Export Manuscript Texture Setting to PDF????

[PianoWizard]

I am creating Finale scores for use solely with forScore (no printing) and I'd like the PDF backgrounds to be the same as the Background Texture settings I have chosen in Finale preferences as the plain white PDF background is too glaring to my eyes on the iPad in forScore. Does anyone know if it is possible to export the score as a PDF with the Background Texture settings in place? Thanks for any replies.

Dave

[BuonTempi]

No; but there are ways to add a tinted background to a PDF. Some PDF editors will do this (e.g. Adobe Acrobat, Master PDF Editor).

As you're on a Mac, I've written a short python script that will add a tint panel to a PDF, which, you can put in an Automator Quick Action or a Shortcut.app workflow. (If you install python.)

https://github.com/benwiggy/PDFsuite/bl ... n3/tint.py

[cunardferguson]

There is a tinted setting in forScore itself I might be stating the obvious but have you tried that?

[PianoWizard]

Hey Buon and Cunard,

Thanks for the replies. I did find that the free version of Acrobat Reader allows for changing the background color of a PDF through the Accessibility settings in the app. This has been pretty good for what I need to mimic the beige Score Paper background in Finale and helping to reduce the white glare in forScore. The only limitation is I cannot use a textured image as a background as for that the full Acrobat Pro program is needed.

BUON: Thanks for sharing the script. Is there a Python script that allows for using an image as the PDF background by chance?

CUNARD: Unless I am missing something the only tint setting available in forScore I know of is the Sepia setting. This works OK but not to the extent I am looking for. It also Sepia-tones the black notes so it kind of reduces contrast. I also experimented a lot with the iPad white point, contrast, brightness and Night Shift settings but they don't seem to get what I am after. The Adobe Reader solution does work pretty good but having the textured background just like in the Finale works space would be ideal.

Thanks for the replies.

Dave

[wessmusic]

To the question thus posed, assuming a direct export from Finale, the answer is probably NO.

However, if additional software is used, (I mean Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and Photoshop) then YES.

In recent years, almost every project I work on has to be presented this way - with a papyrus or other graphic texture type "embossed" backgound and the score over it.

Below I share my humble approach, without defining it as the right or easiest. The steps described give a subjective idea of whether, according to the goals set, this method can be considered successful, on the one hand, or, on the other, so laborious that one should rather give up or look for an alternative solution.

1. It is desirable, though not obligatory, that the original format of the score in Finale should be in a 3:4 or 4:3 (portrait or landscape) aspect ratio, and the margins on all sides should not be large, say 6-8 mm.

2. In Photoshop, prepare a background for the iPad Pro 12,9" by creating a new file of size 2048*2732 pix or 2732*2048 pix (depending on whether the score will be portrait or landscape), 8 bit RGB.

3. Assume that a backgound has already been selected - either MS paper from Finale or another type of BMP file (papyrus, parchment or whatever). Usually these files are as small as pixels and they should be cloned, being glued to each other so that when they are placed on the white or transparent background (of the new file) they can fill it all. Stretching is not appropriate. Basically, this procedure creates new and new layers, which are finally reduced to just one using the Flatten Image command (from the Layers menu). The above preparation takes a little longer (up to 2-3 minutes), but it is done only once and then used to produce all score pages.

4. The score created in Finale is exported as a PDF.
4.a The PDF file is opened in Acrobat Pro DC.
Via Preflight
4.b the command "all fonts are converted to outlines" is selected
4.c the colour profile must be black and white: so "Digital printing (B/W)" is selected
4.d from Organise pages, Extract pages as separate files is applied.

*In the Acrobat Pro DC versions there is an option to insert a backgroup from a file, but it must be created anyway as described in point 3. This would be sufficient if no white masks are used in the Finale file, otherwise the effect would not be good. I therefore prefer the more elaborate way, the description of which follows.

5. In Photoshop, open the background file. For convenience, guide lines are placed on all sides, which will subsequently serve as landmarks. This is not a prerequisite, but having them always helps to ensure that all the score pages to be placed on the next layer are perfectly positioned.

6. If the score is to say 10 pages, the background file is copied 10 times with names corresponding to the order of the pages.

