mmuel_28 wrote:…I have attached 3 screen shots to show you what I mean.
Basically, there is no evidence of ANY pre-stored dynamics or expressions markings in Finale when I click on those
buttons using the Main Tools Pallette…
Expressions are document specific, not program specific.
There are never any expressions in the Finale program itself, ever.
Expressions are always in a document, never in the Finale program.
It is important that you understand the difference between program and document.
Different documents may contain different expressions.
One document may have a lot of expressions while another may have no expressions at all.
It is the same thing with articulations - they are document specific, too.
Your screen shots show a document with no expressions and no articulations.
Which document is that? Where did you find it?
I suppose that you have a lot of music documents created in Finale over the years, right?
Have you looked in all your documents?
Are they all empty - with no expressions, and no articulations?
mmuel_28 wrote:…Also, when I select new File, and the Set Up Wizard, it says "Finale cannot start the Wizard because a necessary data file (instrument.txt) could not be found in the Component Files folder. When I look in that folder, I admit I don't see that file…
I thought the correct folder name was Configuration Files, but I may remember incorrectly.
I have not used Finale 2009 for years, and I do not have it installed anymore.
I suppose that you found the folder in your user account, in {(user account)/Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 2009/} - right?
To get the file {instrument.txt} back you may have to re-install Finale 2009.
However, Finale has a “secret” backup folder hierarchy, located at the root level.
If you, instead of looking in your user account’s Library folder, look in the Library folder at the hard drive’s root level, you may find a similar folder hierarchy:
{(root level)/Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 2009/}
In that “backup folder hierarchy” you may find a copy of the instrument.txt file.
mmuel_28 wrote:…However, when I look in the Plug-ins folder, I do see the folders and apparently the files for expressions: Automatic Dynamics.bundle and Tempo Markings.bundle. For some reason, it is not showing up.... ?…
Finale plug-ins are a different story.
Those plug-in files are not expressions at all.
Plug-ins are “mini-programs” that can do Finale tasks for you.
In the Finale program there is a special Plug-ins menu where the plug-ins show up.
Usually the Plug-ins menu is located between the Window menu and the Help menu.
When you say “it is not showing up”, then what do you mean by your word “it”? - perhaps the Plug-ins menu?
Is the Plug-ins menu not showing up?