Cannot make Finale 25.3 the default program for .musx

[[hg]lor47D]

Windows 10 - Finale 25.3

I just installed Finale 25.3 on a machine that has Finale 2014.5 already on it. I've been using Finale for years.

I am unable to make Finale 25.3 the default program for processing .mus and .musx files. I tried going to the Control Panel -> Default Programs. Under "Set your default programs," Finale is not listed at all. Under "Associate a file type or protocol with a program," .mus and .musx files ARE listed, associated with Finale 2014.5. I press Change Program and try to change to Finale 25.3, but nothing happens; the association with 2014.5 remains.

How can I change the default program to file type association?

Thanks.

Harvey

[zuill]

When you open 25.3, do you get a pop up asking if you want to make 25.3 the default program for these files? There should be one popup for each file type. If you select yes, then that should do it.

If you don't get those pop-ups, you'll have to wait for someone to chime in here recommending a third-party program to do it. I've never needed anything but Finale's own method.

Zuill

[motet]

Definitely try Zuill's suggestion, but someone else here recently had the same problem and struggled and struggled but couldn't make it work via the normal means. The solution was to use this third-party utility:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/file_types_manager.html

It is safe to do so.

I had a similar problem after installing 2014.5: I wanted .mus (no x) files to be opened with Finale 2011 and couldn't get it to work until resorting to the above. I think installing 2014.5 did something hinky which foiled Windows.

[[hg]lor47D]

Finale 25.3 provides no popups.

I'll try that program and post the results.

Thanks.

Harvey

[[hg]lor47D]

FileTypesMan worked - except - when I click on a .musx file, Finale 25.3 brings up a popup saying that I haven't registered it yet. Of course, I have and if I bring up Finale 25.3 via the Desktop icon, it acts as if I have registered it - that is, no popup.

It appears that something in that file type association is missing.

How do I get Finale to "realize" that I've already registered it?

Thanks.

Harvey

[motet]

What if you just launch Finale instead of double-clicking a file? Do you get the same prompt?

[[hg]lor47D]

As I said, "if I bring up Finale 25.3 via the Desktop icon, it acts as if I have registered it - that is, no popup." If that's what you mean by "just" launching Finale, then no, I don't get the same prompt.

Harvey

[[hg]lor47D]

Oh, boy. Worse and worse: When I launch Finale 25.3 alone - from the desktop icon - it works fine; no pop ups. When I double click a .musx file, it first says that the program hasn't been registered then, when I say that I'll register it now, it says I have to bring up Finale 25.3 as an administrator. Of course, that requires that I launch from the icon, not by double clicking. Again, it won't ask to authorize/register when I launch from the desktop icon, so I can't see any way to stop the double clicking behavior.

???????

Harvey

[motet]

And the path you pointed to in FileTypesMan is exactly the same as the one the desktop icon points to? Should be something like

"C:\Program Files\Finale 25\Finale.exe" "%1"

or whatever Finale 25's path is. Also, scroll to the right in FileTypesMan and make sure to fix the stuff there, too.

[[hg]lor47D]

Yes, I've got the path to the Finale executable correct including the %1, but what is the stuff to the right that needs fixing? I've looked there and everything looks fine to me, but I have nothing to compare it with to make sure it's "correct." What's it supposed to be? What does it say in your installation?

Harvey

[motet]

The pathname appears once more under Process Filename. I'm not sure what the Registry Key should be. I'm sorry if I've led you down the garden path--it did work for someone else, and for me in a slightly different context. I guess in the worst case you can uninstall and reinstall. Perhaps you need to install from an administrator account.

[[hg]lor47D]

So, I uninstalled and installed, again, this time from an administrator account. It made no difference. Again, when run from the Finale icon on the Desktop, everything is fine. I'm registered and authorized and everything matches the serial number, computer location, user code, and authorization code that I originally entered. When I double click on an existing .musx file, Finale comes up, all right, but insists that I've not registered or authorized the program. The About box has the serial number, computer location, and user code blank. When I'm prompted to register, it won't let me because I'm not running under an administrator account.

Does anyone know where the serial number, computer location, user code, and authorization code are stored? Perhaps some path is wrong. I've scanned the Registry for them and can't find anything. Basically, I'm stumped.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Harvey

[motet]

Perhaps try the Windows method again now of associating .musx with Finale 25. Right-click on a .musx file, pick Open with, Choose default program, and pick Finale 25. Stabbing in the dark here. Otherwise, you may need to contact MakeMusic.

