Contents

Finale Guitar 2003 Help

Click on any of the following for help.

Dialog Boxes

Menus

Main Tool Palette

Navigational Tools Palette

Simple Entry Palettes

Smart Shape Palette

File Utilities Palette

Glossary

Simple Entry Keypad

General MIDI

Technical Support

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


ADIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Add - Continuous Data

Add - Key Velocities

Add - Note Durations

Add Measures

Alter Feel - Key Velocities

Alter Feel - Note Durations

Alternate Notation

Apply Articulation

Apply Alternate Notation

Articulation Selection


BDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Backward Repeat Bar Assignment


CDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Change Clef

Change Lowest Fret

Chord Definition

Chord Suffix Editor

Chord Suffix Selection

Clear Items

Clef Selection

Click and Countoff

Click Assignment

Color

Composite Time Signature

Copy Measures

Copy MIDI Data

Create Metronome Marking

Cut Measures

Cut Music


DDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Default Tuplet Visual Definition

Delete Blank Pages

Delete Element

Diatonic Instrument Definition

Document Options


EDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Edit Lyrics

Edit MIDI Modifiers

Edit MIDI Note

Edit Page Margins

Edit System Margins

Edit Text

Edit Text (Limited)

Ending Repeat Bar Assignment

Erase Layer

Export MIDI File Options

Expression Selection

Extract Parts


FDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

File Info

File Integrity Test Results

Filter Channels

Finale Guitar Registration

First Ending Repeats

Fit Music

Fixed Split

Fixed Split Point

Font

Frame Attributes

Fretboard Instrument Definition

Fretboard Editor

Fretboard Selection

Full Measure


GKDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Group Attributes

Guitar Bend Options

Hand Width Split

HyperScribe Options

Import MIDI Data from Clipboard

Import MIDI File Options

Insert Measures

Insert Staff Systems

Instrument Definition

Instrument List

Interval

Key Signature


LDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Layer Options

Limit - Continuous Data

Limit - Key Velocities

Limit - Note Durations

Listen

Listen to Tempo


MDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Measure Attributes

Measure Expression Assignment

MicNotator

Tablature MIDI Channels

MIDI Event

MIDI Setup

MIDI Thru

MIDI Thru Table

MIDI Tool window

More Quantization Settings

Move Layers

Multiple Splits

Multiple Total Passes for Ending

Multiple Total Passes for Repeat


N-ODIALOG
Dialog Boxes

New Staves

Note Expression Assignment

Open\Save\Save As


PDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Page Format for Parts

Page Format for Score

Page Setup

Page Size

Partial Measure Selection

Percent Alteration Continuous Data

Percent Alteration Key Velocities

Percent Alteration Note Durations

Percussion Map Selection

Percussion Map Viewer

Pickup Measure

Playback and/or Click

Playback Controls

Playback Options

Playback Settings

Print

Program Options

Program Options - Display Colors

Program Options - Folders

Program Options - Palettes and Backgrounds

Program Options - Save

Program Options - View


Q-RDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Quantization Settings

Randomize - Key Velocities

Randomize - Note Durations

Rebeam to Lyrics

Redefine Pages

Remove Staff

Repeat Selection

Resize Fretboards

Resize Page

Resize Staff

Resize Staff System

Respace Staves


SDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Save Library

Scale - Continuous Data

Scale - Key Velocities

Scale - Note Durations

Scale View

Select Default Fonts

Select Region

Send MIDI Value

Set Distances

Set Patch To

Set To - Continuous Data

Set To - Key Velocities

Set To - Start/Stop Times

Shift Lyrics

Size

SmartMusic Accompaniment Options

Smart Line Style Selection

Smart Shape Placement

Space Systems Evenly

Specify Current Lyric

Speedy Options

Staff Attributes

Staff List

Staff Stem Settings

Staff System Optimization

Staff Transpositions

Suffix Keynumber Offsets


TDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Tablature Staff Attributes

Tap Source

Text Expression Designer

There Are Too Many Beats in This Measure

Time Signature

Track/Channel Mapping

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

Transposition

Tuplet Definition


VDIALOG
Dialog Boxes

Unknown Chord Suffix

Unknown Font

View Continuous Data

Web Page Options


Menus

A set of eight menus always appears when you're using Finale Guitar. These menus contain standard file operations and editing commands that you need during your work, as well as Finale Guitar settings that apply to your entire score.

File Menu

Edit Menu

View Menu

Options Menu

MIDI Menu

Tools Menu

Window Menu

Help Menu

The following menus are associated with particular Finale Guitar tools. They only appear when the tool is selected. Click a tool to display its menu.

Chord Menu

Expression Menu

HyperScribe Menu

Lyrics Menu

Measure Menu

MIDI Tool Menu

Page Layout Menu

Simple Menu

Smart Shape Menu

Speedy Menu

Staff Menu

Mass Edit Menu

Text Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Chord Menu

Finale Guitar can add chord symbols automatically to your piece, if you like. In the Chord Menu, you can choose from two manual typing methods in addition to three automatic chord analysis methods. All of the methods work best if you've already loaded a Chords & Fretboards Library (by choosing Open Library from the File Menu). If your Finale Guitar default file in the Finale Guitar/Component Files folder, you don't have to load this library, since the most common chord suffixes and fretboards have been loaded already.

If you're entering chord symbols using either of the typing methods -- Type Into Score, or Manual Input, Finale Guitar lets you type your chord symbols directly on screen -- or type the chord symbols in the Chord Definition dialog box. If you're typing chord symbols and Finale Guitar doesn't recognize a chord, it will show you the chord suffix selection and you can select another chord.

If you're entering chord symbols using any of the automatic methods and Finale Guitar doesn't recognize a chord, it will display the Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box. If you click "Let Finale Guitar do it," Finale Guitar will attempt to create the proper chord suffix and place the resultant chord symbol in the score. For most chord qualities (M, m, Maj7, m7, dim, m7b5, aug, sus4, and so on), Finale Guitar will arrive at the right solution. SeeUnknown Chord Suffix dialog box.

You can also "teach" Finale Guitar to recognize unknown chords. When you see the Unknown Chord Suffix, click "I'll do it" to access the Chord Definition dialog box; then create the chord symbol (and its suffix, if necessary) in the Chord Definition dialog box. The next time you play the chord (in any octave and any voicing), Finale Guitar will know what chord symbol to display. SeeUnknown Chord Suffix dialog box and Chord Definition dialog box.

Manual Input

Type Into Score

MIDI Input

One-Staff Analysis

Two-Staff Analysis

======================

Chord Style

Left-Align Chords

Italicize Capo Chords

Show Fretboards

Resize Fretboards

======================

Position Chords

Position Fretboards

======================

Simplify Spelling

======================

Enable Chord Playback

See Also:

Menus

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Chord/Manual Input

When this option is selected, you can click a note or rest in the score to bring up the Chord Definition dialog box, where you can construct a chord symbol by typing the chord symbol into a single text box. Or, you can enter the three parts of the chord symbol separately by entering the scale degree for the root and alternate bass and choosing a suffix (such as "maj7"). You also use the Chord Definition dialog box to edit an existing chord symbol; double-click the chord symbol's handle.

For detailed information, see the Chord Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Type Into Score

When you select this option, you can click on a note or rest in the score to which you want to attach a chord; a blinking cursor appears above the note. (If no cursor appears, make sure the note you click is in the active music layer.) Type the chord's root with any alteration (# or b), followed by the suffix. If you want an alternate bass to appear for the symbol, type a slash (/), underscore (_) or vertical bar (|) followed by the alternate bass note and alteration.

Pay attention to capitalization as you type: Finale Guitar displays chords like "F" or "e" or "IV" or "iii".  Capitalization also matters in suffixes -- it's how Finale Guitar distinguishes a "CM7" from "Cm7".

To advance the blinking cursor to the next note to continue entering chords press Spacebar, Tab or Shift-Right arrow; Finale Guitar displays the fully formatted chord after you enter it.

Special keystrokes for typing chords:

Press Enter to accept changes to the selected chord

Press Esc to discard changes to the entered chord

Press Spacebar, Tab, or Shift-Right arrow to move to next entry

Shift-Spacebar, Shift-Tab, Shift-Left arrow to move to previous entry

Press Up arrow to move to the next chord on the same entry, or prepare to create a new chord

Press Down arrow to move to the previous chord on the same entry

Type b to display flat symbol

Type # (Shift-3) to display sharp symbol

Type o (lower case letter o)  to display diminished symbol (When the Arial, Times or JazzText Chord Library is loaded)

Type % (Shift-5) to display half-diminished symbol  (When Substitute Symbols is selected in the Chord Menu and the Arial, Times or JazzText Chord Library is loaded)

Type / to put alternate bass note next to the chord root

Type _ (Shift-hyphen) to put alternate bass note below the chord root

Type | (vertical bar) to put alternate bass note below and to the right of the chord root

Press Left arrow to move to previous character in the chord

Press Right arrow to move to next character in the chord

Type Letters with or without Shift (A, B, C, D, E, F, G or a, b, c, d, e, f, g) to display corresponding pitches for the root and alternate bass notes (press Shift for uppercase display)

Type , (comma) to distinguish the chord root from the suffix

Type :# (colon number) to display the chord suffix assigned to a specific slot number in the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box

Type :0 (colon zero) to display the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box, where you can choose any suffix

Type :f# (colon f number) to display the fretboard assigned to a specific slot number in the Fretboard Selection dialog box. (shortcut must follow the suffix)

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/MIDI Input

When you select this option, you can click a note or rest in the score, and a tiny ear icon will appear. Finale Guitar will add a chord symbol above the note you clicked when you play the chord on your synthesizer. (It's "listening" to the chord you play.) The register of the chord you play doesn't matter, but the inversion does: if you play a C chord with an E on the bottom, Finale Guitar will place a C/E chord symbol above the note. If it doesn't recognize the chord, it will display the Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box letting you know. See Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box.

To advance the ear cursor to the next note, press any MIDI instrument key above middle C; to make the ear cursor retreat to the left, play any key below middle C. If you don't move the cursor in this way, each time you play a chord, each new chord symbol will appear stacked above the previous one.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/One-Staff Analysis

If you select this menu item, Finale Guitar will immediately analyze the notes in any chord you click. (It only considers notes in the staff you clicked.) If it doesn't recognize the chord, it will display the Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box letting you know. See Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Two Staff Analysis
Chord/Two-Staff Analysis

If you select this item, Finale Guitar will immediately analyze the notes in any chord you click, also taking into account the notes in the next staff down. In other words, it will use the notes struck simultaneously in both staves to formulate its chord guess, making this a useful option for deriving chord symbols from piano parts.

Once again, if Finale Guitar doesn't recognize the chord, it will display the Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box letting you know. See Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Show Fretboards

When this item is selected, Finale Guitar displays full-blown guitar fretboard-chart diagrams beneath each chord symbol in the score (or will do so as soon as you add chord symbols).

The fretboard Finale Guitar displays depends on the playback defined for the suffix on the chord symbol. If no suffix is specified for the chord, Finale Guitar uses the "Lowercase" setting for the Root Scale Tone in the Chord Definition dialog box to determine what fretboard to display; if "Lowercase" is selected for the Root Scale Tone, Finale Guitar displays a minor fretboard; if "Lowercase" is not selected, Finale Guitar displays a major fretboard.

When you choose Show Fretboards a second time, all fretboards disappear.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Definition

Chord Tool


Chord/Resize Fretboards

Choose this command to change the size of all of the fretboards.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Position Chords

When you choose this command, four small triangles appear at the left side of the screen. These triangles govern the position of the baseline for the chord symbols (the imaginary horizontal line against which the bottoms of the chord symbols align).

Drag the first (leftmost) triangle up or down to move all the chords in the piece. Drag the second triangle to move the chords up or down in this staff only, regardless of the position of the leftmost triangle. Drag the third triangle, in Page View, to move the chords in this staff in this system only. Dragging the rightmost triangle doesn't move any existing chord symbols; instead, it sets the position for the next one you enter.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Position Fretboards

Position Fretboards is only available if Show Guitar Fretboards is selected in the menu.

When you choose Position Fretboards, four small triangles appear at the left side of the screen. These triangles govern the position of the baseline for the diagrams (the imaginary horizontal line against which the bottoms of the fretboard diagrams align).

Drag the first (leftmost) triangle up or down to move all the diagrams in the piece. Drag the second triangle to move the chord diagrams up or down in this staff only, regardless of the position of the leftmost triangle. Drag the third triangle, in Page View, to move the diagrams in this staff in this system only. Dragging the rightmost triangle doesn't affect diagrams at all.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Standard Chord Style

When selected, Finale Guitar displays the chord root and alternate bass notes as letters. An accidental, if present, follows the chord root.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/German Chord Style

When selected, Finale Guitar displays the chord root and alternate bass note as letters. An accidental, if present, follows the chord root.

This style displays "es" for the flat sign and "is" for the sharp sign, with the following exceptions: E-flat is displayed as "Es"; A-flat is displayed as "As"; B-flat appears as B, and B appears as H.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


File Menu

As in any program, Finale Guitar's File Menu contains various commands for opening, closing, saving, and printing files. The File Menu also contains commands for importing and exporting libraries (files containing various symbols, markings, and other musical elements that are stored separately and can be "loaded into" any file). Finally, the File Menu contains the Exit command used to exit the program.

New

Open

Close

Close All

Save

Save As

Save Special

Post at Finale Showcase

Save All

Revert

Import

SmartScore Lite

======================

Open Library

Save Library

======================

Extract Parts

File Info

======================

Page Setup

Print

Export Page As TIFF

======================

Exit

======================

Recent Files

See Also:

Menus


File/New

Choose from the following list of ways to begin a new project:

Document With Setup Wizard

Default Document

Document From Template

If you already have a file you are working on, choose Open from the File Menu.

Tip: Click the New icon on the File Utilities Palette to begin a new project as well.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Open

Opens an existing file. Finale Guitar is capable of opening several kinds of files: Coda Notation File (the usual notation file), ENIGMA Transportable File (ETF), MIDI File, Coda Template File AutoSave File (.ASV), and Backup File (.BAK), .

Note: Finale Guitar can open notation files created in Finale Guitar Macintosh (or Windows); you do not need to create ETF files to transfer files to other computer platforms.

For detailed information see the Open dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Close

Closes the active (frontmost) document and any corresponding windows you opened by choosing the New Window command in the Window Menu.

See Also:

Window Menu

File Menu


File/Save

Saves to disk any changes you've made to the active file. 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 Finale Guitar's automatic backup feature (see Program Options dialog box). The Save command saves only the active file (the one in the frontmost window).

Tip: Choose the Save File Tool from the File Menu Toolbar to save your work as well.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Save As

Saves to disk any changes you've made to the active file, using the name that you specify. This offers you a chance to create a duplicate of the file you're working on, with a different name, and - if you wish - in a different directory or on a different disk. You can also save the current file as another kind of file - namely, a Coda Template File, an ENIGMA Transportable File or a Standard MIDI File.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Save Special

Choosing from this menu allows you to access unique ways of saving.

Save As Web Page

Save As SmartMusic Accompaniment

Save Preferences

See Also:

File Menu


File/Save Special/Save As SmartMusic Accompaniment

This command opens the SmartMusic Accompaniment Options dialog box, where you can specify which staves to set as the solo instrument or accompaniment. See SmartMusic Accompaniment Options dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu

SmartMusic Accompaniment Options


File/Save Special/Save As Web Page

This command opens the Web Page Options dialog box, where you can specify what actions you will permit in the resulting file. See Web Page Options dialog box. Finale Guitar will then save your file in a format that can be displayed on a website. Anyone who wishes to view this file will need the free Finale Viewer plug-in (also called the SmartMusic Viewer). See our website at www.codamusic.com/viewer for details.

See Also:

File Menu

Web Page Options dialog box


File/Post on Finale Showcase

This command will save your file, then open your browser to place your file on Coda’s website at www.finaleshowcase.com. The file will be freely shared with other Finale Guitar users. Please follow the directions on the website.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Save All

Saves to disk any changes you've made to all open files with a single command.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Revert

Restores your file to whatever condition it was in the last time you saved your work. (This command does the same thing as closing the file without saving it, then reopening it.)

See Also:

File Menu


File/Import

Choose this menu item to open the Import dialog box, where you can choose the file type to import into Finale Guitar. Finale Guitar can import Encore, Rhapsody, MIDIScan and SmartScore files.

Finale Guitar can convert Encore files created in Encore 3.0 through 4.2 and Rhapsody files into Finale Guitar. Finale Guitar will convert most items in your Encore file. The simpler the Encore file the less conversion issues you will have. If your file is more involved, it will take more time to convert and you may have more conversion issues. It is recommended that you only convert Encore files that you want to edit in Finale Guitar. If the Encore file is fine, then leave it in Encore and print as needed.

Finale Guitar can import SmartScore 1.3.1 FIN files and MIDIScan 2.5 MND files, regardless of which platform was used to create them. Finale Guitar will convert most items from your SmartScore or MIDIScan files. As you compare your results, make sure that you compare Finale Guitar's output to that of SmartScore's ENF file or MIDIScan's MND file, not the original scanned TIFF file. For more tips on getting the best scanning results, see Musitek's website at http://www.musitek.com.

To import a TIFF graphic directly, from the File Menu, choose SmartScore Lite.

See Also:

File Menu


File/SmartScore Lite

Use this command to open the SmartScore Lite dialog box where you can preview and transcribe a scanned file using Finale’s built-in SmartScore technology. See the User Manual under Scanning for more information and tips.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Open Library

Loads the specified library (set of special symbols or settings) into the active file. An Finale Guitar file with no libraries loaded will seem stripped-down, because each time you open a selection dialog box (to place an articulation or chord symbol, for example), it will be empty. That's why the Maestro Font Default file has already been loaded with the most commonly used libraries so you can begin work immediately.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Save Library

Saves the specified set of special symbols (or settings) you create while working in a file (articulations, chord symbols, and so on) into a separate file called a library. These sets of musical elements may then be "loaded into" any file.

For detailed information, see the Save Library dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Extract Parts

This command accesses Finale Guitar's powerful part-extraction feature. Finale Guitar extracts the staves you specify from the active file, and saves each part as a separate file. It offers you a chance to change layout aspects for the parts. You can format, inspect, and adjust the resultant files, fixing any awkward page turns, for example, before you print them out.

For detailed information, see the Extract Parts dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu


File/File Info

Use this command to enter a description of your work into the file or enter any file-specific information that you may want to refer to later on. If you're sending the file to a publisher, for example, you might use the file description area to communicate information about the fonts that were used in the file.

For detailed information, see File Info dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu

Program Options


File/Save Special/Save Preferences

In Finale Guitar, you can customize program preferences to the work environment best suited to your music, so you can get straight to work when you open a file. Organize the tools, change the palette size and location, or set menu options such as Mass Edit Tool's Select Partial Measures command and Speedy Entry's Use MIDI Device for Input command just the way you want them. The Save Preferences command gives you control over when to save these settings.

Choose Save Preferences from the File Menu to save your current settings in the Finale Guitar.INI file (in your Finale Guitar directory). If you want these settings are saved automatically when you exit Finale Guitar, choose Program Options from the Options Menu, and make sure that "Save Preferences At Exit" is checked. Otherwise the settings are saved only when you choose Save Preferences.

See Also:

File Menu

Program Options


File/Page Setup

Displays the standard Windows 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.) 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 detailed information, see the Page Setup dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Print

Prints the full score as it appears in Page View. When you choose this command, the standard Print 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.

Tip: Click the Print icon on the File Utilities Palette to print the file as well.

For detailed information see the Print dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu


File/Export Page as TIFF

Use this command to export pages of your score into a graphics file format usable in other programs such as word processing or desktop publishing applications. All graphics formats will export as black and white, even when colors are showing on the screen prior to export. A dialog box will appear, asking you where to save the resulting TIFF file.

See Also:

File Menu

Open\Save\Save As


File/Exit

This command exits Finale Guitar and returns to the Desktop. Finale Guitar closes all open files automatically, after first asking you if you want to save your changes (if you made any).

See Also:

File Menu


File/Recent File

1, 2, 3, 4

Next to these numbers are the names of the four most recently opened files, with number 1 being the most recent. If the file you want to open is one of the four most recently opened files, then selecting it from here saves you the trouble of selecting open and navigating through directories in the open dialog box to find your file.

See Also:

File Menu


Edit Menu

You can find an assortment of editing and program operations commands in the Edit Menu. Note that some of them have keyboard equivalents (which are listed in the menu beside the command names); as you become more familiar with Finale Guitar, you may want to start learning these keyboard equivalents.

Some of the commands names change when the Mass Edit Tool is selected, or if you press Ctrl or before displaying the menu. For details, see Cut, Copy, Insert, Paste/Replace Entries, Export MIDI to Clipboard, Import MIDI from Clipboard.

Undo

Redo

=====================

Cut

Copy

Insert

Replace Entries

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Export MIDI to Clipboard

Import MIDI from Clipboard

=====================

Select All

Select Partial Measures

Select Region

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Update Layout

Automatic Update Layout

Automatic Music Spacing

See Also:

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Edit/Select Partial Measures

Use this menu item to select a beat or more of a measure for use with the Mass Edit Tool or Staff Tool.

See Also:

Menus

Mass Edit Tool

Staff Tool


Edit/Select Region

Use this dialog box to select large or small selections of your score without scrolling. Select Partial Measures, from the Edit Menu, must be checked to specify beats to start and stop on.

For more information, see Select Region dialog box.

See Also:

Menus

Mass Edit Tool

Staff Tool


Edit/Undo

Choose the Undo command immediately after performing any action with the Mass Edit Tool that you want to "take back"; Finale Guitar will undo your action. The Undo command also restores anything with a handle you've just dragged or deleted; examples include staves (Staff Tool), expression marks (Articulation, Staff or Expression Tools), titles (Text Tool), and so on. Undo also restores any change you've made with the Speedy Entry Tool.

Tip: Click the Undo icon on the File Utilities Palette to perform this action.

See Also:

Edit Menu


Edit/Redo

Choose Redo to perform the previous undo action. If you have performed too many undo actions in a row, use the redo to replace the actions removed.

Tip: Click the Redo icon on the File Utilities Palette to perform this action.

See Also:

Edit Menu


Edit/Cut

After selecting a region of music with the Mass Edit Tool , choose Cut to place the selected music on the Clipboard and simultaneously remove the music from the score. (Finale Guitar asks you if you want to remove only the music, leaving behind rests, or to remove the selected beats or measures entirely.) Once you've placed the cut music on the Clipboard, you can paste it to another place in your score or another Finale Guitar file.

If you like, you can save the cut material into a separate file of its own, called a Clip File, which you can later access for pasting into another file. Press Ctrl before choosing Cut; the command name changes; Finale Guitar will ask you to give the Clip File a name. In this way, you can create an assortment of musical segments or motifs, each of which you can access with the Insert or Replace Entries commands (see below) to paste them into other files.

You can also place cut text on the Clipboard in Finale Guitar's Edit Lyrics or Edit Text window, or when editing text on-screen with the Text Tool. Select the text by dragging, then choose Cut from the menu or use its keyboard equivalent (Ctrl-X).

Tip: Click the Cut icon on the File Utilities Palette to perform this action.

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Text Tool


Edit/Copy

After selecting a region of music with the Mass Edit Tool , choose Copy to place a duplicate of the selected music on the Clipboard, ready to paste to another place in your score or another Finale Guitar file. (You can't paste copied Finale Guitar music into another program, however).

As with the Cut command, you can press Ctrl before choosing Copy to save the copied material into a separate Clip File, which you can later access for pasting into another file. The command name changes, and Finale Guitar will ask you to give the Clip File a name. In this way, you can create an assortment of musical segments or motifs, each of which you can access with the Insert or Replace Entries commands (see below) to paste them into other files.

You can also place copied text on the Clipboard in Finale Guitar's Edit Lyrics or Edit Text window, or when editing text on-screen with the Text Tool. Choose Copy from the Edit Menu, or use its keyboard equivalent (Ctrl-C).

Tip: Click the Copy icon on the File Utilities Palette to perform this action.

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Text Tool


Edit/Insert

Choose Insert if you want to insert whatever music you've cut or copied to the Clipboard between two existing beats or measures. First tell Finale Guitar where you want the material inserted by selecting any amount of music just after the desired point of insertion.

If you copied complete measures from only one staff, but you're pasting into a multistaff score, the music on all the other staves will be shifted to the right (and empty measures added), even though you're only inserting the copied music into one staff. In other words, Finale Guitar will ensure that one staff's music always aligns with another's.

On the other hand, if you've copied partial measures, Finale Guitar will shift the existing notes to the right, rebarring the piece as necessary, only in the  staves you're pasting into. To insert copied material while Select Partial Measures is turned on in the Edit Menu, select a region of any size; Finale Guitar will insert the material just before the selected region.

If the music on the Clipboard was copied from ten staves, you don't have to insert the contents of all ten staves in the target score. For example, you can select (highlight) a measure in only four staves of the target score; Finale Guitar will insert the music in those staves, and insert blank measures in all other staves. On the other hand, if you do want the entire copied section to be inserted, be sure to select a target region as many staves "deep" as the copied region.

If you've created Clip Files using the Copy or Cut commands, you can paste any one into the score using the Insert command. Press Ctrl while choosing Insert; the command name changes and Finale Guitar displays the Paste dialog box showing the names of any Clip Files on your disk. Double-click the one you want to paste.

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Text Tool


Edit/Replace Entries

The Edit Menu displays the Paste command unless the Mass Edit Tool is selected in which case the Edit Menu displays the Replace Entries command instead.

Choose Replace Entries if you want whatever music you've cut or copied to the Clipboard to paste over (replace) the selected music in the target file (first use the Mass Edit Tool to select the area whose music you want to replace).

The Replace Entries command doesn't replace any measure items (such as Measure Expressions, Time Signatures, etc.) you may already have in the target (selected) region. Only notes and items attached to them (such as articulations, Note Expressions, chord symbols, and so on) are replaced.

If you've created Clip Files using the Copy or Cut commands (see above), you can paste any one of them into the score using the Replace Entries command. Press Ctrl before choosing Replace Entries; the command name changes and Finale Guitar displays the Paste dialog box showing the names of any Clip Files on your disk. Double-click the one you want to paste.

The Paste command appears when the Mass Edit Tool is not selected. You can paste text you've cut or copied to the Clipboard in Finale Guitar's Edit Lyrics or Edit Text window, or when editing text on-screen with the Text Tool. Choose Paste from the Edit Menu, or use its keyboard equivalent (Ctrl-V) if you want the selected text replaced with whatever text you've cut or copied to the Clipboard.

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Text Tool


Edit/Export MIDI to Clipboard

This command provides a quick way to transfer MIDI information to sequencing programs that support MIDI information on the clipboard. When you're ready to export your MIDI information, select the region that you want to export using the Mass Edit Tool, then choose Export MIDI to Clipboard. Finale Guitar copies the MIDI information from the selected region on to the clipboard. You can then paste or import the MIDI information into another program.

Press Shift before choosing this command to use the current transcription settings (without displaying the Import MIDI dialog box).

See Also:

Edit Menu


Edit/Import MIDI from Clipboard

Use this command to import MIDI information from sequencing programs that support MIDI information on the clipboard. Once you've recorded your performance or created the MIDI information (such as controller data) in a sequencing or other MIDI program, copy it into the clipboard. Switch to Finale Guitar, click the Mass Edit Tool, select the measures into which you want to paste the information, then choose this command. The Import MIDI Data From Clipboard dialog box appears. If necessary, change the transcription settings for the notated music in Quantization Settings, then click OK. If the copied sequencer information contains any MIDI note data, Finale Guitar transcribes new notes. Otherwise, Finale Guitar preserves its existing notes and pastes only the copied information into the measures.

Press Shift when choosing this command to use the current settings in the Import MIDI from Clipboard dialog box (without displaying the dialog box on the screen).

See Also:

Edit Menu

Import MIDI from Clipboard


Edit/Select All

You can use this command with a number of tools to select various handles or measures. In many cases, you can exclude (deselect) one handle at a time from the selection by Shift-clicking its handle.

See Also:

Edit Menu


Edit/Update Layout

To speed up its operations, Finale Guitar doesn't constantly recalculate the positioning and page layout of measures within your score. Instead, this recalculation only takes place when you request it by choosing Update Layout from the Edit Menu (unless Automatic Update Layout is selected in the Edit Menu; see Automatic Update Layout).

If you enter Page View without choosing Update Layout, you may discover strange measure spacing if you've made any changes to the widths of measures - by using, for example, the Resize Tool, the Music Spacing commands, the Page Layout Tool, or the Measure Tool (to widen a measure by dragging its barline). Any of these actions can result in very wide or very cramped measures, or duplicated or missing systems on each page. By choosing Update Layout, you tell Finale Guitar to lay the measures out again within each system, taking such changes into account, in order to create attractive, neatly justified systems with appropriate measure spacing.

To further save you time, when you're in Page View, Finale Guitar only readjusts the measure layout from the page you're viewing to the end of the file. In other words, if you're satisfied with the layout of the first five pages, you don't have to wait for Finale Guitar to readjust them; scroll to page six before choosing Update Layout. (Update Layout affects the entire piece if you're viewing page one, or if you're in Scroll View.)

One way to manually arrange measures on the page is to use Finale Guitar's measure group features (such as the Fit Music command in the Page Layout and Mass Edit Menus, or the Mass Edit Tool up/down arrow technique). If you ever want to delete such measure groups (and restore all measures to their original "floating" status), press Shift while selecting Update Layout.

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Page Layout Tool


Edit/Automatic Update Layout

This option has no effect in Scroll View. In Page View, this option determines whether Finale Guitar will update the layout each time it redraws the screen. When this option is selected, Finale Guitar will update the layout each time it redraws the screen (it will take a little extra time to perform the additional task). Finale Guitar actually updates the layout for the current page and discards the layout for all subsequent pages, although it doesn’t take the time to update the layout until you display the subsequent pages. When Automatic Update Layout is not selected, Finale Guitar will still, on occasion, update the layout. For instance, if you adjust the position of a staff or add staves to the score, Finale Guitar will update the layout.

See Also:

Edit Menu


Text/Placement

The commands in this submenu are only available when you're in Page View and have a page-assigned text block selected. Use this submenu to specify how you want the text block positioned on the page. Checkmarks appear by the placement settings currently in use for the text block. You can also set the placement for text blocks in the Frame Attributes dialog box.

Left

Center Horizontally

Right

See Also:

Text Menu

Frame Attributes

Text Tool


Placement/Left

This command is only available when you're in Page View and have a page-assigned text block selected. Use this command to align the text block to the left page margin or the page edge. You can also set the placement for text blocks in the Frame Attributes dialog box.

When you change the horizontal placement of a text block, Finale Guitar clears any manual positioning done in the score.

See Also:

Text Menu

Frame Attributes

Text Tool


Placement/Center Horizontally

This command is only available when you're in Page View and have a page-assigned text block selected. Use this command to center the text block between the left and right page margins or the edges of the page. You can also set the placement for text blocks in the Frame Attributes dialog box.

When you change the horizontal placement of a text block, Finale Guitar clears any manual positioning done in the score.

See Also:

Text Menu

Frame Attributes

Text Tool


Placement/Right

This command is only available when you're in Page View and have a page-assigned text block selected. Use this command to align the text block to the right page margin or the page edge. You can also set the placement for text blocks in the Frame Attributes dialog box.

When you change the horizontal placement of a text block, Finale Guitar clears any manual positioning done in the score.

See Also:

Text Menu

Frame Attributes

Text Tool


Text/Frame Attributes

This command is available when a single text block is selected. Choose this command to display the Frame Attributes dialog box for the currently selected page-assigned or measure-assigned text block. Use this dialog box to change what pages, if applicable, the text block appears on.

For more detailed information, see the Frame Attributes dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Edit Text

Choose this command to display the Edit Text window for the currently selected text block. Or, choose this command when no text block handle is selected to cycle through and edit all text blocks in your score, including staff names.

For more detailed information, see the Edit Text dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Help Menu

The Help Menu lets you view the online help for Finale Guitar Dialog boxes, Menus and Palettes. You can also display the online help for a particular menu command or dialog box by pressing F1.

User Manual

=================

Coda Music Technology Website

Register Finale Guitar

Finale Guitar Trade-Up

================

QuickStart Videos

Tip of the Day

================

About Finale Guitar

See Also:

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Help/User Manual

Finale Guitar's User Manual is the full documentation that comes with the program in the form of Adobe PDF files that can be read with Adobe's Acrobat Reader. The Acrobat Reader is installed with Finale Guitar if necessary when an easy install of Finale Guitar is done. All dialog boxes and all standard procedures needed to engrave music are explained. PDF's can be printed if desired as well as copy and pasted to another computer program. If you wish to have a printed copy of the User Manual, you can contact Coda Music's customer service department at 1.800.843.2066 or 1.952.937.9611.

The User Manual is linked within itself but is also divided into several chapters and sections. The following are major sections that take you to that specific part of the manual.

The Help text used in the file (Finale Guitar.hlp) that you are currently using via the Help buttons and the F1 key is based on the User Manual. If at any time you want more information than this smaller help file can offer, refer to the User Manual.

Table of Contents

Index

================

Keyboard Shortcuts

Jazz Font Character Map

Maestro Font Character Map

What's New

================

How to Use the User Manual

See Also:

Help Menu


Help/User Manual/Table of Contents

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the Table of Contents file of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/User Manual/Index

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the Index file of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/User Manual/Keyboard Shortcuts

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the Keyboard Shortcuts file of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/User Manual/What's New

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the What's New file of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/User Manual/How to Use the User Manual

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the How to Use the Manual of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/QuickStart Videos

Choose this menu item to launch a separate application that will show you basic functionality in Finale Guitar via a video on your computer monitor. The video is narrated and shows how to access tools and menus throughout the programs. If you don't like to read tutorials and manuals, this video is for you.

