Besides the midi tool, tempo instructions can now easily be defined with the Expression tool, which has a category named Tempo Marks. A Playback thumbnail allows you to define the tempo of any expression (Type -> Tempo) that you create.

Progressive tempo variations can also be defined.

Gone in 25 and 26 that's 3 years now and there are no indication we'll see it again.

In addition to what MICHEL HERR says, if you type metronome tool into the search box, you'll see many old threads and instructions on this.

John,

As you say, things evolve. I used to work on my car, in the driveway. But now, with the computers and electronics, it’s turned into a black box with no user-serviceable parts. The same with your TV. You can no longer take out the tubes and walk down to the Rexall to test and replace them, like we did when I was in college.

You can evolve with the times, and learn to use the newly innovative products, or sit there, and watch the world move away. Your choice.

In Finale, a few things have moved, a few things have gone away, and many things have been added or improved.

Sic transit gloria mundi. (Of course, they don’t teach Latin in school anymore, either.)

>Next problem is I have to replace my computers which run fine because they are 32 bit and we are now going to 64 bit.   I personally still like Finale 2012 because I am used to it, and I can see the Icons, they are in color and show up better than the tools that are used to today.    Anyway, the tools icons could be much better and mass  mover we went to an arrow.  Not sure why it should have been left alone...<

I disliked the Mass Mover tool and don't miss it at all. Just sayin...

Nothing prevents you keeping an old iMac around for use as a Finale desk. If your needs aren't complicated, the Dolet 7 plug-in will let you exchange MusicXML 3.1 with other users when you have to. Works with Finale 20099–2014.5

https://www.musicxml.com/dolet-plugin/dolet-plugin-for-finale/ 

When I do it with the expression tool as it says to above,

it's a huge tedious thing, and why does it only stay at that tempo for ONE bar, then immediately revert to the previous tempos?
I can't even get it to display WHAT the tempo markings ARE, much less try to computer the relationships in all these wild metric modulations I have to notate (where the 4, sometimes the dotted 8th, sometimes other gets the beat, and it is rapidly changing back and forth from 7/16, 2/4, 3/8, 3/16, 12/16, 2/4, and 4/4, among other things.   all I'm trying to have it do is be faster than whatever it is currently set to at some 7/16 bars (which are likely at dotted 8th equals something, but it won't even display WHAT it already IS SET at.

and even when I tell it, very tediously, to be at such and such beats per minute, it reverts back to whatever it was set at the very next bar. 

how is this "easy" or convenient?

Welcome to the forum!

… I do it with the expression tool …

… why does it only stay at that tempo for ONE bar, then immediately revert to the previous tempos? …

If I understand you correctly, you need the new tempo to stay at that (new) tempo - right?

Three things control the tempo in Finale:

MIDI Tool (= the recorded tempo changes)
Expression Tool (= the expression tempo changes)
Playback Controls

And they work in a hierarchical fashion.

The tempo in the Playback Controls is overridden by an Expression that sets a tempo.
This is overridden by the MIDI Tool, which is at the top of the “Tempo Hierarchy”.

Since the tempo set by your expression does not stay, there is reason to suspect that the culprit can be found in the {Tempo Changes} in the MIDI Data.

Try this:

Selection Tool.

Select the relevant region (or Select All).

Edit menu > Clear Selected Items…

In the dialog {Clear Selected Items}, de-select everything except Tempo Changes.

This step (= clearing the Tempo Changes) usually solves the problem.

… I can't even get it to display WHAT the tempo markings ARE …

This is very serious.

Normally all expressions do display their text without problems.

Are you talking about the default, ready made tempo marks? (which should display their text without problems)

Or are you talking about tempo marks you created yourself? (in that case it could be a matter of font choice)

With each scoring I finish, I upload the MIDI into my DAW, Cubase 11, then use its metronome where much flexibility is found.