[[hg]lor47D]

Wow! Right clicking and picking "Open with" then choosing Finale 25 works!. Double clicking still fails, but "open with" is close enough to be usable.

Thank you, Motet. Thank you.

Harvey

[motet]

This suggests the file type association is screwed up. You can't reset that with thighs click? What if you delete if from FileTypesMan first?

[[hg]lor47D]

FileTypesMan wouldn't permit me to delete the extension. It ignores the command to do so.

"Thighs click?"

Harvey

[motet]

Sorry--typed that on a phone. When you right-click on the .musx file and choose Open with, instead of picking Finale, pick "Choose default program..." and then pick Finale 25. Make sure "Always use the selected program..." is checked. See if that fixes double-clicking.

[MikeHalloran]

Sorry--typed that on a phone. When you right-click on the .musx file and choose Open with, instead of picking Finale, pick "Choose default program..." and then pick Finale 25. Make sure "Always use the selected program..." is checked. See if that fixes double-clicking.

On a Mac, if Finale doesn't show up in the Default menu, that''s done, also. The only real difference is that, on a Mac, you access this through Get Info on a file.

[[hg]lor47D]

When I choose "Open with," I get a choice of (1) Acrobat Reader DC, (2) Finale for Windows (that's Finale 25), (3) Search the Store, and (4) Choose another app. There is no "Choose default program" choice. I went for "Choose another app." Windows displays a dialog box that provides choices of (1) Finale for Windows, (2) Acrobat Reader DC, (3) Look for an app in the Store, (4) More apps, and a check box that says "Always use this app to open .musx files."

I checked the "Always use this app ..." and then selected Finale for Windows.

For that time, it works correctly, but when I exit that editing session then return later, double clicking on the .musx file brings up a copy of Finale that says I haven't registered that copy of the program. In other words, telling it to always use the correctly registered Finale does not work.

Frustrating.

Harvey

[zuill]

I use Windows 7, so I suppose it might be a Windows 10 issue. There have been issues with Windows 10 causing unwanted behavior, from what I've heard and seen. I am putting Windows 10 off as long as possible.

Anyway, I can't offer any more suggestions. But I do share your pain. Please let us know if this gets sorted out. I'd be curious so I could document it in the event Windows 10 becomes an option for me in the future.

Zuill

[motet]

Harvey,

You should be able to delete the file association in FileTypesMan with Shift+Del. Maybe do that and then try the Windows "pick default program..."

[[hg]lor47D]

Good suggestion, Motet. I was able to delete the file association in FileTypes Man - with Ctrl+Del, not Shift+Del - but I could not re-establish it with "pick default program." In fact, Windows refused to make .musx a file type at all. I had to go back to FileTypesMan to do that and the same problem remains.

My wandering around the net looking for the details of associating file types with applications seems to indicate that Windows 10 is finicky in ways that earlier versions of Windows were not. Microsoft SAYS they wanted to make Win10 more responsive to user needs, but instead made it easier to keep Microsoft programs in control, particularly Microsoft Edge. Though Edge doesn't seem to be an issue here, the specification of ProgIDs in the Registry is keyed to Edge's needs, not Finale 25's. Finale seems to read the Registry in an old fashioned way, looking for the file associations directly, instead of the new, indirect method that Microsoft has concocted. The problem is that when you double click on a .musx file, the ProgID isn't where Finale expects it to be in the Registry.

I'm still trying to find out where the system looks for a ProgID when a program is launched via a double click. I'm also not positive exactly what the ProgID for Finale 25 is. I think it's Finale25, but I'm not positive. Anyway, this is as far as I've gotten. I'm pretty certain that Windows isn't going to solve this by telling it to specify a default association. The Operating System is doing what Microsoft Edge wants it to, not what Finale 25 wants it to.

Harvey

[zuill]

If Windows 10 has a compatibility mode, you might try that.

Zuill

[motet]

What does MakeMusic say about all this Harvey? If you have the most up-to-date Finale and the most-up-to-date Windows, there's no excuse for them not making it a priority.

[[hg]lor47D]

Normally, if Windows 10 encounters a 32-bit application, it runs in compatibility mode by itself. Finale 25 is a 64-bit program so there's no need for compatibility mode. Or do you mean something else?

I'll give it a try with MakeMusic, but I'm not hopeful. They're usually slow and uncooperative. I'll let you know.

Harvey