7. Again in Photoshop, each individual page of the PDF is imported. The Image Size specifies the size in pixels. You have to experiment a bit more here, but generally speaking, at a resolution of 72 pix/inch, you can set values close to those of the iPad, i.e. a bit less than 2732*2048. At this point, adjustments can be made to fit within acceptable frames for the next step.

8. After converting to BMP image, paste PDF page on background file with MS paper. From Window/Layers select Multiply with Opacity 100% . This is only necessary if white masks are used in the score for any reason.

9. Finally, from the Layers menu, Flatten Image is applied.

10. SAVE!

Repeat this procedure according to the number of individual score pages.

11. In Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (or in Preview on a Mac), all pages are collected and merged into a single PDF file.
________

Apart from the MS-background preparation itself and the preliminary procedures in 2-5 (which can initially amount to 10-15 minutes until one gets a routine), the execution of each page takes about 15-20 seconds if additional layering is required.

The result at the end is similar to this:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... alW8zg4OPV

Due to the use of "Multiplay" in the placement of the score page layer, the grey circles appear transparent in a way that the texture of the background is preserved.

Surely there are other successful approaches for this purpose, but at least for the moment I can only suggest this one.
I hope the above can help.
________
Here is a similar examples intended for presentation on one of the social networks (aspect ratio 1:1):
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu7fZVlgUtV/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccnvl_4pU5o/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbvLKzOJAd-/

Best,
Wess

[PianoWizard]

Wess,

Thanks so much for that information. Wow, excellent engraving work and the textured backgrounds go beyond anything I could have imagined as possible. That really looks great and is very easy on the eyes and certainly fulfills my main objective of reducing the eye fatigue that comes with solid white backgrounds when viewing on screens. It will take me a while to digest your detailed methods but I will try to see what I can make of it as those results are pretty stunning. I hope to have an update in a few days with some examples. Thanks so much for sharing that.

Are you being requested the textured backgrounds from clients for the same reason I am trying to do this; to reduce eye fatigue for performers who use tablets?

Dave

[BuonTempi]

7. Again in Photoshop, each individual page of the PDF is imported.

Doesn't this mean that the notation is now bitmapped? Obviously, the image is a bitmap, but it would be better to keep the music as vector.
You could add the image as a background object in Illustrator.

[John Ruggero]

Wess, is that pattern only for demonstration purposes? I hope that it is not actually being requested. It is both disturbing and distracting.

[wessmusic]

@BuonTempi,

I ran tests a while ago using only Illustrator to save the vector image for similar purposes. What I found, however, was that the process as it stands is extremely time consuming, as all the intersections caused by the presence of white masks have to be corrected by hand, and this sometimes reaches between 5-10 minutes per page. Just imagining if I had to prepare a piano reduction of over 300 pages this way, it would mean an incredible amount of time and effort.

The alternative and extremely fast option is the one I mentioned in the previous post, which uses Acrobat Pro DC:
The process is incredibly easy and convenient, and it's even lightning-fast because the background stands in for the entire PDF:
Edit PDF - More editing options - Background - Add...


In this case the previously created background is selected and subsequently it stands under all pages. Easy and convenient, isn't it, as long as no white masks are used in Finale, otherwise, the result is absolutely unacceptable, as seen in the example below:

https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... m30fVNuIHy

However, here comes another inconvenience — the file gets too big (if all fonts are converted to outlines).
Even the method described with Photoshop results in a PDF about 2.5 times smaller.

There is one more thing that, in my subjective judgment, should not be underestimated when vector vs bitmap image is compared for this particular case. I confess, I have always avoided implementing any BMPs in the scores for quite understandable reasons. But in cases where an iPad is involved, the musical picture looks quite different.

In my eyes the rasterised-PDF looks nice and even a double magnification of the picture does not irritate in any way.
______

@ John Ruggero

I'm glad you're joining the discussion!

Both samples were not demos, but excerpts from real projects.
The choice of MS-paper background in the previous post was for different composers who have nothing in common with each other and even live over 12,500 km apart. They could have chosen from over 30 different MS textures for the background, but by a strange coincidence they ended up with this one. This same choice was made by other colleagues of mine from Germany, Switzerland, France, Russia, etc. I admit that the latter, however, were influenced by the demo presentations I offered them.