See Also:

Help Menu


Help/About Finale Guitar

Choose About Finale Guitar to display the application version number and copyright information for Finale Guitar. Your registration number also appears on this Splash screen as well as a plethora of ways to reach Tech Support.

See Also:

Help Menu


HyperScribe Menu

Before you transcribe a real-time performance, there are a few things Finale Guitar needs to know about the music you're about to play. For example, you need to tell Finale Guitar what rhythmic value you'll be using for your note or foot taps as you play. This menu lets you make these settings, which have a great deal to do with the quality of the resulting transcription.

Beat Source

Record Mode

==================

HyperScribe Options

See Also:

Quantization Settings

Click and Countoff

Menus

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


HyperScribe/Beat Source

Use this submenu to tell Finale Guitar what MIDI signal will serve as the tempo reference while you play - and who will provide it (either you or Finale Guitar).

Tap

Playback and/or Click

External MIDI Sync

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Beat Source/Tap Source
Beat Source/Tap

Choose Tap if you're going to be tapping a pedal or a note while you play; the Tap Source dialog box appears.

For detailed information, see the Tap Source dialog box

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Beat Source/Playback andor Click
Beat Source/Playback and/or Click

Choose Playback and/or Click if you want Finale Guitar to provide a metronome click for the beat, and if you want Finale Guitar play music in existing staves; the Playback and/or Click dialog box appears.

When Playback and/or Click is selected for the Beat Source, Finale Guitar uses the settings for the metronome click sound and the countoff measures specified in the Click and Countoff dialog box.

For detailed information, see the Playback and/or Click dialog box and the Click and Countoff dialog box

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Beat Source/External MIDI Sync
Beat Source/External MIDI Sync

Choose External MIDI Sync if you're using HyperScribe to transcribe music being played by an external sequencer or another computer that's equipped to transmit a MIDI Sync signal. Finale Guitar will wait for such a signal from the external sequencer, at which point Finale Guitar will automatically "sync up" to it, transcribing the music as it goes. No tapping (or even playing) is necessary.

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Record Mode

Use this submenu to tell Finale Guitar whether you'll be recording your performance into one staff, or splitting the performance into two staves. If you prefer, you can record into two or more staves -- or layers of a staff at one by using the multitrack record mode.

Record into One Staff

Split into Two Staves

Multitrack Record

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Record Mode/Record into One Staff
Record Mode/Record into One Staff

Choose this command to notate your performance onto one staff. When this option is selected, Finale Guitar records from the channel set in the HyperScribe Options dialog box, then notates the music onto the staff you clicked for recording. (Or, if you click the Playback Controls' Record button, Finale Guitar records into the staff specified in the Instrument List.)

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Record Mode/Split into Two Staves
Record Mode/Split into Two Staves

Choose this command to split your performance onto two staves. Finale Guitar notates your performance onto the staff you click and the staff below it. The notes are split into the two staves according to the note you specify in the Fixed Split Point dialog box.

When this option is selected, Finale Guitar records from the channel set in the HyperScribe Options dialog box, then notates the music onto the staff you clicked (and the staff below it) for recording. (Or, if you click the Playback Controls' Record button, Finale Guitar records into the staff specified in the Instrument List - and splits the notes into the staff directly below it.)

For detailed information, see the Fixed Split Point dialog box

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/Record/Multitrack Record
Record Mode/Multitrack Record

Choose this command to record into any number of staves or layers of staves simultaneously.

When this option is selected, Finale Guitar uses the Instrument List's R (Record) column to determine what staves or layers to record into. Finale Guitar also uses the Instrument List's RChan (Record Channel) column, which only appears when Multitrack Record is selected, to determine the incoming channel(s) for the staff or layer set to record into. Click a measure or click the Playback Controls' Record button to start recording; Finale Guitar notates the music onto the staves or layers selected for recording.

For detailed information, see the Instrument List window and the Playback Controls

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


HyperScribe/HyperScribe Options

Choose this item to display the HyperScribe Options dialog box, which holds a number of specialized transcription choices such as the incoming channel for the Record into One Staff or Split Into Two Staves record modes, and whether you want Finale Guitar to record key velocities and note durations as you play.

For detailed information, see the HyperScribe Options dialog box.

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool


Lyrics Menu

The Lyrics Menu contains all the commands you'll need to create and edit lyrics, distribute the text in the score, adjust the positions of individual syllables, draw word extensions for syllables that are sustained, and so on.

You can have as many sets of lyrics as you want - up to 512 of each of Finale Guitar's three lyric types: Verse, Chorus, and Section. There's no technical distinction between these three types - the lyrics you enter as a Verse can be used in the chorus of your song, and vice versa. They're only there to help you keep your lyrics straight, and to make it easy to change the font or style for a large chunk of lyrics at once (you can specify a different font for Verses, Choruses, and Sections by choosing Select Default Fonts from the Options Menu).

Edit Lyrics

==================

Adjust Syllables

Click Assignment

Edit Word Extensions

Shift Lyrics

Type Into Score

==================

Specify Current Lyric

==================

Add Word Extensions

Remove Word Extensions

==================

Rhymer

See Also:

Menus

Lyrics Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Lyrics/Edit Lyrics

Choose this command to enter the Edit Lyrics window. If you have copied lyrics from an external word processor, choose Paste from the Edit Menu, or press Ctrl-V here to paste them. Otherwise, you can create lyrics from scratch; just type them in, being sure to insert a hyphen between syllables. (Finale Guitar recognizes a space, hyphen, or carriage return as the end of a syllable.)

For detailed information, see the Edit Lyrics window.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool


Lyrics/Adjust Syllables

This command lets you move an individual syllable anywhere you want it. Click the staff above a syllable; a handle appears. Click a handle to select its syllable; Shift-click to select additional syllables attached to the same note. Drag a handle to move its syllable (or all selected syllables) to a new position; press Backspace to restore a selected syllable to its original position. To remove a selected syllable (or all selected syllables) from the score, press Delete.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool


Lyrics/Click Assignment

After you've typed lyrics into the Edit Lyrics window, choose  Click Assignment from the Lyrics Menu. The scrolling Click Assignment window appears; click the staff to which you want to add lyrics (move the Click Assignment window out of the way, if necessary, by dragging its title bar). A syllable from the left end of this window attaches itself to each note you click (or, if the note is in Voice 2, each one you Shift-click).

If you Ctrl-click a note, however, Finale Guitar will zip through your entire set of lyrics, intelligently distributing them to the notes in the score (skipping rests and tied notes) for as many notes as there are syllables.

For detailed information, see the Click Assignment dialog box.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool


Lyrics/Edit Word Extensions

A Word Extension is the underline that follows a syllable that's sustained beyond the note it's attached to.

To create a Word Extension, choose the command from the Lyrics Menu, then click in the staff above the syllable in question. A square handle appears. Drag it to the right as far as you want to draw the Word Extension underline. To remove the Word Extension, click its handle and press Delete.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool


Lyrics/Shift Lyrics

When you choose this command, Finale Guitar displays the Shift Lyrics dialog box, where you can specify the direction in which you want all the syllables shifted.

For detailed information, see the Shift Lyrics dialog box.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool


Lyrics/Type Into Score

Instead of typing lyrics into the Edit Lyrics window separately, you can enter them directly into the music so that you know at all times where you are relative to the melody.

To do so, first specify the lyric type and number for the lyrics you intend to create (by choosing Specify Current Lyric or Edit Lyrics from the Lyrics Menu). Choose Type Into Score from the Lyrics Menu. A set of four positioning triangles appears at the left edge of the screen. These control the baseline of the lyrics (against which the bottom edges of the words line up).

Click on the staff at the position of the first melody note. Don't click the notehead - instead, click in the staff lines. A small blinking cursor - the insertion point - appears beneath the staff where you clicked. Type the lyrics normally; each time you type a space or a hyphen, Finale Guitar automatically moves the insertion point to the next note in preparation to enter the next syllable. As you type, Finale Guitar automatically scrolls the music so you always know where you are.

If you make a mistake, just backspace over it by pressing the backspace key. To change a word you've already typed, click in the staff lines above it so that it's highlighted, then type its replacement. If you encounter a melismatic passage, where one syllable is sustained through several melody notes, skip past each sustained note by pressing the Space bar.

Note that as you type, Finale Guitar stores each syllable in the Edit Lyrics window - the Lyrics Tool's text processor. It's important to understand that the Edit Lyrics window and the lyrics in the score are dynamically linked. If you change a syllable in the Edit Lyrics window, the syllable instantly changes in the score - and vice versa.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool


Lyrics/Specify Current Lyrics
Lyrics/Specify Current Lyric

Choose this command to display the Specify Current Lyric dialog box, where you can specify whether you want to edit, Type Into Score, or Click-Assign a Verse, Chorus, or Section. In the text box, you can also specify by number which Verse, Chorus, or Section you want to manipulate.

You can also switch one lyric type to another in the Edit Lyrics window- for example, if you've just used Click Assignment to place Verse lyrics in the score, but you now want to use the Edit Lyrics window to enter the chorus, choose Chorus from the Lyric drop-down list.

For detailed information, see the Specify Current Lyric dialog box.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Edit Lyrics

Lyrics Tool


Mass Edit Menu

The Mass Edit Menu is one of the most important menus in Finale Guitar. Its commands transform your music in many powerful ways; it's called Mass Edit Tool because it can make global changes to large selections of music at once. You can tell Finale Guitar you want to be able to select partial measures instead of only one-measure increments (by choosing Select Partial Measures from the Edit Menu); most of the Mass Edit commands work on selected regions as small as a single beat, or as large as the entire score. All the commands described below work on partial-measure selections, except as noted otherwise.

Note: All commands in the Mass Edit Menu that affect a selected region of music (such as copying) can be interrupted. Simply press Escape to stop processing the command.

The Mass Edit Menu also contains commands for moving or copying music from one place to another. You can specify one of two ways to copy: Copy and Replace, which will replace existing music with whatever you’re copying; and Copy and Insert, which will place the copied music into new measures just before the specified insertion point.

In this menu, a check mark lets you know which action and which elements are currently selected. The Mass Edit Menu remembers your settings, even when you choose another tool and later return to the Mass Edit Tool.

You can also drag and drop measures between any open Finale Guitar document window. Drag between two windows on the same document, or between windows on different documents. Drag-enclose a region to select the measures in a document window that you want to copy to another window; drag the selected region of music to an unselected region in the destination window.

Copy and Replace

Copy and Insert

=====================

Clear Entries and Smart Shapes

Clear Items

=====================

Music Spacing

Rebar Music

Rebeam

Utilities

=====================

Apply Articulation

Move Layers

Retranscribe

Transpose

=====================

Fit Music

See Also:

Menus

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MassEdit/Copy and Replace

In this copying mode, Finale Guitar copies music from the selected ("source") measures and pastes it into the "target" measures.

First, select a region of music; then drag the selected area so that it's superimposed on the beginning of the destination area. If Select Partial Measures is selected in the Mass Edit Menu, drag to the location of the precise beat where you want the material to be pasted; otherwise, drag to any point in the first measure of the destination region. Finale Guitar copies the source music to the target location, replacing the music that's already there.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Copy and Insert

In this copying mode, Finale Guitar inserts a copy of the selected music just before the target measure.

First, select a region of music, then drag the selected region so that it's superimposed on the beginning of the destination area. If Select Partial Measures is selected in the Mass Edit Menu, drag to the location of the precise beat where you want the material to be inserted; otherwise, drag to the measure before which you want the material inserted. Finale Guitar inserts a copy of the source material just before the beat or measure at which you release the mouse button. Note that Finale Guitar will automatically create enough new measures (in all staves) to accommodate the copied material, or rebar the piece as necessary.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Clear Items

Choose this menu item to display the Clear Items dialog box, which lets you specify which items to erase. Choose any combination of items: Measure Items are musical elements that are assigned to specific measures, Entry Items are musical elements that are associated with specific notes (entries).

For detailed information, see the Clear Items dialog box.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


Measure/Multimeasure Rest

Use the commands in this submenu to break or create multimeasure rests. You must be in Page View to change multimeasure rests.

Break

Create

See Also:

Measure Menu


Measure/Multimeasure Rest/Break

Use this command in Page View to separate the multimeasure rests in the selected region into separate measures of rests. Use this command if you don't want the measures grouped together, or if you want to combine them into a different multimeasure rest grouping.

See Also:

Measure Menu


Measure/Multimeasure Rest/Create

Use this command in Page View to create a multimeasure rest out of consecutive empty measures in the selected region.

See Also:

Measure Menu


MassEdit/Apply Articulation

This powerful command lets you add a certain articulation mark (a staccato, for example) to every note (or notes of a particular duration) in a selected region at once.

For detailed information, see the Apply Articulation dialog box.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Articulation Tool

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Utilities

The Utilities command offers a selection of miscellaneous transformation commands.

Change Lowest Fret

Check Accidentals

Check Ties

Create Easy Repeats

Create First Ending Repeats

Create Metronome Marking

Fill With Rests

Freeze Stems Up

Freeze Stems Down

Remove Manual Slur Adjustments

Remove Stem Changes

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Utilities/Check Accidentals

Check Accidentals tells Finale Guitar to sweep through the selected region and hide any accidentals on notes tied over from the end of the previous measure, and to add accidentals, if necessary, on subsequent notes in the measure. You must run the Check Ties utility *before* running Check Accidentals.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Mass Edit Tool/Utilities/Check Ties


MassEdit/Utilities/Check Ties

After you change tied notes, they sometimes don't play back correctly. For example, the ending tied note may be attacked again instead of being added to the duration of the note it's tied to. Choose the Check Ties command to correct all ties within the selected region.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Utilities/Fill With Rests

This command checks a selected region of music for rhythmically incomplete measures and automatically fills them with the correct number of rests. This command works on incomplete measures, but will not affect completely empty measures.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Utilities/Freeze Stems Down

Finale Guitar normally decides whether a note's stem should go up or down depending on its vertical position in the staff. If you've specified a multiple-voice arrangement - for example, upper voice = stems up, lower voice = stems down - using the Layer Options command (Options Menu), Finale Guitar again chooses stem directions automatically. You can manually flip a region of stems down, though, by choosing Freeze Stems Down.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Utilities/Freeze Stems Up

Finale Guitar normally decides whether a note's stem should go up or down depending on its vertical position in the staff. If you've specified a multiple-voice arrangement - for example, upper voice = stems up, lower voice = stems down - using the Layer Options command (Options Menu), Finale Guitar again chooses stem directions automatically. You can manually flip a region of stems up, though, by choosing Freeze Stems Up.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Utilities/Remove Manual Slur Adjustments

To restore Smart Shape slurs to their default shape, select the region and choose Remove Manual Slur Adjustments.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

Smart Shape Tool


MassEdit/Utilities/Remove Stem Changes

To restore stems that have been "frozen" stems (using the Freeze Stems Down or Freeze Stems Up commands) to stems that can flip depending on the notes' pitches, select the region and choose Remove Stem Changes.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Music Spacing

These commands, which affect full-measure selections, are unique to Finale Guitar. They let you use linear spacing for the notes, or you can space the notes and measures of your score the same way a professional engraver does - by consulting a table of width values for each note, and spacing the notes and measures accordingly. The result is non-proportional spacing, where a whole note isn't allotted four times as much width as a quarter note - it's actually allotted much less space.

Keep in mind that you can use any of these three music-spacing methods on any measures in your score, mixing and matching as necessary. You can also experiment with a certain selected region, trying first one kind of music spacing and then another; only the most recently-applied spacing will remain.

Apply Beat Spacing

Apply Note Spacing

Apply Time Signature Spacing

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu


MassEdit/Music Spacing/Apply Beat Spacing

If you Apply Beat Spacing to the selected music, Finale Guitar calculates the position of each beat in the measure according to the total duration of its notes; any notes within the beat are spaced linearly (where an eighth note gets exactly half as much space as a quarter note, and so on).

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Music Spacing/Apply Note Spacing

Choose Apply Note Spacing if you want Finale Guitar to calculate the precise position of each note based on its duration. This command provides more exact spacing than does the Beat Spacing command; both result in a striking, beautifully laid-out score. Note spacing is the spacing that Finale Guitar uses when applying Automatic Music Spacing.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Music Spacing/Apply Time Signature Spacing

You can also choose Apply Time Signature Spacing, which restores notes to linear spacing, where a half note gets exactly twice as much space as a quarter note.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Transpose

Choose this command to display the Transposition dialog box, which lets you specify how you want the selected music transposed - up an octave, down a third, or whatever interval you specify. You can also keep the original line of music when transposing notes.

For detailed information, see the Transposition dialog box.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Rebar Music

The Rebar Music command is useful after you insert or delete notes, halve or double note values, and so on. The command automatically re-distributes the notes of your piece so that each measure contains the correct number of beats, according to the time signature. (Finale Guitar automatically rebars the piece each time you change the time signature, unless you turn off this option in the Time Signature dialog box.) When you rebar a region that contains partly-filled measures, Finale Guitar does not "pad" the measures with rests. If a measure contains two quarter notes (and no rests) in each of two measures, and you rebar the music, you'll end up with one measure containing four quarter notes. (You must enter the rests to maintain their positions.)

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Rebeam

When you enter notes into Finale Guitar, it beams eighth notes (and smaller values) automatically, according to the time signature. For example, when the bottom number of the time signature is a 4 (meaning that the basic beat is a quarter note), eighth notes are beamed in pairs (quarter-note groupings).

Using the Rebeam commands, however, you can change the beaming patterns for notes you've already added to the score.

Rebeam Music

Rebeam to Lyrics

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Rebeam/Rebeam Music

Rebeam Music simply restores beaming to the patterns dictated by the time signature; you'd use this command after either (a) manually changing the beaming or (b) changing the time signature for measures that already contain notes (because Finale Guitar doesn't rebeam notes automatically when you change the time signature).

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Rebeam/Rebeam to Lyrics

Beaming to lyrics is a convention used in opera or art song notation. In this scheme, eighth, sixteenth, and shorter notes are never beamed together in the vocal line except when a syllable is sustained through more than one note (melisma). Choose Rebeam to Lyrics to display the Rebeam to Lyrics dialog box, in which you can specify the lyrics you want rebeamed in this way.

For detailed information, see the Rebeam to Lyrics dialog box.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Lyrics Tool

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Retranscribe

This command renotates the selected music, regardless of whether the music contains recorded MIDI data. For example, Retranscribe enables you to renotate a recorded HyperScribe session using the settings that you specify in the Quantization Settings dialog box.

For detailed information, see the Quantization Settings dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu

HyperScribe Tool

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Fit Music

This command, only available in Page View, is extremely useful in laying out the measures of your piece - avoiding awkward page turns, placing 4 bars on a line, and so on. Select some measures; when you choose this command, the Fit Music dialog box appears, in which you can specify that you want all the selected measures placed onto one line. You can also specify a number of measures-per-line you want for the selected region. (This command only works on full-measure selections.)

For detailed information, see the Fit Music dialog box.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MassEdit/Move Layers

This command provides a way to move music from one of Finale Guitar's transparent staff layers to another. You can even swap the music between layers - if, for example, you mistakenly entered several stems-down notes in Layer 1, which you intended to use only for stems-up (upper) voices. This command only affects full-measure selections.

For detailed information, see the Move Layers dialog box.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MIDI Menu

The MIDI Menu contains items specific to your MIDI setup and usage.

MIDI Setup

MIDI Thru

Import MIDI File Options

Export MIDI File Options

Send MIDI Value

Send MIDI Sync

MicNotator

Tablature MIDI Channels

=====================

All Notes Off

=====================

Start Playback

Stop Playback

See Also:

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI/MIDI Setup

Choose this command to display the MIDI Setup dialog box, where you can affect a number of settings concerning your MIDI interface setup.

For detailed information, see the MIDI Setup dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Menu


MIDI/MIDI Thru

This command determines whether MIDI Thru is used and how it works. Choose this command to specify your MIDI Thru preferences. When a check appears next to the command, MIDI Thru is in use. Use MIDI Thru if you prefer to use one keyboard as a controller and another device as the sound source.

For detailed information, see the MIDI Thru dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Menu


MIDI/Import MIDI File Options

Choose this command to display the MIDI File Options dialog box, where you can affect a number of settings concerning how your MIDI file will be imported into Finale Guitar.

For more detailed information, see the Import MIDI File Options dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu

MIDI Menu


MIDI/Export MIDI file Optins
MIDI/Export MIDI File Options

Choose this command to display the Export MIDI File Options dialog box, where you can affect a number of settings concerning how Finale Guitar will export your MIDI file.

For more detailed information, see the Export MIDI File Options dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Menu


MIDI/Send MIDI Value

When you choose this command, the Send MIDI Value dialog box appears. Using the options in this dialog box, you can send any kind of MIDI data to your MIDI instrument immediately: a patch change, a "pedal up" command, a "note off" command.

For detailed information, see the Send MIDI Value dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI/Send MIDI Sync

This command determines whether Finale Guitar sends MIDI Sync signals when it plays back your score. When the command is checked, Finale Guitar sends MIDI Sync signals. If you have connected your computer to an external sequencer, drum machine, or another computer that has been configured to interpret this type of MIDI message, it will wait in "pause" mode until Finale Guitar begins play back, at which time the two will play in perfect synchronization.

See Also:

MIDI Menu


MIDI/MicNotator

This command displays the MicNotator dialog box, where you can set up options for the MicNotator feature. With MicNotator, Finale Guitar converts the pitch you play in a microphone into a MIDI note when you use Speedy Entry or HyperScribe.

For more information, see MicNotator.

See Also:

MIDI Menu


MIDI/All Notes Off

From time to time, you may encounter MIDI lock, a rare situation in which a MIDI instrument sounds as if its keys are "stuck," and it plays continuously as though someone's still pressing them. To send the MIDI signal that tells it to "release the keys," choose this command; after a moment, the MIDI instrument will be silent.

See Also:

MIDI Menu


MIDI/Start Playback

Choose this menu item to start the playback.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

Playback Controls


MIDI/Stop Playback

Choose this menu item to stop the playback.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

Playback Controls


MicNotator

How to get there

From the MIDI Menu, choose MicNotator. If the MicNotator is unavailable in the menu, make sure the 32-bit MIDI driver is selected.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to set up options for the MicNotator feature. With MicNotator, Finale Guitar converts the pitch you play in a microphone into a MIDI note when you use Speedy Entry or HyperScribe. Check the Enable box to use the MicNotator feature in Speedy Entry and HyperScribe. You should use the levels meter to fine-tune your microphone input.

•	Enable MicNotator. Check this box to use the MicNotator feature to convert pitches recorded through the microphone to MIDI notes that Finale Guitar can transcribe into notation in Speedy Entry or HyperScribe.

•	Levels: Mic Level • Input Meter. When you play into the microphone, you’ll see colored bars in the Input Meter, indicating how loud Finale Guitar heard you. Adjust the Mic Level slider to change your microphone input levels so that your loudest note doesn’t hit the red levels. If the levels are too "hot," the distortion will impair MicNotator’s pitch recognition.

•	Recording Options: Channel. Specify your input channel.

•	Mic Options: Mic Source • Mic Thru Speaker. Select an input source from drop-down list. Check the Mic Thru box to have the microphone play through your speaker.

•	Microsoft® Volume Controls: Output • Input. These button open the Volume Controls of your Windows operating system.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your MicNotator settings and return to the score.

For more detailed instructions, see MicNotator in the User Manual.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

Speedy Entry Tool

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Tool Menu

The purpose of the MIDI Tool is to edit the captured MIDI data. You can make a passage louder or softer, create a swing feel in one section, edit the pedaling, insert a patch change, modify a pitch bend, and so on. The commands in the MIDI Tool Menu let you edit the captured MIDI data in various ways.

There are two ways to select the section of your notated score whose captured MIDI data you want to edit. Click the MIDI Tool. If the region is large, select the measures exactly as you would with the Mass Edit Tool: Click to select one measure, Shift-click to select additional measures, drag-enclose to select several on-screen measures, click to the left of the staff to select the entire staff, or choose Select All from the Edit Menu to select the entire file. Then simply choose the appropriate commands from the MIDI Tool Menu to affect all the selected measures at once.

If the music whose MIDI data you want to edit is a one-staff region that fits on the screen, select it in the usual way, then double-click the highlighted area. You enter the MIDI Tool split-window where you can see the MIDI data represented graphically. Once in the MIDI Tool split-window, you can also specify the MIDI data - the key velocity, for example - of individual notes, even if they're buried within chords, by selecting their handles.

Once you've edited MIDI data (and returned to the score), you can then erase it, or copy it from one passage to another in the same way you'd use the Mass Edit Tool to copy music. Be sure the MIDI data type you want to manipulate is selected in the MIDI Menu; select the source measures just as you did before. If the measures to which you want to copy the selected MIDI information are visible on-screen, drag the first selected measure so that it's superimposed on the first target measure. Finale Guitar copies the MIDI data from the source measures to the target measures.

To erase the captured MIDI data from a region, be sure the MIDI data type you want to manipulate is selected in the MIDI Menu; select the source measures just as you did before, and press Backspace. Only the data type specified in the menu (Key Velocities, Note Durations, or Continuous Data) will be cleared from the selected region.

Key Velocities

Note Durations

Continuous Data

===================

Set To

Scale

Add

Percent Alter

Limit

Alter Feel

Randomize

===================

Edit MIDI Note

===================

Play

Show Selected Notes

See Also:

Menus

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Tool/Key Velocities

Choose this command to tell Finale Guitar that you want the editing commands (Set To, Add, Scale, Percent Alter, Limit, Alter Feel, and Randomize) to affect the key velocity of the selected music. If you select this command while you're in the MIDI Tool split-window, you see the velocities of the notes on the screen represented as a bar graph.

After you select this command, a check mark appears beside it in the MIDI Tool Menu.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Note Durations

Choose this command to tell Finale Guitar that you want the editing commands to affect the Start Times and Stop Times of the selected music. If you select this command while you're in the MIDI Tool split-window, you see the durations of the notes on the screen represented graphically as horizontal lines - the longer the line, the longer the note.

After you select this command, a check mark appears beside it in the MIDI Tool Menu.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Continuous Data

When you choose this command, the View Continuous Data dialog box appears, in which you can specify which MIDI controller data you want to edit (and view, if you're in the MIDI Tool split-window). Sustain pedal usage, pitch or modulation wheel changes, patch changes, and monophonic aftertouch are a few of the options; if you have other kinds of controllers, you can identify them by number. After you've specified the continuous data type you want to edit, you return to the score (or MIDI Tool split-window); you can now use the MIDI Menu commands to affect the specified controller data. (Note that the "Alter Feel" and "Randomize" commands aren't available if you're editing continuous data.)

After you select this command, a check mark appears beside it in the MIDI Tool Menu.

For detailed information, see the View Continuous Data dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Set To

When you choose this command, the Set To dialog box or the Set Patch To dialog box appears, in which you can set the values of the specified MIDI data type (velocity, durations, or continuous data, or patch) for all selected notes to a single value. For example, you could set the key velocities for all selected notes to 100 (on the MIDI velocity scale of 0 to 127).

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Set To - Key Velocities

Set To - Note Durations (Start - Stop Times)

Set To - Continuous Data

Set Patch To

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Scale

When you choose this command, the Scale dialog box appears, in which you can scale the values of the specified MIDI data type (velocity, durations, or continuous data) evenly from one value to another across the selected region. You could scale the velocities of the notes in a selected region, for example, from a low value to a high one; Finale Guitar would play the notes back with a smooth crescendo. This command is also useful for creating pitch bends.

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Scale - Key Velocities

Scale - Note Durations

Scale - Continuous Data

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Add

When you choose this command, the Add dialog box appears, in which you can add a positive or negative amount to the values of the specified MIDI data type (velocity, durations, or continuous data) for all selected notes. You could add a certain amount to the key velocity data for every note, for example, or make a pitch bend less "deep."

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Add - Key Velocities

Add - Note Durations

Add - Continuous Data

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Percent Alter

When you choose this command, the Percent Alteration dialog box appears, in which you can increase or decrease the values of the specified MIDI data type (velocity, durations, or continuous data) for all selected notes by a percentage of their original values. You could make the key velocity for every note twice as high, for example, by specifying an increase of 200%.

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Percent Alteration - Key Velocities

Percent Alteration - Note Durations

Percent Alteration - Continuous Data

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Limit

When you choose this command, the Limit dialog box appears, in which you can limit the values of the specified MIDI data type (velocity, durations, or continuous data) for all selected notes to a certain minimum and maximum value. Any notes with values above the maximum you specify will be clipped back to that maximum value; any notes with values below the minimum will be boosted to that minimum value. For example, if you discover that you can't hear any of the guitar notes in your score when the synthesizer keys are "struck/plucked" (during playback) with a velocity under 50, you could "limit" the entire guitar staff to a minimum velocity value of 50.

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Limit - Key Velocities

Limit - Note Durations

Limit - Continuous Data

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Alter Feel

Like the Add or Percent Alter commands, the Alter Feel command displays a dialog box that lets you add a positive or negative number to the velocities or durations of every note in the selected region. However, in the Alter Feel dialog box, you can target individual beats in each measure to receive the alterations. For example, if you've selected Key Velocities, you can specify that the downbeat of each measure in the selected region should be played back with 50% more volume, while the other beats in the measure are unaffected. In fact, you can specify a different value for Downbeats, Other Beats, and Backbeats.

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Alter Feel - Key Velocities

Alter Feel - Note Durations

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Randomize

When you choose this command, the Randomize dialog box appears, in which you can specify an amount by which you want to randomly alter the velocity or duration values for all selected notes. This can be a useful option if you want to give your playback a more imperfect, "human" feeling. Type a fairly small number into the box - to randomize key velocities, for example, you might enter a number between 10 and 20 (unless you really want some unpredictable, madcap accents).

For detailed information, see the following dialog boxes.

Randomize - Key Velocities

Randomize - Note Durations

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Edit MIDI Note

When you choose this command, the Edit MIDI Note dialog box appears, in which you can set the start and stop times, and the key velocity of a note in one place.

For more information, see Edit MIDI Note dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Play

This command, available if the MIDI Tool split-window is open, plays the displayed music immediately using the captured MIDI data.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


MIDI Tool/Show Selected Notes

This command, only available if the MIDI Tool split-window is open, tells Finale Guitar to draw lines in the graph area for only notes whose handles are selected. If you're working with a "notey" score, for example, or if you're trying to work with an inner melody in a chordal passage, choose this option to hide the graph lines for the notes that aren't essential to what you're doing. (Because MIDI controller data isn't associated with individual notes, this command is not available if Continuous Data is selected in the MIDI Menu.)

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool


Page Layout/Insert Page Break

Select a system, then choose this command to force the system to always appear at the top of a page.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Delete Page Break

Select a system with a page break, then choose this command to remove a page break and allow the system to float.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Delete Blank Pages

Choose this command to display the Delete Blank Pages dialog box in which you can delete blank pages in your score.

For detailed information, see the Delete Blank Pages dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Insert Staff Systems

Choose this command opens the Insert Staff Systems dialog box, where you can insert systems into your score without disturbing current systems.

See Also:

Insert Staff Systems

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Delete Staff Systems

This command deletes the selected systems.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Redefine Pages

Use the commands in this submenu to redefine the pages in the score to the settings in the Page Format for Score dialog box.

Current Page

All Pages

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Optimize Staff Systems

In Finale Guitar, the process of hiding empty staves within each system is called optimizing systems.

Using this command, you can specify the systems you want optimized - all of them, for example. Finale Guitar instantly redraws your score (in Page View), omitting blank staves from the specified systems; you'll find that your score now fits on fewer pages. If you optimize a completely empty staff system, Finale Guitar will still display the top staff, even though it's blank.

Optimizing systems in Finale Guitar has another important benefit: it permits staves to be independently movable in Page View. Under normal circumstances, you can only move, respace, or rearrange staves for all systems using the Staff Tool. If you have optimized a system, however, you'll find that the Staff Tool works in Page View as well, letting you vary the positioning and spacing of staves as they'll appear on the printed page. Furthermore, again using the Staff Tool, you can change the staff grouping of staves that have been optimized, letting you change the way in which your staves are bracketed.

When you choose this command, the Staff System Optimization dialog box appears, letting you specify the range of systems you want optimized and whether to ask before removing each staff.

For detailed information, see the Staff System Optimization dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

Staff Tool


Page Layout/Fit Music

This command displays the Fit Music dialog box, which lets you specify how many measures you want on a line (in each system). See Fit Music dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Avoid Margin Collision

If this menu item is selected (that is, if it displays a check mark) in the Page Layout window, Finale Guitar won't let you drag a system so that it's superimposed on another system or beyond the page margins; nor will it let you drag the page margins beyond the boundaries of the page. It's a good idea to leave this option selected. Without it, you could accidentally drag a system so that it overlaps the preceding system - or is even off the page completely.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Simple Menu

This menu controls the handling of extra notes, playback while using Simple Entry, padding a measure with rests when you leave the measure and whether to select the note you just entered.

Check for Extra Notes

Playback

Fill With Rests

Select Notes on Entry

Select Tablature Notes on Entry

==================

Simple Edit Commands

Simple Navigation Commands

See Also:

Menus

Simple Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Smart Shape Menu

The Smart Shape Menu gives you control over the placement of notehead-attached Smart Shapes, appearance of guitar bends, and directional settings for note-attached slurs.

