Finale Batch MusicXML and PDF Export
As a professional copyist, I feel my colleague's pain in Finale's discontinuation and the frustration in having to archive potentially decades of work, while also learning new software. I've compiled some instructions below to help with preserving your Finale .mus and .musx into music XML and PDFs for future editing in Dorico, Sibelius, or MuseScore. Special thanks to Kevin Lynch, whose videos are linked and from where much of this information was learned from.
Please reach out if you need any help transferring any of your files, or if you need help in your new software! Any and all questions are welcome, you won't be bothering, I promise!
The full text below is also available in this Google Doc:
docs.google.com/document/d/1UiCUDgcpMaPpWeoZG2BAtcur8ha4VTCKYAMXblfSJiw/edit?usp=sharing
Quick note: MusicXML batch export is relatively simple and natively built into Finale. Batch PDF export, however, is a bit more complicated. Two methods are discussed below, one using a Keyboard Maestro macro, and another using a FinaleScript. The latter will not work with parts, but I've had decent success with it barring some initial setup.
Please reach out if you need any help transferring any of your files, or if you need help in your new software! Any and all questions are welcome, you won't be bothering, I promise!
The full text below is also available in this Google Doc:
docs.google.com/document/d/1UiCUDgcpMaPpWeoZG2BAtcur8ha4VTCKYAMXblfSJiw/edit?usp=sharing
Quick note: MusicXML batch export is relatively simple and natively built into Finale. Batch PDF export, however, is a bit more complicated. Two methods are discussed below, one using a Keyboard Maestro macro, and another using a FinaleScript. The latter will not work with parts, but I've had decent success with it barring some initial setup.
Finale MusicXML Batch Export
Batch Export XMLs: Video walkthrough by Kevin Lynch
First, select the following menu option:
File > Export > MusicXML Prefereneces…
First, select the following menu option:
File > Export > MusicXML Prefereneces…
In the left-hand “Export MusicXML” column, be sure that “MusicXML 4.0”, “Include linked parts in compressed files”, “Silence error messages”, and “Include subfolders” are all selected.
Theoretically, you should be able to use compressed XML files, but uncompressed files are already so small in size that there isn’t much reason to not use them.
The right-hand column settings for “Import MusicXML” are all irrelevant to this process.
Once set, select this menu option:
File > Export > Translate Folder to MusicXML
Select the most top-level folder that contains all of your Finale files.
The following dialogue box will appear:
Theoretically, you should be able to use compressed XML files, but uncompressed files are already so small in size that there isn’t much reason to not use them.
The right-hand column settings for “Import MusicXML” are all irrelevant to this process.
Once set, select this menu option:
File > Export > Translate Folder to MusicXML
Select the most top-level folder that contains all of your Finale files.
The following dialogue box will appear:
You must click yes to continue the process.
Finale will save the .musicxml file into the same location as the .musx file. If you have .mus and .musx that otherwise have the same filename and are in the same subfolder, this process will only export one of those files as XML (as it will overwrite the other one in the process).
If you have existing .musicxml files you wish to preserve that share a filename with a score you are trying to newly export, you will need to move those first to avoid overwriting them.
The process may take several minutes if you have many files.
When the process is finished, a .txt log file will have been created in the folder you processed, named as instructed in the previous dialogue (the default file name being FinaleMusicXMLExportLog.txt). You may check this file to review if any conversions failed. If you converted a lot of scores, this file will be quite long, so you can expedite the process by searching the file (using control/command+F) for the word “Fail” to find any files that did not successfully export.
Finale will save the .musicxml file into the same location as the .musx file. If you have .mus and .musx that otherwise have the same filename and are in the same subfolder, this process will only export one of those files as XML (as it will overwrite the other one in the process).
If you have existing .musicxml files you wish to preserve that share a filename with a score you are trying to newly export, you will need to move those first to avoid overwriting them.
The process may take several minutes if you have many files.
When the process is finished, a .txt log file will have been created in the folder you processed, named as instructed in the previous dialogue (the default file name being FinaleMusicXMLExportLog.txt). You may check this file to review if any conversions failed. If you converted a lot of scores, this file will be quite long, so you can expedite the process by searching the file (using control/command+F) for the word “Fail” to find any files that did not successfully export.
Expectations and Limitations of MusicXML
A musicXML file will preserve some of the following details:
Certain elements may transfer less consistently or not at all, including:
These are not exhaustive lists. Note that many of these issues can be very quickly resolved using house styles or templates in the importing software, especially when using options to import directly to a template, and in tandem with options to reset the positioning and design of various elements. This includes staff spacing, page margins, fonts, bar numbering, and object positioning. MuseScore, Dorico, and Sibelius all have videos online explaining their XML import features and I recommend searching for these for further instruction.
