About "FinaleMaestro(SMuFL)" and the interpretation of basic parameters that Finale 27.1 does not comply with

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wessmusic
Posts: 109
Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:38 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by wessmusic » Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:36 am

When the new version 27 came out, I was curious, as were many of us. I considered the presence of SMuFL a positive step forward, given that the program itself will change its appearance, using the conditional ability to control the distribution of all these thousands of characters between them - (kernings, ligas, salts, etc.), along with a number of expected improvements affecting the overall appearance of the software.

I did a series of tests to replace FinaleMaestro with Bravura and found the following: although the Steinberg font contains the necessary data for stem connections (stemUpSE/NW and stemDownSW/NW), the interaction with them remains at the level of only local Finale settings, and those related to SMuFL are ignored, as if nothing of the present in the font parameters matters. I found that in order to use Bravura, it is necessary to enter settings for each notehead, as in the use of third-party fonts, instead of using the settings in JSON metadata.

The same was found with regard to accidentals. In Bravura, these elements contain a description, thanks to which their placement in the neighborhood create a harmonious interaction.
https://w3c.github.io/smufl/latest/spec ... -outs.html

For this purpose the description of each character includes cut-outs, allowing overlapping of unused "white" spaces and bringing the characters closer together, where this is achievable, of course. In Finale 27.1 this is simply not taken into account. Obviously we will have to rely on plugins or manual adjustments again. I was really hoping that JSON metafile, as a more advanced alternative to the Finale "Font annotation", would solve those problems, that had been put off till a later time, or said in other words — abandoned for years.
Unfortunately, we will obviously have to stay with our desirable expectations until the appearance of a new version or update of the current one.

Another thing I notice is that FinaleMaestro(SMuFL) does not use the piano brace included in the font, as well as the brackets, not only on Bravura, but also its own!

In such a situation, many, including myself, wonder what was the need for the introduction of FinaleMaestroSMuFL, in the work with which difficulties begin to lead to boredom, instead of helping to solve simple tasks. To change a character, one has to dig through the categories of the font, without direct intuitive access to a particular character, instead of creating several, say a dozen fonts of 256 characters and access to them to remain as easy as before, especially in the Mac version, where you can enter a letter when choosing from the font panel, something that in Windows version has always been missing... Having a search menu does not help much. Given the structure of the program itself, I think it would have been better to have direct access ligatures in the font, as this is adapted in Dorico.

It is noteworthy that JSON for FinaleMaestro does not contain any instructions for the optical center of the dynamics. On this topic, I would assume that a rendering of "Advance width" would be appropriate, but ... such a description in the aforementioned JSON of the font is missing and relies only on the so-called "Bounding rect", ie. of ordinary Font annotation, as available in versions after 2000.

In this line of thinking, although there is a description (in Finale Maestro JSON) for all available characters, however, disrespecting them in the Custom shape panel (as Finale does), leads to even greater inconvenience than before, because both vertically positioned borderlines — the ascender and descenders in this font, are placed in huge distances between each other, and selecting a similar object at work can become involuntary and creates preconditions to completely unexpected results — just because Finale stubbornly refuses to comply with these parameters. I believe that many have faced a similar problem, and now it not only remains unsolvable, but is deepening.

I assume that the raised topic would hardly attract interest, but I still hope that a number of experienced and dedicated colleagues will share their considerations and decisions in overcoming the described issues.

best,
Wess
Last edited by wessmusic on Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
CUSTOM FONTS for FINALE and SIBELIUS
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f0udkrvb8xvh2zj/AAD_8mVlRzzr5mjZKI7BR7Kza?dl=0
________
Finale user since 1994


BuonTempi
Posts: 1297
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:59 am
Finale Version: Finale 27
Operating System: Mac

Post by BuonTempi » Thu Dec 02, 2021 1:22 pm

One other thing is that Finale uses 'non-SMuFL' glyphs for the combined accidental in parentheses. Bravura and other SMuFL fonts don't necessarily have these compound glyphs. There are parameters in Document Options to combine the form from the component symbols, but it's another thing to remember when changing fonts.

As ever, I suspect that MM will gradually introduce new features -- but their pace is pretty glacial.

Also, it may well be that Finale's design can't incorporate things like the overlapping of accidentals, without damaging legacy files.

However, I disagree with your assessment that having to 'dig' through clearly labelled categories of SMuFL glyphs is a disadvantage over having several different fonts, each with a selection of 250-odd glyphs. It takes me far too long trying to find symbols in Maestro as it is; whereas even the largest SMuFL category is clearly organised.

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