Smart Shape Placement

Guitar Bend Options

==================

Shape Direction

See Also:

Menus

Smart Shape Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Smart Shape/Shape Direction

Use the commands in this submenu to determine whether Finale Guitar draws a note-attached slur in the direction dictated by the notes in the score, or whether Finale Guitar always draws an over or under slur regardless of the notes.

Flip

==================

Automatic

Over

Under

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Smart Shape/Direction/Flip
Direction/Flip

Choose this command to switch the selected note-attached slur to an over or under slur depending on the original direction of the slur.

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Smart Shape/Direction/Automatic
Direction/Automatic

Choose this command to draw the selected note-attached slur as an over or under slur depending on the notes in the score. If you edit or transpose the notes, the slur will automatically change direction if necessary.

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Smart Shape/Direction/Over
Direction/Over

Choose this command to always draw the selected note-attached slur as an over slur. If you want the slur to change directions if needed when you edit or transpose notes, choose "Automatic."

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Smart Shape/Direction/Under
Direction/Under

Choose this command to always draw the selected note-attached slur as an under slur. If you want the slur to change directions if needed when you edit or transpose notes, choose "Automatic."

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Speedy Menu

This menu contains settings that govern the music-entry operation of the Speedy Entry Tool.

Speedy Options

Use MIDI Device for Input

Playback

==================

Jump to Next Measure

Create New Measures

Check Beaming

Check Accidentals

Edit TAB as Standard Notation

==================

Speedy Edit Commands

Speedy Navigation

Tie Direction

See Also:

Menus

Speedy Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Speedy/Speedy Options

Choose this command to open the Speedy Options dialog box where you can specify the size of the Speedy Edit frame.

See Also:

Speedy Options dialog box

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Use MIDI Device for Input

When this item is selected (displays a check mark in the menu), Finale Guitar assumes that you'll be entering notes in conjunction with a MIDI keyboard, MIDI guitar, or other MIDI device. When you press one of the number (rhythmic value) keys on the numeric keypad, Finale Guitar creates a rest of that value, unless you were playing a note on the MIDI device at the time. In that case, Finale Guitar displays a note of that pitch (or a chord, if you were playing more than one pitch).

When Use MIDI Device for Input isn't selected, Finale Guitar enters a note of the specified rhythmic value when you press a number key - regardless of whether or not you were pressing a key on the synthesizer (if any). To create a rest, enter a single note of the desired rhythmic value and press  Backspace.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Playback

When this item is selected, every time you move a note up and down in Speedy, you will hear the new pitch played through your MIDI device. You’ll also hear a note when you enter it in non-MIDI. Deselect this item to turn off playback of pitches.

This feature is linked to the Simple Menu's Playback command. If you turn off Speedy's Playback, you also turn off Simple's Playback; and vice versa.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool

Simple Menu


Speedy/Jump to Next Measure

When this item is selected (displays a check mark in the menu), Finale Guitar automatically moves the editing frame to the next measure as soon as there are enough notes to fill the current measure. Finale Guitar also displays the There Are Too Many Beats In This Measure dialog box immediately when you enter a note that puts the total rhythmic values in the measure over the limit allowed by the time signature.

If this item isn't selected, Finale Guitar doesn't move the editing frame to the next measure when the current one is full; you must press the right bracket (]) key to advance to the next measure. Finale Guitar also waits until you exit the current measure before it displays the There Are Too Many Beats In This Measure dialog box. See There Are Too Many Beats In This Measure dialog box.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Create New Measures

When this item is selected (displays a check mark in the menu), Finale Guitar automatically creates a new blank measure at the end the piece if you advance the editing frame beyond the last existing measure. In other words, if you're in the last measure of a piece and press the right bracket (]) key (or if "Jump to Next Measure" is selected and you fill the last measure to its rhythmic capacity), Finale Guitar adds a new blank measure and moves the editing frame to this new last measure.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Check Beaming

When this item is selected (displays a check mark in the menu), Finale Guitar automatically beams eighth notes (and smaller notes) together as they're created, according to the time signature. If this item isn't selected, Finale Guitar doesn't beam any notes together.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Check Accidentals

When this item is selected (displays a check mark in the menu), Finale Guitar automatically keeps track of the accidentals on a given line or space in the measure, according to the standard rules of accidental notation. For example, if the first E in a measure has a flat, the next E flat in the measure doesn't normally display an accidental too. On the other hand, if the first E in a measure displays a flat, the next E that isn't flatted should display a natural.

If this item isn't selected, Finale Guitar doesn't keep track of the status of the accidentals on any particular line or space. If you add a new note or change a note's pitch, Finale Guitar doesn't update the configuration of accidentals on other notes.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Speedy Edit Commands

This submenu lists the Speedy Edit commands and their keyboard shortcuts.  Select the desired option from the menu, or just use the menu as a reminder for the keyboard shortcut.

Add Note

Delete Note

Delete Entry

Show/Hide Entry

================

Raise Half Step

Lower Half Step

Raise Half Step (entire measure)

Lower Half Step (entire measure)

================

Show/Hide Accidental

Freeze/Unfreeze Accidental

Enharmonic

Enharmonic (entire measure)

Add/Remove Accidental Parentheses

================

Flip Stem Direction

Set Stem Direction to Automatic

Break/Join Beam

Flat Beam

================

Tie/Untie to Next Note

Tie/Untie to Prev Note

================

Add Dot

Grace Note

Slash Flagged Grace Note

Freeze/Float Rest

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Speedy Navigation

This submenu lists the Speedy Navigation commands and their keyboard shortcuts.  Select the desired option from the menu, or just use the menu as a reminder for the keyboard shortcut.

Previous Measure

Next Measure

Next Layer

Change Voice

Up a Staff

Down a Staff

Start of Measure

End of Measure

Previous Note

Next Note

Up a Step

Down a Step

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Speedy/Tie Direction

From the Speedy Menu choose Tie Direction to access tie controls with the Speedy Entry Tool. Place the cursor on the first note of the tie and then set the direction. Choose Ctrl-F to flip the tile or Ctrl-Shift-F to set the tie to the automatic direction.

Flip

==================

Automatic

Over

Under

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Staff Menu

Use this menu to add or insert blank staves into the score, remove existing staves, change the settings for a selected staff, adjust staves vertically, and so on. Create groups of staves and define their characteristics, delete groups, choose a bracket for a group, and change which staves belong to a group.

New Staves

New Staves (with Setup Wizard)

Delete Staves

Delete Staves and Reposition

==========================

Edit Staff Attributes

Respace Staves

==========================

Clear Alternate Notation

Apply Alternate Notation

==========================

Add Group and Bracket

Edit Group Attributes

Remove Group

See Also:

Menus

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Staff/New Staves

Choose this command to add new blank staves below the existing staves in your score. If you have a staff selected, new blank staves will be inserted above the selected staff.

For detailed information, see the New Staves dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Delete Staves

Select the staff or staves that you want removed from the score, then choose this command to remove the selected staves and leave the remaining staves in their current positions.

Shortcut: Select the staves then press Delete.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Delete Staves and Reposition

Select the staff or staves that you want removed from the score, then choose this command to remove the selected staves and reposition any staves that were below the deleted staves. Finale Guitar moves the remaining staves up to the position of the top staff that was deleted.

Shortcut: Select the staves then press Shift-Delete.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Edit Staff Attributes

Choose this command to display the Staff Attributes dialog box where you can change characteristics such as name and transposition for the selected staff.

Shortcut: Double-click the staff.

For detailed information, see the Staff Attributes dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Respace Staves

Choose this command to display the Respace Staves dialog box, in which you can restore all the staves in your score to uniform vertical spacing, or, if they weren't evenly spaced to begin with, you can preserve the gap between staves and make all gaps proportionally larger or smaller.

For detailed information, see the Respace Staves dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Add Group and Bracket

Choose this command to display the Group Attributes dialog box, where you can create and control the appearance of groups. Choose which consecutive staves you want included in the group, and choose a bracket to enclose them.

For detailed information, see the Group Attributes dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Edit Group Attributes

Select a handle for a group in the score, then choose this command to display the Group Attributes dialog box, in which you can change which staves belong to the selected group, and choose a different bracket.

For detailed information, see the Group Attributes dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Staff/Remove Group

Select a group handle or handles (to delete more than one staff group), then choose this command to remove the selected group definitions from the score.

Tip: Select the groups - then press Delete.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool


Text Menu

This menu appears when the Text Tool is selected for editing text blocks directly on-screen, or when the Edit Text window appears for editing staff and group names (or text blocks). This menu contains all the commands you need for changing fonts, sizes, styles, and other character formatting for text, as well as justification and line spacing for text blocks. You can also use the Text Menu to display, edit, and adjust measure-assigned or page-assigned text blocks. Use it to change whether text blocks are assigned to a measure or a page, displayed on one or more pages, or displayed with a border around text in a standard frame, or within a custom frame. You can also use this menu to change whether page-assigned text blocks are positioned from the page edge (or from the page margins), and how they are horizontally and vertically positioned on a page.

Font

Size

Style

================

Inserts

================

Justification

Placement

Word Wrap

================

Frame Attributes

Edit Text

================

Assign to Measure

Assign to Page

See Also:

Menus

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Text/Font

Choose this command to display the Font dialog box, which lists all the fonts currently installed on your system. Select the font that you want to use. Finale Guitar highlights your selection in the Font list. If you want, you can specify other font settings in the Font dialog box.

For detailed information, see Font dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Size

Use this submenu to change the point size of the selected text. Choose Other to specify a different font size than appears in the menu. A checkmark indicates the current point size.

3 pt

6 pt

8 pt

9 pt

10 pt

12 pt

14 pt

18 pt

24 pt

36 pt

48 pt

72 pt

Other

=============

Increase

Decrease

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Size/3

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 3 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/6

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 6 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/8

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 8 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/9

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 9 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/10

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 10 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/12

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 12 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/14

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 14 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/18

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 18 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/24

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 24 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/36

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 36 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/48

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 48 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/72

Choose this menu item to set selected text to 72 point size.

See Also:

Text Menu

Other

Increase

Decrease

Text Tool


Text/Size/Increase

Choose Increase to increase the size of the selected text by one point. If one of the point sizes specified in the Size submenu becomes the selected size of the text, the item will become selected. If the point size is not available in the Size submenu, Other will become selected on the submenu.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Size/Decrease

Choose Decrease to decrease the size of the selected text by one point. If one of the point sizes specified in the Size submenu becomes the selected size of the text, the item will become selected. If the point size is not available in the Size submenu, Other will become selected on the submenu.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Size/Other
Size/Other

Choose this command to display the Size dialog box, where you can specify any font size for the selected text. A checkmark indicates that a size not found in the submenu is currently in use.

For detailed information, see Size dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Style

Use this submenu to select a style or combination of styles for the selected text.

Plain

================

Bold

Italic

Underline

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Style/Plain
Style/Plain

Select this command to remove all other type style changes for the selected text.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Style/Bold
Style/Bold

Select this command to apply the specified type style to the selected text. A checkmark indicates that the style has been applied to the text. You can choose any combination of styles, such as Bold, Italic.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Style/Italic
Style/Italic

Select this command to apply the specified type style to the selected text. A checkmark indicates that the style has been applied to the text. You can choose any combination of styles, such as Bold, Italic.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Style/Underline
Style/Underline

Select this command to apply the specified type style to the selected text. A checkmark indicates that the style has been applied to the text. You can choose any combination of styles, such as Bold, Underline.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts

Use this submenu to add inserts in the text block you're currently creating or editing. The current date, time, page number, or other insert appears at the insertion point.

Finale Guitar updates inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

Current Date

File Date

Time

Page Number

File Name

Composer

Title

Copyright

Description

Sharp

Flat

Natural

Double Sharp

Double Flat

================

Symbol

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Current Date

Choose this command to paste a Date insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The current date appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the date each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around the insert to remind you of its special function.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/File Date

Choose this option to insert the date the file was last saved.

See Also:

Text/Insert


Text/Inserts/Time

Choose this command to paste a Time insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The current time appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the time when the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around the insert to remind you of its special function.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Page number

Choose this command to paste a Page Number insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The current page number, assuming that the pages in the document are numbered consecutively from page one, appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Filename

Choose this command to paste a Filename insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The current filename, as saved on the computer, appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Composer

Choose this command to paste a Composer insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The composer name as it appears in the File Info dialog box appears at the current location of the cursor. If no information has been entered in the File Info dialog box, the word Composer will appear in square brackets instead.

Choose File Info from the File Menu to display the File Info dialog box. Any change you make in the Composer text box will appear in the Composer inserts used in this document.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see File Info dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Title

Choose this command to paste a Title insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The title as it appears in the File Info dialog box appears at the current location of the cursor. If no information has been entered in the File Info dialog box, the word Title will appear in square brackets instead.

Choose File Info from the File Menu to display the File Info dialog box. Any change you make in the Title text box will appear in the Title inserts used in this document.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see File Info dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Copyright

Choose this command to paste a Copyright insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The copyright as it appears in the File Info dialog box appears at the current location of the cursor. If no information has been entered in the File Info dialog box, the word Copyright will appear in square brackets instead.

Choose File Info from the File Menu to display the File Info dialog box. Any change you make in the Copyright text box will appear in the Copyright inserts used in this document.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see File Info dialog box.

Tip: Hold down the Alt key and type on the number keypad 0169 for the © symbol.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Description

Choose this command to paste a Description insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The description as it appears in the File Info dialog box appears at the current location of the cursor. If no information has been entered in the File Info dialog box, the word Description will appear in square brackets instead.

Choose File Info from the File Menu to display the File Info dialog box. Any change you make in the Description text box will appear in the Description inserts used in this document.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see File Info dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Sharp

Choose this command to paste a Sharp insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The sharp symbol appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Flat

Choose this command to paste a Flat insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The flat symbol appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see Text Inserts dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Natural

Choose this command to paste a Natural insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The natural symbol appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see Text Inserts dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Double Sharp

Choose this command to paste a Double Sharp insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The double sharp symbol appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see Text Inserts dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Inserts/Double Flat

Choose this command to paste a Double Flat insert in the text block you're editing or creating. The double flat symbol appears at the current location of the cursor.

Finale Guitar updates the contents of inserts each time the screen is redrawn. An outline appears around inserts to remind you of their special function.

For detailed information, see Text Inserts dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Justification

Use this submenu to select how you want the text positioned within a frame. A checkmark indicates the justification in effect for the selected text block.

Left

Right

Center

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Justification/Left

Choose this command to place each line of text flush with the left edge of the frame. A checkmark indicates that this justification style has been applied for the selected text block.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Justification/Right

Choose this command to place each line of text flush with the right edge of the frame. A checkmark indicates that this justification style has been applied for the selected text block.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Justification/Center

Choose this command to center each line of text between the left and right edges of the frame. A checkmark indicates that this justification style has been applied for the selected text block.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Word Wrap

Deselect this option to disable word wrapping in text blocks.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Assign to Measure

Use this command to create text blocks that are attached to a particular measure by default. Note that this command only affects future text blocks. To change the assignment of a text block, see Frame Attributes  dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


Text/Assign to Page

Use this command to create text blocks that are attached to a particular page by default. Note that this command only affects future text blocks. To change the assignment of a text block, see Frame Attributes  dialog box.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool


View Menu

This menu contains commands pertaining to your view of the score. You can never change the score itself with the commands in this menu - only modify the way you see it on the screen. For example, you can change the size of the displayed music, hide staves, rearrange the tool palette, or enable one of several speed-enhancing features.

Scroll View

Page View

=====================

Home Position

Redraw Screen

=====================

Display Colors

Scale View to

Customize Palettes

=====================

Show Rulers

Show Page Layout Icons

=====================

Select Layer

Show Active Layer Only

See Also:

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


View/Scroll View

Finale Guitar offers you the choice of two views of your music: Scroll View, where the music is a continuous horizontal band, and Page View, where the music is laid out like a page of sheet music. Most of Finale Guitar's tools work equally well in either mode, although you'll find that your computer redraws the screen faster in Scroll View than in Page View. Press Ctrl-E to switch from one view to another.

See Also:

View Menu


View/Page View

Finale Guitar offers you the choice of two views of your music: Scroll View, where the music is a continuous horizontal band, and Page View, where the music is laid out like a page of sheet music. Most of Finale Guitar's tools work equally well in either mode, although you'll find that your computer redraws the screen faster in Scroll View than in Page View. Press Ctrl-E to switch from one view to another.

See Also:

View Menu


View/Home Position

Choose this command to return to the first measure in the score (in Scroll View) or the upper-left corner of the current page (in Page View), no matter where you are in the piece.

See Also:

View Menu


View/Redraw Screen

Choose this command to force Finale Guitar to redraw the screen. Whenever you spot a visual anomaly - a phantom fragment of a slur, for example, or a missing barline - this command usually clears up the problem.

See Also:

View Menu


View/Scale View to

The Scale View to submenu offers commands that let you specify the size at which you want the score displayed on your screen, expressed as a percentage of its actual size. You can't change the actual (printed) size of the music on the page in this way; this technique simply lets you magnify or reduce the screen display of the music.

Scale View to 400%

Scale View to 200%

Scale View to 100%

Scale View to 75%

Scale View to 50%

Scale View to Other

=====================

Scale View to Last Size

Scale View to Fit in Window

See Also:

View Menu

Scale View

Zoom Tool


Scale View to 400%
Scale View/Scale View to 400%

To change your view of the score to 400%, just choose this command from the submenu. (You can also use Ctrl-4)

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to 200%
Scale View/Scale View to 200%

To change your view of the score to 200%, just choose this command from the submenu. (You can also use Ctrl-2.)

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to 100%
Scale View/Scale View to 100%

To change your view of the score to 100% (actual size), just choose this command from the submenu. (You can also use Ctrl-1.)

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to 75%
Scale View/Scale View to 75%

To change your view of the score to 75%, just choose this command from the submenu. (You can also use Ctrl-7.)

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to 50%
Scale View/Scale View to 50%

To change your view of the score to 50%, just choose this command from the submenu. (You can also use Ctrl-5.)

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to Other
Scale View/Scale View to Other

If you choose Other, the Scale View dialog box appears, in which you can specify any reduction or enlargement you want - from 5% to 1000%. (You can also use Ctrl-0,zero)

For detailed information, see the Scale View dialog box.

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to Last Size
Scale View/Scale View to Last Size

If you've been viewing your score at several different degrees of magnification, Last Size takes you back to your last magnification setting.

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


Scale View to Fit in Window
Scale View/Scale View to Fit in Window

This command is available only in Page View. It automatically reduces the viewing percentage just enough to fit the current page completely on your screen, no matter what size screen you have.

See Also:

View Menu

Zoom Tool


View/Show Rulers

Choose this command to display nonprinting rulers at the top and left side of the screen. As you drag an object, you can see thin dotted indicator lines that show you where the cursor is, making it easy for you to align and position various objects precisely on the screen. The units of measurement are whatever you've selected using the Measurement Units command in the Options Menu.

See Also:

View Menu


View/Show Page Layout Icons

Choose this command to show icons indicating which staff systems are "locked" against reflowing when performing an Update Page Layout command (unless you have selected Remove Fit Measure Groupings). The systems are locked when you use the Fit Music command in the Mass Edit Menu and when you move measures using the arrow keys in Mass Edit Tool.

For more information see: the Fit Music dialog box

See Also:

View Menu

Mass Edit Tool


View/Select Layer

Use this submenu to choose which music layer you want to edit. Four music layers are available. (Or, use the Layer push-buttons in the Document Window.)

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layer 4

See Also:

View Menu


Select Layer/Layer 1

Choose this option to make layer 1 the active layer for note entry and editing.

See Also:

View Menu


Select Layer/Layer 2

Choose this option to make layer 2 the active layer for note entry and editing.

See Also:

View Menu


Select Layer/Layer 3

Choose this option to make layer 3 the active layer for note entry and editing.

See Also:

View Menu


Select Layer/Layer 4

Choose this option to make layer 4 the active layer for note entry and editing.

See Also:

View Menu


View/Show Active Layer Only

Each Finale Guitar staff is actually four transparent layers, each of which can contain its own rhythmically independent inner voice. Only one layer can be active (frontmost) at a time, however; the active layer is always identified by the push buttons in the lower-left corner of the file window.

When this item is selected (displaying a check mark), Finale Guitar hides the three inactive layers. Bear in mind that hidden layers are unaffected by almost every tool. For example, the music in a hidden layer won't play back. Nor will it be copied, pasted, or otherwise affected by Mass Edit Tool operations - a useful fact to remember if you want to copy or paste the music of one layer only.

Choose this command a second time to make the check mark disappear (and make the other three layers reappear).

See Also:

View Menu


Options Menu

This menu contains the keys to Finale Guitar's notational flexibility. Whatever notational conventions you subscribe to, no matter what publishing specs you prefer, chances are good that an Options Menu command will accommodate you. Each command brings up a dialog box that governs some aspect of the way Finale Guitar displays the music in the active file - its layout and positioning variables, for example, or the fonts, musical symbols, and clefs it uses.

Measurement Units

=================

Program Options

Click and Countoff

Quantization Settings

==================

Document Settings

Select Default Fonts

Display in Concert Pitch

Playback Options

==================

Remove Deleted Items

See Also:

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Options/Measurement Units

In a number of Finale Guitar dialog boxes, you're asked to specify a measurement: the margins of each page, for example. Using the submenu of the Measurement Units command, you can select the measurement unit you want Finale Guitar to understand - and display - in all of its dialog boxes.

EVPUs

Inches

Centimeters

Points

Picas

Spaces

See Also:

Options Menu


Measurement Units/EVPUs
Measurement Units/EVPU's

Choose this command to display the measurements in EVPUs. EVPU stands for ENIGMA Virtual Page Unit, of which there are 288 per inch.

See Also:

Options Menu


Measurement Units/Inches

Choose this command to display the measurements in inches.

See Also:

Options Menu


Measurement Units/Centimeters

Choose this command to display the measurements in centimeters.

See Also:

Options Menu


Measurement Units/Points

Choose this command to display the measurements in points. Points are typographical measurements of which there are 72 points per inch, and 12 points in a pica.

See Also:

Options Menu


Measurement Units/Picas

Choose this command to display the measurements in picas. Picas are typographical measurements of which there are 6 picas per inch.

See Also:

Options Menu


Measurement Units/Spaces

Choose this command to display the measurements in spaces. In engraving, one space is defined as the distance between staff lines; however, in Finale Guitar one space is equal to 24 EVPUs (which is Finale Guitar's default distance between staff lines).

12 spaces = 1 inch; one-half space equals one step, which is one line or space in a staff.

See Also:

Options Menu


Options/Program Options

Choose this option to display the Program Options dialog box where you can configure Finale’s program-wide settings.

See Also:

Program Options dialog box

Program Options-Save/Open

Program Options-View

Program Options-Folders

Program Options-Display Colors

Program Options-Palettes and Backgrounds


Options/Document Settings

Use the commands in this submenu to control the settings that are saved with a specific document.

Document Options

Layer Options

Page Format for Parts

Page Format for Score

Pickup Measure

See Also:

Options Menu


Document Settings/Document Options

Choose this command to display the Document Options dialog box, which contains checkboxes governing beaming, courtesy items, and so on.

For detailed information, see the Document Options dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu


Document Settings/Layer Options

Using Finale Guitar's four transparent layers per staff, you can notate complex inner voices on a single staff. The Layer Options dialog box that appears when you choose this item contains automatic stem direction, tie direction, and rest placement settings for each layer.

For detailed information, see the Layer Options dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu


Document Settings/Page Format for Parts

Choose this command to set up the page size, margins, and other page format setting for parts created parts from the score. Finale Guitar uses these settings when you choose Extract Parts from the File Menu.

For detailed information, see the Page Format for Parts dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu

File Menu


Document Settings/Page Format for Score

Choose this command to set up the page size, margins, and other page format settings to use when new pages are created in the score. Finale Guitar will also use these settings when you use the Redefine Pages submenu in the Page Layout Menu.

For detailed information, see the Page Format for Score dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu

Page Layout Menu


Document Settings/Pickup Measure

Choose this command to display the Pickup Measure dialog box, where you can create a pickup measure at the beginning of the score.

For detailed information, see the Pickup Measure dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu

Pickup Measure dialog box


Options/Display In Concert Pitch

Use this Menu item to have all staves which have a transposition defined in the Staff Attributes dialog box appear as if they are a non-transposing C instrument.

See Also:

Options Menu


Options/Select Default Fonts

This command displays the Select Default Fonts dialog box, which allows you to change the global or initial font used for many elements of your score.

For detailed information, see the Select Default Fonts dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu


Options/Click and Countoff

Choose this command to display the Click and Countoff dialog box, where you can specify a countoff click for recording with HyperScribe or playing back using the Playback Controls. You can also determine how many measures to count off, and define two separate metronome click sounds for the down beat and other beats in your music.

If you prefer, you can click the Click and Countoff button in the Playback Settings dialog box.

For detailed information, see the Click and Countoff dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu

HyperScribe Tool


Options/Playback Options

Choose this command to display the Playback Options dialog box where you define a number of variables that affect how Finale Guitar plays back the music.

If you prefer, you can click the Playback Options button in the Playback Settings dialog box.

For detailed information, see the Playback Options dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu


Options/Quantization Settings

Choose this menu item to go to the Quantization Settings dialog box, where you adjust how MIDI information is interpreted by Finale Guitar upon input (when importing a MIDI file or using HyperScribe).

For more information, see Quantization Settings dialog box.

See Also:

Options Menu

HyperScribe Tool


Window Menu

The Window Menu indicates which windows are open, and which are in front (active). It also has Tile and Cascade commands, which automatically and neatly arrange multiple open windows into a more convenient arrangement.

Main Tool Palette

Navigational Tools Palette

Simple Entry Palette

Simple Entry Rests Palette

Smart Shape Palette

===================

Instrument List

Playback Controls

===================

File Utilities Palette

Status Bar

===================

Cascade

Tile Vertically

Tile Horizontally

Arrange Icons

New Window

Close Window

[File windows]

The names of all file windows are listed in the order they were opened at the bottom of the Window Menu. A check mark appears by the active window. Choose a window's name to make it active.

See Also:

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Window/Main Tool Palette

When this item is checked, Finale Guitar's Main Tool Palette is open on the screen. The Main Tool Palette can be attached to the sides of the window or float in front of all other windows; you can close it by choosing this item so that the check mark disappears.

For detailed information, see the Main Tool Palette

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Simple Entry Palette

When this item is checked, the Simple Entry Palette appears on the screen. You can close the palette by choosing the item from the Window Menu so that the check mark disappears.

For detailed information, see the Simple Entry Palettes.

See Also:

Window Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Window/Smart Shape Palette

When this item is checked, the Smart Shape Palette appears on the screen. You can close the palette by choosing the item from the Window Menu so that the check mark disappears. Depending on the settings in the Program Options dialog box, you may have to click the Smart Shape Tool to display this palette.

For detailed information, see the Smart Shape Palette and Program Options dialog box.

See Also:

Window Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Window/Instrument List

Choose this item to display the Instrument List, Finale Guitar's floating window that controls the playback, MIDI channels, and bank and program assignments of the staves in your file. Choose this item a second time - so that the check mark disappears - to hide the Instrument List.

For detailed information, see the Instrument List dialog box.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Playback Controls

Choose this item to display the Playback Controls, the floating window that controls playback in your file. Choose this item a second time - so that the check mark disappears - to hide the Playback Controls.

For detailed information, see the Playback Controls dialog box.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Status Bar

The status bar is the thin strip at the bottom of Finale Guitar's application window, where Finale Guitar shows help messages and identifies each tool as you click it. Choose this item to make the status bar disappear, so that you have more space for the display of your music. Note that the check mark disappears from the Window Menu. Select this item again to make the status bar reappear. The item should now be checked.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Cascade

If more than one file window is open on the screen, this command neatly stacks them so that they overlap by a half-inch or so, as though they're a deck of cards being fanned from upper-left to lower-right. Because this arrangement leaves each window's name bar visible, it's easy to jump from one window to another (by clicking any visible part of it). The active window is the one in the lower-right.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Tile Vertically

If more than one file window is open on the screen, this command neatly places them side-by-side, subdividing your screen area so that all windows are the same size. The active window is the one whose title bar is highlighted.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Tile Horizontally

If more than one file window is open on the screen, this command neatly places them one atop the other, subdividing your screen area so that all windows are the same size. The active window is the one whose title bar is highlighted.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Arrange Icons

If you've minimized any windows on a document (by clicking the Minimize button in the upper-right corner), icons for the windows appear within Finale Guitar's application window. Choose this command to align the document icons neatly at the bottom of the application window.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/New Window

Choose New Window to create a duplicate of the active window (and of the same file), in which you can scroll, enlarge, reduce, or change views independently of the original window. The various windows of a single file are identified in the bottom portion of the Window Menu.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Close Window

Choose Close Window to close the current active window. If you close the last active window on a document, Finale Guitar will close the file, asking if you want to save changes (if any changes were made since you last saved the file).

See Also:

Window Menu


Main Tool Palette

The Main Tool Palette contains all of Finale Guitar's primary tools. Choose "Main Tool Palette" from the Window Menu to display or hide the palette. Note that you can rearrange, add and remove tools by going to the View Menu and choosing Main Tool Palette from the Customize Palettes submenu.

Articulation Tool

Click a note to attach a marking; click a handle to move or delete one.

Chord Tool

Choose an input method from the menu; click a note to add or edit chord symbols.

Clef Tool

Click a measure to insert a clef change.

Expression Tool

Double-click a measure, note or rest to attach text or a shape to one or more staves.

HyperScribe Tool

Set up menu, then click a measure and play, for an instant transcription.

Key Signature Tool

Double-click a measure to insert a key change.

Lyrics Tool

Use the menu to create or edit lyrics and position them in the score.

Mass Edit Tool

Drag to select music (to transpose or edit). Drag a selection to copy it.

Measure Tool

Double-click a measure to set characteristics; drag to move a barline. Click or Ctrl-click the tool icon to add blank measures to the end of the score.

MIDI Tool

Drag to select music, then double-click to edit velocity, timing or other MIDI data.

Page Layout Tool

Click the page to adjust margins or systems.

Repeat Tool

Click a measure to create repeats, ending brackets or text such as 'To Coda'.

Resize Tool

Click a note, to the left of a system or top left page corner to change its size.

Selection Tool

Double-click an object to go to its editing tool. Click and drag to move an object.

Simple Entry Tool

Select values from the palette; click the staff to insert notes one by one.

Smart Shape Tool

Click a shape on the palette; double-click and drag to draw it in the score.

Speedy Entry Tool

Click a measure to edit or insert music, with or without a MIDI device.

Staff Tool

Use the menu to add or edit staves -- names, transpositions, groups, brackets, etc.

Text Tool

Double-click to add text blocks. Use menus to change fonts, borders and so on.

Time Signature Tool

Double-click a measure to insert a meter change.

Tuplet Tool

Click the first note of a group to create or edit a triplet.

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Navigational Tools Palette

The Navigational Tools Palette contains tools that help you navigate through your score. Choose "Navigational Tools Palette" from the Window Menu to display or hide the palette. Note that you can rearrange, add and remove tools by going to the View Menu and choosing Navigational Tools Palette from the Customize Palettes submenu.

Hand Grabber Tool

Drag the music to move your view.

Zoom Tool

Click the score to zoom in. Control-click the score to zoom out.

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Staff Tool

In addition to adding and deleting staves, use the Staff Tool to edit staff-specific characteristics using the Staff Attributes dialog box. Define attributes such as the staff's name, clef, transposition (if you're notating a transposing instrument's part) and so on.

You can also create groups of staves; use the Group Attributes dialog box to define groups of instruments in the score and for part extraction, add a bracket to a group and specify how the barline appears on the grouped staves. An individual staff can belong to any number of groups.

When you click the Staff Tool, a Staff Menu appears that contains all the commands for working with staves and groups of staves: adding, deleting, positioning and spacing staves, creating customized staff attributes, defining groups of staves, adding brackets and piano braces, and so on.

Special mouse clicks

When you click the Staff Tool, the Staff Menu appears, and handles appear on each staff and on staff-related items in the score. Select a handle then choose a menu command, or use the shortcuts listed below. The shortcuts are arranged by what the handle controls: staff handles and staves, group handles (includes the group name), staff name handles and bracket handles.

Staff handles and staves:

Staff handles always appear on staves in the score, even on staves that are hidden.

Click the Staff Tool to display the Staff Menu. Handles appear on each staff and staff-related item in the score.

Click a staff or a staff handle, or drag-enclose staff handles to select a staff (or staves).

Shift-click a staff or a staff handle to add the staff to the selection. If a staff is already selected, Shift-click to remove the staff from the selection.

Double-click a staff or a staff handle to edit the staff's attributes.

Double-click in the score (in Scroll View) to add a staff without repositioning the lower staves to make room for the new staff.

Shift-double-click below a staff in the score (in Scroll View) to insert a staff between staves, repositioning the lower staves to make room for the new staff.

Ctrl-Shift-click a staff or staff handle in one or more selected staves to create a new group for the selected staves.

Press Delete to remove the selected staves from the score without repositioning the remaining staves.

Press Shift-Delete to remove the selected staves from the score and reposition the remaining staves.

Drag a staff or a staff handle in Scroll View to adjust the staff's position in Scroll View.

Note: The horizontal adjustment affects the placement of the staves in Scroll View only; it does not affect printout or the display in Page View.

