Exporting Finale files to ePub format
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Hello all,
(I've posted here many times in the past but Finale apparently deleted my account and forced me to start over.)
I've recently published some paperback versions of some of my own solo classical guitar arrangements and have also published in eBook format as well. Publishing eBooks is particularly easy with Amazon KDP and Lulu but Barnes&Noble is another story. They require an ePub format and when starting with a PDF (which is what Finale files are typically converted to) and attempting to convert to ePub, it proves to be a complete fail. (And this is after me working on this for days and bringing in help from professional publishers in various other forums.)
You could imagine my excitement what I discovered Finale's "Export to" feature which is supposed to convert directly from the Finale format to ePub! But Alas, it did not work. Many of the notes in my score were represented as strange symbols that bore no resemblance to a musical score. But why would Finale have the feature if it doesn't work?! I confess that I have an ancient version of Finale (2012 to be exact). Could this possible be a glitch that existed in my version, one that has been corrected in newer versions of Finale? If so, I will upgrade ASAP. I just want to be sure that the "Export to" feature will, in fact, produce an accurate representation of my score in ePub format before upgrading to a newer version.
Any help is appreciated!
Best,
Brian Hayes
(I've posted here many times in the past but Finale apparently deleted my account and forced me to start over.)
I've recently published some paperback versions of some of my own solo classical guitar arrangements and have also published in eBook format as well. Publishing eBooks is particularly easy with Amazon KDP and Lulu but Barnes&Noble is another story. They require an ePub format and when starting with a PDF (which is what Finale files are typically converted to) and attempting to convert to ePub, it proves to be a complete fail. (And this is after me working on this for days and bringing in help from professional publishers in various other forums.)
You could imagine my excitement what I discovered Finale's "Export to" feature which is supposed to convert directly from the Finale format to ePub! But Alas, it did not work. Many of the notes in my score were represented as strange symbols that bore no resemblance to a musical score. But why would Finale have the feature if it doesn't work?! I confess that I have an ancient version of Finale (2012 to be exact). Could this possible be a glitch that existed in my version, one that has been corrected in newer versions of Finale? If so, I will upgrade ASAP. I just want to be sure that the "Export to" feature will, in fact, produce an accurate representation of my score in ePub format before upgrading to a newer version.
Any help is appreciated!
Best,
Brian Hayes
- motet
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Hard to say if anything has changed there--I kind of doubt it, but I could be wrong. I've attached a Finale-generated EPUB file (zipped) for you to test.
It's odd that you can't convert PDF to EPUB. Surely that's a common thing. You might try a different program from whatever you're using. Perhaps Adobe Acrobat? It costs money but is probably cheaper than a Finale upgrade.
Let us know how the EPUB looks.
It's odd that you can't convert PDF to EPUB. Surely that's a common thing. You might try a different program from whatever you're using. Perhaps Adobe Acrobat? It costs money but is probably cheaper than a Finale upgrade.
Let us know how the EPUB looks.
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Last edited by motet on Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Yeah, same result as I'm getting. Forgive me for being such a newbie but I'm not sure how this works or what "Export" exactly even means? When I choose "Export to" > "ePub" in Finale, it saves a file with an ePub extension and a conversion has taken place, correct? The software that I'm opening the file with is Calibre. Or are you saying that Calibre is making the conversion? Once it opens in Calibre, here's what it looks like. And yours looks exactly the same as this:
https://www.classicalguitarorlando.com/ ... b-test.png
https://www.classicalguitarorlando.com/ ... b-test.png
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motet,
No, when I create PDFs from Finale, I'm using the Adobe PDF printer driver. Good, right? I never even knew about the Export to feature until just the other day.
And thank you for your responses and your help!
No, when I create PDFs from Finale, I'm using the Adobe PDF printer driver. Good, right? I never even knew about the Export to feature until just the other day.
And thank you for your responses and your help!
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motet,
I must have missed your Adobe Acrobat reference. Yes, this is exactly what I use but how does Adobe work in conjunction with converting Finale files to ePub? Unless you're referring converting PDFs to ePub? This was the biggest fail of everything else that I tried. The only thing that's come close to getting the job done, so far, is converting PDF to a Word doc, which is a format that Barnes&Noble will accept, by the way. It almost works but not quite. Still some degradation of the score.
I must have missed your Adobe Acrobat reference. Yes, this is exactly what I use but how does Adobe work in conjunction with converting Finale files to ePub? Unless you're referring converting PDFs to ePub? This was the biggest fail of everything else that I tried. The only thing that's come close to getting the job done, so far, is converting PDF to a Word doc, which is a format that Barnes&Noble will accept, by the way. It almost works but not quite. Still some degradation of the score.
- motet
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You're making ePub from Finale the right way, and yes I meant use Acrobat to convert from PDF to ePub.
From you picture it looks like the proper fonts aren't being referenced. Does Acrobat have options to embed fonts in the document? You might experiment with those. In general you do want to embed the fonts, I thing.
Anyway, that's about all I know, I'm afraid. I suspect upgrading Finale won't help, but maybe getting the font problem straightened out will.
