You're probably in ReWire mode

If this is the cause of that issue - is there any way to turn it off? I can't find anything in the manual. Device Settings under MIDI/Audio shows a Reset Rewire option but that is greyed out. I didn't ask to turn this on, so not sure how it got turned on if that is indeed the issue. Thanks!

Randy, if you have a DAW that is able to be used as ReWire host, then you'll need to make sure to launch Finale before that DAW, otherwise if the DAW is already open, Finale will launch in ReWire mode.

This is supremely stupid. Pleas change it!

This can also occur if you have Dorico open or do not have it configured to release the audio engine.

I am not using any other music software (not familiar with the term DAW) that I am aware of. This was a new installation of Finale on a new laptop (Microsoft Surface Notebook with Windows 10) - this occurs across any Finale file whether new or previously created.

iMac less than a year old, latest Finale. no playback controls. 

??

I just upgraded and I'm having the same problem on a new ASUS computer running Windows 10.  I have 4k screen resolution and I'm having some other problems that seem connected to that.

I don't have a DAW or Dorico.

It sounds, for some who have posted here, the issue could be that your current DPI setting surpasses the maximum that Finale can support currently (200%). Please check out this knowledge base article for more information: Finale's playback controls, palettes, and setup wizard do not display properly.

Hope this helps!

That was it!  I wish I didn't have to choose a different resolution for my display, but it did fix the problem.

Thanks

Glad to hear this helped!

And yes, this DPI maximum is definitely something we would like to see raised in the future of Finale, especially as higher resolution displays that require higher DPI percentages become more and more common.

i updated the software & the controls appeared.