Drag a staff or a staff handle in Page View to adjust the staff's position in every staff system in Page View, and the position of the staff in Scroll View. When the top staff is adjusted, Finale Guitar adjusts the distance between staves, as well as staff systems.

Note: If two handles appear on a staff, drag the top handle. Drag a staff or a staff handle in Page View to adjust the staff's position in every staff system in Page View; leave the position of the staff unchanged in Scroll View.

Drag the bottom staff handle in Page View to adjust the staff's position only in the current staff system (drag the top handle to adjust the position of the staff in all staff systems in Page View).

Note: If a staff system has been optimized using the Page Layout Tool, two handles will appear on each staff in the optimized staff system.

Hold down backspace while clicking on a staff with Staff Styles to remove the selected Staff Style from the selected region.

Group handles:

Group handles always appear on existing groups of staves in the score.

Click a group handle, or drag-enclose group handles to select a group (or groups of staves).

Shift-click a group handle to add the group to the selection. If a group is already selected, Shift-click to remove the group from the selection.

Double-click a group handle to edit the group's attributes.

Press Delete to remove the selected group definitions.

Staff name handles:

Staff name handles appear on existing staves in the score only if you have entered a staff name, or if Finale Guitar's default staff name appears for an unnamed staff.

Click a staff name handle, or drag-enclose staff name handles to select a staff name (or names).

Shift-click a full or abbreviated staff name handle to add the staff name to the selection. If a staff name is already selected,

Shift-click to remove the staff name from the selection.

Double-click a full or abbreviated staff name handle to edit the staff's attributes.

Ctrl-click a full or abbreviated staff name handle to edit a full or abbreviated staff name.

Press Backspace to revert the position of the selected full or abbreviated staff name to its default position.

Drag a full or abbreviated staff name handle to adjust the position of the selected staff name.

Bracket handles:

Two bracket handles appear on each bracket on a group, even if you did not enter a group name.

Click a bracket handle, or drag-enclose several bracket handles to select a bracket (or brackets).

Shift-click a bracket handle to add the bracket to the selection. If a bracket is already selected,

Shift-click to remove the bracket from the selection.

Double-click a bracket handle to edit a group.

Press Delete to remove the selected brackets.

Press Backspace to revert the selected brackets to their default length.

Drag a bracket handle vertically to make a bracket taller or shorter.

Drag a bracket handle horizontally to move a bracket closer to or away from bracketed staves.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Staff Tool in the User Manual.


Measure Tool

This tool adds new blank measures at the end of the score (in all staves at once), creates numbers for measures as well as creates multimeasure rests.

Special mouse clicks

Double-click the Measure Tool to add a single new blank measure at the end of the score.

Ctrl-click the Measure Tool to display the Add Measures dialog box, in which you can tell Finale Guitar how many new blank measures you want to appear at the end of the score.

Click the Measure Tool to display a handle on every measure number and barline in the score.

Ctrl-click the measure to display all measure numbers defined for a measure (even if no numbers are currently showing in the measure).

Ctrl-shift-click the measure to display all measure numbers in the system.

Click a measure number’s handle, shift-click an additional handle, or drag-enclose several handles to select specific measure numbers (with "Dragging Selects Number Handles" selected).

Select a measure number’s handle and press delete, or right mouse click the handle and select Delete from the contextual menu to remove a measure number. Finale Guitar hides the measure number for that measure in that staff only (not for every measure above or below it).

Drag a selected handle to reposition the measure number (and any other selected measure numbers). Hold down the Shift key and drag to constrain to horizontal or vertical dragging.

Select the measure number’s handle, then press backspace, or right mouse click the handle and select Restore Default Positioning from the contextual menu to reset a manually positioned measure number back to its default position.

Double-click a measure, or right mouse click the top handle and select Edit Measure Attributes from the contextual menu to display the Measure Attributes dialog box. (You can also double-click a measure’s handle or select a handle and press enter.)

Drag the top barline handle right or left to make the measure wider or narrower. If you’re in Page View, the measure to the right of the barline gets narrower or wider to compensate.

Click the second barline handle of a measure or right mouse click the top handle and select Edit Beat Chart from the contextual menu to display a beat chart, which you can use to change the horizontal positions of the beats in the measure (in all staves).

Drag one of the lower handles in a beat chart to move that beat horizontally in all staves.

Shift-drag the lower handle of a beat chart to move that beat and all subsequent beats in the measure horizontally in all staves.

Double-click between two upper handles of a beat chart to add another upper/lower pair of beat positioning handles for the beat between the two original handles. Click any upper handle and press delete to remove it. (You can’t remove the first handle in the measure, however.)

Click an upper handle (Remember that the first handle can be removed) to select it, whereupon you can press delete to remove it from the beat chart.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Measure Tool in the User Manual.


Key Signature Tool

Click this tool, then double-click the measure where you want to change the key signature; the Key Signature dialog box appears, from which you can select the new key. You can also specify whether or not you want any music that's already in the affected measures to be transposed into the new key. You can also use the mouse to drag-enclose a region for a key change.

For further information, see the Key Signature dialog box.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Key Signature Tool in the User Manual.


Time Signature Tool

Click this tool, then double-click a measure where you want to insert a meter change; the Time Signature dialog box appears, from which you can create the new meter. You can also use the mouse to select a region of music with the Time Signature Tool.

For further information, see the Time Signature dialog box.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Time Signature Tool in the User Manual.


Simple Entry Tool

When you click this tool, Finale Guitar displays the Simple Entry Palette, containing an individual icon for each rhythmic value (quarter note, eighth note, and so on). (If the Simple Entry Palette doesn't appear, choose its name from the Window Menu.) Using the tools on this palette, you can enter notes or fret numbers into a TAB staff by clicking one note at a time. The Simple Entry keyboard commands are summarized in the diagram that appears on your Quick Reference Card.

Special mouse clicks

Double Whole Note - Press 8 and click the staff

Whole Note - Press 7 and click the staff

Half Note - Press 6 and click the staff

Quarter Note - Press 5 and click the staff

Eighth Note - Press 4 and click the staff

Sixteenth Note - Press 3 and click the staff

32nd Note - Press 2 and click the staff

64th Note - Press 1 and click the staff

128th Note - Press 0 and click the staff

Double whole rest-128th rest - Press shift and a number key (0-8); click the staff

Erase an item - Press delete and click the item

Grace Note - Press / or G and click the staff

Sharp - Press S or + and click the note

Flat - Press F or - and click the note

Natural - Press Shift-8 or N or * and click the note

Double-Flat – Select the note then press V

Double-Sharp – Select the note then press X

Half Step Down - Press Shift-F and click the staff

Half Step Up - Press Shift-S and click the staff

Tuplet – Press 9 and click the staff

Dot - Press . (period) and click the staff

Tie - Press T or = and click the staff

Special mouse clicks key commands while editing TAB staves

After clicking in a TAB staff, use the number keys to enter the fret number.

Use the + (plus) and - (minus) keys to increase or decrease the value of a selected fret number.

Use the up and down arrows or Click and drag to move a fret number between strings.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

Simple Entry Palettes

For complete information, see the Simple Entry Tool in the User Manual.


Speedy Entry Tool

This tool allows you to rapidly enter one note, chord, or rest at a time. You specify the rhythmic value of each entry by pressing a number key on your computer keyboard; you can specify the pitches either by playing a note on a MIDI device or by pressing the appropriate letter keys on your computer keyboard. The Speedy Entry keyboard commands are summarized in the diagram that appears on your Quick Reference Card.

Special mouse clicks

Press Ctrl-number when you're editing a measure to tell Finale Guitar that the next notes you enter are part of a tuplet (triplet, quintuplet, and so on). Press Ctrl-2 through Ctrl-8 to signify tuplets from duplets to octuplets, respectively. If you press Ctrl-1, Finale Guitar assumes you want to enter a tuplet that's more complex than one of the 2-through-8 tuplets. The Tuplet Definition dialog box appears, in which you can specify the temporal and visual aspects of more complex tuplet groupings.

Press Caps Lock before pressing a rhythmic-value key to tell Finale Guitar that you're about to enter a whole series of notes that all have that same rhythmic value. Now you can play notes on your MIDI instrument, rapidly, and Finale Guitar will automatically enter them into the score, without your having to press a rhythmic-value key each time. Caps Lock with Use MIDI Device for Input unchecked will also allow the use of the alphabet pitch entry keys.

Editing a TAB staff with Speedy Entry

From the Speedy Menu, uncheck Edit TAB as Standard Notation to display the TAB staff in the editing frame.

Enter the fret number as you would a regular note (using the number keys to specify a rhythmic duration). The fret number will always be "0" initially.

After entering a fret number, use the + (plus) and - (minus) keys to increase and decrease the value of the fret number.

Click a fret number and drag to move a fret number between strings (hold down the Shift key and drag to constrain to horizontal or vertical dragging).

Metatools

While the Speedy Entry Tool's preprogrammed keyboard equivalents aren't technically Metatools, they're similar in that they're one-keystroke commands. They let you edit the notes in one measure at a time very rapidly. See Speedy Entry in the Keycuts chapter of the User Manual for details.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Speedy Entry Tool in the User Manual.


HyperScribe Tool

The HyperScribe Tool is Finale Guitar's real-time transcription tool; you use it to transcribe a live performance into notation as you play, even onto two staves. When you click this tool, the HyperScribe Menu appears; it contains all the commands you need to describe to Finale Guitar the music you're about to play.

Special mouse clicks

Click a measure to indicate where you want the transcription to begin.

After playing only partway into a measure, Ctrl-click the screen to end the HyperScribe session without affecting the measure. (You'd do this if there was some music already in that measure that you wanted to preserve.)

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the HyperScribe Tool in the User Manual.


Tuplet Tool

This tool lets you create, edit, and adjust the positions of tuplets. (The word tuplet describes a class of irregular note divisions such as triplets, quintuplets, or septuplets.) You can use it to describe the visual appearance of the tuplet (whether or not it has a bracket, for example) as well as its rhythmic definition (how many quarter notes in the space of a half note, for example).

Note, incidentally, that you can predefine the default appearance of tuplets when you first create them (with the Speedy Entry or HyperScribe) including whether or not a slur or bracket appears, at what height it appears, and so on. To do so, Ctrl-click the Tuplet Tool; Finale Guitar displays the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box, where you can specify how you want new tuplets to look.

Special mouse clicks

Click the first note of a tuplet to display its set of four positioning handles.

Drag a positioning handle to adjust the height and position of the tuplet's visual elements (bracket, slur, number, and so on).

Ctrl-drag a positioning handle to adjust the position of a tuplet's visual element without using dynamic drawing (where the element is visible at all times while you're dragging it). The object will disappear until you release the mouse button.

Double-click a positioning handle to display the Tuplet Definition dialog box, where you can change the definition of the tuplet.

Click the first of a series of notes you want to turn into a tuplet grouping to display the Tuplet Definition dialog box, where you can specify a definition to create a tuplet. (If this first note is in Voice 2, shift-click.) You can even click a note that's part of an existing tuplet grouping if you want to create an inner (nested) tuplet.

Ctrl-click the Tuplet Tool icon to display the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box, in which you can specify the default appearance of new tuplets you create with the HyperScribe or Speedy Entry.

For further information, see the Tuplet Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Tuplet Tool in the User Manual.


MIDI Tool

When you record a real-time performance with the HyperScribe Tool, you can tell Finale Guitar to remember the precise feel of your original performance, and to keep this captured MIDI data handy for playback once you return to the score.

This captured data includes key velocity information (how hard you struck each key); Note Duration data (minor deviations from the beat that result in swing, rolled chords, rushing the beat, and so on); and Continuous data (MIDI controller information you generated during your performance such as pedal and pitch wheel usage, patch changes, monophonic aftertouch, and so on).

Once you've transcribed your performance into standard notation, you can listen to it play back in one of two ways. You can listen to Finale Guitar play it exactly as it appears in the score - expressionless and rhythmically perfect; or, if you prefer, you can listen to it using the captured MIDI data so that it retains the nuances of your original performance.

This tool lets you edit the actual MIDI data that Finale Guitar stores with your music - key velocities (how hard each note was struck), Start and Stop Times (rhythmic information), channel pressure (pressure applied to a key after it's been struck), controller data (pedaling, modulation wheel usage, and so on), pitch bend information, and patch change events. When you click the tool, the MIDI Menu appears, containing all the commands you need to increase, decrease, or gradually change any of these data types.

To use the MIDI Tool, you begin by selecting a region of music whose MIDI information you want to edit; you then choose commands from the MIDI Menu. If you only want to affect a one-staff region that fits on the screen, you can double-click the selected region to enter the MIDI Tool split window, where you can view a graphic representation of the MIDI values you're editing. Using this technique, you can edit MIDI data on a note-by-note basis - for example, you can increase the key velocity of only certain notes in a chordal passage.

Other effects you can create with the MIDI Tool include inserting and editing pitch bends, creating smooth crescendos and decrescendos, creating true swing-feel playback, randomizing certain playback variables to create a more human feel, and so on.

Special mouse clicks

Click a measure to select it.

Drag-enclose several measures to select more than one.

Shift-click (or shift-drag-enclose) a measure (or measures) to extend the selected region from the first measure(s) you selected.

Click to the left of a staff to select an entire staff.

Shift-click to the left of a staff to extend the selection from any other staves you've selected.

Double-click the highlighted area to display the MIDI Tool split-window for the top selected staff.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the MIDI Tool in the User Manual.


Smart Shape Tool

When you click this tool, Finale Guitar displays the floating Smart Shape Palette, containing an individual icon for each of several Smart Shapes - stretchable markings such as slurs, crescendo hairpins, 8va and 15ma markings, solid and dashed brackets and lines, and so on. (If the Smart Shape Palette doesn't appear, choose its name from the Window Menu.) In addition, handles appear on every smart shape marking in the score.

To place one of these markings into the score, position the cursor so that the tiny arrow points to the appropriate staff. If you’re placing a note-attached marking, the cursor will appear as a tiny note; just position the cursor over the note. If you’re placing a notehead-attached marking, the cursor will appear as a tiny notehead. Now double-click—but on the second click, keep the mouse button pressed and drag to the right. As you drag, the shape appears and grows to the right. Release the mouse when the shape is as long as you want it or highlights the appropriate end note.

Tip: To place a note-assigned slur or curve between two consecutive notes in the score, double-click the first note; Finale Guitar draws the slur between the notes.

Special mouse clicks

Click the Smart Shape icon on the Main Tool Palette to make handles appear on every Smart Shape in the score.

Click the handle of a Smart Shape in the score to select it; click a Smart Shape handle to make diamond editing handles appear. When these editing handles are visible, you can delete, move, stretch, or reshape the selected Smart Shape.

Drag an inner diamond editing handle to make the slur asymmetrical.

Press ctrl and drag the end points of a selected slur to change the inset percentage.

Press ctrl, double-click and drag to create an element such as 8va below the staff or 8vb above the staff.

Ctrl-click the Custom Line Tool to bring up the Smart Line Style Selection dialog box.

Press ctrl-A to select all Smart Shapes.

Hold down S and double-click and drag to create a slur.

Hold down < and double-click and drag to create a crescendo.

Hold down > and double-click and drag to create a decrescendo.

Hold down V and double-click and drag to create a dashed curve.

Hold down T and double-click and drag to create a trill.

Hold down E and double-click and drag to create a trill extension.

Hold down 8 and double-click and drag to create an 8va (or 8vb) marking.

Hold down 1 and double-click and drag to create a 15ma (or 15mb) marking.

Hold down ] and double-click and drag to create a double-ended bracket.

Hold down H and double-click and drag to create a hammer-on.

Hold down P and double-click and drag to create a pull-off.

Hold down B and double-click and drag to create a guitar bend.

Hold down X and double-click a fret number to create a TAB slide.

Hold down R and double-click and drag to create a release.

Hold down L and double-click and drag to create a line.

Hold down D and double-click and drag to create a dashed line.

Hold down G and double-click and drag to create a glissando with text.

Hold down N and double-click and drag to create a natural harmonic line (N.H.).

Hold down A and double-click and drag to create an artificial harmonic line  (A.H).

Hold down F and double-click and drag to create a glissando without text.

Hold down M and double-click and drag to create a palm mute line (P.M.).

Hold down Y and double-click and drag to create a single hook dashed line.

Hold down Z and double-click and drag to create a double hook dashed line.

Hold down 6 and double-click and drag to create a bend hat.

Hold down - and double-click and drag to create a line.

Hold down [ and double-click and drag to create a single hook line.

Tip: To create your own metatool assignments, hold down the Shift key and press a number or letter. The Smart Line Style Selection dialog box appears. Double-click a figure to assign it to the number or letter you pressed.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

Smart Shape Palette

For complete information, see the Smart Shape Tool in the User Manual.


Expression Tool

With this tool, you can create expression markings - either textual or graphic - that appear in one or more staves at the same place in the score. For example, you might want a rehearsal letter or a tempo indication to appear in every staff in the score or "mute" for the Viola part.

You can attach an Expression to a measure (even an empty one) or attach an Expression to a note or rest. Choosing the former allows you to use the Staff List feature, where you can specify which staves you want a given Measure Expression to appear in. Furthermore, you can specify, for each marking you place in the score, whether you want it to appear in the full score in a particular staff as well as in the extracted part - a marking can appear in one place without appearing in the other.

Expressions can actually affect the playback of the music in the way you'd expect. You can, for example, program a "Vivace" marking to affect the score's playback tempo wherever it occurs.

Special mouse clicks

Double-click above, below, or on any measure to display the Expression Selection dialog box, from which you can select an expression to place in the score at the position you clicked and if you clicked by a note or rest decide if you want to attach the Expression to that note or to the measure. Hint: If the Note Expression radio button is grayed out then you did not click close enough to a note or rest.

Click or shift-click Expression handles to select one, additional, or several Expressions, respectively.

Drag a selected handle to move all selected Expressions; press delete to remove the selected marking.

Double-click or Ctrl-double-click a handle to display the Text Expression Designer dialog box.

Ctrl-drag a handle if you want to adjust its position without using dynamic drawing (where the element is visible at all times while you're dragging it). The expression will disappear until you release the mouse button.

Shift-double-click an Expression handle to display the Expression Assignment dialog box, where you can specify positioning parameters for the expression whose handle you clicked.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Expression Tool in the User Manual.


Articulation Tool

Use this tool to enter one-character articulation markings (such as accents, staccato marks, fermatas, and so on) into your score. You attach an articulation to a single note in a single staff (by clicking on, above, or below it); if the note moves, the articulation moves with it.

Special mouse clicks

Click on, above, or below a note or rest that doesn't have an articulation attached to display the Articulation Selection box, from which you can select an articulation marking you want to insert. (If the note or rest is in Voice 2, click below the middle line of the staff.)

Click a note to which an articulation has been assigned to display a handle on the articulation.

Click or shift-click articulation handles to select one (or additional) articulations, respectively.

Drag a selected handle to move all selected articulations; press delete to remove them.

Ctrl-drag a handle to adjust a articulation's position without using dynamic drawing (where the element is visible at all times while you're dragging it). The marking will disappear until you release the mouse button.

Click a note whose articulations' handles are visible to display the Articulation Selection dialog box, from which you can select an additional articulation to attach to the same note.

For further information, see Articulation Selection.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Articulation Tool in the User Manual.


Lyrics Tool

This tool lets you create, edit, and move lyrics in your score. You can create many different sets of lyrics (which you might use, for example, in a hymn with several verses); you can move the baseline (the imaginary line upon which the bottoms of the words align) up or down independently for each set of lyrics. When you click this tool, the Lyrics Menu appears; it contains all the commands you need to create lyrics in your score.

Special mouse clicks

Choose Type Into Score or Click Assignment from the Lyrics Menu, and then click a staff to tell Finale Guitar the staff to which you want lyrics attached.

In Type Into Score mode or Click Assignment mode, drag the positioning triangles at the left edge of the screen to specify the vertical position of the baseline for the lyric set you're inserting.

In Type Into Score mode, click within the staff lines at the position of the first note to indicate which note you want to attach a syllable to. Then type the lyrics normally.

In Type Into Score mode, click within the staff lines at the position of a note to select (highlight) the syllable attached to it. Anything you now type replaces the highlighted syllable.

In Click Assignment mode, click within the staff lines at the position of the first note to attach the first syllable in the scrolling window. (If the note is in Voice 2, shift-click.)

In Click Assignment mode, Ctrl-click within the staff lines at the position of the first note to tell Finale Guitar to assign all syllables in the lyric set displayed in the scrolling window. Finale Guitar attaches one syllable at a time to subsequent notes in the melody, automatically skipping over rests and tied notes. (Finale Guitar only assigns lyrics to the notes in the current layer, as identified by the Layer buttons in the lower-left corner of the window.)

In Edit Word Extensions mode, click within the staff lines at the position of the sustained syllable to display a handle at the end of the syllable. (If the note is in Voice 2, shift-click.) Drag this handle to the right to draw a word extension underline (indicating that the syllable is sustained through more than one note). Click this handle and press delete to remove the word extension.

In Adjust Syllables mode, click within the staff lines at the position of the syllable you want to move to display handles on that syllable and any others attached to the same note. (If the syllable is assigned to a note in Voice 2, shift-click.) Drag a handle to move the syllable; select it and press Backspace to restore it to its original position; select it and press delete to remove it from the score. Select several vertically-aligned handles (by shift-clicking) and choose Align Syllable Left or Align Syllable Right from the Lyrics Menu if you want all selected syllables aligned with the left or right edge of the top selected syllable.

In Shift Lyrics to the Right mode, click within the staff lines at the position of the first syllable you want shifted to shift that syllable and subsequent syllables one note to the right (automatically skipping rests and tied notes).

In Shift Lyrics to the Left mode, click within the staff lines at the position of the syllable just before the one you want shifted to shift the next syllable and subsequent syllables one note to the left (automatically avoiding rests and tied notes).

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Lyrics Tool in the User Manual.


Chord Tool

When you click this tool, the Chord Menu appears. The Chord Tool lets you create, move, and delete chord symbols in your score. These symbols are musically intelligent; they play back when you play back the piece, transpose when you transpose the music, and can be placed in your score automatically.

Special mouse clicks

Click the staff (but not on a note or rest) to display the four vertical-positioning arrows at the left side of the screen, which you use to adjust the position of the baseline for the chord symbols.

When Manual Input is selected in the Chord Menu, click a note to which no chord symbol is attached to display the Chord Definition dialog box, where you can specify a chord symbol you want to appear at that point.

When Manual Input is selected in the Chord Menu, drag a chord symbol handle to move the chord symbol; press delete to remove the symbol from the score.

When Manual Input is selected in the Chord Menu, Ctrl-drag a chord symbol handle if you want to adjust its position without using dynamic drawing (where the chord symbol is visible at all times while you're dragging it). The chord symbol will disappear until you release the mouse button.

When Manual Input is selected in the Chord Menu, double-click a chord symbol handle to display the Chord Definition dialog box, where you can change the identity or suffix of the chord symbol.

When Type Into Score is selected in the Chord Menu, click a note to which you want to attach a chord symbol. A flashing cursor appears above the note. Type the chord symbol you want attached to the note.

When Type Into Score is selected in the Chord Menu, click a note to select the chord symbol attached to it. The chord symbol you type will replace the selected chord symbol.

When MIDI Input is selected in the Chord Menu, click a note to place the ear-shaped cursor at that spot. Now play a chord on your MIDI instrument; Finale Guitar will correctly analyze it and place the corresponding chord symbol into the score. Press a single note above Middle C to advance the ear cursor to the next note.

When One-Staff Analysis (or Two-Staff Analysis) is selected in the Chord Menu, click a note to make Finale Guitar analyze the chord at that spot (one staff or two staves deep, respectively) and place the corresponding chord symbol into the score.

For further information, see the Chord Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette.

For complete information, see the Chord Tool in the User Manual.


Clef Tool

Use this tool to create clef changes anywhere in the score.

Special mouse clicks

Use Metatools to easily place clefs throughout your score. (For more information on metatools refer to the User Manual.)

Double-click a measure to display the Change Clef dialog box, where you can specify a clef that you want to insert in the measure you clicked.

For further information, see the Change Clef dialog box.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Clef Tool in the User Manual.


Repeat Tool

Using this tool, you can create and edit repeat signs and text repeats (such as D.S. al Coda) in your score. These repeats can be defined for playback, if you wish, so that Finale Guitar, playing back your score, responds to them just as a musician would.

Use this tool to create first and second endings, functional Coda and D.S. symbols, and even endless repeats.

Special mouse clicks

Click a measure that doesn't contain a repeat sign to display the Repeat Selection box, where you can create either a repeat barline or a text repeat to insert into the score (and define it for playback, if you wish).

Click a measure that already contains a repeat sign to display a handle on every text repeat in the measure and a handle at the top and bottom of the repeat barline, if any. Double-click to display the Repeat Selection dialog box, where you can select an additional text repeat or repeat barline.

Click a text repeat handle to select it; shift-click to select an additional one. Press delete to remove any selected text repeats.

Drag a text repeat handle to move the text repeat in any direction.

Click a repeat barline handle to select it; press delete to remove it.

Drag a repeat barline bracket handle up or down to make the bracket taller or shorter (or, in the case of the open end of the bracket, drag left or right to lengthen or shorten the bracket). (If you want to drag the bracket so that it's longer than a measure or so, double-click its handle, select Individual Positioning, and click OK.)

Double-click a repeat barline handle (or its bracket handle) to display its Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box, where you can change the playback effects of the repeat barline.

Double-click a text repeat handle to display the Repeat Assignment dialog box, where you can change the playback effects of the text repeat.

For further information, see the Repeat Selection dialog box.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Repeat Tool in the User Manual.


Mass Edit Tool

With this tool you can select a region of your score (from a single note to the entire score) and edit all selected music at once. The Mass Edit Menu appears, containing all the commands you need to edit the selected music. For example, you can change any selected measures' key, time signature, spacing, measure widths, Layer assignments, stem directions, beaming patterns, and so on. You can also rebeam, rebar, transpose, or apply articulations to every note in any selected region.

You can use the Mass Edit Tool to copy music from one place to another or even from one Finale Guitar file to another. You can also use this tool for erasing selected musical elements from a region - such as articulations, chord symbols, lyrics, expressions, MIDI controller data, and so on - without disturbing the other existing elements of the music in that region.

Note: You can undo any Mass Edit Tool operation by choosing Undo from the Edit Menu immediately afterward.

Special mouse clicks

If "Select Partial Measures" is selected in the Edit Menu, double-click a measure to select it. If "Select Partial Measures" is off, a single click selects a measure.

Double-click a selected measure to extend the selection to include the entire vertical measure "stack" (that measure in all staves). (If "Select Partial Measures" is turned on, the first double-click selects a single full measure, and the second double-click selects the measure stack.)

Drag-enclose a region to select it. If "Select Partial Measures" is turned on, drag diagonally across any region, large or small, to select it, even if it straddles a barline.

Shift-click a measure (or a beat within a measure) to extend the selected region from the first region you selected.

Click to the left of a staff to select an entire staff.

Shift-click to the left of a staff to extend the selection from any other staves you've selected. You can also choose Select All from the Edit Menu to select the entire score.

Drag a selected region so that it's superimposed on the beginning of an unselected region to copy or move the selected music to the destination region. You specify which musical elements you want to move, as well as how you want them copied, from the Mass Edit Menu before you drag.

Ctrl-shift-click an unselected region to copy or move the specified contents of any selected music - no matter where it is in the score - to the point you clicked. You specify which musical elements you want to move, as well as how you want them copied, from the Mass Edit Menu before you click.

Press Ctrl while choosing Cut or Copy from the Edit Menu to display the Clip dialog box; you're in the process of creating a Clip File (a special kind of Finale Guitar file that's named and saved separately from the original file).

Press Ctrl while choosing Insert or Replace Entries from the Edit Menu to display the Paste dialog box from which you can select any Clip File you've already created (so that you can paste it into the current file).

Press delete to remove the selected music from the score, in all staves, so that there are fewer measures remaining.

Press backspace to erase the selected music, leaving behind only rests.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Mass Edit Tool in the User Manual.


Resize Tool

This tool lets you reduce or enlarge a staff, system, page, or all the music in a piece. When you use it at the staff level, you can create a cue staff. Particularly if you plan to print on a PostScript printer, however, you'll probably use this tool most often to reduce the overall size of the music. It's important, however, that you choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu after you reduce a system, a page, or the entire piece so that Finale Guitar corrects any irregularities in measure widths introduced by the change.

When you click on an element of the score, Finale Guitar displays the Resize dialog box - where you can specify the amount of reduction or enlargement - any time you click a musical element.

Special mouse clicks

In Page View, click to the left of a staff to reduce or enlarge the staff.

In Page View, click between and to the left of any two staves to reduce or enlarge the entire system.

In Page View, click the upper-left corner of a page to reduce or enlarge that page, a range of pages beginning with the one you clicked, or all pages from the one you clicked through the last page of the file.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Resize Tool in the User Manual.


Text Tool

You can use this tool to place titles, page numbers, and other headers and footers such as composer credits, copyright notices and other similar lines of text that appear on one or more pages in the score. You can also place longer text such as a note to the performer, an extra or optional set of lyrics, or -- if you're preparing a textbook or examination -- explanatory text.

There are two kinds of text blocks: measure-assigned and page-assigned text blocks. A measure-assigned text block remains attached to its measure in the score, even if the measure's positioning in the score changes. A page-assigned text block remains fixed to its position of the page, regardless of changes made to the layout of the measures around it.

When you click the Text Tool the Text Menu appears. Handles appear on each text block in the score.

Special mouse clicks

Click a text block handle or drag-enclose text block handles to select a text block or text blocks.

Shift-click a text block handle to add a text block to the selection. If a text block is already selected, Shift-click to remove the text block from the selection.

Double-click in the score to create a frame that expands as you enter text.

Double-click and drag in the score to create a fixed-size frame for text.

Double-click a text block handle to edit the text block. The editing frame surrounding the text appears, and a cursor appears in the text block.

Shift-double-click a text block handle to edit the text block's attributes.

Press Delete to remove the selected text blocks from the score.

Drag a selected text block handle to adjust its position in the score.

See Also:

Text Menu

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Text Tool in the User Manual.


Page Layout Tool

This tool lets you define the page layout for your file, including the page size, size of the page margins, and the positioning of the systems on each page.

The Page Layout Menu appears (and you switch to Page View, if you're not already there) when you click the Page Layout Tool. This menu contains a command for optimizing systems (hiding empty staves within each system to produce a more compact and readable full score), another for grouping measures on a line, so that you can specify the number of measures you want on each line of music, and submenus for editing staff system and page margins.

Special mouse clicks

Drag a handle to resize the page margins or system margins.

Drag in the middle of a system to change the position without changing the shape, useful when you want to move the first system down without changing the height of the system.

Hold down Control and drag the center of a staff system to move the staff system without moving other systems.

Control-A to select all system handles.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Page Layout Tool in the User Manual.


Selection Tool

Click on a marking to select it, such as a lyric, slur or articulation. Once selected, you can move, nudge, edit or delete it. For more advanced editing, double-click to switch to the appropriate tool. The Selection Tool works on Measures (Measure Tool), Notes & Rests (Simple Entry), Smart Shapes, Expressions, Articulations, Repeats, Lyrics, Chords & Fretboards, Text Blocks, Brackets, Tuplets, Key and Time Signatures, Clefs, and Staff Names.

Press Ctrl-shift-A to switch to the Selection Tool.

Click to select the item. If two items overlap, click the Selection Tool, click an item, then

press + (plus) or - (minus) to cycle through the overlapping items.

Drag a selected item to move it.

Select an item then use the arrow keys to nudge an item.

Select an item and hit backspace to restore default positioning.

Click and press delete, or right mouse click the handle and select Delete from the contextual menu to remove them.

Double-click an item or press enter with an item selected to select the item with the appropriate tool.

See Also:

Main Tool Palette

For complete information, see the Selection Tool in the User Manual.


Simple Entry Palettes

Choose "Simple Entry Palette" or "Simple Entry Rest Palette" from the Window Menu to display or hide the Simple Entry Palettes. These palettes contain an individual icon for each rhythmic value (quarter note, eighth note, and so on). (If the Palettes don't appear, click the Simple Entry Tool.) Using the tools on this palette, you can enter music into your score by clicking one note at a time. The Simple Entry keyboard commands are summarized in the diagram that appears on your Quick Reference Card.

Eraser

Click an item to delete it.

Double Whole Note

Click the staff to place a double whole note (breve).

Whole Note

Click the staff to place a whole note.

Half Note

Click the staff to place a half note.

Quarter Note

Click the staff to place a quarter note.

Eighth Note

Click the staff to place a eighth note.

16th Note

Click the staff to place a 16th note.

32nd Note

Click the staff to place a 32nd note.

64th Note

Click the staff to place a 64th note.

128th Note

Click the staff to place a 128th note.

Dot

Click on, above or below a note or rest to make it a dotted; click again to add another dot.

Sharp

Click a note to make it sharp.

Flat

Click a note to make it flat.

Natural

Click a note to make it natural.

Half Step Up

Click a note to raise its pitch by a half step.

Half Step Down

Click a note to lower its pitch by a half step.

Tie

Click a note to tie it to the next note; click a stem to tie an entire chord.

Tuplet

Click a note to create a tuplet; click again to delete the tuplet.

Grace Note

Click a note to toggle between grace note, slashed grace note, or full-sized note.

Simple Entry Rest Palette

Double Whole Rest

Click the staff to place a double whole rest.

Whole Rest

Click the staff to place a whole rest.

Half Rest

Click the staff to place a half rest.

