Should I upgrade to 26?

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Sunshinenotes
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Post by Sunshinenotes » Sun May 19, 2019 2:08 pm

I have Finale 25, Windows 10. It seems to be working fine. There is an upgrade sale going on, but I don't want to fix what isn't broken. I'm especially concerned about some reports that the speedy entry/using the number pad may have changed. Is this true, or are there any other changes that I should be aware of?

Thank you!
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N Grossingink
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Post by N Grossingink » Sun May 19, 2019 3:20 pm

I'd suggest you download the demo and test that out. It seems more and more what's working and what's not depends upon a user's workflow and requirements of the software.

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motet
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Post by motet » Sun May 19, 2019 4:40 pm

I saw a guy on Facebook report problems with Speedy and the keypad. Is that where you saw it, or are there more reports? If it's just him, it's likely pilot error.

Sunshinenotes
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Post by Sunshinenotes » Sun May 19, 2019 5:03 pm

Yes, that is where I saw it. I'd like to catch the sale, but not having the number keypad work for rests would send me over the edge.
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motet
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Post by motet » Sun May 19, 2019 5:35 pm

I normally use Speedy with a MIDI keyboard and the guy on Facebook isn't, so I'm a bit confused. The manual says
"Press a number key (for non-MIDI, press CTRL+SHIFT+number key). A rest appears of the duration corresponding to the number key you pressed, as shown below. If a note appears instead of a rest, even though you’re using MIDI, it’s because Use MIDI device isn’t selected in the Speedy menu."
How are you entering rests?

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zuill
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Post by zuill » Mon May 20, 2019 3:46 pm

I just downloaded the Finale 26.1 installer file, and it was named MMDings-Pi-Day.zip. Has anyone else had the same name issue? I'm waiting to hear from MakeMusic before unzipping the file, as this seems odd.

Zuill
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motet
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Post by motet » Mon May 20, 2019 4:26 pm

Did it come out on 3/14 or something like that? Seems unprofessional, but it wouldn't surprise me.

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zuill
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Post by zuill » Tue May 21, 2019 2:18 am

I re-downloaded the file and now it has the correct name. The original file, when unzipped, had all the correct installation files. I don't know how that name got there. I had a folder by that name from Pi day in 2017 (it was a fun file they were distributing with a special font), so maybe Windows somehow picked up the name, but still downloaded the right file. You never know.

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Tue May 21, 2019 4:41 pm

I have Finale 25, Windows 10. It seems to be working fine.
IMHO, I would take advantage of the sale and upgrade. 26.1. It is the best Finale, in my opinion so far. Lot's of good stuff. I see no reason to keep or use 25 any longer but I do keep a 2014.5 around.
The articulations are improved. The expressions are improved. Chords are much better. Lot's of good stuff.
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motet
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Post by motet » Tue May 21, 2019 4:50 pm

What are the expression changes?

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motet
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Post by motet » Tue May 21, 2019 4:56 pm

Sunshinenotes, when pressed, the guy on Facebook admitted it was pilot error, so entering rests in Speedy is not broken.

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Tue May 21, 2019 5:10 pm

What are the expression changes?
Hmmm, pretty obvious for instance.
expressions.jpg
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motet
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Post by motet » Tue May 21, 2019 8:42 pm

That's too small to know what you mean. There are more of them, or new features?

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Tue May 21, 2019 9:18 pm

You can check out your own and compare it to 25.
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motet
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Post by motet » Tue May 21, 2019 9:42 pm

I'm not sure why you don't want to say. I'm reluctant to install the demo and risk having it break my existent versions, which many people have complained about.

The website says,
Finale’s expression and articulation libraries have been overhauled, expanded, and refined for playback. Not only do they look better, you save time by not having to create or configure them.
In what way do they look better? I've never considered creating new ones to be a burden, so the added ones that I'm unlikely to use just creates clutter and is in fact a negative. I would much rather they spent their time fixing long-standing bugs, some of them catastrophic. But if expressions are somehow easier to use, I'd love to know about it.

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Wed May 22, 2019 2:16 pm

I'm reluctant to install the demo and risk having it break my existent versions,...
Then don't do it. You will, at some point most likely, as the versions you are running will cease to be supported at all. You already don't get any updates. So if bug swats is you main most concern, you aren't going to get any of them.
It is not my task to convince you to switch
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motet
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Post by motet » Wed May 22, 2019 8:05 pm

Removal of support is hardly an incentive, since I don't think I've gotten a single bit of help from MakeMusic in the 17 years I've used Finale, despite filing several bug reports.

I'm guessing the changes to expressions have to do with including more in the library, and perhaps fixing the default placement of some of them ("look better"?), but perhaps I'll try the demo as some point. Thanks for the encouragement.

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wessmusic
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Post by wessmusic » Wed May 22, 2019 10:49 pm

26.1 is a considerable improvement specially for Mac users. The lags and some slow down issues seen before now appear to be fixed.
Nudging with arrow keys is almost as fast as in version 2008 (one of the most reliable old versions). Copy-paste 100 bars/32 staves fully loaded with articulation, smart shapes and dynamics runs very acceptably. The same procedure in 2014.5 / 25 was a horror.
________

Upgrading to 26.1 two days ago I conducted few speed tests on a decent 15" Macbook retina (mid. 2015, 2.8 Ghz, Mojave with last update) and I am positively impressed.