From you picture it looks like the proper fonts aren't being referenced. Does Acrobat have options to embed fonts in the document? You might experiment with those. In general you do want to embed the fonts, I thing.
Anyway, that's about all I know, I'm afraid. I suspect upgrading Finale won't help, but maybe getting the font problem straightened out will.
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Thank you for your help.
I’m still puzzled, though, why the topic of Adobe keeps coming up? I’m trying to Export from Finale to EPUB, using Finale‘s “export to“ feature. I’ve been beating the dead horse of trying to convert PDF to EPUB all week long. Top publishing experts can’t even make that work. Again, I truly appreciate your responses.
I’m still puzzled, though, why the topic of Adobe keeps coming up? I’m trying to Export from Finale to EPUB, using Finale‘s “export to“ feature. I’ve been beating the dead horse of trying to convert PDF to EPUB all week long. Top publishing experts can’t even make that work. Again, I truly appreciate your responses.
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To put my issue into simpler terms, for those of you out there who may be able to help: How do I use Finale’s “export to” feature to convert my Finale files to EPUB format? Here’s the result I’m getting:
https://www.classicalguitarorlando.com ... b-test.png
https://www.classicalguitarorlando.com ... b-test.png
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That's a classic example of fonts not being recognised. Some later versions of Finale do put the required fonts inside the .epub package (which is a zip archive of lots of files and folders). But it appears that 2012 doesn't.
So, you need to have the Finale fonts on the viewing computer.
I can create an .epub from Finale 2012, and it shows up correctly for me on a computer with Finale fonts. Here it is.
FWIW: Finale 26 doesn't include the fonts, either. Finale 25 does, I think.
So, you need to have the Finale fonts on the viewing computer.
I can create an .epub from Finale 2012, and it shows up correctly for me on a computer with Finale fonts. Here it is.
FWIW: Finale 26 doesn't include the fonts, either. Finale 25 does, I think.
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Thanks BuonTempi,
So how do I get the Finale fonts onto my viewing computer? I'm assuming that's the problem. Your document looks the same as mine, on my system, with the same font issue.
All I'm trying to accomplish, here, is to publish my book of arrangements as an eBook on Barnes&Noble and this has been going on for almost a week, now, with immense amounts of effort and receiving help from a lot of smart people. (Most of that time was spent trying to convert PDF to ePub in addition to trying to get individual Jpeg files to work.) I mean, this is really ridiculous. It's as if one can't publish music created in Finale in eBook format.
So how do I get the Finale fonts onto my viewing computer? I'm assuming that's the problem. Your document looks the same as mine, on my system, with the same font issue.
All I'm trying to accomplish, here, is to publish my book of arrangements as an eBook on Barnes&Noble and this has been going on for almost a week, now, with immense amounts of effort and receiving help from a lot of smart people. (Most of that time was spent trying to convert PDF to ePub in addition to trying to get individual Jpeg files to work.) I mean, this is really ridiculous. It's as if one can't publish music created in Finale in eBook format.
- motet
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Since Finale's ePub export doesn't work, I think you're forced to convert a PDF file instead. This has got to be a very common thing. Make sure you embed the fonts in the PDF file before trying to convert it to ePub. Look at the options in your Adobe print-to-PDF software. Or try Microsoft print-to-PDF, which comes with Windows. Or download the free CutePDF.BrianHayesMusic wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 6:10 amI’m still puzzled, though, why the topic of Adobe keeps coming up? I’m trying to Export from Finale to EPUB, using Finale‘s “export to“ feature. I’ve been beating the dead horse of trying to convert PDF to EPUB all week long. Top publishing experts can’t even make that work. Again, I truly appreciate your responses.
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If you haven't got Maestro etc on the viewing computer, then the fonts need to be embedded within the epub document itself. Epub is glorified HTML.BrianHayesMusic wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:06 pmSo how do I get the Finale fonts onto my viewing computer? I'm assuming that's the problem. Your document looks the same as mine, on my system, with the same font issue.
Have you tried using Sigil, the free, open-source epub editor?
https://sigil-ebook.com
If there's anything that can sort it out (and embed the fonts into the epub pckage) then it's that.
The alternative (which some do) is to create an epub book that is just a container for PDFs or JPEGs of each page.
It's certainly been a long-standing issue:BrianHayesMusic wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:06 pmIt's as if one can't publish music created in Finale in eBook format.
https://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=5&m=418910
Perhaps raise a support request with MM and ask how it's supposed to work, with reference to fonts.
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Yes, I tried Sigil but all of the YouTube video tutorials are using an older version and I haven't the slightest clue on how to even get past the stage of opening a PDF is Sigil, let alone converting it to ePub. One tutorial suggested converting it in Calibre and then opening it in Sigil, which I've also tried. I think I will open up a ticket with MM.BuonTempi wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:18 pmHave you tried using Sigil, the free, open-source epub editor?
https://sigil-ebook.com
If there's anything that can sort it out (and embed the fonts into the epub pckage) then it's that.
Perhaps raise a support request with MM and ask how it's supposed to work, with reference to fonts.
This thing has really given me a good old-fashioned ass-kicking, I can tell you that.
