File Menu

How to get there

The File Menu is the first of SongWriter’s unchanging menus.

What it does

As in many computer programs, SongWriter’s File Menu contains various commands for opening, closing, saving, and printing documents. The File Menu also contains the Quit command used to exit the program.

• 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. See Launch Window for more information.
• 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 SongWriter, however, “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “blank.” As a means of saving you formatting and customizing time, SongWriter lets you specify dozens of variables into a special document called “Maestro Font Default.FTM.” As long as you keep this document in the SongWriter Component Files folder (or in the Music folder you specify in the Program Options dialog box), every possible SongWriter 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 Finale SongWriter 2012/Component Files 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.

This feature only works if the Maestro Font Default file is in the same folder as the SongWriter program itself (or in the Music folder you specify in the Program Options dialog box). If you move either one out of the folder, this process won’t work, and SongWriter won’t be able to create new documents from the Default Document.

• New: Document From Template. SongWriter 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. SongWriter 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, SongWriter will automatically peel off an untitled copy of that template, which you can save with any name you wish. Whenever you open a template, SongWriter 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 SongWriter is capable of opening: Finale Notation File (*.MUS) and MIDI Files (*.MID). Choose All Files (*.*) if you want SongWriter to display all files in the current folder, regardless of file type. is a popup menu identifying two kinds of files SongWriter 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.

This Open dialog box works the way any Macintosh Open dialog box does: double-click a folder to see its contents.

• 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.
• 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, SongWriter will ask you if you want to save your changes; click Yes or Save (or press enterreturn) 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. (You can also close a document by double-clicking the Control menuclose box in the upper-left corner of the 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 SongWriter 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 SongWriter 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 SongWriter’s automatic backup feature (see Program Options dialog box).

Note: The Save command saves only the active document (the one in the frontmost window).

• Backup files. SongWriter will automatically save a backup copy of your file in the same folder as the original file. Although the concept of a backup seems simple enough, it does warrant a little explanation. The first time you save a file, you have to give the file a name. All subsequent times you save this file, you are automatically replacing an earlier version of the file with the same name. This earlier version of the file is preserved as a backup. The backup file is saved with the word “copy”, to help you identify it. Therefore the backup is always one version behind your current file (in case you just saved something you shouldn't have). Keep in mind that the first time you save a file, no backup is made, since there isn't a previous version to preserve. Similarly, no backup is made when you perform a Save As function.

• 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, SongWriter 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 standard MIDI File. After choosing Save As, select the file format you want to create, give the new file a name, and click Save.

• Export to Audio File. Choose this command to create an AIFF file based on the document’s MIDI performance. When you choose this option, the Save As Audio File dialog box appears. To record these audio files, SongWriter uses an included General MIDI sound font. See Audio Files.
• Post at Finale Showcase. This command will save your file, then open your browser to place your file on MakeMusic’s website at www.finaleshowcase.com. The file will be freely shared with other users. Please follow the directions on the website.
• MusicXML: Import · Export.Choose Import to open a MusicXML file. See Import MusicXML dialog box. Choose Export to save a SongWriter document in MusicXML format. MusicXML files can be opened in other music programs as well as earlier versions of SongWriter. See Export Music XML dialog box.  
• Page Setup. This command displays the standard Windows Macintosh 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.

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