Quarter Rest

Click the staff to place a quarter rest.

Eighth Rest

Click the staff to place an eighth rest.

16th Rest

Click the staff to place a 16th rest.

32nd Rest

Click the staff to place a 32nd rest.

64th Rest

Click the staff to place a 64th rest.

128th Rest

Click the staff to place a 128th rest

See Also:

Simple Entry Tool


Smart Shape Palette

Choose "Smart Shape Palette" from the Window Menu to display or hide the Smart Shape Palette. This palette contains an individual icon for each of several Smart Shapes - stretchable markings such as slurs, crescendo hairpins, 8va and 15ma brackets, dashed lines, and so on. (If the Smart Shape Palette doesn't appear, click the Smart Shape Tool.)

Finale Guitar automatically determines the direction of measure-based slurs, curves, 8va and 15ma markings and brackets. If you draw a marking over the middle line, Finale creates an over slur (or curve), or an 8va or 15ma marking (or bracket) with a down hook. If you draw a marking below the middle line, Finale creates an under slur (or curve), or an 8vb or 15mb marking (or bracket) with a up hook. When "Attach to Notes" or Attach to Noteheads" are selected in the Smart Shape Menu, slurs, curves attach to notes, glissandos and tab slides will automatically adjust when you edit or transpose them.

Slur

Double-click by the first note and drag to the last note to draw a note-attached tapered slur. Double-click above or below the staff to draw a measure-based tapered slur.

Dashed Curve

Double-click by the first note and drag to the last note to draw a note-attached dashed curve. Double-click above or below the staff to create a measure-based dashed curve.

Note: The dashed curves do not have tapered ends.

Decrescendo Tool

Double-click and drag to the right to draw a decrescendo (hairpin).

Crescendo Tool

Double-click and drag to the right to draw a crescendo (hairpin).

Trill

Double-click and drag to the right to draw a trill marking with an extension (wavy line).

Trill Extension

Double-click and drag to the right to draw a trill extension (wavy line).

8va

Double-click above or below the staff to draw an octave up or down (8va or 8vb) marking.

15ma

Double-click above or below the staff to draw a two octave up or down (15ma or 15mb) marking.

Solid Double-Ended Bracket

Double-click above or below the staff to draw a solid horizontal bracket with hooks at both ends.

Dashed Double-Ended Bracket

Double-click above or below the staff to draw a dashed horizontal bracket with hooks at both ends.

Solid Bracket

Double-click above or below the staff to draw a solid horizontal bracket with a down or up hook.

Dashed Bracket

Double-click above or below the staff to draw a dashed horizontal bracket with a down or up hook.

Solid Line

Double-click and drag to draw a solid line.

Dashed Line

Double-click and drag to draw a dashed line.

Glissando

Double-click and drag to draw a Glissando line.

Guitar Bend

            Double-click a fret number to extend a bend and corresponding text to a fret number in a tab staff.

Bend

Double-click and drag to draw a bend used for Guitar notation.

Tab Slide

Double-click and drag to draw a tab slide used for Guitar notation

Custom Line

Double-click and drag to draw one of the lines available in the Smart Line Style Selection dialog box; Ctrl-click to specify the line you wish to assign to this tool on the palette.

See also:

Smart Shape Menu

For complete information, see the Finale 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale.


Glossary

Aftertouch

Alternate Notation

Background File

Baseline

Beat Chart

Channel

Clip Files

Continuous Data

EDU

ETF

EVPU

Frame

FTM

Handle

HyperScribe

Icons

Jazz Font

Key Velocity

Keyboard Equivalents

Landscape Orientation

Layers

Learned Chords

Libraries

Maestro

Metatool

MIDI

MIDI File

MIDI Time Code

MUS

Note On - Note Off

Optimization

Patches

Playback File

Portrait Orientation

PostScript

Quantization

RAM

Shape Expression

Smart Shapes

Staff List

Text Block

Text Expression

TIFF

Track

True Type Fonts

Tuplets

Type 1 Fonts

Voice

Word Extension


G_Alternate Notation
Alternate Notation

Alternate methods of notating music, such as slash notation,

which indicate free interpretation or "comping" of passages.

Finale Guitar also displays one and two-bar repeat symbols.


G_Aftertouch
Aftertouch

A MIDI signal transmitted by changing the pressure of a MIDI controller

while it's held. (Useful for creating crescendos or decrescendos).

There are two types of aftertouch: Channel Pressure

(Monophonic Aftertouch) and Key Pressure (Polyphonic Aftertouch).


G_Background File
Background File

An alternate name for an Finale Guitar Playback file which can

be played back while  recording a new track in the

Transcription window.


G_Baseline
Baseline

An imaginary line used to align the bottom edge of font

characters. Finale Guitar displays arrows that control the

baseline positioning for lyrics and chords.


G_Beat Chart
Beat Chart

A set of handles (accessed through the Measure Tool)

used to adjust the horizontal position of notes. Handles appear

either on the beat (Beat Spacing) or on each note of a measure

(Note Spacing). Adjusting the handle for one note or beat will move

the notes in all staves at once, keeping them rhythmically aligned.


G_Channel
Channel

MIDI channels are used to transmit and receive MIDI information such

as note on and note off messages as well as controller and patch

information to your MIDI device(s).


G_Clip Files
Clip Files

An Finale Guitar file similar to a Clipboard file that can actually be saved to or loaded from

your hard drive to copy or paste into Finale Guitar files. They are created by holding

the Ctrl key down while choosing Cut or Copy from Finale Guitar's Edit Menu.


G_Continuous Data
Continuous Data

Continuous Data is a broad MIDI term which includes both Controller

data, such as volume or aftertouch, as well as patch, pedaling, and

pitch wheel information. Continuous Data is not associated with

particular notes, but is stored with measures.


G_EDU
EDU - Enigma Duration Unit

EDUs, or ENIGMA Durational Units, are Finale Guitar's high-resolution

measurement for the duration of notes and rests.

1024 EDUs = 1 quarter note


G_EVPU
EVPU - Enigma Virtual Page Unit

EVPUs, or ENIGMA Virtual Page Units, are Finale Guitar's flexible

measurements used to calculate the size and spacing of your music.

You can display the measurements in more common units such as

inches, centimeters, points or spaces.

288 EVPUs = 1 inch

24 EVPUs   = 1 space


G_Frame
Frame

A frame is a layer that contains one measure's worth

of music. You can have up to four layers of music per

measure, so one measure can contain up to four frames.


G_Handle
Handle

A small square which appears on currently "selectable" elements

in the score. Handles allow you to select, edit  and adjust musical

elements in the score.


G_HyperScribe
HyperScribe

A patented method of entering music in Finale Guitar by

transcribing a real-time MIDI performance into notation.

It transcribes the music onto one or two staves,

even if you alter the tempo as you play.


G_Icons
Icons

A visual representation of a file type or tool that

can be selected to perform a particular function.


G_Keyboard Equivalents
Keyboard Equivalents

A shortcut or alternate method of choosing a menu command,

or performing a function. See the Quick Reference Card for a

list of keyboard shortcuts.


G_Landscape Orientation
Landscape Orientation

A positioning of the printed page so that it is

that is wider than it is tall.


G_Layers
Layers

An independent overlay of music in the same measure.

In Finale Guitar each measure may contain 4 layers of music.

Each layer may also contain 2 independent voices.


G_Learned Chords
Learned Chords

Chords that Finale Guitar has analyzed during chord entry that do

not match any chord in it's chord suffix library. When Finale Guitar

encounters a chord it does not recognize, it lets you define it

yourself, or Finale Guitar will make its "best guess."


G_Libraries
Libraries

Sets of chord symbols, instrument definitions

and percussion maps that are stored on your hard

drive. They can be loaded into Finale Guitar files.


G_Metatool
Metatool

An Finale Guitar keyboard shortcut that lets you enter markings very quickly.

Up to 36 metatools can be programmed for the following items:

Articulations, Chord Symbols, Expressions, Key Signatures, Time

Signatures, Mass Edit Tool, Repeats, and Tuplets.


G_MIDI
MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface

MIDI is a standardized protocol by which music applications,

computers and MIDI instruments talk to each other.


G_MIDI Time Code
MIDI Time Code

A type of signal that is used to synchronize one or more MIDI devices

to another MIDI device, which generates the signal. This signal

allows the devices to play "in time" with each other.


G_MIDI File
MIDI File

A type of file written in a standardized format that can be understood

by music programs from different manufacturers so that one file can be used in

several different programs. For example, music created in any sequencer

program can be opened by Finale Guitar and converted into written notation.


G_Note On - Note Off
Note On - Note Off

MIDI signals that instruct MIDI instruments to play or

stop a note, "turn on" and "turn off," respectively.


G_Optimization
Optimization

An Finale Guitar feature that suppresses any empty staves

(in a staff system) from page view and the printed page.

The staves will, however, be visible in scroll view.


G_Patches
Patch

Particular instrument sounds within a MIDI channel.

Consists of a simple program change or a combination

of bank and program changes.


G_Playback File
Playback File

A special audio-only file, created from your notated

music, that can be saved onto your disk.


G_Portrait Orientation
Portrait Orientation

A positioning of the printed page so that it is

taller than it is wide.


G_PostScript
PostScript

A page-description language that computers and

high-resolution printers use to communicate with each other.


G_Quantization
Quantization

A process of rounding off rhythmic values of notes played

in a MIDI performance to the nearest selected duration,

resulting in a cleaner transcription of the notes.


G_RAM
RAM

Random Access Memory, is a computer's internal working

memory. This is not the same as the storage capacity

of the computer's hard drive.


G_Shape Expression
Shape Expression

A graphic expression mark, such as a vertical bracket, grand pause,

or hairpin, added to the score with the Expression tool.


G_Smart Shapes
Smart Shapes

Curves and lines that expand and compress if a measure width changes.

They also automatically separate if the shape needs to stretch across

more than one staff system in Page View.


G_Staff List
Staff List

A listing of all staves in a score that lets you determine

in which staves a Measure Expression will appear.


G_Tamburo
Tamburo

One of Finale Guitar's percussion and shape note fonts. Both TrueType

and Type 1 PostScript versions are supported


G_Text Block
Text Block

Text created and edited in the score that is enclosed in a "Standard"

rectangular frame for which a border can be displayed, or a "Custom"

frame that you create. They can be placed anywhere in the score,

and displayed on a single page or a range of pages.


G_Text Expression
Text Expression

A text marking, such as dynamics or tempo markings,

added to the score with the Expression tool.


G_True Type Fonts
True Type Fonts

Scalable fonts used to display and print your Finale Guitar

documents. These fonts do not require a PostScript printer.


G_Type 1 Fonts
Type 1 Fonts

Refers to PostScript printer fonts. PostScript printers

use Type 1 fonts to accurately scale text on the printed

page at any resolution.


G_Voices
Voice

Independent musical voices that respond with different stem

direction depending upon which note(s) the Voice 2 notes

were "launched." Only two voices are available per layer.


G_Word Extension
Word Extension

An underline that is used to indicate that a syllable

is being sustained through more than one note.


Simple Entry Keypad

The Simple Entry keyboard commands are also summarized in the diagram that appears on your Quick Reference Card. Keyboard shortcuts can also be found in the Keycuts chapter of the User Manual.

Special mouse clicks

Double Whole Note	Press 8 and click the staff
Whole Note	Press 7 and click the staff
Half Note	Press 6 and click the staff
Quarter Note	Press 5 and click the staff
Eighth Note	Press 4 and click the staff
Sixteenth Note	Press 3 and click the staff
32nd Note	Press 2 and click the staff
64th Note	Press 1 and click the staff
128th Note	Press 0 and click the staff
Double whole rest-128th rest	Press shift and a number key (0-8); click the staff
Erase an item (note, rest, accidental,etc.)	Press delete and click the item
Sharp note	Press a duration number, press S; click the staff
Natural note	Press a duration number, press N; click the staff
Flat note	Press a duration number, press F; click the staff
Half Step Down	Press Shift-F and click the note to change
Half Step Up	Press Shift-S and click the note to change
Augmentation Dot	Press . (period) and click the note to change
Tie Notes	Press = and click the note to change
Grace Note	Press G and click the staff
Select a note or rest	Control-click the note or rest
Show or Hide an Accidental	Select the note then press A
Bream or join a Beam	Select the note then press B
Hide or Show a Note or Rest	Select the note then press H
Flip the Stem	Select the note then press L
Add Parentheses around Accidental	Select the note then press P
Double-flat	Select the note then press V
Double-sharp	Select the note then press X
Begin tuplet	Select the note then press 9
Define tuplet	Select the Tuplet Tool and Shift-click the score
Enter a fret number	Click a TAB staff to enter a duration, and then type a one or two digit number
Move a fret number up a string	Select the fret number then press the up arrow
Move a fret number down a string	Select the fret number then press the down arrow

See Also:

Simple Note Entry

Simple Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Speedy Entry Keypad

The Speedy Entry keyboard commands are also summarized in the diagram that appears on your Quick Reference Card.

Special mouse clicks

Press Ctrl-number when you're editing a measure to tell Finale Guitar that the next notes you enter are part of a tuplet (triplet, quintuplet, and so on). Press Ctrl-2 through Ctrl-8. signify tuplets from duplets to octuplets, respectively. If you press Ctrl-1, Finale Guitar assumes you want to enter a tuplet that's more complex than one of the 2-through-8 tuplets. The Tuplet Definition dialog box appears, in which you can specify the temporal and visual aspects of more complex tuplet groupings.

Press Caps Lock before pressing a rhythmic-value key to tell Finale Guitar that you're about to enter a whole series of notes that all have that same rhythmic value. Now you can play notes on your MIDI instrument, rapidly, and Finale Guitar will automatically enter them into the score, without your having to press a rhythmic-value key each time.

Metatools

While the Speedy Entry Tool's preprogrammed keyboard equivalents aren't technically Metatools, they're similar in that they're one-keystroke commands. They let you edit the notes in one measure at a time very rapidly.

See Also:

Speedy Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


General MIDI

Part of the reason General MIDI was established, was to provide a standardized listing of sounds or patches. This standard was developed so that when you play the same MIDI file on different MIDI setups, you'll hear roughly the same result. Many, though not all, MIDI instruments support General MIDI.

General MIDI Patch Set Groupings

General MIDI Patch Numbers & Names

General MIDI Percussion Map Table

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


General MIDI Patch Set Groupings

The patches, or sounds, in General MIDI are grouped according to the following table. This grouping is used for all channels except for channel 10, which is used for percussion.

Patch Number             Patch Name

1-8..............................Piano

9-16............................Chromatic Percussion

17-24..........................Organ

25-32..........................Guitar

33-40..........................Bass

41-48..........................Strings

49-56..........................Ensemble

57-64..........................Brass

65-72..........................Reed

73-80..........................Pipe

81-88..........................Synth Lead

89-96..........................Synth Pad

97-104........................Synth Effects

105-112......................Ethnic

113-120......................Percussive

121-128......................Sound Effects

See Also:

General MIDI

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


General MIDI Patch Numbers & Names

This list contains all the General MIDI Patch Numbers and Patch Names.

Patch Number          Patch Name

1..........................Acoustic Grand Piano

2..........................Bright Acoustic Piano

3..........................Electric Grand Piano

4..........................Honky-tonk Piano

5..........................Electric Piano 1

6..........................Electric Piano 2

7..........................Harpsichord

8..........................Clavi

9..........................Celesta

10........................Glockenspiel

11........................Music Box

12........................Vibraphone

13........................Marimba

14........................Xylophone

15........................Tubular Bells

16........................Dulcimer

17........................Drawbar Organ

18........................Percussive Organ

19........................Rock Organ

20........................Church Organ

21........................Reed Organ

22........................Accordion

23........................Harmonica

24........................Tango Accordion

25........................Guitar (nylon)

26........................Acoustic Guitar (steel)

27........................Electric Guitar (jazz)

28........................Electric Guitar (clean)

29........................Electric Guitar (muted)

30........................Overdriven Guitar

31........................Distortion Guitar

32........................Guitar harmonics

33........................Acoustic Bass

34........................Electric Bass (finger)

35........................Electric Bass (pick)

36........................Fretless Bass

37........................Slap Bass 1

38........................Slap Bass 2

39........................Synth Bass 1

40........................Synth Bass 2

41........................Violin

42........................Viola

43........................Cello

44........................Contrabass

45........................Tremolo Strings

46........................Pizzicato Strings

47........................Orchestral Harp

48........................Timpani

49........................String Ensemble 1

50........................String Ensemble 2

51........................SynthStrings 1

52........................SynthStrings 2

53........................Choir Aahs

54........................Voice Oohs

55........................Synth Voice

56........................Orchestra Hit

57........................Trumpet

58........................Trombone

59........................Tuba

60........................Muted Trumpet

61........................French Horn

62........................Brass Section

63........................SynthBrass 1

64........................SynthBrass 2

65........................Soprano Sax

66........................Alto Sax

67........................Tenor Sax

68........................Baritone Sax

69........................Oboe

70........................English Horn

71........................Bassoon

72........................Clarinet

73........................Piccolo

74........................Flute

75........................Recorder

76........................Pan Flute

77........................Blown Bottle

78........................Shakuhachi

79........................Whistle

80........................Ocarina

81........................Lead 1 (square)

82........................Lead 2 (sawtooth)

83........................Lead 3 (calliope)

84........................Lead 4 (chiff)

85........................Lead 5 (charang)

86........................Lead 6 (voice)

87........................Lead 7 (fifths)

88........................Lead 8 (bass+lead)

89........................Pad 1 (new age)

90........................Pad 2 (warm)

91........................Pad 3 (polysynth)

92........................Pad 4 (choir)

93........................Pad 5 (bowed)

94........................Pad 6 (metallic)

95........................Pad 7 (halo)

96........................Pad 8 (sweep)

97........................FX 1 (rain)

98........................FX 2 (soundtrack)

99........................FX 3 (crystal)

100......................FX 4 (atmosphere)

101......................FX 5 (brightness)

102......................FX 6 (goblins)

103......................FX 7 (echoes)

104......................FX 8 (sci-fi)

105......................Sitar

106......................Banjo

107......................Shamisen

108......................Koto

109......................Kalimba

110......................Bag pipe

111......................Fiddle

112......................Shanai

113......................Tinkle Bell

114......................Agogo

115......................Steel Drums

116......................Woodblock

117......................Taiko drum

118......................Melodic Tom

119......................Synth Drum

120......................Reverse Cymbal

121......................Guitar Fret Noise

122......................Breath Noise

123......................Seashore

124......................Bird Tweet

125......................Telephone Ring

126......................Helicopter

127......................Applause

128......................Gunshot

See Also:

General MIDI

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


General MIDI Percussion Map Table

This listing contains all the General MIDI percussion tones on channel 10, which is the channel reserved for percussion.

Note Number             Note Name

35.........................Acoustic Bass Drum

36.........................Bass Drum 1

37.........................Side Stick

38 ........................Acoustic Snare

39.........................Hand Clap

40.........................Electric Snare

41.........................Low Floor Tom

42.........................Closed Hi Hat

43.........................High Floor Tom

44.........................Pedal Hi Hat

45.........................Low Tom

46.........................Open Hi Hat

47.........................Low-Mid Tom

48 ........................Hi-Mid Tom

49.........................Crash Cymbal 1

50.........................High Tom

51.........................Ride Cymbal 1

52.........................Chinese Cymbal

53.........................Ride Bell

54.........................Tambourine

55.........................Splash Cymbal

56.........................Cowbell

57.........................Crash Cymbal 2

58.........................Vibraslap

59.........................Ride Cymbal 2

60.........................Hi Bongo

61.........................Low Bongo

62.........................Mute Hi Conga

63.........................Open Hi Conga

64.........................Low Conga

65.........................High Timbale

66.........................Low Timbale

67.........................High Agogo

68.........................Low Agogo

69.........................Cabasa

70.........................Maracas

71.........................Short Whistle

72.........................Long Whistle

73.........................Short Guiro

74.........................Long Guiro

75.........................Claves

76.........................Hi Wood Block

77.........................Low Wood Block

78.........................Mute Cuica

79.........................Open Cuica

80.........................Mute Triangle

81.........................Open Triangle

See Also:

General MIDI

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


About Finale Guitar

This dialog box displays the user's name and serial number along with the current software version number and ways to contact Technical Support.

To view this dialog box, go to the Help Menu and choose About Finale Guitar

See Also:

Technical Support


Add Continuous Data
Add - Continuous Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. (If you’re editing a one-staff region, double-click to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit (pitch wheel, monophonic aftertouch, and so on)  by choosing Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Add from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The Add dialog box’s function is to add a fixed amount to (or subtract a fixed amount from) the controller value of every note in the selected region. Because it adds an absolute amount to every selected note, the Add command preserves the relative proportions of the existing values.

•	Add ___. In this text box, enter the value you want added to the selected MIDI data values of all selected notes. Note that this value can be a positive or negative number. The Add command isn’t relevant if you’ve specified a non-continuous controller such as the sustain pedal or a patch change; it may be useful, however, if you want to increase the degree of pitch bend or monophonic aftertouch by a uniform amount for every note in the selected region.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Add Key Velocities
Add - Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. (If you’re editing a one-staff region, double-click to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Add from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The Add dialog box’s function is to add a fixed amount to (or subtract a fixed amount from) the key velocity of every note in the selected region. Because it adds an absolute amount to every selected note, the Add command preserves the relative proportions of the existing values.

For example, you can specify that each note in a selected region should be played back with slightly more volume by adding, for example, 20 MIDI velocity units. (MIDI velocity is measured on a scale from zero, which is silent, to 127, which is very loud.)

•	Add ___. In this text box, enter the value you want added to the key velocities of all selected notes. Note that this value can be a positive or negative number. The number in this text box represents the number of MIDI velocity units you want added to every note in the selected region; MIDI key velocity is measured on a scale from zero, which is silent, to 127, which is very loud.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Add Measures

How to get there

Ctrl-click the Measure Tool. Or, click a measure, and choose Add from the Measure Menu.

What it does

This dialog box lets you specify how many new measures you want added to the end of the score (if you chose Add Measures) or inserted, in all staves, before the first measure of the selected region (if you chose Insert Measures). When you add measures, the Measure Width and Position Notes Evenly settings in the Measure Attributes dialog box from the last measure in the piece are copied into the new added measures. See Measure Attributes dialog box for details on these settings.

•	How many measures?. In this text box, enter the number of new measures you want added.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to add the specified measures, or Cancel to leave the score unchanged, and return to the score.

See Also:

Measure Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Add Note Durations
Add - Note Durations

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. (If you’re editing a one-staff region, double-click to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Add from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The Add dialog box’s function is to add a fixed amount to (or subtract a fixed amount from) the duration of every note in the selected region. Because it adds an absolute amount to every selected note, the Add command preserves the relative proportions of the existing values.

•	Add ___. In this text box, enter the value you want added to the note durations of all selected notes. Note that this value can be a positive or negative number. The number you enter in this text box represents the number of EDUs, of which there are 1024 per quarter note, you want added to the Start and/or Stop Times of the selected notes. You specify whether you want this value added to Start Times, Stop Times, or both by clicking one or both of the checkboxes (see "Start Times/Stop Times," below).

•	Start Times • Stop Times. These two checkboxes let you specify which MIDI data type you want to edit—either the Start Time (the difference between the notated attack of a note and the time you actually played it when recording in HyperScribe) or the Stop Time (the difference between the notated release of a note and the time you actually released it). If you select both checkboxes, the effect of the Add command is to shift the playback of the entire note forward or backward in time.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Alter Feel - Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. (If you’re editing a one-staff region, double-click to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Alter Feel from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The Alter Feel dialog box’s contents change to reflect your MIDI data type selection (key velocities or note durations; the Alter Feel command isn’t available for Continuous Data). Like the Add or Percent Alter commands, the Alter Feel command lets you add a positive or negative number to the velocities or durations of every note in the selected region. However, in the Alter Feel dialog box, you can target individual beats in each measure to receive the alterations.

For example, if you’ve selected Key Velocities, you can specify that the downbeat of each measure in the selected region should be played back with 50% more volume, while the other beats in the measure are unaffected.

When you read the following descriptions of the three text boxes, keep in mind that the number in each text box produces a different effect depending on whether the Absolute or Percent of Original button is selected (see below). For example, to double the key velocity of all downbeats (to make them twice as loud), click Percent of Original and enter 200 in the Downbeats By text box. But to add an equal amount of velocity to all downbeats—thus preserving their relative velocity values—click Absolute and enter a MIDI key velocity value in the Downbeats By text box.

•	Downbeats by. A downbeat is defined as the first beat in the measure. By entering a value in this text box, you can increase or decrease the velocity of only the downbeats of the measures in the selected region.

•	Other Beats by. Other Beats means every beat in every measure except a downbeat or a backbeat. The beat is determined by the durational value of the denominator in the Time Signature dialog box; for example, Other Beats of a 3/4 meter would be the second and third quarter note of each measure if you represented the meter as quarter quarter quarter in the Time Signature dialog box. However, if you represented the 3/4 meter as a dotted half note. in the Time Signature dialog box (a waltz "in one," for example), there would be no "other beats" in each measure; see Time Signature dialog box.

By entering a value in this text box, you can increase or decrease the velocity of only the other beats of the measures in the selected region.

•	Backbeats by. In Finale Guitar, a backbeat (sometimes called an offbeat) is the second half of the beat (in duple meters); thus the second eighth note of every beat in 2/4 or 4/4 time—or the second quarter note of every beat in 2/2 time—is the backbeat. In triple meters, the second and third thirds of the beat are the backbeats. In both cases, "beat" is determined by the durational value of the denominator in the Time Signature dialog box. The backbeats of a 3/4 meter could either be the second eighth note of each beat (if you represented the meter with three quarter notes in the Time Signature dialog box) or the second and third quarter notes of the measure (if you represented the meter as a dotted half note in the Time Signature dialog box); see Time Signature dialog box.

The number in this text box represents the amount by which you want to modify every backbeat in the selected region.

•	Absolute • Percent of Original. If Absolute is selected, the number in the text box represents MIDI key velocity units (where zero is silent and 127 is very loud). If Percent of Original is selected, the number in the text box represents a percentage of the original key velocity values by which you want these data changed.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Alter Feel - Note Durations

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. (If you’re editing a one-staff region, double-click to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Alter Feel from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The Alter Feel dialog box’s contents change to reflect your MIDI data type selection (key velocities or note durations; the Alter Feel command isn’t available for Continuous Data). Like the Add or Percent Alter commands, the Alter Feel command lets you add a positive or negative number to the durations of every note in the selected region. However, in the Alter Feel dialog box, you can target individual beats in each measure to receive the alterations.

When you read the following descriptions of the three text boxes, keep in mind that the number in each text box produces a different effect depending on whether the Absolute or Percent of Original button is selected (see below).

•	Downbeats by. A downbeat is defined as the first beat in the measure. By entering a value in this text box, you can increase or decrease the Start Time of only the downbeats of the measures in the selected region.

•	Other Beats by. Other Beats means every beat in every measure except a downbeat or a backbeat. The beat is determined by the durational value of the denominator in the Time Signature dialog box; for example, Other Beats of a 3/4 meter would be the second and third quarter note of each measure if you represented the meter as quarter quarter quarter in the Time Signature dialog box. However, if you represented the 3/4 meter as a dotted half note. in the Time Signature dialog box (a waltz "in one," for example), there would be no "other beats" in each measure; see Time Signature dialog box.

By entering a value in this text box, you can increase or decrease the Start and Stop Times of only the other beats of the measures in the selected region. (You’re editing both the Start Time of each "other beat" and the Stop Time of the previous note.)

•	Backbeats by. In Finale Guitar, a backbeat (sometimes called an offbeat) is the second half of the beat (in duple meters); thus the second eighth note of every beat in 2/4 or 4/4 time—or the second quarter note of every beat in 2/2 time—is the backbeat. In triple meters, the second and third thirds of the beat are the backbeats. In both cases, "beat" is determined by the durational value of the denominator in the Time Signature dialog box. The backbeats of a 3/4 meter could either be the second eighth note of each beat (if you represented the meter with three quarter notes in the Time Signature dialog box) or the second and third quarter notes of the measure (if you represented the meter as a dotted half note in the Time Signature dialog box); see Time Signature dialog box.

The number in this text box represents the amount by which you want to modify every backbeat in the selected region. (You’re editing both the Start Time of each backbeat and the Stop Time of the previous note.)

One of the best uses for this option is to slightly delay the playback of every backbeat (by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu and then choosing the Alter Feel command). For example, by entering 171 into the Backbeats By text box, you create a true triplet swing feel.

•	Absolute • Percent of Original. If Absolute is selected, the number in the text box represents EDUs (1024 per quarter note). If Percent of Original is selected, the number in the text box represents a percentage of the original Start and Stop Time values by which you want these data changed.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Alternate Notation

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool, and select Staff Attributes from the Staff Menu (or double-click a staff). In the Staff Attributes dialog box, click Select below Alternate Notation.

What it does

This command lets you fill the selected staff with one of several alternative-notation styles, such as slashes, measure repeats, or blank measures.

Note that this will apply the alternate notation style you select to the entire staff. To apply alternate notation only to selected measures, see Apply Alternate Notation dialog box.

•	Slash Notation. Select this alternate-notation style to fill every measure with one slash per beat. In cut time, for example, there would be two slashes per bar. If you want a dot after the slash in compound meters, such as 6/8, check the Add Dots To Slashes In Compound Meters checkbox. Slash notation is useful for indicating that the player is to "comp," or improvise, a part with an unspecified rhythm.

•	Rhythmic Notation. This alternate-notation style converts every note or chord to a stemmed slash. All slashes are centered on the middle staff line, and all stems go down, unless you check the Stems Up in Rhythmic Notation checkbox. Use this form of slash notation when the player is to "comp" or improvise in a specific rhythm.

•	One-Bar Repeat(s). This alternate-notation style hides whatever music is already in the measures (all layers), and displays instead the one-bar repeat symbol, indicating that the player is to repeat the contents of the previous measure.

•	Two-Bar Repeat(s). If you click this option, whatever music is already in a pair of measures (all layers) gets hidden. Instead, they’re filled with the two-bar repeat symbol, indicating that the player is to repeat the contents of the previous two measures.

•	Blank Notation. Choose this option to hide all the music in the selected staves. The advantage to this option is that anything attached to the notes in selected layer—such as chord symbols, lyrics, and so on—remain in view. This feature opens up many notational possibilities: multiple chord symbols per note, lyrics beneath blank measures, and so on.

•	Normal Notation. Choose this option to display the selected staff in standard music notation.

•	Apply to Layer. Use this command to choose the layer to which you would like to apply the alternate notation.

•	Show Items Attached to Notes. Select this checkbox to display any items attached to notes such as articulations, lyrics, chords or note attached expressions.

•	Show Notes in Other Layers. Select this checkbox to display all the notes in layers other than the layer which has the alternate notation.

•	Show Items Attached to Notes in Other Layers. This is similar to Show Items Attached to Notes, but it applies to the other layers, not the layer with the alternate notation.

•	Stems Up In Rhythmic Notation. Select Rhythmic Notation and check this box to have rhythmic notation with all stems frozen up instead of stems down.

•	Add Dots To Slashes In Compound Meters. Select Slash Notation and check this box to have a dot after the slash in compound meters, such as 6/8.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the settings you’ve made in this dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Apply Articulation

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures (or part of a measure). From the Mass Edit Menu, choose Apply Articulation.

Or, click the Articulation Tool and drag-enclose a series of notes.

What it does

The Apply Articulation dialog box lets you apply an articulation mark (such as an accent or staccato mark) to every note in a selected region. In fact, you can even apply a marking only to every quarter note, for example.

•	Articulation • Select. The Articulation text box identifies, by number, the articulation marking you’re about to place on the selected notes. (The articulations in Finale Guitar’s articulation palette are numbered left to right, top to bottom, starting from 1.)

Instead of typing in a number, it may be more convenient to click Select. Finale Guitar displays a palette of all articulations available in this document. Double-click the one you want; you return to the Apply Articulation dialog box, where that marking’s number appears in the text box.

•	All Notes. Leave this option selected if you want the selected articulation to appear on every note or chord in the selected region.

•	Notes Within the Range of Durations • From • Through. It doesn’t make much sense to put a staccato mark on a whole note; nor is a fermata found very often on a 32nd note. For this reason, you can specify what kinds of notes you want to receive the selected articulation. In the From palette, click the smallest note value—and in the Through palette, click the longest note value—you want to receive the marking. All notes between (and including) those two note values will be affected. (To specify a dotted rhythm, click the dot as well; click the dot again to specify a non-dotted rhythm.)

If you only want quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes to have staccato marks, then, click the sixteenth note in the From row, and the quarter note in the Through row. Finale Guitar won’t apply staccato marks to whole notes, half notes, or 32nd notes, for example.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score, where Finale Guitar places articulation markings according to your specifications—or click Cancel to return to the score without changing anything.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Articulation Tool

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Multiple Passes Overview

The following dialog boxes are very similar. Click a dialog box name for specific information.

Multiple Total Passes for Ending

Multiple Total Passes for Repeat


Articulation Selection

How to get there

Click the Articulation Tool. Click on, above, or below any note. (If the note already has an articulation, you will need to double-click the note) Or, to program a Metatool, press a letter or number key while pressing shift.

What it does

An articulation is a one-character marking that affects only a single note (an accent, staccato, or fermata, for example). You can select articulations in this dialog box. The number in the top left corner of each item lists the slot number for the item. This can be handy if you have the option of typing in the slot number in a dialog box instead of scrolling through the selection dialog box. Occasionally, a character in parenthesis appears in the top right corner of an item in the selection dialog box. This character indicates the metatool assigned to the item.

