Hi, Don, It's a mystery why sometimes "hide empty measures" leaves some empty stave showing. It's always because there is *something* in those measures. I assume it is a stray hard whole rest, but it could be something else. My orchestra scores are pretty huge, and in the later finale versions, very cumbersome to deal with. Score Manager is unstable (I use playback to check for errors, and sometimes a staff I have set to trumpet might come out as kazoo or something, requiring me to go into score manager and "fix" it, even though it looks fine. I can't explain that either.
The hard rests? Not from importing MIDI (which is one of those "this way lies madness" things I try to avoid. I don't really use MIDI unless I'm writing something that will be recorded and then I generally develop a "tempo map" in MIDI to use with pro tools. But even that has gone south in the newer versions of finale. It used to be that we could import a MIDI file (made from Finale) into ProTools and see all the instruments as graphics and anticipate when to "punch in" or anticipate an entry. I don't record synthesized instruments, only live. But it's nice to be able to see them represented on the screen in ProTools. But the later versions of Finale create MIDI files a) without instrument names, 2) out of score order and b) a slew of extra staves--probably from unused Finale "layers" It used to be really simple. Now it's complicated and it doesn't work. That, plus a dozen other things about the newer versions are NOT improvements in my book. I have the same quarrel with a lot of software. Why do new versions give commands and tools a different name from the last version (like optimize vs. hide empty measures) and scatter the tools into unfamiliar menu lists, and why make the graphics of the speedy windows "sexier" and harder to read? It used to be that added elements were great, and showed that the Finale folks were listening to the users. But like some other programs (MS Word comes to mind) it has gotten so complex, even in fairly simple use, that it's mind boggling. Again, I'm complaining about something that has changed my life by freeing me from the pen/pencil and paper thing. But it's a mystery why the people who sit around thinking up ways to make the software better (code for being able to sell a new version when the old one still work, maybe?) think we want to relearn programs we are used to and love. End of rant. BTW I use simple entry, using a menthol I've developed over the years I use Speedy for some "moves" bu Speedy just never "spoke" to me, though I have many friends and colleagues who swear by it. Thanks for listening. Complaints are boring to hear, but sometimes... Linda _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu
