Finale Forum

Hello all, a while back I posted about a problem I was having where my file margins were being changed when I saved a file as a PDF using the Print pulldown menu's "PDF" option. This problem was cutting of the tops of my pages (see attachment). It was suggested here that I use Finale's Export Pages option under Graphics, which solved the problem. However, all off a sudden, the same problem is happening with Graphics. I've found a lengthy work around, where, still using the Graphics option, I save as TIFF, then convert to PDF format. However, the TIFF option only allows me to save one page at at time (even if I select "All"), so it becomes a lengthy process trying to piece together the PDF. I'm thankful for the work-around, but it would be nice to for the process to work as it's intended to. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Does it happen in all Finale documents - or is the issue document specific?

All Finale scores. And both times it has happened, I'd made no change in settings (that I was aware of, anyway). I should mention that I've tried adjusting some of the printing options, like "Fit to page", and "Ignore printer margins for n-up printing".

Could you perhaps attach a (small) Finale sample document here?
So that we can try to duplicate the problem?

Son of a gun of I can't duplicate the problem. Finale froze on me just after I made my first post, and I had to force my Mac's Finder to quit, so maybe that did it. But never fear, if it happens again, I'll be back with a small example file. Thanks!

I downloaded the file you attached to your post a few months ago. I noticed that on the first page, the page margins were adjusted oddly–some of them were so small they almost touched the page boundary. I reset them to the usual 1/2 inch all around and your file printed a PDF with proper margins using the Macintosh print to PDF.

I'm not saying this caused your problem, but who knows? I'd suggest keeping your margins set at 1/2 inch–that's pretty much standard in all desktop publishing applications. To lay out the page, use the system margins dialog in Finale's Page Layout Tool.

N.

Some printers won't print "full bleed," but rather need space at the edge.

On the topic of margins and printers needing space at the edge, I noticed today that there is a checkbox in Finale Print Settings that says Ignore Printer Margins for n-up printing.

Here's what it says about it in the manual:

"Ignore printer margins for n-up printing. Select this option if you have already accounted for the non-printable area of your printer, and you prefer these margins to Finale resizing the page for you. Note that your score may be cut off by the printer if you have not taken the printer margins into account correctly."

I have not made use of this feature yet.
Cheers,
HP.

Not sure if this will get anyone's attention, but wanted to say that I finally solved this problem by choosing US Letter Borderless paper on the print option pop-up, after which, I chose Open in PDF Preview, then exported as a PDF. I'll add that you must choose US Letter Borderless paper each time you print (there may be a way to set that as a default, but I didn't investigate that far).