•	Select. After clicking the symbol you want to apply to the note, click Select. You return to the score, and the marking is attached to the note.

Instead of using the Select button, you can simply double-click the desired marking. (In fact, you can avoid this dialog box completely by using Articulation metatools.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without placing an articulation in the score.

Tip: To attach the same articulation to many notes at once, see Apply Articulation dialog box.

See Also:

Selection Overview

Articulation Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Backward Repeat Bar Assignment

How to get there

Click the Repeat Tool, click a measure, then double-click one of the two middle graphic repeat icons (both of which are backward repeat barlines). Or, if a backward repeat barline is already in the score, double-click its handle.

What it does

The two middle graphic repeat barline icons (the Backward Repeat and the Backward Repeat with Bracket) aren’t just for display; they can also be defined to affect the playback of your piece. The way in which Finale Guitar performs this repeat and the measure to which it repeats are determined in this dialog box.

•	Measure: (#). This indicator specifies the measure in which the repeat barline will appear.

•	Target Measure. The number in this text box specifies the measure Finale Guitar will jump to when playback reaches the repeat barline. Note that a repeat barline doesn’t necessarily direct the playback backward—the playback might jump to a later measure.

•	Always Jump. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will execute the repeat every time the playback reaches the repeat barline—creating, in effect, an infinite loop.

•	Jump on Total Passes. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will only execute the repeat upon one particular repetition of the music (as specified by the number in the Total Passes text box).

•	Repeat Until Total Passes. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will execute the repeat every time the playback reaches the repeat barline until it’s been reached a specified number of times (the number in the Total Passes text box). Thereafter, it won’t execute the repeat (the barline will behave like a normal barline).

•	Stop on Total Passes. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will execute the repeat every time the playback reaches the repeat barline until it’s been reached a specified number of times (the number in the Total Passes text box), after which it will stop playback.

•	Total Passes. The Total Passes text box lets you specify how many times during playback Finale Guitar should reach the repeat barline (how high it should "count") before performing the Repeat Action you’ve specified. (The number in the Total Passes text box has no effect, however, if you’ve selected Always Jump.)

•	Reset on Repeat Action. Once Finale Guitar has played the music the number of times in the Total Passes text box—and thus performed the Repeat Action—it can be made to reset its internal "counter" back to zero and begin counting toward the Total Passes number again. This option could be useful if you’re creating nested repeats and want an inner repeat to be fully executed with each pass of the larger repeated region.

•	Individual Positioning. If you’ve selected the repeat barline with a bracket attached, Finale Guitar places an identical bracket in every staff. Click Individual Positioning to allow each staff’s bracket to be moved or resized independently. Note, too, that a bracket may be stretched horizontally as long as needed—a useful fact to remember if you’re creating, for example, a first ending that’s four measures long.

•	Relative Jump. Select this option to indicate that Finale Guitar should add the number in the Target Measure text box to the current measure number to find the jump location, rather than treat the Target Measure number as an absolute measure number. Enter a negative number in the Target measure text box for the number of measures you want Finale Guitar to jump back, and a positive number for the number of measures to jump forward. For example, if this option is selected and there’s a value of -8 in the Target Measure text box, Finale Guitar will jump back 8 measures from the current location.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made in this dialog box and place the repeat sign in the score (if it wasn’t there already). Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to ignore any changes you made in this dialog box and return you to the score, and no repeat sign is placed (or, if you were editing an existing repeat, no changes take place).

See Also:

Repeat Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Change Clef

How to get there

Click the Clef Tool, then click any measure.

What it does

You can change the clef at the beginning of any measure in the score. In this dialog box you specify which clef you want to use and tell Finale Guitar how many measures the clef change should last.

•	Measure ___ Through ___ • Measure ___ Through End of Piece • Measure ___ To Next Clef Change. Using these text boxes, tell Finale Guitar what range of measures you want to be affected by the clef change. Finale Guitar shows the measure you clicked in the text boxes; if you’re only changing a single measure, you don’t need to adjust these settings.

If you want to change the measure you clicked through the end of the piece, select the middle option. If you want to change the measure you clicked until the next measure of a different clef, click the lower option.

•	OK • Cancel. If you click the OK button, Finale Guitar places the clef you selected at the beginning of the specified measure and returns you to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score without adding or editing a clef.

See Also:

Clef Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Chord Definition

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool. Choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu. Click a note in your score where you want to add the chord symbol. If the note already has a chord attached to it, click the note to display a handle on the chord, then either double-click the handle to edit the current chord, or click the note again to enter a new chord.

The Chord Definition dialog box also appears if you select the Chord Tool and press shift with a letter or number. Pressing shift and a letter or number is the sequence for programming a Chord Metatool, useful for quickly adding chords to your score.

What it does

The Chord Definition dialog box allows you to enter an entire chord symbol by typing it into a single text box. When you type a chord symbol, then press tab (or click another field), Finale Guitar updates the settings that control the display of the separate parts of the chord.

If you access this box by using a Metatool, Finale Guitar will memorize any chord you build in the dialog box and assign it to the number key you pressed. For example, if you press shift-5 and build an Ef13/G chord in the Chord Definition dialog box, then you can pop this chord into the score at any point just by clicking the note to which you want it attached while pressing 5.

•	Chord Symbol. Use this text box to enter the entire chord symbol in one place. Enter a chord into the text box in the Standard style. To add a chord suffix, enter the suffix after the root; for example, you could type Cmin7. When you press Tab (or click on another field), Finale Guitar interprets the chord (paying attention to upper and lowercase letters), then updates the dialog box settings. In the Chord Symbol text box, the chord symbol will appear in the system font; however, it will appear correctly in the score, where the root and alternate bass notes appear in the display style selected in the Chord Menu.

If no match is found for the suffix you type, an alert appears. Click No to return to the Chord Definition dialog box; click Yes to select another suffix.

For a list of keyboard shortcuts you can use to enter chords, see the Keystroke table in the Chord Menu/Type into Score section.

•	 Advanced. Click this button to expand or collapse the Chord Definition dialog box. When expanded, you’ll have access to numeric chord definition capabilities.

•	Chord Suffix ID; Select; Edit. The number in this text box identifies the chord suffix by number. If the number is zero, no suffix has yet been defined; click the Chord Suffix Select button to bring up the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box. The Chord Suffix Selection dialog box displays any suffixes that have been loaded (via a Chords & Fretboards Library) in this piece. Double-click one to select it. (Note that the Maestro and Jazz Font Default Files already have chord suffixes pre-loaded.)

•	Listen. When you click the Chord Suffix ID Listen button, play the chord suffix alone (the remaining notes of the chord, without the root and without the bass). If the corresponding suffix has been defined (by you, or by loading a Chord Suffix Library), the suffix’s number appears in the Chord Suffix ID box. If the chord suffix hasn’t yet been defined for this piece, no new number appears there.

•	Fretboard ID; Select. Fretboard ID displays the number of the currently selected group of custom fretboards. Click Select to open the Fretboard Selection dialog box, where you can select a fretboard group or create a new one.

•	[Fretboard icon]. Finale Guitar shows you a thumbnail or small picture of your currently selected fretboard.

•	Show: Root. In general, you’ll want the checkbox selected, telling Finale Guitar to display the root letter name as part of the chord symbol. You can, however, omit the root from the chord symbol by deselecting this checkbox (to create, for example, the "rootless" chords in this sequence: Cmaj7 /B /A).

•	Show: Root—Lowercase. Select Lowercase if you want the Root Scale Tone to appear in lowercase. This checkbox is automatically updated when you type your chord symbol.

Lowercase chord roots always affect playback, unless a chord suffix is selected. Finale Guitar plays a major triad for uppercase chord roots and a minor triad for lowercase chord roots when no chord suffix is selected.

•	Show: Suffix. Select the Suffix checkbox to show or hide the chord suffix. When selected, the suffix will appear in the score. Click to deselect this checkbox if you want to hide the suffix.

•	Show: Fretboard. Select this checkbox to force a single fretboard to be appear. Make sure this option is not selected if you want the fretboard for the selected chord to be hidden. To show fretboards globally, see Show Fretboards in the Chord Menu.

•	Show: Alternate Bass. If you select this checkbox, Finale Guitar will display the alternate bass note.

•	Show: Alternate Bass—Lowercase. Select Lowercase if you want the Alternate Bass note to appear in lowercase. This checkbox is automatically updated when you type your chord symbol.

•	Show: Alternate Bass: After Root • Under Root • Subtext. When Alternate Bass is selected, you can choose from three ways to display the alternate bass note. After Root places a slash after the root (if displayed) and then the alternate bass. Under Root displays the alternate bass directly underneath the chord symbol (as though it’s the denominator of a fraction) instead of following a slash. Subtext displays the alternate bass slightly below and to the right of the chord symbol.

•	Play: Root • Suffix • Fretboard • Alternate Bass. These checkboxes govern the playback of the chord symbol. Root and Suffix are selected by default. Select Alternate Bass to have that note play back with the chord. Deselect any of the four to omit playback of the corresponding part of the chord symbol.

Note that the capitalization of a chord’s root may affect playback when the chord doesn’t have a suffix (zero appears in the Chord Suffix ID text box); for example, in the key of C Major, the chords C and d will play back major and minor, respectively. This setting also affects the display of major and minor fretboards.

•	Root Scale Tone (Advanced option). The number you enter in this text box is the root scale degree of the chord. To indicate a C chord in the key of C, enter 1 in this box. To indicate a G chord in the key of C, enter 5.

•	Root Scale Tone—Alteration (Advanced option). You can specify a modification of the diatonic scale step you’ve specified as the root of the chord by entering a number in this text box (measured in half steps from the unmodified diatonic step); a positive number raises the root by half steps, and a negative number lowers the root by half steps.

For example, to create an Ef chord in the key of C, enter a 3 in the Root Scale Tone box (which would normally create an E chord symbol), but enter –1 in the Alteration box. To specify an Fs chord in the key of C, enter a 4 in the Root Scale Tone box and enter 1 in the Alteration box.

•	Root Scale Tone—Listen (Advanced option). Click Listen to play the root scale tone on your MIDI keyboard.

•	Alternate Bass—Scale Tone (Advanced option). The number you enter in this text box will be used as an alternate bass note, and Finale Guitar will notate it as part of a "slash" chord symbol (such as Cmaj7/E). For example, if you’re in the key of C and the Root Scale Tone is 1 (C), enter 5 in the Alternate Bass text box to produce a C/G chord in the score.

•	Alternate Bass—Alteration (Advanced option). You can specify a modification of one of the diatonic scale steps for the alternate bass note by entering a number in this text box (measured in half steps); a positive number raises the root by half steps, and a negative number lowers the root by half steps.

For example, to create a C chord over a Bf bass note in the key of C, enter 1 in the Root Scale Tone box (to create the C chord), 7 in the Alternate Bass text box (to create the B bass note), and enter –1 in the Alteration box to lower the alternate bass note by a half step (to Bf).

•	Alternate Bass—Listen (Advanced option). Click Listen to play the alternate bass note on your MIDI keyboard.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score and add the chord you’ve created or edited to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score without adding, or making changes to, a chord.

See Type Into Score (Chord Menu) , which provides a table of keystrokes for typing chord symbols. Hint: In C major, 1 = C, 2 = D, 3 = E, 4 = F, 5 = G, 6 = A, 7 = B.

Note: To display fretboards on all chords in the piece, Show Guitar Fretboards must be selected in the Chord Menu.

See Also:

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Clef Selection

How to get there

The Clef Selection dialog box appears any time you click a Select button for a clef, which appears in a number of Finale Guitar dialog boxes.

What it does

The Clef Selection dialog box displays a palette containing the ten clefs currently available in this piece.

•	[Clef Icons]. These icons illustrate the ten clefs defined for this piece. Double-click one to select it and exit the dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Instead of double-clicking a clef’s picture, you can click it once and then click OK, which also selects the clef and exits this dialog box. Click Cancel to exit the dialog box without making a selection.

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Chord Suffix Selection

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool, choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu, then click a note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached. In the Chord Definition dialog box, click on Select near Suffix.

If a note has a chord symbol attached, click the note to make the chord handle appear. Double-click the handle, change the number in the Suffix ID text box to zero, and click Select.

What it does

The Chord Suffix Selection dialog box displays any chord suffixes you’ve created in (or loaded into) the document. It allows you to select or delete any of the suffixes. The number in the top left corner of each item lists the slot number for the item. This can be handy if you have the option of typing in the slot number in a dialog box instead of scrolling through the selection dialog box.

•	Delete. If you’ve selected a suffix in the Chord Suffix Selection box by clicking it once, click Delete to remove it from the selection box. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl -click to select only a specific additional item in the list. If the suffix is used in the score, the Delete Element dialog box is displayed, where you can specify delete options. See Delete Element dialog box.

•	Move Up • Move Down. Click these buttons to move the selected item or items up or down in the list. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl -click to select only a specific additional item in the list.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the Chord Definition box without having made a suffix selection.

•	Select. If you have clicked a chord symbol in the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box, click Select to return to the Chord Definition dialog box. Finale Guitar puts the number of the suffix you selected in the Chord Suffix ID text box and places the selected suffix in the score (when you click OK). Double-clicking a suffix is the same as clicking it once and clicking Select.

See Also:

Selection Overview

Chord Definition

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Click and Countoff

How to get there

Choose Click and Countoff from the Options Menu.

Or, choose Playback Controls from the Window Menu to display Playback Controls (a checkmark appears by the command when displayed). Click on the Playback Settings button, then click the Click and Countoff button.

Or, click the HyperScribe Tool. Choose Playback and/or Click from the Beat Source submenu of the HyperScribe Menu. Click the Click and Countoff Button.

What it does

Use the Click and Countoff dialog box to define the countoff click settings and the metronome click used for HyperScribe recording, and for playback using Playback Controls. Set up the number of measures you want Finale Guitar to count off before starting to record. Choose when you want to hear a metronome click, and what the clicks should sound like. Increased control over the click sound includes the ability to emphasize the down beat, for example, by increasing the key velocity of the click or by lowering the pitch of the "other beats" in the measures. When you change the number of countoff measures in this dialog box, Finale Guitar automatically updates the number of countoff measures in Playback Controls as well. If you have selected Tap as your Beat Source, Finale Guitar will ignore the settings in this dialog box.

•	Countoff: Always • While Recording • While Playing • Never. Use the drop-down list to specify when you want Finale Guitar to play a countoff metronome click. Choose Always if you want a countoff of a specified number of measures before recording with HyperScribe or playing back with Playback Controls. Choose While Recording if you want the countoff only when you’re recording with HyperScribe. Choose While Playing if you want a countoff only when you’re playing back with Playback Controls, or choose Never if you don’t want any countoff at all. These global settings are saved with your preferences.

•	Measures__. Enter the number of measures you want Finale Guitar to count off before starting to record with HyperScribe or play back using Playback Controls. Enter 0 (zero) if you don’t want a countoff, 1 if you want one measure counted off, 2 to hear two measures, and so on. Finale Guitar uses the meter of the first measure selected for playback or for recording into to determine the meter of the countoff measure. Any change you make to the countoff is automatically updated in the Countoff text box in Playback Controls.

Note: Finale Guitar will always sound a metronome click while playing the countoff measures.

•	Click: Always • While Recording • While Playing • Never. Use this drop-down list to determine when Finale Guitar should play a metronome click to indicate the beat in your music. Choose Always if you want to hear a metronome click while recording with HyperScribe and playing back with Playback Controls. Choose While Recording if you want a metronome click only when recording with HyperScribe. Choose While Playing if you want a metronome click only when playing back with Playback Controls, or choose Never if you don’t want any metronome click to sound while recording or playing back.

•	Source: MIDI Note • MIDI Data. Use this drop-down list to specify the type of MIDI signal for the down beat and the other beats in the measure. In general, you’ll probably choose a MIDI note rather than a MIDI event for the metronome sound. You can choose any MIDI note for the metronome click, but to distinguish the down beat click from that of other beats, you might want to choose a short percussive sound or a high note. Choose MIDI Data if you want to use something other than a MIDI Note for the metronome click.

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•	Metronome Sound: Down Beats • Other Beats; Channel • Note • Velocity • Duration (% of the beat); Listen. The labels in the text boxes change if you choose MIDI Data; you’ll see Channel, Status, Data1, Data2, and Duration, instead of Channel, Note, Velocity, and Duration. To have Finale Guitar enter this information automatically for you, click Listen in the Down Beats or Other Beats row, then play the note or trigger the MIDI event that you’re planning to use for the metronome click. Finale Guitar will automatically enter all values except Duration for you; if you prefer, you can type these values yourself.

To enter MIDI Note information manually (MIDI Note is selected in the Source drop-down list), enter the MIDI channel number and the MIDI note number into the corresponding text boxes. Specify how hard the note should be struck by entering a value between 0—127 (0 being the softest, 127 the loudest) in the Velocity text boxes. Change the Duration value if you want to change the length of the metronome click sound. Enter the note length in terms of the percentage of the beat. For example, if a quarter note is a beat and you want the click to be 1/2 the length of the beat (in other words, an eighth note), type 50 (for 50%) into the Duration text box. When MIDI Data is selected in the Source drop-down list, enter the MIDI channel number for the click, then enter the MIDI status into Status and data byte values into Data1 and Data2. Your MIDI device’s manual should contain the values that you need to enter, depending on the effect you want to achieve.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to your score without making any changes to the dialog box. Click OK to confirm your click and countoff settings and return to the score.

Note: Finale Guitar will always sound a metronome click while playing the countoff measures.

See Also:

Playback Controls

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Click Assignment

How to get there

Click the Lyrics Tool. After creating lyrics with the Edit Lyrics command in the Lyrics Menu, choose Click Assignment from the Lyrics Menu (and then click the note to which you want to begin attaching lyric syllables). (If you’ve created different lyrics types—Verse, Chorus, and Section—the Click Assignment window will display only the most recent lyric type you’ve worked on. Use the Specify Current Lyric command in the Lyrics Menu to specify a different type.)

What it does

The Click Assignment window provides a scrolling display of any lyrics you entered in the Edit Lyrics text processor. Use the lower scroll bar to scroll through the lyrics horizontally (click in the gray area to move one full window to the left or right, and click the arrows to move one syllable at a time). If you entered several sets of lyrics (more than one Verse, Chorus, or Section, for example), use the upper scroll bar to scroll through different sets of the same type. You can move the Click Assignment window by dragging its title bar, and you can close it (and exit the Click Assignment mode) by clicking its close box.

When this window is present, each time you click a note in the score, the lyric at the left edge of the Click Assignment window disappears from the window and attaches itself to the note you clicked. (Your clicks need to be within the staff lines, not necessarily on the noteheads.) If you click within the staff at the position of a note while pressing ctrl, Finale Guitar will automatically distribute all the syllables in the Click Assignment window to the notes in the score, until it runs out of either notes or syllables.

•	Auto Update. If you’re assigning syllables to notes in the score by clicking one note at a time, you can select the Auto Update button to make Finale Guitar redraw the measure after you assign each syllable, widening it if necessary to accommodate the lyrics. (If you don’t select Auto Update, the lyrics may overlap slightly as you’re putting them into the score. To space them correctly, use the Music Spacing command.)

•	[Four positioning triangles]. When the Click Assignment window appears, four triangles also appear, at the left edge of the screen. These triangles are handles that control the baseline for the lyrics (the invisible line against which the bottoms of the letters align).

Dragging the leftmost triangle up or down moves the baseline for this set of lyrics vertically, affecting the entire piece. The second triangle sets the baseline for this set of lyrics for this staff only. The third triangle, whose effect is only visible in Page View, sets the baseline for this staff in this system only (which can be useful if, for example, you have a vocal passage of very low notes requiring that the lyrics be moved down a little bit to make room). The rightmost triangle sets the baseline for the next syllable you assign if you’re "clicking in" one syllable at a time or for the next syllable you enter using Type Into Score.

Tip: To attach all the lyrics at once, hold down the Ctrl key as you click on the first note.

See Also:

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Color

How to get there

From the View Menu, choose Display Colors then click on any button.

What it does

Use this dialog box to select a color.

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Composite Time Signature

How to get there

Click the Time Signature Tool, and click the measure in which you want to change the meter. The Time Signature dialog box appears. Click Composite. Or, click the Options button and select the Composite button in the expanded options section of the Time Signature dialog box.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to create complex time signatures.

•	Beat Groups: _ + _ + _ + _ + _ . Enter up to five numbers that you want to appear as the upper half of the composite time signature, specifying the number of beats per measure. Finale Guitar treats each number and its corresponding Beat Duration as a separate component of the composite time signature. You can use + signs between numbers within a text box if you need time signatures such as 3+2+2 over 8 You can also use decimals, such as .75.

•	Beat Duration: _ + _ + _ + _ + _ . Enter up to five numbers you want to appear as the lower half of a composite time signature. These numbers specify the rhythmic value of the beats in the measure. Each number appears below its corresponding Beat Group number. You can use + signs between numbers within the Beat duration text box.

•	OK • Cancel • Clear. Click OK to save new settings and return to the score, or click Cancel to cancel any changes you made to the settings. Click Clear to remove the current composite time signature settings.

See Also:

Time Signature

Time Signature Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Copy Measures

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool (and make sure Select Partial Measures isn’t selected in the Edit Menu), and select a region of measures. Drag the first selected measure so that it’s superimposed on the first target (destination) measure, or Ctrl -shift-click the target measure (as long as the target measure isn’t directly above or below the selected measure).

What it does

When you copy music, Finale Guitar offers you the chance to create multiple copies, placed one after another. For example, if you want a one-measure bass figure to repeat three times, you need only enter it once (in the first measure); then you can use the Mass Edit Tool to copy it into the second measure. This dialog box appears, asking how many times you want it copied; enter 3 and click OK. Finale Guitar will copy the selected measure into measures 2, 3, and 4.

•	How many times? In this text box, enter the number of times you want the selected music copied. If you enter a number higher than 1, Finale Guitar will place the additional copies after the first copy, on the same set of staves.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to proceed with, or Cancel to abort, the copying process. You return to the score.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Copy MIDI Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool, and select a region of measures. Drag the selected region so that it’s superimposed on the first target (destination) measure, or ctrl-shift-click the target measure (as long as the target measures aren’t directly above or below the selected measures).

What it does

When you copy MIDI data, Finale Guitar offers you the chance to create multiple copies, placed one after another. For example, if you want the same accents (key velocity information) from one-measure to extend for an eight measure passage (repeat seven more times), you need only enter it once (in the first measure); then you can use the MIDI Tool to copy it into the second measure (make sure that Key Velocities is selected in the MIDI Tool Menu). The Copy MIDI Data dialog box appears, asking how many times you want it copied. If you enter 7 and click OK, Finale Guitar will copy the selected measure into the next seven measures.

•	How Many Times?. In this text box, enter the number of times you want the selected MIDI data copied. If you enter a number higher than 1, Finale Guitar will place the additional copies after the first copy, on the same set of staves.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to proceed with, or Cancel to abort, the copying process. You return to the score.

See Also:

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Cut Measures

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of music. Choose Cut from the Edit Menu.

What it does

When you indicate that you want to delete some music, Finale Guitar can remove either the music alone from the specified region (leaving behind empty measures) or the measures themselves (removing the measures from the piece completely). This dialog box lets you specify whether or not Finale Guitar should remove the measures from the piece.

•	Clear. Select Clear if you want to remove music from the score, leaving behind only rests. (You can undo this action by choosing Undo from the Edit Menu.)

•	Delete. Select Delete if you want to remove the selected material from the score completely, shifting the following music to the left to fill in the gap. You end up with fewer measures in the score, and Finale Guitar rebars the music as necessary. Important: If full measures have been selected, Finale Guitar will remove the music from every staff in the score, even if you only selected the measures in one staff. (You can undo this action by choosing Undo from the Edit Menu.)

•	 OK • Cancel. Click OK or press enter to execute the selected option. Click Cancel if you decide not to remove any music. You return to the score. (If you chose Cut from the Edit Menu, the measures you selected are still copied to the Clipboard, just as though you’d copied them).

Tip: if you want to recover deleted measures, choose Undo from the Edit Menu

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Cut Music

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of music. Choose Cut from the Edit Menu.

What it does

When you indicate that you want to delete some music, Finale Guitar can remove either the music alone from the specified region (leaving behind empty measures) or the measures themselves (removing the measures from the piece completely). This dialog box lets you specify whether or not Finale Guitar should remove the measures from the piece.

•	Clear. Select Clear if you want to remove music from the score, leaving behind only rests. (You can undo this action by choosing Undo from the Edit Menu.)

•	Delete. Select Delete if you want to remove the selected material from the score completely, shifting the following music to the left to fill in the gap. You end up with fewer beats or measures in the score, and Finale Guitar rebars the music as necessary. Important: If full measures have been selected, Finale Guitar will remove the music from every staff in the score, even if you only selected the measures in one staff. (You can undo this action by choosing Undo from the Edit Menu.)

•	 OK • Cancel. Click OK or press enter to execute the selected option. Click Cancel if you decide not to remove any music. You return to the score. (If you chose Cut from the Edit Menu, the measures you selected are still copied to the Clipboard, just as though you’d copied them).

Tip: if you want to recover deleted music or measures, choose Undo from the Edit Menu

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Default Tuplet Visual Definition

How to get there

Ctrl-click the Tuplet Tool to display the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box.

What it does

When you create a new tuplet, Finale Guitar usually places a number over it (such as the 3 above a triplet). In this dialog box, you can change the default tuplet notation; for example, you could tell Finale Guitar to display a slur or bracket in addition to the number. Thereafter, each new tuplet you create will appear with all of these visual aspects already in place.

•	Number: Nothing • Number • Ratio. Use this drop-down list to specify whether Finale Guitar should place a number, a ratio, or no mark on a tuplet.

•	Shape: Nothing • Slur • Bracket. Use the Shape drop-down list to display the tuplet with no shape appearing over it, or with a slur or bracket. Tuplets with slurs actually use slurs (with tapered ends), unless the slur is "broken" (Break Slur or Bracket is selected) in which case Finale Guitar uses curves (with non-tapered ends).

•	Placement: Manual • Beam Side. When Manual is selected in this drop-down list, Finale Guitar uses the settings from the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box to position the tuplet on the notes in the score. Drag to reposition the tuplet in the score. When Beam Side is selected and you create a tuplet on beamed notes, Finale Guitar automatically places the tuplet on the beam side and matches the beam angle. If Beam Side is selected and you create a tuplet on unbeamed notes, Finale Guitar places the tuplet using the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box settings. You can then drag to adjust the tuplet in your score.

•	Break Slur or Bracket. If you’ve chosen a slur as the shape for the tuplet, then select Break Slur or Bracket, to have Finale Guitar break a slur or bracket to allow for a number to be placed there.

•	Allow Horizontal Drag. Select this option if you’d like to be able to drag the tuplet bracket and number to a custom horizontal position.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the default tuplet appearance you’ve created. You return to the score.

See Also:

Tuplet Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Delete Blank Pages

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. Choose Delete Blank Pages from the Page Layout Menu.

What it does

This dialog box provides a quick, easy way for you to remove blank pages, not only from the end of your score, but from any point in your document. Blank pages contain no music. When you delete blank pages, items such as titles or text blocks that were assigned to that particular page will also be deleted.

•	From Page ___ Through ___ • From Page ___Through End of Piece. Specify the range of page numbers for the blank pages you want removed from your score. The first page number defaults to the current page. To remove every blank page in your score, select From Page ___ Through End of Piece and enter the number "1" in the text box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to delete blank pages from the score, or click Cancel to return to the score without deleting blank pages.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Document Options

How to get there

Choose Document Options from the Document Settings submenu of the Options Menu.

What it does

This dialog box contains many options governing the way Finale Guitar operates as you work. Most have to do with the way it displays your music (such as Courtesy Clefs).

•	Beam Eighth Notes in Groups of Four in Common Time. Deselect this option to have eighth notes beamed in groups of 2 when in common time. Otherwise, Finale Guitar will beam eighth notes in groups of four when in common time.

•	Include Rests when Beaming in Groups of Four. Select this option to include any rests between eighth notes when the above option is selected.

•	Beam Three Eighth Notes Together Before An Eighth Rest.  Select this option to beam three eighth notes together as opposed to two when there is a rest in the first or last position of the group of 4 eighth notes.

•	Left Barlines; Display on Single Staves • Display on Multiple Staves. You can control whether Finale Guitar draws the left barline on a single staff, or on all staves in each staff system in the piece. Select the Single Staves option to have Finale Guitar draw barlines in each staff system that contains only a single staff, such as a solo line. If this is not selected, left barlines will not display on a single staff no matter which left barline style is selected. Select the Multiple Staves option to draw the left barline in staff systems that contain two or more staves, such as a piano part. If you want Finale Guitar to display every left barline on every staff system, select both checkboxes. Deselect both options if you want to hide every left bar-line on every staff system.

•	From Previous Measure. Select this option to have Finale Guitar duplicate the final barline from the end of each staff system at the beginning of the following staff system.

•	Display Courtesy Key Signature at End of Staff System • Display Courtesy Time Signature at End of Staff System • Display Courtesy Clef at End of Staff System. If a clef, key, or time signature change occurs at the end of a line (system) of music, it’s traditional to forewarn the musician by displaying the incoming clef, key or time signature at the rightmost end of the preceding system. If you want this "courtesy" clef, key or time signature to appear, select the appropriate checkbox here. If not, leave these checkboxes unselected, and the new clef, key or time signature will only appear at the beginning of the new line.

•	Display Clef Only on First Staff System • Display Key Signature Only on First Staff System. These controls will help you notate lead sheets quickly and easily. When selected, Finale Guitar displays the clef and key signature on the first staff system of each page only.

•	Cancel Outgoing Key Signature. If the key is changing from a "sharp" key to one with fewer sharps, or a "flat" key to one with fewer flats, select this option if you want Finale Guitar to display "canceling" naturals in the courtesy key signature for any sharps (or flats) that are no longer sharped (or flatted) in the new key signature. Otherwise, no naturals will appear in the courtesy key signature.

•	Always Slash Flagged Grace Notes. It’s customary to place a small diagonal slash through the flag of any grace note that’s not beamed to other notes. Select this option if you want the slash to appear on all unbeamed grace notes. If this option is on, the Simple Entry and Speedy Entry Tools will only toggle between slashed grace and full note. If this option is off, you can slash grace notes on an individual basis with the Simple Entry Tool or the Speedy Entry Tool.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the changes you’ve made in this dialog box; you return to the score.

See Also:

Document Settings

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Edit Lyrics

How to get there

Click the Lyrics Tool, and choose Edit Lyrics from the Lyrics Menu.

What it does

The Edit Lyrics window is one of the two ways you can enter lyrics (the other way is to use the Type Into Score feature; see Lyrics Menu). Within this window, you can also create variations in the main font (which you’ve specified with the Select Default Fonts command in the Options Menu)—for example, you can italicize a phrase within the lyrics. If you’ve copied lyrics from an external word processor, you can paste them directly into the Edit Lyrics window by pressing ctrl-V.

 The Edit and Text menus are available when the window appears so you can copy and paste text, change fonts and styles, and carry out other editing tasks. Note that only the Text Menu commands that affect the display of text characters are available for lyrics; the Line Spacing and Edit Page Offset commands as well as the commands in the Inserts and Justification submenus are not available.

Once you’ve put these lyrics into the score by using the Click Assignment command, the lyrics in the score are dynamically linked to the lyrics in the Edit Lyrics Window. Change a word in the Edit Lyrics window and it’s also changed in the score; delete it, and all the syllables in the score slide to the left to close up the gap. (Bear in mind that the same process works in reverse when you use the Type Into Score feature to edit your lyrics in the score: any word deleted from the score is also deleted from the Edit Lyrics window—but not when you erase lyrics from the score using the Mass Edit Tool or the Adjust Syllables feature. In those cases, you’re just removing lyrics from the score, but they remain in the Edit Lyrics window.)

You can cut, copy, and paste lyrics from one place to another within a single screenful of Edit Lyrics lyrics, as well as from one set of lyrics to another. To cut or copy, select the text by dragging the cursor through it. Then press ctrl-X to cut it (and place a copy on the Clipboard) or ctrl-C to copy it. To paste the cut or copied text, click at the location where you want the lyrics to appear and press ctrl-V.

•	Lyric: Verse • Chorus • Section • ___. Use this drop-down list to choose what type of lyric you want to create or edit. Enter the verse number, or use the up and down arrows to switch to different verses, choruses or sections.

The three types of lyrics (Verse, Chorus, and Section) are technically identical as far as Finale Guitar is concerned. They’re only there to help you keep your lyrics straight, and to make it easy to change the font or style for a large chunk of lyrics at once (you can specify a different font for Verses, Choruses, and Sections by choosing Select Default Fonts from the Options Menu).

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK if you want Finale Guitar to store the lyrics or modifications you’ve created, and assign a number to any new sets you entered. You return to the score. Click Cancel if you want Finale Guitar to ignore any text you’ve entered or changes you’ve made while in the Edit Lyrics window. You return to the score.

See Also:

Text Menu

Edit Menu

Lyrics Menu

Lyrics Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Edit Text limited

How to get there

To edit a staff name: Click the Staff Tool. Click a staff handle, then choose Edit Staff Attributes from the Staff Menu. Click Edit next to the full or abbreviated staff name in the Staff Attributes dialog box. (Or, ctrl-click a staff name handle on-screen.)

To edit a group name: Click the Staff Tool. Click a group handle, then choose Edit Group Attributes from the Staff Menu. Click Edit next to the full or abbreviated group name in the Group Attributes dialog box. (Or, ctrl-click a group handle on-screen.)

Note: You can also edit lyrics using Finale Guitar’s text editing window. See Edit Lyrics window.

What it does

The Edit Text window displays text in the same fonts and styles that will appear on the screen and on printout. A rectangle around a portion of text indicates an insert command was used to display the date, composer, or similar text items (see Text Menu/Inserts for a complete list of inserts). The Edit and Text menus are available when the window appears so you can copy and paste text, change fonts and styles, and carry out other editing tasks. Note that text always appears left-justified within the display area and the commands in the Justification submenu are not available from the Text Menu when the Edit Text window is displayed; to change the justification of the text, change the justification of staff and group names in the Position Staff Name and Position Group Name dialog boxes. For details, see Text Menu and Edit Menu

•	Editing: [Item Type] • ID [ID #]. These settings identify the text block you’re currently editing. The type of text block being edited—full or abbreviated staff name, group name, or block of text—appears first (Item Type). The text’s Finale Guitar-assigned ID number also appears.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing the settings.

Note: You can also edit lyrics using Finale Guitar’s text editing window.

See Also:

Text Menu

Edit Menu

Lyrics Tool

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Edit MIDI Modifiers

How to get there

Click the Speedy Tool. From the Speedy Menu, choose Speedy Options. Click Create Key Map or Edit Key Map.

What it does

The Edit MIDI Modifiers dialog box allows you to use MIDI keys (such as keys on your MIDI keyboard, notes played on a MIDI guitar, or a sustain pedal) to set the duration of a note, navigate the score and other commands.

•	Modifier Set Name. Enter a name for this definition of MIDI notes to use.

•	Modifier Assignments: Note Durations • Listen. Enter a MIDI code to use that duration. Or, click the Listen button and play the note on the MIDI device.

•	Modifier Assignments: Dot • Listen. Enter a MIDI code to add a dot. Or, click the Listen button and play the note on the MIDI device.

•	Modifier Assignments: Triangle Left• Listen. Enter a MIDI code to move the cursor forward one note or rest. Or, click the Listen button and play the note on the MIDI device.

•	Modifier Assignments: Triangle Right• Listen. Enter a MIDI code to move the cursor backward one note or rest. Or, click the Listen button and play the note on the MIDI device.

•	Modifier Assignments: Enter• Listen. Enter a MIDI code to add a note to a chord or turn a note into a rest. Or, click the Listen button and play the note on the MIDI device.

•	Modifier Assignments: Tied Notes• Listen. Enter a MIDI code to tie to the next note. Or, click the Listen button and play the note on the MIDI device.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your Key Map edits and return to the Speedy Options dialog box.

See Also:

Speedy Options

Speedy Entry Menu

Speedy Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Edit MIDI Note

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a note handle in the MIDI Tool split-window and choose Edit MIDI Note from the MIDI Tool Menu or double-click a note handle in the MIDI Tool split-window.

What it does

This dialog box simply provides a convenient way to edit the Start and Stop Times and Key Velocity of a note in one place.

•	MIDI Note Number. This text tells you the MIDI Note Number of the selected note.

•	Start Time • Stop Time. Enter the Start Time and Stop Time for the selected note.

•	Velocity. Enter the Key Velocity for the selected note.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Ending Repeat Bar Assignment

How to get there

Click the Repeat Tool, and click a measure. The Repeat Selection dialog box appears. Double-click the rightmost repeat barline icon (the Multiple Ending repeat bracket). If the measure already has a repeat bracket, click in the measure once, then double-click the handle of the repeat bracket.

What it does

The Multiple Ending Repeat bracket is the only one of Finale Guitar’s functional graphic repeats which makes playback jump to a specified measure when the playback reaches the beginning of the measure. This characteristic makes it ideal for the beginning of a first ending, for example. Don’t let the appearance of this barline’s bracket (it’s open at the right end) confuse you; though it appears to be a "first ending" bracket, it’s also very useful as a second ending (you can always change the bracket’s shape once it’s in the score). In this dialog box, you can specify various elements of behavior and appearance in the score.

•	Ending Text (Optional). Any text you enter here will appear under the bracket when the bracket appears in the score. If you don’t type anything, Finale Guitar will automatically use the number in the Total Passes (or Multiple Total Passes) text box. If you want to combine the Total Passes number with other text (for example, "4th time only"), use the number sign (#, which you create by typing shift-3) as a stand-in for the Total Passes number (for example, "#th time only").

•	Target Measure. In this text box, enter the number of the measure to which you want the playback to jump (when it reaches this repeat bracket). You’ll usually want the music to jump to a later measure in the score, but you can enter any measure’s number here. If you leave zero in this text box, the repeat won’t have any playback function at all.

•	Total Passes. The number in this text box tells Finale Guitar how many times to play the bracketed measure instead of jumping. If you’re creating a first ending, for example, the Total Passes would be 1; on subsequent passes, Finale Guitar will direct playback to the Target Measure (which could be, for example, a second ending).

•	Individual Positioning. If your piece contains more than one staff, Finale Guitar will place an identical ending-repeat bracket in each staff; all brackets will be affected when you resize or alter any one. If you want each bracket to be independently resizable and movable, select Individual Positioning.

•	Jump if Ignoring Repeats. Select this option on any repeat that you want taken unconditionally if Finale Guitar is ignoring repeats. For example, you could set this at the beginning of a first ending repeat.

•	Relative Jump. Select this option to indicate that Finale Guitar should add the number in the Target Measure text box to the current measure number to find the jump location, rather than treat the Target Measure number as an absolute measure number. Enter a negative number in the Target Measure text box for the number of measure you want Finale Guitar to jump back, and a positive number for the number of measures to jump forward. For example, if this option is selected and there’s a value of -8 in the Target Measure text box, Finale Guitar will jump back 8 measures from the current location. Check this box if you are saving SmartMusic accompaniments and have a repeat that points back to the beginning of the piece.

•	Multiple. Click the Multiple checkbox to enter the Multiple Total Passes for Ending dialog box, where you can, in effect, specify more than one Total Passes value; in the text boxes, enter the numbers corresponding to the passes when you want the bracketed measure played. See Multiple Total Passes for Ending dialog box.

There may be situations where you want Finale Guitar to play an ending several times. For example, if this is a "1, 3, 5." ending, you’d want Finale Guitar to play the bracketed measure the first, third, and fifth times through, and you’d want the playback to jump to the Target Measure the second and fourth times through.

When you click OK and return to the Ending Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box, the Multiple checkbox is selected and the Total Passes text box is ignored.

Provided you didn’t type anything into the Ending Text text box, Finale Guitar will automatically put the appropriate numbers—separated by commas—under the bracket when it appears in the score. In the example above, "1, 3, 5" would appear under the bracket.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score, where the new (or edited) repeat barline appears. Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to ignore any changes you made in this dialog box and return you to the score.

See Also:

Repeat Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Erase Layer

How to get there

This alert appears if you choose Move Layers from the Mass Edit Menu, then set up the options so that you'd be copying over music that already exists.

Tip: If you do remove music that you wanted to keep, choose Undo from the Edit Menu.

What it does

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures. Choose Move Layers from the Mass Edit Menu. In the dialog box, specify that one layer’s contents be placed into a layer that already contains notes. Click OK.

See Also:

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Export MIDI File Options

How to get there

Choose Export MIDI File Options from the MIDI Menu.

Or,

Choose Save As from the File Menu. Enter a title and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Click OK.

Also, when you save a MIDI File from the Playback Controls, the MIDI File Options dialog box appears when you click OK.

What it does

You can save any document into several formats. This file format, known as a standard MIDI File, enables your document to be shared with other music programs (primarily sequencers), most of which can read this kind of file.

In this dialog box, Finale Guitar asks you which kind of MIDI file you want to create; most sequencers can read any of these formats.

The MIDI File Options dialog box also lets you save bookmarks as markers when you create a MIDI file.

•	MIDI File Type: Format 1. Click this button to create a Format 1 MIDI file—by far the most widely used format, which contains multiple tracks. In Finale Guitar, every Instrument is placed in its own track; remember that each element of each staff (Layer 1–4, Chords, and Expressions) can have its own Instrument assignment. Remember, too, that unless you’ve given each of these elements its own Instrument, the resultant MIDI file won’t have multiple tracks. For a discussion of Instruments, see Instrument List.

•	MIDI File Type: Format 0. In this MIDI file format, all of the music is placed in a single track, separated only by MIDI channel. In Finale Guitar, however, two staves can only have different MIDI channel assignments if they also have different Instrument assignments. So, again, for the purposes of this file format, make sure you’ve assigned a different Instrument to every element (Layer 1–4, Chords, Expressions) you want assigned to its own MIDI channel.

•	MIDI File Type: Tempo Map. Certain advanced sequencer programs allow you to import a tempo map of a piece—that is, a separate file consisting entirely of the ritards, accelerandi, and other tempo fluctuations in a piece. Click this button to create a Tempo Map MIDI file from your document.

•	Don’t show this during File Save As. Select this option if you wish to use the current settings in the Export MIDI File options next time you save a MIDI file in Finale Guitar. The Export MIDI File Options dialog box will not be displayed when you save a MIIDI file, only when Export MIDI File Options is selected from the MIDI Menu.  Deselect this checkbox to again display the Export MIDI File Options dialog box when saving MIDI files.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to return to the score without creating a MIDI file.

See Also:

Instrument List

MIDI Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Extract Parts

How to get there

Open the document from which you’ll be extracting parts. Choose Extract Parts from the File Menu.

What it does

The Extract Parts command places each part in its own separate Finale Guitar document that you can view and edit before printing.

In this dialog box, you can specify which parts you want extracted, tell Finale Guitar which staves or groups to be extracted (so that both staves of a keyboard part will be extracted together, for example), so that you can let Finale Guitar perform the part extraction unattended.

This dialog box also provides convenient access to the Page Format for Parts dialog box.

•	Staves • Groups. The Staves list contains the name of each staff in the score, and the Group list contains the name or number of each group. Use the scroll bar to display all staves in the score. Click to select a single staff in the Staves list. Shift-click to select all staves between the currently selected staves and the staff you shift-click. Ctrl-click to select an additional single staff from anywhere in the list, or ctrl-click a selected staff to remove a single staff from the selection. After selecting staves to extract, select any groups you want to extract at the same time. Finale Guitar will extract each selected staff and group, and create a separate document for the extracted part.

•	Music Layout: Fit ___ Measures Per System • Treat Multi-Measure Rests as One Measure. If you want the same number of measures across each system for the entire piece, select this option and enter a number in the text box. Enter the number of measures to spread across each staff system in the extracted parts. You may optionally treat multi-measure rests as one measure (when checked) or count each measure inside the multi-measure rest individually (when unchecked.)

•	Music Layout: Space Systems Evenly. Select this option to have Finale Guitar space the systems evenly across the page in the extracted parts.

•	Music Layout: Preserve Current Spacing • Apply Beat Spacing • Apply Note Spacing. Click one of the music spacing options to space and lay out each part according to your selection. Choose Preserve Current Spacing to keep the same spacing in the extracted parts as currently appears in the score. Choose Apply Beat Spacing to position each beat in the measure according to the total duration of its notes. Choose Apply Note Spacing to position each note based on its duration.

•	File Names: Generate Names From • Prompt for Each Name  Finale Guitar needs to know what to call each document it creates for an extracted part. If you want Finale Guitar to automatically extract parts and create a file name for each document without intervention on your part, select Generate Names From and enter the folder in the text box, followed by any variables you would like to use in naming you parts. The variables are detailed in the table below.

Variable	Represents	Example
%s	Staff name or group name	"Flute I" or "Piano" or "Strings"
%n	Staff index (score order)	"001"
The default is [filename] - %s, which using the examples in the table would give you extracted parts with file names like "Pastorale-Flute I.mus," "Pastorale-Piano.mus," and "Pastorale-Strings.mus," depending on what parts you selected for extraction.

Using %n in your file name can help searching and opening files in List boxes. Using %n %s would give you "001 Flute.mus," "002 Oboe.mus," "003 Clarinet.mus," and so on in the order of the score. Thus your files are listed in score order instead of alphabetically according to staff or group name.

Select Prompt for Each Name if you want Finale Guitar to ask you for a file name each time a document is created.

•	Page Format. Click this button to access the Page Format for Parts dialog box where you define page layout settings for the extracted parts.

For more information, see Page Format for Parts dialog box

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your parts extraction settings, or click Cancel to return to the score without changing any settings.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


File Info

How to get there

Choose File Info in the File Menu to display the File Info dialog box.

What it does

Finale Guitar supplies a quick, convenient way to add notes about your document, such as reminders to yourself or to the person (or publishing-house) where you’re sending the file. The File Information dialog box has plenty of room for you to enter the title of the piece, the composer’s name, copyright information, and a document description. You can type any file-specific information that you may want to refer to later on. If you’re sending the file to a publisher, for example, you might use the file description area to communicate information about the fonts that were used in the file.

Below the document description you can enter the initials of the file’s creator and modifier. Finale Guitar automatically provides the creation and modification dates, the name of the application (Finale Guitar), the platform (Macintosh or Windows) that created the file, and the application version number. See Text Menu.

•	Title • Composer • Copyright • Description • Created • Modified. Enter text in these text boxes to help manage your documents, and allow you to use the Text Inserts in the Text Tool to easily place these items into your score, or automatically with the use of file templates.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to use the information entered and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score ignoring any changes that were made.

Tip: Hold the Alt key and type 0169 on the Number pad to create a © character

See Also:

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


File Integrity Test Results

How to get there

Open a file with inconsistencies that was origionally saved in Finale 2001. From the Options Menu, choose Data Check, then Test File Integrity.

What it does

Finale 2001 created files that were approximately one-third the size of files created with previous versions of Finale. This new capability, unfortunately, introduced a problem in which a small percentage of files are damaged when saved in the original release of Finale 2001. The symptom of this problem is that the last nine (or fewer) notes or rests that were entered before the file was saved AND closed will be missing when the file is reopened.

When a corrupt Finale 2001 file is opened in Finale Guitar, futher damage is prevented. While Finale Guitar will completely prevent the problem from occurring in new files, files previously saved in Finale 2001 may already be damaged. The File Integrity Utility will examine the file for inconsistencies and try to repair the file.

Files last saved in Finale 2001 will automatically be tested for file integrity and corrected when opened in Finale Guitar. Files created before Finale 2001 and last saved in Finale 2001a or later will ask if you wish to test file integrity. Once the file has been tested for file integrity and saved, you won't be prompted on that file again. Other files may benefit from the Test File Integrity utility.

The Test File Integrity dialog box displays a message stating whether it found inconsistencies in the file. Click on Details to display the types of items that were repaired in your score.

•	Unused Entries. The utility removed notes or rests found in the file but not used. This is similar to Remove Deleted Items or emptying the Recycle Bin. Unused entries, without any repaired items, do not indicate a damaged file.

•	Orphaned Entry Details. The utility removed items attached to notes or rests found in the file but not used, such as articulations that were attached to notes you erased. This is similar to Remove Deleted Items or emptying the Recycle Bin. Orphaned Entry Details, without any repaired items, do not indicate a damaged file.

•	Repaired Entries. The utility repaired notes or rests that referenced a corrupted note or rest. We recommend you check your file for missing notes or rests.

•	Repaired Frames. The utility repaired groups of notes that referenced a corrupted note or rest. We recommend you check your file for missing notes or rests.

•	Repaired Frame Attachments. The utility repaired frames (one layer of a measure) that referenced a corrupted note or rest. We recommend you check your file for missing notes or rests.

•	Missing Measures. The utility repaired gaps in the sequence of measures.

•	Repaired Staff Optimization Lists. The utility repaired errors in optimization data.

•	Unnecessary Measure Expressions Removed. The utility found and deleted empty measure expression assignments.

•	List of possible error locations. If the utility can determine the location, it will provide a list of locations of missing notes or rests.

•	OK. Click OK to return to the score.

See Also:

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Filter Channels

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. In the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box, click the topmost unassigned row of track information; the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box appears. Enter the numbers of the tracks from which you want to select ranges of notes to be transcribed in the text boxes at the top of the window; click Filter.

What it does

The Track/Channel Mapping dialog box offers you a great deal of control over the way in which your sequencer-file tracks are transformed into Finale Guitar staves. You can tell Finale Guitar to create up to eight staves out of a single sequencer track, to create one Finale Guitar staff from up to four sequencer tracks, and so on.

You can think of the Filter split option as the inverse of the Fixed, Multiple, and other split options. Where these other functions serve to split the notes on the tracks you’ve specified into separate staves, the Filter function lets you combine selected notes from several different sequencer tracks onto a single Finale Guitar staff.

In the Filter Channels dialog box, you specify the ranges of the notes from each of up to four tracks you want Finale Guitar to transcribe onto a single staff. Note, however, that the Filter function has no meaning if you haven’t specified at least one track by entering its number in one of the text boxes at the top of the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box. If you click Filter without having specified a track, Finale Guitar will display an alert message.

•	Track/Channel (#):(#). There are up to four of these indicators, which identify the track and MIDI channel number pairs you entered at the top of the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box.

•	Key Range: Low • High • Listen. In each pair of these text boxes, you enter a low and a high key number; in this way, you can specify up to four registers, one from each of the four track/channel combinations identified by the Track/Channel (#):(#) indicators. Finale Guitar will transcribe only the notes within each of these registers onto a single staff in the resulting transcription.

Middle C is key number 60, and keys are numbered sequentially from left to right on the keyboard. (You can even enter a Low key number that’s higher than the High number; Finale Guitar will include in the transcription all notes except those in the register you’ve just outlined.) Note, however, that you don’t have to calculate the key numbers and type them in manually—you can play them instead.

•	Listen. Click the Listen button beside each pair of text boxes, and play each note—the lowest, then the highest note in the range; Finale Guitar enters their key numbers in the text boxes automatically.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your specifications of note Filter settings and return to the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box.

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

Import MIDI File Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Finale Guitar Registration

Use this dialog box to personalize your copy of Finale Guitar. This information will then appear in the About Finale Guitar dialog box.

This dialog box will appear any time the program is launched and not registered. To view your registration information, go under the Help Menu to About Finale Guitar.

See Also:

Help Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Fit Music

How to get there

In Page View, click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of full measures. From the Mass Edit Menu, choose Fit Music. Or click the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Fit Music.

What it does

Using this powerful page-layout command, you can force Finale Guitar to place a group of selected measures onto one line (staff system) on the page. Or you can select a larger region of measures, and tell Finale Guitar to place them in groups of 4 (or any other number) per line. The Fit Music command also allows you to lock the measure grouping and the contents.

•	Lock Layout with ___ Measures per System • Treat Multi-Measure Rests as One Measure. The Measures per System option lets you specify how many measures per line you want for the region you’ve selected. You may optionally treat multimeasure rests as one measure (when checked) or count each measure inside the multi-measure rest individually (when unchecked.)

•	Lock Selected Measures into One System. Click this option if you want Finale Guitar to place all the selected measures into the same line of music (system).

Both of these options work by placing the selected measures into locked configurations. When the measures are locked, a lock icon will appear next to the system. See the View Menu for more information about displaying or hiding these non-printing lock icons. (For more on measure groups, see Installation & Tutorials.)

•	Remove System Locks. Click this option to remove all locked measures for the selected systems. This will allow Finale Guitar to move measures to different systems when updating your layout.

•	Change: Whole Document • Measure ___ thru ___ . Click on the Whole Document radio button to lock every system in the score. Click on Measure ___ thru __ to lock only the measures entered in the text boxes.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your measure-layout settings and return to the score. If you clicked OK, Finale Guitar performs the measure-layout action and automatically chooses Update Layout from the Edit Menu. If you are displaying System Locks, you’re changed systems will now display them. See View Menu.

To undo measure groups you’ve created in this way, choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu while pressing shift or press U in the Mass Edit Tool after selecting individual systems. See Mass Edit Tool for more details.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Fixed Split

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-To-Staff List radio button. In the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box, click the top unassigned row of track/channel mapping information. In the text boxes at the top of the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box, enter the track numbers and MIDI channel numbers of the "tracks" you want to split. Click Fixed.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can specify up to four split points for the music in the sequencer track (or tracks) you’ve specified for transcription. In each pair of text boxes, you specify a range of notes you want to appear in a separate staff. You could, for example, include only the notes in the flute’s register to place in one staff; only the notes in the bass’s register to put in another, and so on. You can even specify overlapping split ranges so that some notes are transcribed more than once.

•	Key Range: Low • High. In each pair of Low/High text boxes, enter a low and a high key number, where middle C is key number 60, and the numbers increase sequentially as you move from left to right on the keyboard. The notes to which these synthesizer key numbers refer—and all notes in between—will be split into their own staff.

Note that you don’t have to calculate the key numbers and type them in manually. Click the Listen button (see below) beside each pair of text boxes, and play each note—the lowest, then the highest note in the range; Finale Guitar enters their key numbers in the text boxes automatically.

You can split the notes of the track (or tracks) you’ve indicated into as many as four separate staves this way. These staves will appear in the same top-to-bottom order as these pairs of text boxes.

•	Listen. When you click this button, Finale Guitar goes into "listen" mode, waiting for a MIDI signal. (A message to this effect appears on the screen.) Simply play the desired note on your external MIDI device; Finale Guitar enters the appropriate key number in the active text boxes.

•	Split into ___ Staves. After indicating all the desired ranges of notes in the text boxes (see above), tell Finale Guitar how many resultant staves you want by entering the appropriate number in the Split text box (1 to 4).

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your split points, or Cancel to discard them, and return to the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box. In the Split column for the row you clicked, you’ll see Fixed (if you clicked OK) or None (if you clicked Cancel).

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Fixed Split Point

How to get there

Click the HyperScribe Tool. Choose Split into Two Staves from the Record submenu of the HyperScribe Menu.

What it does

When you’re playing a two-handed keyboard performance into Finale Guitar, it needs some instructions for splitting the incoming music onto separate staves. This option lets you designate a note on your MIDI keyboard as the "split point" pitch. All notes on or above this pitch are transcribed onto the upper staff, and all notes below it are assigned to the lower staff.

•	Split at MIDI Note:. In this text box, you identify a MIDI Note below which all music should be split onto the lower (left-hand) staff. This note is determined by the standard MIDI key numbering system, where keys are numbered sequentially from left to right, and middle C is 60. Instead of figuring out the number to enter here, you may find it easier to use the Listen button (see below).

•	Listen. When you click this button, Finale Guitar goes into "listen" mode, waiting for a MIDI signal. (A message to this effect appears on the screen.) Simply play the desired key on your keyboard; Finale Guitar enters the appropriate key number in the text box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the split point and return to the score. HyperScribe will now correctly split input into two staves. Click Cancel to return to the score

Tip: Middle C=60=C4.

See Also:

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Font

How to get there

This dialog box appears any time you click a Set Font button. You can find a Set Font button in, for example, the Measure Number, Articulation Designer, and Text Expression Designer dialog boxes.

What it does

In this dialog box you can specify a font (typeface), point size, and style for the text element you’re defining. Finale Guitar displays sample text to show the effects of your selection.

•	Font. In this scrolling alphabetical list, Finale Guitar displays every font installed. Click a font name to select it. If any elements in the score use fonts that were present when the document was created or edited, but are no longer installed, then the font name appears in the Font text box but not in the scrolling font list. At the top of the dialog box, Finale Guitar shows you the actual text you’ve typed, if appropriate.

Note that when you’re creating musical elements such as Articulations, Finale Guitar conveniently displays the default music font at the top of the list (usually Maestro) as well as in its normal alphabetical position.

•	Font Style. Choose an appropriate style for the font you are setting. Select Regular, italic, bold or bold italic. You can view the effects of these font style changes in the Sample text box.

•	Size. In this text box, enter the size, in points (72 per inch), for the textual element you’re designing. Each time you enter a number, Finale Guitar updates the sample text display to reflect the change.

•	Effects: Strikeout • Underline. Check as many of these checkboxes as you want; each creates a stylistic change in the font and size you’ve selected as follows: strikeout, and underline.

•	Sample display. This display shows how the font selections you have chosen will look.

•	Script. Some fonts contain a number of different scripts in the same font. You may choose which script to use with this drop-down list.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the font change you’ve specified. You return to the previous dialog box.

Tip: The icon to the left of the font name indicates the type of font: the "T" icon indicates a TrueType font, the "O" icon indicates an OpenType font, and the printer icon indicates a PostScript font.

See Also:

Expression Tool

Lyrics Tool

Text Tool

Select Default Fonts

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Font Multi - state
Font

How to get there

Click on the Text Tool. From the Text Menu, choose Font. This is a three-state dialog box, so that you can change certain character formatting such as the font without changing other formatting such as the font size.

What it does

In this dialog box you can specify a font (typeface), point size, and style for the text element you’re defining. Finale Guitar displays sample text to show the effects of your selection.

•	Font. In this scrolling alphabetical list, Finale Guitar displays every font installed. Click a font name to select it. If any elements in the score use fonts that were present when the document was created or edited, but are no longer installed, then the font name appears in the Font text box but not in the scrolling font list. At the top of the dialog box, Finale Guitar shows you the actual text you’ve typed, if appropriate.

Note that when you’re creating musical elements such as Articulations, Finale Guitar conveniently displays the default music font at the top of the list (usually Maestro) as well as in its normal alphabetical position.

•	Font Style. Choose an appropriate style for the font you are setting. Select Regular, italic, bold or bold italic. You can view the effects of these font style changes in the Sample text box.

•	Size. In this text box, enter the size, in points (72 per inch), for the textual element you’re designing. Each time you enter a number, Finale Guitar updates the sample text display to reflect the change.

•	Effects: Strikeout • Underline. Check as many of these checkboxes as you want; each creates a stylistic change in the font and size you’ve selected as follows: strikeout, and underline.

•	Sample display. This display shows how the font selections you have chosen will look.

•	Script. Some fonts contain a number of different scripts in the same font. You may choose which script to use with this drop-down list.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the font change you’ve specified. You return to the previous dialog box.

Tip: The icon to the left of the font name indicates the type of font: the "T" icon indicates a TrueType font, the "O" icon indicates an OpenType font, and the printer icon indicates a PostScript font.

See Also:

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Frame Attributes

How to get there

Click the Text Tool. Click a text block handle, then choose Attributes from the Text Menu. Or, shift-double-click a text block handle. Or type control-shift-T.

What it does

For measure-assigned text blocks, use the Frame Attributes dialog box to specify the staff and measure to which Finale Guitar should assign the text block; for page-assigned text blocks, specify which pages a text block will appear on, and position the text block vertically and horizontally on the page. The dialog box appears with the settings already selected for measure- or page-assigned text blocks.

•	Attach to: Page: Single Page • All Pages • Page Range • Left Pages • Right Pages; __Through__. Click Page to assign the text block to one or more pages. Choose an item from the drop-down list to have Finale Guitar show the text block on a single page, all pages, a range of pages, left-facing (even-numbered) pages or right-facing (odd-numbered) pages, then specify the range of pages (with the exception of single page and all pages). Enter the numbers of the pages where the text block will appear (you’d select Left Pages, and 6 Through 10 to display the text block on every left page between pp. 6–10, for example). To show the text block on a single page, choose Single Page, then enter the page number in the first text box. To display the text block on the first page through the end of the piece, choose All Pages. To show the text block on every page, starting at page 6, you’d select Page Range and enter 6 Through 0, or enter 6 and leave Through blank.

Note: A text block assigned to a measure will only appear on the page containing that measure, so the page settings aren’t available for measure-assigned text blocks.

•	Attach to: Measure • [Staff names]. Click to assign the text block to a measure. In the Measure text box, enter the measure number you want the text block to be assigned to. From the Staff drop-down list, choose the staff you want associated with the measure-assigned text block. Finale Guitar aligns and positions the text block in relation to this staff.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without updating any positioning for the text block. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score.

Note: The Page options are only available when Attach to: Page is selected.

See Also:

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Fretboard Selection

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool, choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu, then click a note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached. In the Chord Definition dialog box, click on Select in the Fretboard area.

If a note has a chord symbol attached, click the note to make the chord handle appear. Double-click the handle, click on Select in the Fretboard area.

What it does

The Fretboard Selection dialog box displays any fretboards that are available in the document. It allows you to select or delete any of the fretboards.

•	Select. If you have clicked a fretboard in the Fretboard Selection dialog box, click Select to return to the Chord Definition dialog box. Finale Guitar puts the number of the fretboard you selected in the Fretboard ID text box and places the selected fretboard in the score (when you click OK). Double-clicking a fretboard is the same as clicking it once and clicking Select.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the Chord Definition box without having made a fretboard selection.

•	Delete. If you’ve selected a fretboard in the Fretboard Selection box by clicking it once, click Delete to remove it from the selection box. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl -click to select only a specific additional item in the list. If the fretboard is used in the score, the Delete Element dialog box is displayed, where you can specify delete options. See Delete Element dialog box.

•	Move Up • Move Down. Click these buttons to move the selected item or items up or down in the list. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl -click to select only a specific additional item in the list.

•	Copy Fretboards from Another Chord Suffix: Select Suffix. Click on Select Suffix to open the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box, where you can choose to copy fretboards from the selected suffix.

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Resize Fretboards

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool. From the Chord Menu, choose Resize Fretboards.

What it does

The Resize Fretboard dialog box lets you specify how much you want to reduce or enlarge all of your guitar fretboards.

•	Global Fretboard Percent. This text box specifies how much you want to resize all guitar fretboards, expressed as a percentage of the original full size.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score. Click Cancel to disregard any current selections and return to the score.

See Also:

Chord Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Group Attributes

How to get there

To create a new group, click the Staff Tool. Select the handles of staves to include in the group, then choose Add Group and Bracket from the Staff Menu. Or, ctrl -shift-click a handle of one of the selected staves. (Or, with no staves selected, choose Add Group and Bracket from the Staff Menu to set up a group containing all staves in the score.)

To edit an existing group, click the Staff Tool. Click a group handle, then choose Edit Group Attributes from the Staff Menu. Or, double-click a group handle or a bracket handle. (Or, with no handle selected, choose Edit Group Attributes from the Staff Menu.

What it does

In Finale Guitar, groups are created and edited in the Group Attributes dialog box. You can assign a staff to as many groups as you like, and customize how you want barlines and brackets to appear.

•	Staff • Through. These Staff drop-down lists show the names or numbers of the starting and ending staves for the currently displayed group. Choose a staff name or number to specify the starting and ending staves in a group. A group always includes the staves in between the specified staves.

•	Draw Barlines: Only on Staves • Through Staves. Select Only on Staves if you want the barlines drawn only within each staff, without connecting each staff with the barline; select Through Staves to draw one continuous barline passing through all the staves in the group.

•	Bracket Style. When you first enter this dialog box, The solid bracket is selected by default. Click to select the bracket style you want to use for the current group.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing group settings. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score.

Tip: To display more than one bracket on a staff or staves in a group, create additional groups for the staves, then choose a different bracket style for each group.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Hand Width Split

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click Set Track-to-Staff List. In the Track/Channel Mapping for Staves dialog box, click the first row of information you haven’t yet filled in. Click Hand Width.

What it does

This dialog box lets you transcribe the contents of the sequencer tracks you’ve specified into two staves, splitting the notes according to the width of your hands, based on the numbers you enter in this dialog box. The advantage of this method of splitting your performance into right- and left-hand parts (as compared with the Fixed split point option) is that Finale Guitar follows your hands as they move up and down the keyboard, eliminating the need to specify a single, fixed split point—provided there’s always a large enough gap between the hands for Finale Guitar to know which hand is which.

•	Starting Right Hand Position • Starting Left Hand Position • Listen. These text boxes let you tell Finale Guitar where your right and left hands are at the beginning of the track(s) to be transcribed. The numbers are synthesizer key numbers (middle C is key number 60), and they specify the starting position of your leftmost finger of each hand.

Instead of calculating key numbers and entering them in these boxes, just click the Listen button, then play the note or chord that begins the left-hand (or right-hand) part of the track you’re transcribing. Finale Guitar automatically enters the key number into the appropriate text box (in which you’ve clicked the cursor).

•	Hand Width: • Listen. In this text box, enter the widest interval, in half steps, that either hand played during your performance. Instead of calculating the number of half steps, click Listen to MIDI, and play the widest interval. The checkbox is no longer selected, and the Hand Width text box displays the width of the interval.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the hand width settings you’ve just made. You return to the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box.

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

Import MIDI File Options

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


HyperScribe Options

How to get there

Click the HyperScribe Tool. Choose HyperScribe Options from the HyperScribe Menu.

What it does

This dialog box contains some specialized settings to help you get the most accurate possible HyperScribe transcription. For example, you can tell Finale Guitar what MIDI channels to transcribe or whether the program should devote computer power to keeping the screen display up to date. You also have access to global quantization settings by clicking the Quant Settings button.

•	Tie Across Barlines. If you anticipate that you’ll be holding notes (tied over from one measure to another), select this option (so that a check mark appears). If not, leave this option unselected. With this option off, Finale Guitar will never tie notes over barlines.

Hint: If you are having problems getting clean notation using this option, increase Remove Notes Smaller than __ EDUs in the More Quantization Settings dialog box to 60 EDUs. See More Quantization Settings dialog box for more information.

•	Refresh Screen. If you’re playing too many notes, or too quickly, for the computer to keep up with you, de-select Refresh Screen and try the transcription again. By relieving the computer of the task of redrawing the screen, you let it give more of its processing capacity to transcribing your music.

