1) All the (same year) siblings in the Finale family use the same file format.

However, there are differences between the version years (not between the siblings of the same version year).

2) The Finale file format has always been upwards compatible.

A newer version can always open documents created in an older version.

3) The older version years 2012 and earlier (of Finale, PrintMusic &.) used the .mus file format which was not downwards compatible so that e. g. a 2011 version (of Finale, PrintMusic &c.) could not open .mus files in 2012 format.

Downwards compatibility was a feature requested for many years.

4) With version year 2014 came the new .musx file format which is downwards compatible so that version 2014 can open documents created in later versions (e. g. documents created in Finale v25).

Before you switch to Finale v 25, be sure your computer is running a 64-bit operating system, since the latest version of finale will not run on systems less powerful than the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

Can PrintMusic be upgraded to Finale $99.00?  This is unclear to me each time the offer comes around.

Nathan

PrintMusic can be upgraded to full 64-bit Finale 25.3 for $99 before Monday April 3.

http://www.finalemusic.com/blog/