The File menu is the first of PrintMusic’s unchanging menus.
As in many computer programs, PrintMusic’s File menu contains various commands for opening, closing, saving, and printing documents.
- Launch Window. Choose this command to open the Launch Window where you can choose from a number of options related to starting new files and opening existing ones.
- New: Document With Setup Wizard. Document With Setup Wizard will take you through some dialog boxes that ask you about the Title of your piece and what instruments you would like to include. See Setup Wizard for more information.
- New: Default Document. Default Document lets you start with a new document with one staff called a Default File. In PrintMusic, however, “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “blank.” As a means of saving you formatting and customizing time, PrintMusic lets you specify dozens of variables into a special document called “Maestro Font Default.FTM.” As long as you keep this document in the PrintMusic 2014/Music Files/Default Files folder(or in the Music folder you specify in the Preferences dialog box), every possible PrintMusic parameter will always be set just the way you like it when you choose New, Default Document from the File menu.
A standard Maestro Font Default file is provided with the program. However, you can customize this document to suit your own tastes. Do you usually begin your work with a piano-vocal staff? Do you prefer a different font for your lyrics?
In any of these cases, the process for customizing this document is simple. Choose Open from the File menu; in the Open dialog box that appears navigate to the PrintMusic 2014/Music Files/Templates folder and choose Finale Template File from the File Type drop-down list and double-click Maestro Font Default.FTM to open it. You’re now looking at a document with a single staff. Now, you can edit this document as you want it to appear every time you choose to open a new default document. When you’re finished, choose Save from the File menu, choose Finale Template File from the File Type drop-down list, name the file Maestro Font Default.FTM and then save it. and save the document as “Maestro Font Default” (replacing the old default file). From now on, every time you choose New, Default Document from the File menu, a fresh, untitled copy of this Maestro Font Default file appears on the screen, formatted according to your preferences.
- New: Document From Template. PrintMusic comes with several dozen template files—blank scores configured for jazz band, full orchestra, and so on—to save you the trouble of constructing such “score paper” setups yourself. To use one of these, from the New submenu choose Document From Template. PrintMusic will display an Open dialog box where you can select the template you want to use. When you double-click the template file you want to use, PrintMusic will automatically peel off an untitled copy of that template, which you can save with any name you wish. Whenever you open a template, PrintMusic prompts you with the last two pages of the Setup Wizard where you can customize the score information, key signature, time signature, and other score settings. Document From Template preserves the original, unmodified template, so that you can use it again the next time you need a similar configuration.
- Open. When you choose the Open command, the Open dialog box appears, in which there are three kinds of files PrintMusic is capable of opening: Finale Notation File (*.MUSX) and MIDI Files (*.MID). Choose All Files (*.*) if you want PrintMusic to display all files in the current folder, regardless of file type. is a popup menu identifying two kinds of files PrintMusic is capable of opening: Finale Notation File and Standard MIDI File (you can also choose to view all readable files or all files). You can also use the Main tool Bar to open a file.
A Finale Notation File is the usual notation file you’ve been working with all along. A Standard MIDI File is a standard music file format that most sequencer programs can read and create.
As you select each of the file types from the File Type drop down list, the names in the File Name list box change to the files with the corresponding extension. The Folder list box works like any Windows Folder list box; double-click a folder to see its contents and use the scroll bars if necessary to view more folders. Select a different drive from the “Look in” drop-down list to view the contents of another drive.
- Open Recent. If the file you want to open is one that you have opened recently, then selecting it from this submenu saves you the trouble of selecting open and navigating through folders in the open dialog box to find your file. Choose Clear Menu to reset the list of recently opened files.
- Open Worksheets & Repertoire. Choose this command to open one of PrintMusic's educator worksheets.
- Close. Choose Close to close the document that appears the active (frontmost) window. If you’re closing a document to which you’ve made changes not yet saved, PrintMusic will ask you if you want to save your changes; click Yes or Save (or press RETURN) to save your changes, or click No or Don’t Save if you don’t want your changes preserved. Click Cancel to return to that document without closing it.
Note: The Save command saves only the active document (the one in the frontmost window).