In my humble opinion, when viewing the demos on a computer display, the picture is somewhat different – I guess because of the size, contrast, luminosity, aspect ratio, the way the pixels are rendered etc. I'm not an expert in this area. I usually test on 2 types of displays that I have available — Studio 5K (or Dell 27" 4K) and iPad Pro 12.9" (or Air 10.5"). In that sense, I suppose that maybe in some circumstances the displayed pattern could be perceived as distracting, but on the iPad (regardless of the model) it looks acceptably good to me.

[John Ruggero]

Thanks, Wess. Interesting. On my desktop monitor, the evenly spaced parallel lines of the paper grain compete with the staff lines. The effect is anything but restful on my eyes. But maybe the effect disappears in a different environment.

[PianoWizard]

Hey Wess,

I haven't processed your protocol yet for adding texture but I was catching up last night on Jason Loffredo's latest category update 'Grappling w/Graphics' on his Conquering Finale video series and in the third video for the installment he used Apple's Keynote for a demonstration of exporting graphic files from Finale with the Transparency setting checked and placing them on a Keynote slide with a textured background.

The attached file is a PDF export from Keynote and represents my first try at trying to get my scores on a textured background for iPad viewing to help ease eye strain and fatigue. I matched the slide to the page size in Finale by converting 9 x 12 inches to 648 x 864 points. The texture pattern, color and texture orientation are just a default Textured Layout style in Keynote and it by no means represents the final design choices I would make but it illustrates what is possible with Keynote and for no additional expenditure as would be the case with Adobe Acrobat. I exported the graphic from Finale as a PDF w/Transparency checked.

I am sure I can find online any number of textured backgrounds in various patterns and colors and use them with this Keynote protocol. I would never print a textured background so I don't know what technical failings this Keynote approach has compared to your protocol w/Acrobat in terms of printing specifications but for what I am trying to achieve for iPad viewing I think this fits the bill and is ridiculously easy and totally free.

Below is the link:

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0f4U ... Background

Dave

[PianoWizard]

I've had some more time to mess with the Keynote approach and here is an example where I just utilized the actual Finale .png file that makes up the Finale "Score Paper" background texture.

The path for that file is: Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 27/Resources/Manuscript Textures/ScorePaper.png.

I merely placed the .png file on a 9" x 12" (648 x 864 pts.) Keynote slide, made the image the same size and then added the Finale Graphic-Tool-exported PDF file (w/Allow Transparency checked) to the slide as well. All gets perfectly positioned with no fussing needed.

Here is the result:

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0152 ... kground_II

This was ridiculously easy and quick and now I have the actual Finale "Score Paper" background texture on my file which was my goal to begin with.

Multiple pages can be done easily in Keynote and any background texture could be utilized or easily created by taking screenshots or even taking pictures and using the resulting image file as the background texture.

I think I will experiment with taking actual photos of paper to see what might look even more realistic.

Dave

[BuonTempi]

BUON: Thanks for sharing the script. Is there a Python script that allows for using an image as the PDF background by chance?

There is a script there called 'watermarkPDF.py', which puts one background PDF image under the existing page.

[ebiggs1]

Dave,
I did the same thing only with Photoshop and it worked perfectly its simply copy and paste. It is possible to have not only the backgrounds included with Finale but hundreds of backgrounds from Adobe Stock.
I started doing this when I was trying to design a cool looking cover(s) for my scores.

[PianoWizard]

BuonTempi -

I am not familiar with using Python but I will see if I can suss out how to run that script on my Mac. Seems like that would be easy to automate. Only drawback to my Keynote approach is you have to drag and drop each page individually from Preview onto the corresponding individual slide in Keynote. Not a big deal really but Keynote cannot import a multi-page PDF and insert each page onto an individual slide for some reason. Seems like this script would be one click for any number of pages. Thanks for the redirect for these scripts.