It may help you to explore Finale’s various Document Options (Document > Document Options) and copy some of the specific line thickness, spacing, and default positioning attributes over into your new software’s templates. You may have never looked at these options before, but they are the settings that make Finale look like Finale. Copying this information over to your new software may help preserve the overall look of your old scores.
- All standard rhythms, notes, and rests should appear as expected
- If bars contained an incorrect number of notes (for example, in a cadenza, or even just in error), you will likely get an import error; these bars often still import, but editing it may create oddities
- Common noteheads such as X, diamond, or invisible should transfer, but more esoteric ones may not
- Most tuplets should import, but there is some inconsistencies between how some programs want to interpret complex 16th or 32nd note quintuplets, septuplets, etc.
- Beaming (unless using unusual beam types)
- Standard articulations and performance symbols (staccato, marcato, accent, bowings, fermatas, tremolos) should import as expected
- The majority of text elements should transfer, with placement and font choice in tact
- System-wide elements (such as rit.) may transfer, but as a single-staff element attached to the top staff
- Boxed text may transfer without the box
- Double, repeat, and final bar lines will transfer; special bar lines such as dashed or invisible lines may transfer less consistently
- Page size and orientation
- Page and system breaks
- Instrument names
- Headers, titles, subtitles, page numbers, and copyright info, including a lot of fonts and formatting is preserved, but some alignment settings may not be; if the information was also placed within Finale’s info boxes, it should transfer to your new software accurately
- Chord symbols (some non-standard or unique symbols may not transfer, and certain variations may default to a different look)
- Standard lines such as hairpins, trills, slurs, and glissandos
- Uniquely designed lines may default to a more basic line, or not transfer at all; sometimes it will only import a symbol (such as “tr”) without the accompanying line; text elements in a line almost always transfer, even if the line itself does not
- The position of the line will be hard set and, generally, will match how things looked in Finale
- Hidden staves
Certain elements may transfer less consistently or not at all, including:
- Grouped staff names (for example, having a pair of stave marked “Flute” in addition to each stave individually being “Flute 1” and “Flute 2” – only the individual names will be preserved)
- Staff spacing: some spacing may be preserved, but margins tend to be “hard coded” meaning if you reset them they will revert to a different look, but they should initially import correctly; however, this also depends how they were set in Finale; manual adjustments are less likely to carry over accurately compared to automatic settings; hidden staves have a tendency to create unusual spacing within the XML
- Time signature styles (e.g., if unique large time signatures were created, they may be converted to normal size)
- Open and close (+ and o) articulation symbols
- Certain staff style visibility settings, such as if time signatures or bar rests are hidden on some staves, will not carry over; generally, these end up returning to a predictable default setting once imported
- Piano brackets may not extend correctly across all intended staves, and custom-designed braces will not transfer
- Special, uncommon noteheads and unusual beaming (such as multiple stems, stemlets, or feathered beaming)
- Settings for measure numbers won’t be retained
- Linked parts and the edits made to them may not transfer
- Hidden staves transfer (and stay hidden in the equivalent score view), but the barline and bracket connections between adjacent parts may be broken
These are not exhaustive lists. Note that many of these issues can be very quickly resolved using house styles or templates in the importing software, especially when using options to import directly to a template, and in tandem with options to reset the positioning and design of various elements. This includes staff spacing, page margins, fonts, bar numbering, and object positioning. MuseScore, Dorico, and Sibelius all have videos online explaining their XML import features and I recommend searching for these for further instruction.
It may help you to explore Finale’s various Document Options (Document > Document Options) and copy some of the specific line thickness, spacing, and default positioning attributes over into your new software’s templates. You may have never looked at these options before, but they are the settings that make Finale look like Finale. Copying this information over to your new software may help preserve the overall look of your old scores.
The exact implementation of these will be different, but both Dorico and Sibelius have comprehensive options similar to Finale. MuseScore, however, may not allow the editing of as many details.
Chances are most of your files will not ever need to be touched again and so simply having XML backups should be sufficient for the vast majority of your work, preserving the option to return to the file and edit in a new software only when necessary.
Chances are most of your files will not ever need to be touched again and so simply having XML backups should be sufficient for the vast majority of your work, preserving the option to return to the file and edit in a new software only when necessary.
Finale PDF Export on Mac
Batch Export PDFs on Mac: Video walkthrough by Kevin Lynch
Because XML does not preserve everything, having a PDF to reference in the event of having to fully transfer a score file may be helpful.
Unfortunately, exporting PDFs in bulk is much more complicated and will require using additional software to execute a macro or script.