- Save. Choose Save to store on disk any changes you’ve made to the active document. You can also use the Main tool Bar to Save a file.
When you’re working on a PrintMusic document (or any computer file), you’re actually making changes to an electronic copy of the original file that you have on your disk. As long as you’re in PrintMusic and the computer is on, the computer’s memory retains your editing. (See Save As dialog box.)
If the power fails or a system error occurs, however, all your editing is lost forever, unless you have remembered to save the changes onto a disk by choosing this command. It’s a good idea to save your work fairly often—every ten minutes, perhaps; if you’re the kind of person who forgets, consider using PrintMusic’s automatic backup feature (see Preferences dialog box).
- Save As. This command has two purposes. First, as in many computer programs, the Save As command offers you a chance to create a duplicate of the document you’re working on, with a different name, and—if you wish—in a different folder or on a different disk. (When you choose the command, PrintMusic displays a dialog box and asks you to give the document a new name, which can’t be exactly the same as the current document’s in the same folder.)
This command’s second purpose is to let you save the current document as another kind of document—namely, a Finale Template File. After choosing Save As, select the file format you want to create, give the new file a name, and click Save.
- Extract Parts. This command is PrintMusic’s powerful part-extraction feature. Open the full-score document, so that it appears on the screen. Choose Extract Parts. The Extract Parts dialog box appears, letting you specify which staves you want extracted. PrintMusic saves each extracted part as a separate document. See Extract Parts dialog box for a more complete discussion of its options. You can format, inspect, and adjust the resultant documents, fixing any awkward page turns, for example, before you print them out.
- Revert to Saved. If, in experimenting with a file, you create a hopeless muddle, all is not lost. Use this command to restore your document to whatever condition it was in the last time you saved your work. (This command does the same thing as closing the document without saving it, then reopening it.)
- Import: MusicXML • SmartScore Lite Scan • TIFF File. Choose one of these commands to import a file as a PrintMusic document.
- Choose MusicXML to import MusicXML 3.0 files (compressed and uncompressed, .mxl and .xml), MusicXML 2.0 files, MusicXML 1.1 files, and MusicXML 1.0 files.
- Choose SmartScore Lite Scan to open the SmartScore Lite X2 dialog box where you can configure scanning settings.
- Choose TIFF File to open the SmartScore Lite X2 (TIFF Import) dialog box where you can preview and transcribe a previously-scanned file.
- Export: 2012 Finale Notation File • Audio File • MIDI File • MusicXML. Choose one of these commands to export a PrintMusic document in a different format.
- Choose 2012 Finale Notation File to save the file in MUS format, which allows you to open the file in Finale 2012, SongWriter 2012, or NotePad 2012. To save files for use in Finale 2011 products and earlier, use MusicXML. Note that features introduced in PrintMusic 2014 are not available in previous versions of Finale.
- Choose Audio File to create a AIFF or MP3 file based on the document's playback.
- Choose MIDI File to save the file in MIDI format. MIDI files are used by many music programs, including most sequencers, to retain playback data. This includes tempo changes (for those sequencers that support a tempo, or conductor, track), dynamics, pitch wheel data, MIDI channel assignments, in addition to Human Playback settings. Text and layout are not retained in MIDI files.
- Choose MusicXML to save the file in MusicXML format. MusicXML files can be opened in many music software programs. MusicXML is particularly useful for sharing files with earlier versions of Finale.
- Page Setup. This command displays the standard Mac Page Setup dialog box, which differs depending on the kind of printer you’re using. For example, you can specify the size of paper you want to print on, but note that the page size of your score itself (that is, the size of the printed image) is completely independent of the paper size you specify here. (Use the Page Layout tool to set the actual page size; see Page size.) To make sure that no music will be chopped off when you print, the size of the page as set by the Page Layout tool should be equal to or smaller than that specified in the Page Setup dialog box. For a more complete discussion, see Page Setup dialog box.
- Print. This command prints the score as it appears in Page View. You can also use the Main tool Bar to print a file. When you choose this command, a dialog box appears listing additional printing options, which vary depending on your printer. You’ll be able to specify, for example, which pages of the score you want to print, and how many copies.
