Finale 26.3

Recommendations concerning notation and publishing software in a non-partisan environment.
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Den
Posts: 134
Joined: 06 Feb 2020, 13:14

Finale 26.3

Post by Den »

"MakeMusic has released Finale version 26.3. This maintenance release brings support for Dark Mode on Mac, better performance and responsiveness while editing and scrolling, MusicXML improvements, and a handful of bug fixes."

https://www.scoringnotes.com/news/final ... -released/

"Finale v26.3 is supported on macOS 10.12 Sierra/10.13 High Sierra/10.14 Mojave/10.15 Catalina and Windows 10 (64-bit only). Be aware that, as a result of Microsoft ending support for Windows 7, Finale releases are no longer supported on Windows 7."
benwiggy
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Joined: 11 Apr 2016, 19:42

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by benwiggy »

  • Navigation. Finale's underlying drawing mechanism has been updated to offer better performance and responsiveness while editing and scrolling.
  • Dark Mode. Finale now includes a more comprehensive UI experience when running the application in macOS' Dark Mode.
  • Simple Entry. Stems are now always displayed with the correct thickness at all zoom levels when using Simple Entry.
  • Text. Rotated text (such as in custom Smart Lines) now displays correctly at all combinations of staff reduction and zoom level.
  • Fonts. The order of font-family submenus has been corrected for macOS 10.15.
  • EPS export. EPS graphics exported from Finale now import and display correctly.
  • Font characters. Zero-width text characters now display correctly regardless of zoom level, font size, and proximity to page edge.
  • Chord symbols. The Handwritten document style now uses consistent fonts for chord symbols, and chord symbols with flats are now recognized in Type Into Score mode.
  • Saving files. If Finale encounters a problem saving a document, a warning is displayed with suggestions for further action.
  • MusicXML. Multiple improvements have been made to both MusicXML import and export.
The tool palettes don't change for Dark Mode. Nor do all of the graphics in dialogs.

EPS graphics still display terribly.
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Den
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Joined: 06 Feb 2020, 13:14

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by Den »

benwiggy wrote: 16 Jun 2020, 21:27
The tool palettes don't change for Dark Mode. Nor do all of the graphics in dialogs.

EPS graphics still display terribly.
:cry:
benwiggy
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Joined: 11 Apr 2016, 19:42

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by benwiggy »

Someone seriously thought "Yeah, this is fine to ship like this. It doesn't need a moment's more work."

Screenshot 11.png
Screenshot 11.png (31.99 KiB) Viewed 5599 times
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I utterly despair. There remains a litany of bugs in the handling of Graphics Export and import, particularly, but not exclusively, with EPS. Some going back over a decade, despite it being an area of 'revision' several times. Some I reported over 12 years ago.

In fairness, I reported problems with zero-width fonts back in late 2016, so 3.5 years is quite a fast response.

In the same time that Finale has moved from 26.2 to 26.3, Dorico has gone from 3.0 to 3.5, with all the copious new features and bug fixes itemized in their Release Notes.

Imagine competing restaurants. Three of them have put down table cloths, laid the plates and cutlery, and are serving delicious meals to their customers. The other one is still trying to make sure that the tables don't fall over.
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Den
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Joined: 06 Feb 2020, 13:14

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by Den »

Wow benwiggy! I wonder ... how is it even possible that after so many years, very important functions are not corrected, especially EPS exporting and the other similar functions ... and in Dorico all mistakes are corrected in a very short time!
Probably Finale have not good team for correcting bugs, I don't know.
I can't believe that for one of the most famous notation programs - Finale, from what I see and read on the net, there is no corrected basic function. Terrible disappointment for all users.
benwiggy
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Joined: 11 Apr 2016, 19:42

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by benwiggy »

Apparently, there's also some fatal crashing bug in Chord Suffix Tool. I dare say there'll be a "Hot fix", as there was for 26.2. :roll:
mducharme
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Joined: 22 Dec 2016, 01:22

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by mducharme »

The problem for MakeMusic is that they are dealing with a very old code base. How you would have built an application in the 90's from the ground up is not the same approach you would take today. Also, they did not integrate enough features into the core of the program - too many things were left to add-on modules or plugins that were patched on top because they were the quickest way to implement things (due to the previous yearly release schedule). Programming frameworks are available now that do many things automatically that MakeMusic has to implement themselves due to the old code base. What Finale really needs to speed up development would be a major refactoring to modernize the code base, but they are unlikely to do this given the amount of work it would be. Also, if they refactor to such an extreme level, they may run into issues with previous finale scores opening and displaying exactly the same in the new version.
benwiggy
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Joined: 11 Apr 2016, 19:42

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by benwiggy »

They've been 'modernizing the codebase' for 10 years!!! It would have been better to draw a line in the sand with Finale, and create a new app from scratch. Think where they could be now if they did that in 2010!

MM has two leg-irons, constricting its movement: legacy data and legacy users. It can't implement new features and bugfixes without affecting older documents; and it can't change the way the app behaves because the users won't like it.

Today, there is talk of Apple moving from Intel CPUs to their own ARM chips. Finale only just got 64-bit completed before the Catalina 'deadline' (which was later than Apple originally announced). There may be one future move that Finale can't jump with. The same may even be true on the Windows side, where cut-offs of old technology are increasingly likely.
mducharme
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Joined: 22 Dec 2016, 01:22

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by mducharme »

I agree, it would have been better for them to create a new app from scratch. If they had done that in 2010, things might be very different now. But when they are looking at the bottom line, I'm sure they are considering what is cheaper and less risky for them to do, and has greater profit margins involved. Given the existing code base, it is certainly cheaper and theoretically less risky for them to simply live with what they have now and make incremental improvements instead of doing a major refactor. It is hard to convince CEOs to take the leap and basically authorize redesigning the program from scratch just to get to a point where they could be much more agile implement new features for 25%-50% less work.

The main things that I think are saving MakeMusic right now are the fact that they are so entrenched in certain industries (LA and Broadway copyists) and with certain publishing houses. But Dorico is making great strides in the high-end notation market, and MuseScore is picking up more of the hobbyist market. In Academia now, I am seeing fewer and fewer students using Finale. 10 years ago it was about 80% Finale, but now it is maybe 5%. Most are moving to MuseScore, and a handful to Dorico. I am not necessarily seeing a lot of migration from Sibelius yet - most seem to be hanging onto their old Sibelius perpetual licenses or getting subscriptions. However, this mostly seems be related to an overall reluctance of people to move from what they are comfortable with, rather than a continuing devotion to Sibelius.
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OCTO
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Location: Sweden

Re: Finale 26.3

Post by OCTO »

I will keep doing all in 25.5, and my next "update" will be perhaps to Dorico, in the next 2-3 years.
Freelance Composer. Self-Publisher.
Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
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