Ebiggs1 -

Yeah, I knew Photoshop and Acrobat Pro could do this easily out the box but I really wanted to avoid at all costs getting intertwined with an Adobe recurring subscription. The Keynote approach works great and is totally free. Only minor hassle is what I referenced above where Keynote cannot drop multi-page PDF's onto sequential slides automatically. I have to open the PDF in Preview and split the screen between Keynote and Preview so I can drag and drop the PDF page thumbnails onto the slides in Keynote. They do perfectly center though so that is nice and requires no extra fussing. I also can choose any image as the background. Another thing is there is absolutely no degradation of the PDF export from Finale of the notation after adding the background in Keynote and the re-exporting as a PDF out of Keynote.

I am going to experiment with more paper types but right now I am pretty satisfied with the Score Paper png that Finale uses. It significantly reduces the eye fatigue compared to the plain white background for sure.

I noticed that the Henle digital score viewer app has the ability to change the PDF background between white and their classic manilla colored score paper background. The latter looks very similar to the Finale built-in Score Paper background. I am really surprised forScore has not implemented this type of background changing feature. It doesn't seem that difficult to implement and I an't possibly be in a minority in finding that glaring white background really hard on my (aging) eyes. The only option forScore has is their Sepia mode but that doesn't really do it for me and doesn't seem to reduce the glare that much.

I want to take some photos of my old 80's and 90's (hand-engraved!) Henle editions and see how that looks. All of those Henle editions have one or two blank pages at the back and are good places for a decent photo. That paper was manilla to begin but has yellowed slightly with age as well; I think it will look great. When I do this experiment I will post back with the results.

[PianoWizard]

To anyone who stumbles on this post trying to do a similar thing with changing the background using free tools like Keynote I will post below a link to the short and easy to follow set of instructions from the Keynote manual on how to do it.

Here it is:

https://support.apple.com/guide/keynote ... 1cf827/mac

Navigate to the 'Use an Image' section and that's pretty much all there is to it.

You must match your slide size to the Finale page size. The slides are in points and 1 inch is equal to 72 points. Easy math from there. I.e. a 9" x 12" page size in Finale requires a slide size of 648 x 864.

Another point is that you must drag the thumbnails individually from Preview onto each individual slide. This could be time consuming and a pain in the neck if doing a big score with parts for sure.

The one variable that is adjustable and can greatly modify the results is the Scaling slider option that is available in Keynote. Depending on how you set the Scaling slider will determine how zoomed in you are to the background image you are using and how much of the texture of the used paper image you will see.

When I use the ScorePaper.png file straight from Finale I choose Tile (as opposed to Scale to Fill) and set the Scaling slider to 50% and that looks totally identical to the Finale background as it appears in Finale. At least this holds true for 9" x 12" size paper.

If you look closely at the ScorePaper.png file from Finale either in another app or while using in Finale you will notice a repetitive background image. I believe this is designed to mimic real score paper where if you look close enough you can see bleed through from what is printed on the other side of the page. I checked a dozen scores and even my beautiful older Henle with definitely the thickest and best quality paper still is not totally opaque.

By looking at that watermark-like background texture while in Keynote and comparing it to how it appears in Finale for your paper size (add a blank page to see it clearly) you gauge how to set the Scaling slider in Keynote to match the magnification/zoom perfectly to Finale. For me that is the setting of 50%.

The other experiment I did was to add a blank page to my 9" x 12" Finale score and then took a screenshot with the borders as close to the edges of the 9"x12" blank page as close as possible. I then used this file as the background image in Keynote and chose the Scale to Fill option but also set the Scaling slider to 50% and it is identical to the Tile version using the actual ScorePaper.png file from the Finale Resources folder.

Hope this is all clear. I am grateful I can do this now and without any additional cost with built-in Apple tools.

Special shout out to Jason Loffredo who set this all in motion. It was crazy how timely the release of the Grappling w/Graphics category was to my trying to figure out how to do this. If you watch the third video in that installment it pretty much lays out the basics of the protocol. Thanks Jason.

Dave

[BuonTempi]

I am not familiar with using Python but I will see if I can suss out how to run that script on my Mac. Seems like that would be easy to automate. Seems like this script would be one click for any number of pages. Thanks for the redirect for these scripts.

The whole point of my suite of scripts was so that they could be operated in one click, usually as Services / Quick Actions in the Finder. The scripts can be added to Automator or Shortcuts.app workflows, using the "Run Shell Script" action.