I recommend simply following the video walkthrough posted above. The macro file described below is available in the video’s description. Below are some additional instructions you may need to setup beforehand that are not discussed in the video.
If you don’t have it, you will need the latest version of Finale, v27 (which has been made available to all those who have purchased the Finale/Dorico crossgrade). You will also need a program called Keyboard Maestro in its latest version (v11). This is a paid program but you can use the free trial period to process the files.
This macro only works on Mac. PC users may want to try using the FinaleScript described later on.
Because XML does not preserve everything, having a PDF to reference in the event of having to fully transfer a score file may be helpful.
Unfortunately, exporting PDFs in bulk is much more complicated and will require using additional software to execute a macro or script.
I recommend simply following the video walkthrough posted above. The macro file described below is available in the video’s description. Below are some additional instructions you may need to setup beforehand that are not discussed in the video.
If you don’t have it, you will need the latest version of Finale, v27 (which has been made available to all those who have purchased the Finale/Dorico crossgrade). You will also need a program called Keyboard Maestro in its latest version (v11). This is a paid program but you can use the free trial period to process the files.
This macro only works on Mac. PC users may want to try using the FinaleScript described later on.
Opening Files and Initial Plug-In Setup
You must manually open every Finale file you wish to export as a PDF. Also, the macro forces all exports to the same page size, so if you have a mixture of page sizes (for example, parts formatted as A4, US letter, or 9x12 concert), you’ll want to separate them or else portions of the page will be cropped off (the export will not scale the file to fit). Alternatively, you can export as the largest page size available (concert for parts, tabloid for scores) and all information will be retained, even if the page size doesn’t match; you will simply have large blank margins.
On Mac, you can quickly find every Finale file using the Finder’s search feature. Open the topmost folder where all of your files are continued, and then press CMD+F. Make sure the correct folder is being searched by looking at the file paths near the top-left corner of the window.
From here, click the plus sign on the right side of the window; this will reveal another row that should have two dropdown boxes that read “Kind” and “Any”, respectively. Select the one that says “Kind”, and then select “Other”. From the window that opens, scroll down and check the box next to “File extension”. Hit OK to close the window.
Enter mus or musx into the small search box as seen below; you cannot search for both at the same time, so you must deal with one filetype before moving on to the other.
On Mac, you can quickly find every Finale file using the Finder’s search feature. Open the topmost folder where all of your files are continued, and then press CMD+F. Make sure the correct folder is being searched by looking at the file paths near the top-left corner of the window.
From here, click the plus sign on the right side of the window; this will reveal another row that should have two dropdown boxes that read “Kind” and “Any”, respectively. Select the one that says “Kind”, and then select “Other”. From the window that opens, scroll down and check the box next to “File extension”. Hit OK to close the window.
Enter mus or musx into the small search box as seen below; you cannot search for both at the same time, so you must deal with one filetype before moving on to the other.
Select the files you want to process, and then open them with Finale. They should all open as either separate windows, or as separate tabs in a single window; either way is fine. It’s recommended you not process more than 10 or so files at a time. Note that if two files have the same name, their exported PDFs will overwrite each other.
Opening older files may provide the prompt below. It’s recommended you check “Remember and don’t show this again”, and then select “No”. There are various other warning messages that can appear when opening other older files, which is another reason to avoid opening to files at once.
Opening older files may provide the prompt below. It’s recommended you check “Remember and don’t show this again”, and then select “No”. There are various other warning messages that can appear when opening other older files, which is another reason to avoid opening to files at once.
Once open, you may first have to setup a FinaleScript Plugin that may not be available by default.
Go to Plug-ins > FinaleScript and if “Ask Batch Process Destination Folder” is not an additional menu option, select FinaleScript Palette…
From the menu that opens, select “New” at the top. This will create a new script (probably in the Misc. folder) called “Untitled Script.” Select it and then click the “Edit” button at the top of the window.
Name the script “Ask Batch Process Destination Folder” and then copy the text “ask batch process destination folder” into the yellow script field. Once done, select Save & Close.
Go to Plug-ins > FinaleScript and if “Ask Batch Process Destination Folder” is not an additional menu option, select FinaleScript Palette…
From the menu that opens, select “New” at the top. This will create a new script (probably in the Misc. folder) called “Untitled Script.” Select it and then click the “Edit” button at the top of the window.
Name the script “Ask Batch Process Destination Folder” and then copy the text “ask batch process destination folder” into the yellow script field. Once done, select Save & Close.
Finally, this macro only works on .musx files, so older .mus files should be converted first. This can be quickly done by going to the Finale preferences menu (cmd+,), then to the Open tab, and deselecting the Open Legacy Documents as “Untitled” option. You may also wish to uncheck other file update options in this window.
Activate the Macro
If you followed Kevin Lynch’s video above, you should have two macros for exporting PDFs: one for scores, and one for parts. With these macros loaded into Keyboard Maestro, and with a shortcut key or other activation method implemented, you can begin exporting PDFs.
From one of the open files, activate the macro for either score or parts. [Note: when first activating the macro, you may get a “failed” notification if your windows are already in tabs; you may ignore this message.]
A dialogue will appear asking where you want to save your PDFs. All PDFs of the currently open scores will go into the same place, and thus any with duplicate names may be overwritten. You may get an additional dialogue box saying a batch folder is not specified; simply select “Yes” and choose the same folder again.
After this, you will be prompted to select a paper size and then after that the number of songs you will be exporting. After selecting Okay, the macro will automatically begin exporting PDFs. It will take several seconds per score to finish the process.
Ensure the Finale window is what is in focus the entire time or else the macro will fail. Once the export process begins, it should automatically advance to the next score, but if it does not, simply select it yourself, hit CMD+P (to open the print window), and the automation will continue.
When the macro is finished, you will see this window pop up:
From one of the open files, activate the macro for either score or parts. [Note: when first activating the macro, you may get a “failed” notification if your windows are already in tabs; you may ignore this message.]
A dialogue will appear asking where you want to save your PDFs. All PDFs of the currently open scores will go into the same place, and thus any with duplicate names may be overwritten. You may get an additional dialogue box saying a batch folder is not specified; simply select “Yes” and choose the same folder again.
After this, you will be prompted to select a paper size and then after that the number of songs you will be exporting. After selecting Okay, the macro will automatically begin exporting PDFs. It will take several seconds per score to finish the process.
Ensure the Finale window is what is in focus the entire time or else the macro will fail. Once the export process begins, it should automatically advance to the next score, but if it does not, simply select it yourself, hit CMD+P (to open the print window), and the automation will continue.
When the macro is finished, you will see this window pop up:
If this window has not popped up, the macro is not done! Select another score and open the print screen to have it continue, or cancel the entire macro from the Keyboard Maestro menu. This is important because if the macro doesn’t finish, the next time you open a print window it will continue its automation.
Once you’ve exported all of your scores, activate the other macro to repeat the process for the parts.
Once you’ve exported all of your scores, activate the other macro to repeat the process for the parts.
Finale PDF Export via FinaleScript
There is a built-in FinaleScript available from Plug-ins > FinaleScript > FinaleScript Palette… listed under the “Batch Process” folder called “Batch Save as Graphic”. In theory, this script should allow you to batch export all open scores as PDFs at their correct size. Due to the way it is designed, it is not practical for batch exporting parts—only scores.
Open the FinaleScript Palette, select the “Batch Save as Graphic” script, and select “Edit” at the top of the window. The script will need to be edited to appear as it does below:
Open the FinaleScript Palette, select the “Batch Save as Graphic” script, and select “Edit” at the top of the window. The script will need to be edited to appear as it does below:
- Add the command ask batch process destination folder to the top of the script
- Comment out Batch Process Folder and remove the slashes in front of Process all open docs
- Comment out Popup "TIFF" and remove the comment slashes from Popup "PDF"
- Make sure Check "Generate Names from:", Type 1200 near "Resolution:"", and Check "Include Fonts" are commented out
- Check "Allow Transparency" can be optionally commented out or not
- The expect to return command must also have its comment slashes removed
Once edited, Save & Close the window. Open all scores you want processed, and then run the script (either from the FinaleScript Palette window, or by selecting it in the menu [only available if “Show in menu” has been checked as seen as above). You may need to set an export destination from the Plug-ins > FinaleScript > Options… window by selecting the Select… button next to “Use a destination location for batch processing.
Once you start the script, just wait for it to finish. It may appear to require input, but it doesn’t – wait a few seconds and it should proceed. It takes several seconds for the automation to finish.
While this script works on any Finale file, .mus files may open without a title, so processing these will deliver you several PDFs simply called "untitled". To fix this, go into the Finale preferences menu (cmd+,), then to the Open tab, and deselect the Open Legacy Documents as “Untitled” option. You may also wish to uncheck other file update options in this window.
Once you start the script, just wait for it to finish. It may appear to require input, but it doesn’t – wait a few seconds and it should proceed. It takes several seconds for the automation to finish.
While this script works on any Finale file, .mus files may open without a title, so processing these will deliver you several PDFs simply called "untitled". To fix this, go into the Finale preferences menu (cmd+,), then to the Open tab, and deselect the Open Legacy Documents as “Untitled” option. You may also wish to uncheck other file update options in this window.
