Today I did a few attempts, with which I think I understood why the EPS export option was removed.
Here are the steps I went through:
I created a short excerpt with Finale 27.1 in two versions - with FinaleMaestro and with Bravura font. Then I opened the same files with version 25.5 and 26.3. Except for the lack of the Time Signature sign, everything else looked fine.
(I should add that I had previously created Font Annotation Tables for both fonts.)
In both cases, the EPS-export went according to my expectations – the program did not crash. But to my surprise (although I suspected it would happen in the end), when I tried to open the generated EPS files (with Adobe Illustrator & Affinity Designer), all I could see were staves, stems and beams. Nothing more than that... (I am still talking about Finale 25.1 and 26.3 EPS export).
My next endeavor was to test SVG exports of Finale 27.1 — it went exactly according to my plan and there were no problems with the correct opening of the files — both in Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer. The only difference was that Affinity treated all symbols as outlines. This is a relatively inexpensive graphics program (around €60 inc. VAT) that works nimbly and does everything you need, sometimes more than expected. (My main concern was that when exporting the Bravura font file, errors could occur, as with a number of other files in which a third-party OTF font is assigned instead of Maestro.)
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Finally — a test in the opposite direction —
importing an EPS file into Finale 27.1.
It's really interesting here, although many will argue that version 27.1 lacks ESP imports.
On the contrary, there is and I will explain in details.
This is how:
I entered random notes, accidentals, tenuto, dynamics etc. within 3 bars, enclosed the first staff with Graphics Tool and exported it as SVG. Then I opened it in Adobe Illustrator and saved it as ESP (the music text was already converted into outlines).
Here is important moment — I changed the extension of the file from EPS to PDF and imported it into the same Finale demo.
In the meantime, I tried to open the fake PDF with Acrobat, but here's what it said:
Needless to say, the image has a low raster screen resolution.
(I prefer to save myself the criticism and pass with indifference the 30-year negligence of the Finale developers on this issue.) I admit, I expected the program to "scream" that it doesn't support this file format or something is wrong, but nothing like that happened.
What's more — please pay attention to the screenshot — in red I have enclosed the form of the graphic file — EPS, indeed!
Finale correctly recognizes that this is EPS, not PDF. From now on, I decided to "print" the file in virtual PS format and next to convert it to PDF with Acrobat Distiller. All this is known and the result is there — pure vector graphics, as expected.
Then I decided to experiment even further and I converted this same EPS file into a real PDF (again in Illustrator) and included it in the Finale 27.1 demo file — I put it this time under the staff.
I repeated the procedure of virtual printing in PS and conversion to PDF.
The result needs no comment - PDF graphics is rasterized, while EPS (as a fake PDF import) is usable.
Here is the PDF:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... Ix8fQmB8nk
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I suppose that colleagues who use Windows can adapt the above experience using a technique not very different from the one described, but still in accordance with the peculiarities of the WIN platform.
best,
Wess