Finale Forum

I'm working my way through the Note Entry tutorial on Finale 2014 and the section on "Note Entry Using Mouse and Keyboard" instructs me to choose "5" for a quarter note and then to press the decimal "." to add a dot. The "5" works, but when I choose the decimal, I get a sound (like an error), but nothing happens. So I can't choose add a dot to a note using the numeric keypad.

Had anyone else experienced this problem? I'm on a Macbook Pro with an Apple wired keyboard that includes the numeric keypad. Thank you in advance for your help!
-Ron

Welcome to the forum!

Since your problem is hardware specific, it might be a good idea to ask the folks at MakeMusic’s
Tech Support.
They know quite a lot about hardware specific problems.

What happens if you try the . on the regular keyboard?

Do all of the other numberpad shortcuts work correctly?

I get exactly the same thing: both periods only produce a "ding" sound, and have no effect otherwise. The keyboard shortcut file correctly says 'Numpad.'

Interestingly, a new file (not the Tutorial) seems to work - maybe a Tutorial file problem?

Are you using a US keyboard?

Yes I am using a US kbd (the large Apple wired one).

I now believe that the Tutorial instructions are wrong.

See the Finale tutorial about Simple Entry with a kbd:

www[dot]finalemusic[dot]com/UserManuals/Finale2014Mac/Finale.htm#Finale/Tut2EnteringNotes1.htm%3FTocPath%3DFinale%2520Tutorials%7CTutorial%25202%253A%2520Entering%2520notes%7C_____1
(sorry about the format, apparently I am not allowed to post URLs yet)

Currently the tutorial says:

Type 5 on the numeric keypad and then . (decimal point).
Click the D line on the first beat of measure 5.

I believe it should say:

Type 5 on the numeric keypad and click the D line on the first beat of measure 5.
Now click the . (decimal point).

In other words, I think (correct me if I'm wrong, as I am a newbie in Finale) that there has to be a note selected before the dot will augment it.

I believe you are correct. I never noticed that, because I have always entered the note, and then dotted it.

The documentaion is rife with errors; you've discovered another one!

If you want to enter the note as dotted, though, you can use the mouse to click on the note in the palette, and then click on the dot. To dismiss the dot, double click on the note, or tap the number key twice.