Finale 26.1 still doesn't make any graphical calculations using the GPU and as for the CPU – it utilises only a single core.
On my PC-test machine – Dell desktop i5-3.4 GHz/8GB RAM/ NVidia 1060 – the stability remains the same except the surprisingly slow "Redraw screen" and staff flickering using the Grab tool (nevertheless, the test file was extremely dense).

However, there are several inconveniences I've found in Mac version – non of my shortcuts stored in System preferences (with assigned "Opt" key + letter) do not work with 26.1, but I solved it by purchasing KeyboardMaestro.
In addition, the price at Sweetwater $119 was very attractive compared to the one seen at Klemm music Germany – €180 (approximately $201).

The icons in main tool palette, shape, special (etc.) are looking fine, but I can not understand why the palette name must occupy extra vertical space equal to a single orchestral staff when "Fit in Window" is selected?
It's annoying. In this regards Finale 2014 was better designed.

Another issue I've found in "Plugins/Note, beams.../Change Noteheads..." is that when you make a selection and recall it again in order to apply next changes, it doesn't keep the last made choice as in previous Finale versions, but goes to its default settings.
______
The only serious disappointment IMO is the inadmissible hang when a heavy scores must be saved more frequently.
Nothing can excuse this waste of time particularly when a men needs to work keeping the concentration instead of waiting the spinning ball to disappear.
For instance 35 page orchestral score (32 staves on each page, 350 bars) takes 3.8 sec. to be saved.
100 pages, the same extended file - ca. 5 sec. Apart form that the SSD on that Mac reads and writes 1.7-2 GB/s.
I've discussed this problem with IT-developers, some of them working for Apple, and all of them confirm that there are more optimised methods for keeping the compatibility with previous versions, since this is the main argument for this phenomena. For example, Sibelius allows the user to select and save the project in a previous version format, instead of calculating, ZIP-ing etc. Photoshop, Illustrator and many others do this flawlessly, too.
MM must definitely fix this issue, because it remains for more than 5 years.
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David Ward
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Post by David Ward » Thu May 23, 2019 6:47 am

wessmusic wrote:… … … However, there are several inconveniences I've found in Mac version – non of my shortcuts stored in System preferences (with assigned "Opt" key + letter) do not work with 26.1, but I solved it by purchasing KeyboardMaestro … … …
This seems rather - very - worrying if it means that the keyboard shortcuts I've set up and now use instinctively and without conscious thought might not work in 26.1.

Do other Mac users have the same experience?
Finale 25.5 & 26.3
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bvstudios
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Post by bvstudios » Thu May 23, 2019 6:49 pm

I upgraded to 26 (and will adjust my sig block shortly) seemingly without incident until i tried to use the GIFF files, which it turns out were corrupt.

So, per the online FAQ I removed 26 and rebooted (Windows 10), then re-downloaded and re-installed from a fresh zip file. Same result. A bunch of error messages telling me that the requested file (corresponding to a GIFF wav) cannot be located. Rinse, repeat, twice more before i cried "Uncle"

Next, I opened a ticket. Detailed what the error was and what steps I tried to fix it.

They responded right away, with "try uninstalling, restarting, and then re-installing Finale 26. That should fix it"

Don't really know whether to try it for the fourth time or simply tell them again that I have already done so three times....
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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Thu May 23, 2019 7:40 pm

Not that it helps you any but my upgrade to 26 wnet uneventful and the upgrade to 26.1 was quick since it only upgraded the main application. First time.
My single issue with 26 or 26.1 is printing. I have to print to a PDF first because nothing shows up in the print window. Otherwise 26.1 is better in every way.
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zuill
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Post by zuill » Fri May 24, 2019 2:14 pm

I installed Finale 26.1 successfully. On the first try, there was some kind of corruption to a component, so I aborted. On my second attempt, all went well.

I'm exploring the new Articulation system to see how it might affect going back and forth with v25. That was my main concern when v26 originally came out. I waited to make sure MakeMusic had time to make any necessary fixes.

Zuill
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"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Fri May 24, 2019 2:37 pm

"...how it might affect going back and forth with v25."
Just curious since I have no intention to go back and forth between 25 and 26.1. Why would you want to?
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zuill
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Post by zuill » Fri May 24, 2019 3:54 pm

When people collaborate between v25 and v26, or if I am asked to look at and edit files from others, I want to be sure that saving in 26 and then opening in 25 doesn't cause changes that were not wanted. Since there is an option to not remove manual adjustments when opening in v26, I am guessing that was designed for the situation I am describing. After I test this out, I am sure I'll know if that truly is the case.

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"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

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motet
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Post by motet » Fri May 24, 2019 4:20 pm

Philip Rothman's "Scoring Notes" review (https://www.scoringnotes.com/reviews/finale-26-review/) has an in-depth discussion of this.

(He does mention expressions as well. Apparently the improvement consists of more expressions, and better looking hand-written ones, rather than anything functional.)

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