- motet
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I seriously double MM will be able to fix it (even if they could, they never release fixes between versions), so I would focus on the PDF->ePub route. I'm sure you can figure Sigil out, if not from YouTube videos, then by searching in Google.
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I was possibly thinking that you might be able to open Finale's .epub document in Sigil, embed the fonts, and resave.BrianHayesMusic wrote: ↑Sat Jan 08, 2022 1:03 amYes, I tried Sigil but all of the YouTube video tutorials are using an older version and I haven't the slightest clue on how to even get past the stage of opening a PDF is Sigil, let alone converting it to ePub.
https://www.datalogics.com/blog/ebooks/ ... epub-file/
ah: it does say you need OTF fonts. I can't remember if MM actually released all their fonts as OTF versions or not. (And obviously the latest SMuFL fonts won't work with F2012....!)
- motet
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First you need to figure out how to make good PDFs from Finale. That's possible. Then maybe you can turn them over to an expert who can make ePubs from PDFs. This Has got to be very common, as I said. Forget about getting Finale to make ePubs directly. It sounds like it's not possible.
I know the fact that Finale has an ePub feature makes it logical to assume that it must work. That would be the case with most other software, but not Finale.
I know the fact that Finale has an ePub feature makes it logical to assume that it must work. That would be the case with most other software, but not Finale.
Obviously the conversion doesn't work in Finale 2012. However, I just tried it in Finale 27 and it works perfectly (as well as an epub file can look, I guess...). I just did File > Export > EPUB, it then asks for a file name and where you want to save it, no other option whatsoever.
This what it looked like (in the Calibre viewer) a little light perhaps, but all the original notes, layout, etc. are there exactly as in the original musx file.
Maybe it's time to upgrade?
P.S.: By the way, the original mus file was created in Finale 2009 (!) and had been opened and converted in Finale 27 to musx and from there to epub. Seems it shouldn't be a problem doing the same with a file from Finale 2012.
This what it looked like (in the Calibre viewer) a little light perhaps, but all the original notes, layout, etc. are there exactly as in the original musx file.
Maybe it's time to upgrade?
P.S.: By the way, the original mus file was created in Finale 2009 (!) and had been opened and converted in Finale 27 to musx and from there to epub. Seems it shouldn't be a problem doing the same with a file from Finale 2012.
Finale 3.7 > 27.4.1, GPO5, ASUS laptop, 18.4'' display, Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, WIN 10 Pro, Cubase
- Peter Thomsen
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mmike,
That .jpg graphic looks fine.
But do you have the music fonts on the viewing computer?
According to the posts in this thread it seems that some Finale versions do not embed the music fonts in the .epub file.
That .jpg graphic looks fine.
But do you have the music fonts on the viewing computer?
According to the posts in this thread it seems that some Finale versions do not embed the music fonts in the .epub file.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996
Seems like this was indeed not the answer - the epub file can't be read on another computer (one that doesn't have Finale installed). a quite pointless Finale "feature" then ...
I haven't checked this, but does that mean that Finale also does not embed fonts when exporting to pdf? personally, I don't care, never use the Finale pdf export, but still ....
I haven't checked this, but does that mean that Finale also does not embed fonts when exporting to pdf? personally, I don't care, never use the Finale pdf export, but still ....
Finale 3.7 > 27.4.1, GPO5, ASUS laptop, 18.4'' display, Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, WIN 10 Pro, Cubase
- David Ward
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I don't know about Windows, but on a Mac Finale embeds fonts when exporting to PDF either via Preview or Finale Graphics - except there seems to be an odd problem with Finale Lyrics font. Hard space and or hard hyphen/m-dash don't print correctly on some fancy professional laser printers unless either ‘flattened’ (which requires paid for Adobe Acrobat) or being saved as a PostScript and than re-saved in Preview, or (my preferred solution) remembering to change the font to Times for these two characters. That at least is the case with Finale 26. The font change for just these two characters can be done globally using Finale's text search and replace feature.
Finale 25.5 & 26.3
Mac 10.13.6 & 10.14.6
Mac 10.13.6 & 10.14.6
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Almost certainly a transparency issue. Flattening (or indeed, rinsing through PostScript) will remove transparency.David Ward wrote: ↑Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:57 amexcept there seems to be an odd problem with Finale Lyrics font. Hard space and or hard hyphen/m-dash don't print correctly on some fancy professional laser printers unless either ‘flattened’ (which requires paid for Adobe Acrobat) or being saved as a PostScript and than re-saved in Preview,
However, that doesn't appear to be a problem for me. Possibly because I've updated my fonts to those in Finale 27?
Apropos of nothing, I have got a reliable crash printing any file with an EPS graphic (my logo!) in it.
- musicxml
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Finale's EPUBs are fixed-layout EPUBs where nearly all the content is in SVG. So Finale embeds the fonts using SVG fonts. Readers like Apple Books support SVG fonts in EPUB, but it looks like Calibre does not.
Does the Barnes and Noble reader support SVG fonts? If so, is there another reader that you can use besides Calibre?
Does the Barnes and Noble reader support SVG fonts? If so, is there another reader that you can use besides Calibre?