There are scripts to combine PDFs (creating a Bookmark for each one); add page numbers, add index numbers to a set of PDFs, make booklet spreads, and various other tasks. Python used to come installed as standard on macOS, but newer versions don't include it, so you have to install it yourself.

You can download python 3 from https://www.python.org/downloads/

After it's installed, you need one more thing:

sudo pip3 install pyobjc

and then enter your password.

Then in Automator, you can create a workflow like this one:

Make sure the drop-down options are set correctly.

Then you can trigger the script on any selected PDF file in the Finder, in the Quick Actions menu.

[ebiggs1]

I knew Photoshop and Acrobat Pro could do this easily out the box but I really wanted to avoid at all costs getting intertwined with an Adobe recurring subscription.

Just as long as you get what you want that's the important thing. My other job was photographer so Photoshop is a natural for me. Just like Finale, Photoshop can do anything if you can only figure out how.

[PianoWizard]

Hey Ben,

Thanks for the info. I am trying to get this to work and have succeeded in downloading Python 3.12 and running the Terminal script and also creating the Quick Action that shows up in the right-click menu for a PDF in the Finder. I have a single page PDF on my desktop titled Test.pdf and it is an export from Keynote solely of the 9" x 12" Finale Score Paper background. I run the Quick Action on a Finale exported PDF w/Allow Transparency checked and a new file is created with the appended +wm but it is not merging the files as the newly created file still has a white background. I changed nothing in the script watermarkPDF.py and just assumed as long as my background PDF had the name Test.pdf and was on my desktop I would be good to go. Any idea where I am not succeeding with this? Thanks for any help.

Dave

[PianoWizard]

These are the two files I am working with :

Test.pdf (Score Paper background PDF; single page; the watermark source)

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/01b8 ... z36SQ#Test


Weeping Willow PDF (target notation PDF; exported from Finale w/the Graphics tool and Allow Transparency checked)

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0d2e ... 3)_-_Trans

[BuonTempi]

Any idea where I am not succeeding with this? Thanks for any help.

Did you set "Shell" and "Pass input" drop-downs as in the image? Try putting this (unzipped) in ~/Library/Services

[PianoWizard]

Yes, "Shell" and "Pass Input" are exactly as in your pics.

Here is the result after putting that file in ~Library/Services:

[BuonTempi]

Are the page sizes different?

I get something like this:

[PianoWizard]

Ben,

Yes, both files were indeed 9" x 12".

In trying to troubleshoot your protocol I discovered already in Automator a stock Action called "Watermark PDF Documents". I searched online for this and found a tutorial that took me about 3 minutes to configure and setup the script as a Quick Action and it works perfectly.

Any image can be used as the watermark and can be positioned on top or underneath the target PDF and multiple images can be stored and chosen between when running the Quick Action when right-clicking in the Finder. Control over opacity, angle, scaling and positional offset are available as well as where to save the file. Best of all it is built into the Automator and requires no extra installation or downloading of files.

The Keynote approach was exciting to discover when I needed it but this built-in Automator Quick Action setup allows for batch processing all of the pages in the PDF with one-click and requires no extra installation or setup as it is already right there in Automator.

Here are the full and easy to follow directions:

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-watermark-pdf-on-mac/

When using the Finale ScorePaper.png file I used my 9" x 12" screenshot of a blank page in Finale and set the scaling to 50% and placed the watermark underneath the target document and it is spot on identical to the appearance in Finale. Increasing the scaling basically zooms into the paper and increases the texture effect.

I have to go back and add this background to about 30 files and this takes about 2 seconds for each file plus a final file name change so this is a radical improvement over the manual Keynote approach which would have averaged at least 2 minutes per document.

Thanks for your help Ben and leading me down the right path. I wouldn't have found this built-in Automator script if I hadn't been pursuing your recommendations. I don't know why your scripts didn't work but thanks for again for your input. If you have any other suggestions on how to get your script running let me know as I would keep trying so as to understand what was going wrong. I did link earlier both of my source documents so if you want to try them on your system to see if it is something wrong with my files or my Python 3 setup feel free to do so.

Dave

[AnneMillington]

As an aside, does forScore allow adjustment of background brightness or color? Maybe texture?

Anyway this is great information. Thank!