keep rising. Apple is 'fair, but ruthless', when it comes to removing old technologies; Windows has been traditionally more accommodating, but that is changing too.

The same fate suffered SCORE, when Leland Smith died; and there are plenty of other notation apps that have fallen by the wayside over the years. 

Whether your documents can migrate easily depends on the kind of music you're writing. Most "western common era" music should be fine, so 17th century to early 20th century in style will be fine; but more graphical notation might not translate well -- regardless of whether or not it can be reproduced in other apps.

Quite correct. Which is why I'm at least trying out Dorico in parallel with finishing a new work in Finale this Labor Day weekend. I'm still on the fence; Dorico doesn't really feel like home to me. Yet. But I'll give it a fair shake. I may have 10-20 more years as a composer, if not 30 so I doubt Finale will be usable in 2054 when I'm 93, but then, the planet likely won't be livable either ;-)

Thanks for these good answers, David and Ben. Wish I could reply directly (and maybe I can but haven't figured that out).

I am toward the end of my composing days, being 80 years old. I have made PDF files of all finished work, though if I perform something, there will be the urge to tweak. 

I was a beta tester for Professional Composer (I think that was the name) when it first came out -- and then I learned Finale when it was first being created. I have loved it. I feel for you younger composer who are being forced to learn the new software. Good luck! I might try to do that too, but there is less urgency for me. Meanwhile, I will hold off updating my iMac system software and hope to keep Finale usable until I croak. Blessings all!! And David, I agree about the planet's likely not being livable. But let's hope for the best and visualize healing for it and us. Susan B

Sequoia isn't out yet, and you're on the last version of Sonoma. I woudl certainly advise staying there till January, at the earliest. 

Finale 27.4.1 seems to work without incident on Sequoia, though I haven't tested every aspect. 

The sun's conversion to a red dwarf and the heat death of the universe may hamper our activities in due course. 

Sequoia has some annoying frequently-recurring security prompts (eg, screen recording, which impacts Zoom and other videoconferencing apps) so I would also recommend holding off. Not much in the development seeds that is really novel, in my opinion. iOS 18 is working well at least.

Will it become obsolete? Count on it — someday… That day is not here and beta testers of the next macOS are not seeing a problem, myself included.

Of course, Apple could always screw up again like they did with Sonoma 14.4 which messed up a number of music apps including their own Logic and NI’s Kontakt. I was one of the go-betweens between Apple and NI till the 14.4d beta resolved it and 14.5 was released.

Finale’s going away but we have time to move on if we want. Or not… I still use Encore now and then on one of my 2012 MacBook Pros running Mojave.

I am not aware of any issues between Finale and Sequoia. I'm just saying Sequoia has other issues, like too many nagging prompts on a recurring basis.

Nobody needs to install virtual machine on any Mac running Sonoma. Create a new APFS Volume in Disk Utility. Each Volume can run its own macOS. Can’t be easier.

Unfortunately, Mike, that isn't a viable solution longer term, since a connected disk volume would be authenticated based on the specific CPU, and migrating to a new machine would then require another authorization, as I understand it. Same with just installing on a clone SSD.

There seems to be a plethora of us geriatrics here who have used Finale since the 1990s.
In decades past, I was an avid Macintosh users. Then I began teaching in community colleges and EVERY single computer class--at that time--was based on Microsoft.
I was a lone voice in an hostile anti-Mac world.
I could count on any given week for students to complain that their computers crashed.
Then came Windows XP. It was at the same time it became necessary for me to upgrade/replace my Mac IIsi or go over to "the dark side"--as my friends called it.
Since then I have been a Windows user and have witnessed--as have many or most of you--a never ending cascade of computer hardware and software updates and upgrades leading to obsolescence.

Here we are, yet again. A crossroads for some; a terminus for others.
In recent years, I have been putting all of my old handwritten scores into Finale in hopes my posterity might be able to HEAR my music as well as make copies and generate parts for possible performances. In the process, I have revised them all.

I am grateful for the technology of years past--that of pencil and paper, and ink, and photocopy machines that left a legacy in tangible form. Now, with all of my current works and my revised older works, I have created PDFs and mp3 versions. But I realize that those formats, also, shall soon enough pass away.
So, I will begin the process of mass printing my oeuvre into tangible form, again, with the hopes that someone, somewhen, will find my music (perhaps in an attic?) and find it worthy of resuscitation.

I figure Finale will be with me for quite a while. When next I have built for me my next custom computer, I will hope to install Finale on it and for the years remaining [I'm going for at least another 10 functional years ;-) ]
I will be content to keep my current computer, just in case, and hope it physical remains viable.

For the near future I will likely attempt Dorico and MuseScore. With the latter, it appears version 5 might be more viable, but it might be worthwhile to at least learn how it works in anticipation of v. 5

I feel as a single rain drop with my own uniqueness rapidly falling into a bucket of obscurity.

Just a few thoughts,
:-)
Vanessa

Unfortunately, Mike, …

David, I don't think understand APFS Volumes. Only if a later Mac is released that cannot run Sequoia—or whatever that macOS is that can run 27 is—will it become an issue.

Mike, unless finale is on a self-contained VM, the hardware (whether an APFS-formatted external drive or an APFS partition on the Mac itself) will be locked to that CPU for authentication as someone here nicely explained in a different thread. So if you migrate to a new Mac and MM’s servers no longer permit authentication (which eventually will happen), then Finale will not run since it can’t be authenticated. That is my understanding.

Vanessa - PDF and mp3 are formats whose structure and format is freely documented. They are therefore much 'safer', as anyone (with the sufficient knowhow) can write code to read them, and there are already freely available code libraries that do this. So there is little chance of those 'passing away'. 

But yes, the digital world is more fragile than the physical. You'll certainly find lots of help and support in migrating your data, wherever you choose to go.

Greetings Finale community.
Currently I bought finale 27 in Spanish. I express my concern and extend my voice to the Latin Community that consumes licensed software, all of this does not leave a good taste in my mouth. We should have a free subscription for the new DORICO software, since it is a responsibility of the Make Music company to migrate to the new software.

It is not MM's responsibility to migrate people to Dorico for free. Separate companies and separate revenue streams.

Vanessa — Having started on the TRS-80 and the Amiga, I have no problem with Windows when I am paid to use it, off and on for decades. In fact, I was an alpha tester for the IBM PC and later Windows. Many of my Silicon Valley jobs did require it over the decades—and the AS400—and UNIX—and the Apple II, LISA, then Mac which came out when I was 30. Without going into details, I moved my last employer to the Mac when they saw how much faster it was with SalesForce and how quickly I could look things up in certain databases (20 seconds vs 20 minutes in Windows XP, then 7). Only PC I ever owned was work-issued and they told me to keep it when I left (gave it away during the panic and don't miss it).

All are tools and nothing more, IMO. I used to do Windows support and I got pretty good with the Mac but my only goal is to get things done as easily and quickly as possible.

Finale has a built in ability to mass-convert all Finale files to MusicXML.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdpykIdXZBk 

MikeR has posted how to batch-export to PDF in another thread.

Mike,
Thank you for your insights. My, you certainly have had a vast and interesting career!

The link is a winner!
:-)
Vanessa

Hi, again, Mike,

Would you happen to have a link to MikeR's post on how to batch-export to PDF in another thread?
Thank you,
:-)
Vanessa

It’s the thread titled, making-pdfs of all my files

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/26046641161879-making-pdf-s-of-all-my-files

Thank you, Mike,

Very helpful!

:-)
Vanessa