Score manager bug

[motet]

I just uncovered a terrible bug for someone on Facebook. You should not be able to add a brand new staff to a part, only to the score (right?). Indeed, if you're editing a part, New Blank Staves is grayed out, and if you go instead to the Score Manager, Add Instrument is likewise grayed out. However, if you deselect the existing instrument there in the Score Manager and then reselect it, Add Instrument becomes functional, and adds an instrument to the part but not the score!

You can then add music to this new staff (from the part), but when you save and reopen the file, the added music is gone, and the system spacing behaves as if the new staff weren't there (it looks as if "avoid collisions" is turned off, but it isn't).

Needless to say this caused all kinds of confusion as to why his systems were overlapping and notes disappearing, and suggestions that didn't work, until a file was presented. I noticed the absence of the second staff from the score and after questioning him, discovered how it happened.

[MikeHalloran]

Does this happen with any particular version or all?

[motet]

I've only tried it with 2014.5. I suspect it came with the score manager, and also suspect it hasn't been fixed, but maybe someone with v25 can try.

[zuill]

Same with v25.

Zuill

[Vaughan]

I can reproduce this, as well. There are two more interesting anomalies connected with this bug. If, in the Score Manager, I try to assign a playback sound to the phantom staff, I see in the Device popup window ARIA Player (missing). If I try to copy any music to this staff (from the part connected to it), I get the following error message: 'While attempting to access 'EnigmaTemp[number].dragclip the File Manager reported an error. Finale - Error occurred. ID = -15'. I'll send this extra information to MM.

[David Ward]

… … …However, if you deselect the existing instrument there in the Score Manager and then reselect it, Add Instrument becomes functional, and adds an instrument to the part but not the score!… … …

I've just tried, and can confirm that all you have to do to activate ‘Add Instrument’ when in the part is to open either the Full Name or Abbr. Name window in the Score Manager and click OK. If you instead click Cancel it is not activated. The rest follows as described by Motet.

[MikeHalloran]

Well, we best not do that, then.

Since the workaround is to know about it, I don’t see any ‘terrible bug’.

[motet]

It's terrible if you don't know about it.

[zuill]

Seriously, I suppose one would try to add a staff to a part, but with what I know about how Finale works, I know that would not be a good thing anyway. The known approach is to add it in the score and hide it if needed. One adds existing staves to a part in the Linked parts manager, not when in the linked part.

So, understanding how Finale works is why I have never bothered to even try such a thing.

Zuill

[motet]

I think the O.P. wanted an extra staff for divisi in the part but not the score. One can argue convincingly, I think, that the score should look just like the part, but how often have you seen someone ask how to add such extra staves? It comes up often. The experienced user wouldn't make such a mistake, but Finale should give the inexperienced user as little rope as possible with which to hang themselves.

[zuill]

Agreed. The option should stay greyed out, but doesn't. Bad programming. Did you report it?

Zuill

[motet]

I did. Thanks for confirming the problem exists in V25.

[Vaughan]

I reported it, as well, with the additional error messages, which seem to suggest that Finale ignores the newly created staff.

[montedoro44]

I just stumbled on this bug/error/event, Finale 26.2. I absentmindedly added a blank staff to a part. "Add instrument" was grayed out, but clicking on the existing staff ungrayed it and allowed me to make a 2nd staff. Copying music to it gave me error message "Cannot read library <url>". A half hour of fooling around ensued, followed by searching and finding this forum thread. Happy it is here and addressed, but it would be nice, say, if the error message addressed the problem in a user-friendly way, or if the user manual dealt with it. In short, grumble & thanks!