•	Receive On All Channels • Only Channel: ___ . If you’re using HyperScribe to transcribe a sequence being played by an external sequencer, you can specify that only one MIDI channel be transcribed at a time, making it easier for you to transcribe one staff at a time. If that’s the case, select Only Channel, and enter the MIDI Channel number in the text box. Otherwise, select All Channels; HyperScribe will transcribe the music it’s receiving on all MIDI channels.

•	Quant Settings. Click this button to display the Quantization Settings dialog box where you can set you quantization type, smallest duration, and other options. See Quantization Settings dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the changes you’ve made in this dialog box; you return to the score.

Tip: check "Tie across barlines" if you will need notation that uses ties across barlines frequently. Note that you will want to release notes on time at the end of the measure so that an incorrect tie does not appear.

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Insert Measures

How to get there

Click the Measure Tool, click a measure, and choose Insert from the Measure Menu.

What it does

The Insert Measure dialog box lets you specify how many new measure you want inserted before the first measure of the selected region.

•	How Many Measures?. In this text box, enter the number of new measures you want inserted.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to insert the specified measures, or Cancel to leave the number of measures unchanged, and return to the score.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Insert Staff Systems

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Insert Staff Systems.

What it does

Use this dialog box to insert a system or systems into your music while keeping the rest of your systems intact or reflowing measures across systems and pages.

•	Insert __ system(s) with __ measures each. Specify how many systems you want to insert, made up of how many measures.

•	Insert new system(s) before system __. Finale Guitar will insert the new systems before the system number you enter into this text box.

•	 Space systems evenly. Check this box to have Finale Guitar re-calculate evenly spaced systems after inserting the new systems. See Space Systems Evenly dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to insert the system of measures according to your selections. Click Cancel to ignore any changes made in this dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Space Systems Evenly

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Space Systems Evenly.

What it does

The Space Systems Evenly command, which displays this dialog box, lets you specify which pages to space evenly, whether to allow systems to move from one page to another, and when to skip spacing a partially-empty page. Finale Guitar will move the systems so that they are evenly spaced between the top and bottom margins of the page.

•	Space Systems Evenly on: Page _ only • All Pages • Page Range: From __ Through __. Select Page only to space that page only. Click All Pages to space every page in the document. In the Page Range boxes, specify the range of pages you want spaced.

•	Reflow Systems Across Pages. This option determines whether Finale Guitar reflows staff systems into different pages. When this option is selected, Finale Guitar calculates how many staff systems will fit on each page, and moves systems to new pages as needed. If you prefer to maintain the current layout of systems in pages, make sure that this option is not selected.

•	Place_Systems on Each Page. Enter the number of systems you want Finale to place on each

page.

•	Place Maximum Number of Systems on Each Page. Choose this option to tell Finale to

automatically adjust systems from page to page in order to fit each page with the maximum

number of systems while spacing them evenly.

•	Do Not Change the Number of Systems on Each Page. Choose this option to leave the same number of systems on each page and space them evenly.

•	Space Pages More than __% Full. Enter a percentage in the text box to control when Finale Guitar will space systems. When the systems take up less space, Finale Guitar will leave the systems alone, so you don’t end up with two systems and a vast white space between them.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score where any adjustments will affect the selected range of staff systems. Click Cancel to return to the score without making any changes.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Instrument List

How to get there

Choose Instrument List from the Window Menu.

What it does

The Instrument List provides a quick and convenient way to manage the playback of the various staves in your score. For example, you can silence a staff with a single click, or you can "solo" a staff with a click, muting all other staves.

If your MIDI instrument is multi-timbral—capable of playing more than one instrument sound at once—the Instrument List also lets you assign a MIDI channel and patch (program information and optional bank change information which act together to provide an instrument sound) to each staff—and, in fact, to each layer of each staff.

The Instrument List also lets you create Instrument assignments for each staff and each layer of a staff. An Instrument is a MIDI channel/patch setting. For example, you might create an Instrument named Strings which will be mapped to your MIDI keyboard’s channel three, and will have the patch set to change your keyboard to its second bank of sounds and use the Strings program on that bank.

Then, it’s a simple matter to assign each of the string staves in your score to this same Instrument, saving you the trouble of assigning a channel and patch to each staff individually. Instead of mapping multiple staves into one Instrument, you can also do the reverse—map a single staff into multiple Instruments—by setting a staff’s layers to play on different MIDI channels with different patches.

The Instrument List window also affects recording with HyperScribe. Two columns in the Instrument List, R and RChan (R always appears; RChan only appears for multitrack recording), identify which staves or layers of staves Finale Guitar will record into, and from which channels, during HyperScribe recording. These settings appear only when View by Staves is selected.

The Instrument List, by the way, is a standard Finale Guitar floating window. You can move it by dragging the title bar at the top, close it by clicking the control-menu box in the upper-left corner, click the Maximize button in the upper-right corner to make it fill your screen, or make it taller or shorter by dragging the resizable frame. (You can also hide the Instrument List window by choosing its name a second time from the Window Menu.)

•	R. A Record (R) column that specifies which staves or layers will be recorded into, with the HyperScribe Tool, always appears. When the Record column is blank, no staves (or layers) of staves are selected to record into. Click in the R column next to the staff you want Finale Guitar to record into. A black triangle appears in the R column, indicating that Finale Guitar will record into the active layer of that staff.

You can also record into a particular layer of a staff. First expand the staff by clicking the down arrow next to the staff name; Layer 1 through Layer 4 appears. If the staff is selected to record into (a black triangle appears in the R column for the staff name), a small triangle in parentheses indicates the current layer that will be recorded into. If you change the current layer using the Layer Controls in the Document window, the small triangle moves to reflect the current layer that will be recorded into. To specify a particular layer to record into, click in the R column next to the layer of the staff you want Finale Guitar to record into. Note that you cannot record chords or expressions in an expanded staff; Finale Guitar will ignore any clicks in the R column for chords and expressions.

If you’re not multitrack recording (Record into One Staff or Split into Two Staves is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe Menu), you don’t need to use the Instrument List to specify which staff to record into; simply click the staff in the score that you want to record into.

If, however, you prefer to use the Playback Control’s Record button (instead of clicking a measure in the score), then you must use the Instrument List’s R column to indicate the staff or layer to record into. Click in the R column next to the staff or layer you want Finale Guitar to record into. Click on a different staff or layer to select it instead. The triangle moves to the staff or layer you clicked.

If you are multitrack recording (Multitrack Record is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe Menu), click in the R column next to the staff or layer you want Finale Guitar to record into. Click the R column to select additional staves or layers to record into. Click again to remove the triangle (so Finale Guitar won’t record into the staff or layer).

In an expanded staff list, a triangle in parentheses shows the default layer that Finale Guitar will record into. If you specify one or more layers of a staff to record into (for multitrack recording only), a striped triangle will appear in the R column for the staff name to indicate that one or more layers will be recorded into for the staff. The striped triangle also appears in a collapsed list so you can immediately see, without expanding the staff, that one or more layers will be recorded into.

•	RChan. The Record Channel (RChan.) column only appears for multitrack recording (Multitrack Record is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe Menu). RChan indicates what channel(s) will be recorded into the staves (or layers). Enter the channel number(s) that you want Finale Guitar to record from for each staff or layer. By default, Finale Guitar records from channel 1 (RChan is set to 1). If you specify more than one channel for layers of an expanded staff, Finale Guitar displays the word Mixed in the RChan column for the staff (next to the striped triangle in the R column) to indicate that several incoming channels will record into this staff.

Note: If you’re using multitrack recording, you must set up the Instrument List window’s R and RChan columns for each staff (or layer) you want to record into.

Note: When you’re not multitrack recording (Record into One Staff or Record into Two Staves is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe Menu), the RChan column does not appear. In fact, you don’t need to set up the Instrument List window at all; use the Receive On channel in the HyperScribe Options dialog box to indicate what channel will be recorded for the staff (or layer). Click the measure of the staff you want to record into. (Finale Guitar uses the Instrument List’s R column to determine which staff to record into only if you click the Record button on Playback Controls.)

•	Staff Name • [Arrows]. In the Instrument List, you see the staves in your score. (If you haven’t named the staves, they appear numbered.) Using the controls in this staff’s row (Play, Solo, and so on), you establish its various playback features.

When the small arrow next to the staff name points down, each setting you make affects all layers of the staff. If you want to give different playback settings to each of the four transparent layers of each staff, click the arrow. It turns to point upward, and six new rows appear in the Instrument List, one for each layer, plus one each for Chords and Expressions. At this point you can change the Play, Solo, Channel, and other parameters for each individual layer. Click the arrow a second time to "collapse" the layer rows into a single staff row again. If there are too many rows to see in the window, use the vertical scroll bar to adjust your view.

•	Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4 • Chord • Expression. These rows of information only appear when you click the downward arrow next to a staff name. Using these subdivisions of a staff, you can assign an Instrument, MIDI channel, or patch to each of these playback elements—allowing the music on each layer, for example, to have its own sound. Chords refers to the chord symbol you’ve placed in a staff; they can actually play back over their own patch and channel, if you wish. (If you don’t want chord symbols to play back, route them to an unused MIDI channel, or deselect chords from the Play column.) You can also specify patch and channel settings for the Expressions of a staff. Unless you plan to connect the computer to a MIDI-controlled mixing or lighting board—in the event that you’ve created expressions that control these external devices—you can leave the expression assignments alone.

•	P (Play). In this column, a black square appears across from the name of each staff that you want to play back when you play your score. By clicking in this column across from a certain staff, you make the square disappear, indicating that the staff will be silent when you play the score. (The square disappears—meaning "muted"—when you’re soloing another staff; see Solo, below.)

If you’ve expanded a staff to view its individual layer assignments, and you turn off the Play setting for some layers but not others, the square in the Play column will appear striped. That’s your signal that the individual layers of the staff have mixed settings in the Play column.

•	S (Solo). When you click in the Solo column across from a staff name, a black circle appears, and the black-square Play indicators for all other staves turn white. In other words, you’ve just isolated a staff so that only it will play back, and all the other staves are silent. (You could achieve the same effect by clicking in the Play column for all other staves, so that their Play squares each turn white—but that would take much more time and effort.) You can solo more than one staff, if you wish—for example, you can solo two or three staves, and all the others will be silent. In fact, you can solo all staves, although there wouldn’t be much point, since you may as well solo none of them.

•	Instrument. By clicking on the word Instrument, you produce a drop-down list containing all of created instruments, as well as, the New Instrument command. This command brings up the Instrument definition dialog box, where you can define the MIDI channel, program change, and bank change assignment for a new virtual Instrument (see Instrument Definition dialog box), whose name will now appear in this column.

Once you’ve defined and named one or more Instruments of your own, their names appear in the Instrument drop-down list across from each staff name. Now you can start to save time when it comes to assigning patches and channels to other staves or layers—simply choose one of your Instrument names from the Instrument drop-down list, and the staff you’re working with will automatically get the same MIDI channel, program, and bank settings as other staves with that Instrument.

Here’s an example. Suppose you have a piano part with two staves. Across from the top piano staff, choose New Instrument from the Instrument drop-down list, and create an Instrument called Pno Sound, that plays on MIDI channel 4, program 22. Now, for the bottom piano staff, simply choose Pno Sound from the Instrument drop-down list. Finale Guitar automatically gives it MIDI channel 4, program 22—and if you change the program or channel for either staff, the other staff’s program or channel will change to match.

To edit an Instrument name or delete an Instrument, select View by Instruments (see below).

•	Chan. This column displays the MIDI channel assignment for each staff (or layer), from 1 to 64 (or 32, if your MIDI interface is a 32 bit card). To change this number, double-click, and type a new channel.

If you’ve assigned several staves to the same Instrument, by the way, remember that they’re all linked to the same MIDI channel. Therefore, if you edit the Chan. assignment for any one of these staves, the Chan. for all of them will change to match, because any given Instrument can only have one channel assignment. (If you truly want a staff to have an independent MIDI channel, first assign it to a new Instrument.)

•	B. The Bank column (B) appears between the channel and program columns in the Instrument List. If you set up a simple patch assignment by entering a program change number with no bank information in the Instrument List, nothing appears in the bank column. However, if you enter a bank change and a program change number for an instrument, Finale Guitar places a "B" in the bank column for that instrument.

To set up a bank change, click or ctrl -click the bank column to display the Instrument Definition dialog box. For details, see Instrument Definition dialog box.

•	Prog. The number in this column identifies the program (synthesizer sound) number assigned to each staff (or layer). To edit it, just double-click the number and type a new one.

If you’ve assigned several staves to the same Instrument, once again remember that they’re all linked to the same Program. Therefore, if you edit the Program assignment for any one of these staves, the Program for all of them will change. If you prefer to set up your MIDI instruments so that their programs are already selected for each MIDI channel, you can ignore the Prog. settings in the Instrument List. Finale Guitar will only transmit these Program settings to the MIDI instruments if Send Patches Before Play is selected in the Instrument List window.

•	GM. This column displays the General MIDI descriptive name of the Program number. By clicking on the name, you produce a drop-down list containing all of the names. Select the desired GM name to have Finale Guitar fill in the matching Program Number.

•	View by Staves • View by Instruments. When View by Staves is selected, the information in the Instrument List is organized by staves, as they appear in the score.

You can also re-organize the list so it’s displayed by Instrument (by selecting View by Instruments). By doing so, you can see which staves and layers have been assigned to each Instrument.

•	Play All • Play None. These buttons turn the squares in the Play column for all staves (and layers) on or off, respectively.

•	Solo All • No Solos. These buttons turn the black circles in the Solo column for all staves (and layers) on or off, respectively.

•	Edit Instrument. Select an instrument and click the Edit Instrument button, or ctrl-click in the Chan., B, Prog., or Instrument columns to display the Instrument Definition dialog box, where you can change all aspects of an instrument’s definition, including the bank or program change information.

•	New Instrument. To create a new Instrument, click this button. The Instrument Definition dialog box appears. Here you can create the new instrument name, as well as define the instrument’s channel and Patch information. Note, this button only appears when View by Instruments is selected in the Instrument List window.

•	Delete Instrument. To delete an Instrument, select an Instrument name in the left column, and then click Delete Instrument. The Instrument is removed from the list. This button is only available when View by Instruments is selected in the Instrument List window.

•	Send Patches Before Play. Select this option if you want Finale Guitar, just before it begins playback, to transmit any patch information specified in the Instrument List to your MIDI instruments. You probably won’t want to select this option, however, if you prefer to assign programs to MIDI channels on your MIDI instrument before you begin playback, instead of letting Finale Guitar do it. If you select Send Patches Before Play, Finale Guitar will wipe out any MIDI channel/patch configurations you’ve set on your MIDI instrument, and use the information defined in the Instrument List window for playback.

•	Auto-create Instruments. This checkbox only appears when View by Staves is selected. If this checkbox is selected, Finale Guitar will automatically create a new Instrument for each new staff created. You can rename them or change their channel and patch assignments by clicking View by Instruments and editing the various boxes. If this box isn’t selected, then Finale Guitar will assign every staff in your score to the same Instrument, channel, and patch (until you change them by creating new Instruments).

Note, to have this function take effect, you must first select the checkbox, then create new staves. If you create new staves then select this button, all the staves will be assigned to the same instrument.

Note: If a dot appears in the Solo column, only the soloed staves (or instruments) will play back.

See Also:

Instrument Definition

Window Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Interval

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of music. From the Mass Edit Menu, choose Transpose. From the Interval drop-down list, choose Other.

What it does

If, when you’re transposing some music, none of the intervals listed in the Interval drop-down list represent what you want, you can use this dialog box to specify any other interval.

•	Interval • Alteration. In the Interval text box, enter the number of diatonic (scale degree) steps—and in the Alteration box, enter the number of chromatic steps—by which you want the selection transposed. For example, to transpose something up or down a tritone (so a C would become F sharp, for example), enter 4 as the Interval, and 1 as the Alteration (4 diatonic steps, plus one chromatic step). If you’ve selected Diatonically in the Transposition dialog box, the Alteration box is dimmed.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your interval setting and return to the Transposition dialog box.

See Also:

Transposition

Staff Transpositions

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Clear Items

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures. Choose Clear Items from the Mass Edit Menu.

What it does

This dialog box lets you specify which elements of the music Finale Guitar should remove when you use the Clear Items command.

•	Measure Items. Select the checkbox (or checkboxes) of the specific elements you wish to remove from your score. Most of these items should be self-explanatory; Continuous Data is MIDI controller data (pedaling, channel pressure, pitch wheel data, and so on).

•	Entries. Select the checkbox (or checkboxes) of the specific elements you wish to remove from your score. Most of these items should be self-explanatory; Entries are notes themselves; Performance Data and Tuplet Definitions are explained below.

•	Performance Data. When you record a real-time performance or sequence (using HyperScribe), Finale Guitar gives you the option of saving certain MIDI information that make the performance sound human. This performance data includes the velocity information (how hard you struck each key) as well as minor rhythmic deviations from the beat (Start and Stop Time data).

After you’ve transcribed a performance, you can tell Finale Guitar to play back the notation and the captured performance data, giving the playback a very human "feel" (as opposed to the very precise but "square" sound Finale Guitar produces when it reads only the notation). If you select Performance Data in this dialog box, therefore, you erase this information altogether.

You can use the MIDI Tool to copy or erase only specific elements of performance data—for example, only the key velocity data, or only the Start and Stop Time information.

•	Tuplet Definitions. This element specifies that tuplet definitions created with the Tuplet Tool will be erased from any tuplets in the selected region. In other words, if you select it, Finale Guitar will turn all tuplets (triplets, quintuplets, and so on) into normal non-tuplet notes (even if the result is too many beats in the measures). See Tuplet Tool for more information.

•	All • None. Click All to select every checkbox. Click None to deselect every checkbox.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score; Finale Guitar removes all of the specified items from the selected region.. Click Cancel to return to the score without having erased anything.

Hint: you can select Lyrics in the Clear Items dialog box and remove lyrics without removing notes.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Key Signature

How to get there

Click the Key Signature Tool, and double-click the measure at which you want the key to change. (There are a variety of other ways to access this dialog box; you can arrive at it from any dialog box or menu with a Set Key or Change Key command.)

What it does

This dialog box contains a scrolling list of key signatures from which you can select a key (to change keys in your document, or for a variety of other purposes). You can also specify whether or not you want the notes transposed into the new key, and what range of measures you want to affect Finale Guitar will default to the key of C Major in the few cases where Finale Guitar needs a default setting.

•	[Scrolling key display]. Click the top scroll bar arrow to add sharps (or subtract flats) from the displayed key signature. Click the bottom arrow to add flats (or subtract sharps). As you scroll through the Circle of Fifths, the key name is identified in the lower-left corner ("C major," and so on).

•	Major Key • Minor Key. Using this drop-down list, you can specify which key system you want to use. Finale Guitar treats major and minor keys differently—notably in its treatment of accidentals (when transcribing a performance) and in handling chord symbols, where the root of the A minor scale, for example, is called scale degree 1 (instead of scale degree 6, as it would be in the key of C major).

•	Measure Region: Measure ___ Through ___ • Measure ___ Through End of Piece • Measure ___ To Next Key Change. Using these controls, specify what range of measures you want to affect with this key change. Click Measure ___ Through ___ if you want the new key to affect all measures up to (and including) a later measure. If you want the new key to remain in force from the measure you clicked to the end of the piece, click the middle option. If you want the new key until the next measure of a different key, click the lower option. In all of the text boxes, Finale Guitar proposes the number of the measure you originally clicked through the end of the piece; in other words, if you click OK without changing any numbers, the key changes through the end of the piece from the measure you clicked.

•	Transpose Notes: Up • Down. If you select this option, Finale Guitar will transpose any existing notes (and chord symbols) in the score into the new key, in the direction you select from the drop-down list.

•	Hold Notes to Original Pitches: Chromatically • Enharmonically. Click this option if you want the pitches to remain the same as they were before you changed the key—in other words, you’re just changing the key signature without affecting the existing notes at all. If you choose Chromatically, the notes maintain their original spelling. If you choose Enharmonically, the existing notes will be renotated according to the new key. A G sharp in the key of E will become an A flat in the key of E flat.)

•	Hold Notes to Same Staff Lines (Modally). Click this option if you want the music to remain modal—in other words, if you want each note to remain on the same line or space without adding any accidentals. An F in the key of C will become an F sharp in the key of D, because there’s an F sharp in the key signature—but no new accidental will appear.

•	Transpose All Keys Proportionally. Select this option if you want Finale Guitar to preserve the relationships between any existing key-signature changes. Each key signature (in the range of measures you’ve specified) will be transposed up or down by the same interval as the measure you originally clicked. (If you don’t select this option, Finale Guitar will wipe out any key changes, and will notate all the specified measures in the key signature you’ve specified at the top of the dialog box.)

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your choice of new key and return to the score, where the key changes according to your specifications. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing the key.

Tip: Select Transpose All Keys Proportionally to maintain the modulations as you change the key.

See Also:

Key Signature Tool

Mass Edit Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Layer Options

How to get there

Choose Layer Options from the Document Settings submenu of the Options Menu.

What it does

The easiest way to notate simultaneous independent voices on a single staff is to use Finale Guitar’s Layer mechanism. In this dialog box, you can define the behavior of music in each layer—for example, you might want the second layer’s note stems always to go down, and you might want to make sure that second layer rests are out of the way of the upper layer. Note that the system of Voice 1/Voice 2 uses a completely independent method of flipping the stems.

•	Settings for Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4. Using this drop-down list, choose the layer for which you’re establishing your settings. For example, you may decide that stems in Layer 1 should go up, and stems in Layer 2 should go down. How you handle Layers 3 and 4—since there aren’t any more stem directions to choose from—depends on the structure of the inner voices in the particular piece you’re working on.

•	Freeze Stems and Ties • Freeze stems Up/Down. When you select this checkbox, you can choose an automatic stem direction for stems. Choose either Up or Down from the drop-down list. Most of the time you’ll want to freeze Layer 1’s stems up and Layer 2’s stems down, and also to select Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers; with this setup, Finale Guitar will flip all stems up only when necessary—when there’s another voice (that is, in another layer) on the same staff.

•	Freeze Ties in the Same Direction as Stems. When there’s only a single voice on a staff, a tie customarily arcs away from the noteheads it’s attached to—hence, in the opposite direction from the note stems. If there are two voices on the staff, however, ties that followed this scheme would overlap and be difficult to read. This option, then, tells Finale Guitar to flip ties the "wrong way"—in other words, if notes in Layer 2 are present, you’ll want ties in Layer 1 to flip upward, even though the Layer 1 stems are upward.

•	Adjust Floating Rests by ___ Steps. If you select this item, you can enter a number in the text box that tells Finale Guitar, in lines and spaces, how much higher (or lower) than usual you want it to position rests in this layer. For example, you may want to enter a 4 in the text box and also select Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers; with this setup, Finale Guitar will move the upper voice’s rests up out of the way only when there’s a second voice on the same staff. (Of course, you could accomplish the same thing manually, by dragging any rest vertically using the Speedy Entry Tool; position the insertion bar on it and then drag it up or down.)

A typical setup might be an Adjust Floating Rest setting of 4 for Layer 1, and –4 for Layer 2.

•	Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers. Select this option if you want the other options—involving stems, ties, and rests—to apply only when there’s another voice (in another layer). If you don’t select this option, Finale Guitar will flip all Layer 1 stems (for example), or adjust all Layer 1 rests, even when Layer 1 is the only voice in a measure.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the settings you’ve made in this dialog box; you return to the score.

Hint: Check Apply Settings Only if Notes are in Other Layers if you want rests and stems to float until multiple layers appear in the measure, such as a divisi part. Uncheck this option if you want all stems in your layers to be up or down respectively, such as a percussion part.

See Also:

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Limit - Continuous Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Limit from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to limit the values of the continuous data to within a specified range of values.

•	Minimum of ____ • Maximum of ____. In these text boxes, enter the minimum and maximum values permissible for the specified MIDI data type within the selected region. Any existing data values below the minimum value you specify will be boosted to that minimum value; any existing values above the maximum value will be clipped down to that maximum value.

The numbers you enter in the maximum and minimum boxes pertain to the controller you’ve specified (on a scale from 0 to 127). For example—although it doesn’t make much musical sense—you could limit the patch numbers in the selected region to within a certain range. More practically, you could limit the amount of monophonic aftertouch within a selected region to a certain maximum value—so that you’ll never hear more than a certain amount of vibrato on any note, for example.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Limit - Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocity from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Limit from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to limit the values of the Key Velocities to within a specified range of values. For example, you can specify that no note in the selected region should be played back with volume above an F dynamic level by limiting the notes in the region to a maximum MIDI velocity value of, say, 90. (MIDI velocity is measured on a scale of zero, which is silent, to 127, which is very loud.)

•	Minimum of ____ • Maximum of ____. In these text boxes, enter the minimum and maximum values permissible for the key velocities within the selected region. Any existing data values below the minimum value you specify will be boosted to that minimum value; any existing values above the maximum value will be clipped down to that maximum value.

The numbers in these text boxes represent MIDI velocity values (which range from 0 to 127); using the maximum and minimum text boxes, you can confine the playback of all notes in the selected region to a certain dynamic range.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Limit - Note Durations

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Limit from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to limit the values of the note durations to within a specified range of values.

•	Minimum of ____ • Maximum of ____. In these text boxes, enter the minimum and maximum values permissible for the note durations within the selected region. Any existing data values below the minimum value you specify will be boosted to that minimum value; any existing values above the maximum value will be clipped down to that maximum value.

The maximum and minimum values you specify are Start and Stop Times. The Start Time is the difference between the notated, or quantized, starting point of a note and the moment you actually struck the note in your performance. The Stop Time is the difference between the notated release of the note and the moment you actually released the note.

In this case, then, the values you’re limiting to a maximum or minimum value are the Start and Stop Times, measured in EDUs (1024 per quarter note). If you enter zero in both text boxes, Finale Guitar will adjust the attacks and releases of the notes in the selected region so that they’re perfectly "quantized" with their notated values; when you play them back, they’ll sound rhythmically perfect. If you enter positive or negative numbers in either text box, you limit both Start and Stop Times to the specified number of EDUs from the notated durations.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

Tip: Enter "0" to hear the notated values; enter positive or negative numbers to move the attack or release from the notated values.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Listen

How to get there

Click any Listen button in any MIDI-related dialog box.

What it does

Instead of making you type in MIDI codes, Finale Guitar often displays a Listen button so that you can play the MIDI note, pedal, or chord you’re supposed to input. When you click Listen, this alert box appears. It disappears either when you play a note, pedal, or controller on your MIDI instrument, or when you click Cancel.

•	Cancel. If your MIDI system isn’t working, or if you change your mind, click Cancel to return to the previous dialog box.

See Also:

HyperScribe Tool

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Listen to Tempo

How to get there

Click the HyperScribe Tool. From the Beat Source submenu of the HyperScribe Menu, choose Playback. Click the Tempo Listen button.

What it does

When you choose to have Finale Guitar provide a metronome click while you play a piece that you want HyperScribe to notate, the easiest way to indicate the click tempo is to click the Listen button. This dialog box lets you know that Finale Guitar is listening; while it’s on the screen, tap any key or tap your mouse on the dialog box in rhythm. Finale Guitar will compute (and display) the average tempo of your taps.

•	OK • Cancel. When you’re finished tapping to teach Finale Guitar the tempo you want, either click Cancel (to undo the tempo-setting you’ve just done) or OK (to confirm it) and return to the Playback and/or Click dialog box.

See Also:

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Measure Attributes

How to get there

Click the Measure Tool, and double-click the measure you want to edit. Some measure attributes require that you select more than one measure before double-clicking.

What it does

Each measure in Finale Guitar can have a number of specific attributes, including its barline type, barline-to-barline width, whether or not it should display the key and time signature, and so on. In this dialog box, you can specify all of these variables for the measure you clicked. Once you’ve specified this information, you can use the Mass Edit Tool to copy some of this information to other measures (namely, measure widths and positioning mode).

You’ll rarely need to use the Position Notes: options, which govern how the notes in the selected measure are positioned—particularly if you’re in the habit of using the Music Spacing command to neatly respace the notes in your scores.

•	Measure Attributes for Measure__. You can enter the number of the measure you want to edit or use the arrows to select another measure.

•	Barlines • Left Barlines: Normal • Double • Final • Solid: Select. Click the barline icon you want for the right or left barline of the measure. Or, double-click to select the barline and exit the dialog box. Finale Guitar automatically updates the display options when you select a barline style. When you select the Double, Solid or Final barline, Finale Guitar automatically selects Break a Multimeasure Rest.

•	Change Width. If you want to change the width of all the measures in the selected measure region, make sure this checkbox is selected.  Enter the new width in the text box. The number in this text box specifies the barline-to-barline width of the measure. If you want to specify an extremely precise width value, you can enter it here. It’s much easier, however, to drag the handle on the measure’s right barline to the right or left (when you exit this dialog box). When you drag the barline to change the measure width, Finale Guitar automatically enters the correct value in the Width text box.

•	Add Width. Select this text box to add the specified amount to each measure in the selected measure region.

•	Position Notes: According to the Time Signature Using Beat-Chart Spacing. These options govern the way Finale Guitar spaces notes within the measure you’re editing. According to the Time Signature is the default mode; Finale Guitar uses proportional spacing to place the notes in the measure. In linear spacing, a whole note, for example, is allotted exactly as much width as four quarter notes. When music engravers prepare music for publication, however, they generally use non-proportional spacing, where longer values are allotted only as much space as they need, which gives the music a more compact, professional appearance. The Use Beat-Chart Spacing positioning mode works much like According to the Time Signature. However, when you return to the score, you’ll notice a difference: when the Measure Tool is selected, every barline of a measure whose positioning has been set in this way displays two handles at the bottom. (Measures in which you’ve respaced the music using the Music Spacing command also display two handles, because those commands automatically turn on Use Beat-Chart Spacing for the selected measures.) When you click the bottom of the two barline handles, a beat chart appears above the measure, displaying vertically aligned pairs of handles. The top row of handles indicates the positions of the beats according to linear spacing (where a whole note gets exactly as much space as four quarter notes). By dragging a handle on the bottom row, you can reposition a beat in all staves at once.

•	Position Notes Evenly Across Measure. Select this option if the measure you’re editing contains more or fewer beats than are allowed by the time signature; Finale Guitar responds by spacing all notes evenly within the measure, no matter how few or how many. This is a useful option if, for example, you’re creating a cadenza whose note values add up to far more than the four beats specified by the measure’s 4/4 meter.

•	Break a Multimeasure Rest. This checkbox has an important effect when you extract parts. If the measures surrounding the one you’re editing are empty, they’ll appear in the extracted part as multimeasure rests (or "block rests"). If Break a Multimeasure Rest is on, however, the right barline of this measure will break such a multimeasure rest into two block rests, one on each side of it. (Such block rests automatically break for key and time changes, clef changes, and so on.)

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your measure attributes settings and return to the score.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Event

How to get there

Click the HyperScribe Tool. From the Beat Source submenu of the HyperScribe Menu, choose Tap or Playback and/or Click. In the dialog box that appears, click Other, or choose Other from the Start Signal for Recording drop-down list).

What it does

When you’re preparing for a HyperScribe recording, Finale Guitar needs to know what MIDI signal will serve as the tempo reference (or the metronome "trigger"). This dialog box lets you choose a MIDI signal not already listed in the dialog box.

•	[Code text boxes] • Listen. Unless you’re a MIDI programmer, ignore the codes. Instead, click Listen; Finale Guitar will ask you to play the MIDI signal, and it will enter the codes automatically.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your specifications of a MIDI signal. You return to the previous dialog box.

See Also:

Playback and/or Click

Tap Source

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Setup

How to get there

Choose MIDI Setup from the MIDI Menu.

What it does

In the MIDI Setup dialog box you can edit a number of settings pertaining to your MIDI interface setup.

•	MIDI Setup • Advanced. You can specify up to 8 slots (using one or more MIDI drivers) to receive and send MIDI information. You can specify different configurations for MIDI In and MIDI Out (see MIDI In and MIDI Out, below). Choose the driver for your MIDI Interface from the drop-down list for which slot through which you want to receive or send MIDI information.

•	Base Channel. You can specify the initial MIDI channel number for each MIDI driver selected. This number indicates the first of 16 channels. Finale Guitar supports 64 MIDI channels through different MIDI drivers.

•	Sync Master. Click in this column if you want Finale Guitar to transmit MIDI Sync signals any time it plays back your score through the corresponding MIDI driver and MIDI channels (specified by the Base Channel for that driver). Only one device at a time can send MIDI Sync signals. If you have connected your computer to an external sequencer, drum machine, or another computer that has been configured to interpret this kind of MIDI message, it will wait in "pause" mode until Finale Guitar begins playback, at which point the two will play together in perfect synchronization.

•	Reset MIDI Out. This option sends a "Key off" message to all notes, on all channels when the port is made inactive. This check box should only be unchecked (disabled) if your MIDI device(s) are responding with a "MIDI Buffer Overflow" or "MIDI Communication Error" when receiving such a command.

•	MIDI In Latency. Enter a value in this text box to delay Finale's translation on MIDI information for entery in HyperScribe. The MIDI latency value compensates for the short delay it sometimes takes for MIDI information to travel from an external MIDI device into the computer.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the changes you’ve made to the MIDI settings in this dialog box and return to the score.

Tip: Refer to the beginning pages of the Tutorial to assist you in setting up your MIDI instrument to Finale Guitar.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Thru

How to get there

Choose MIDI Thru from the MIDI Menu. The MIDI Thru dialog box appears.

What it does

MIDI Thru is the MIDI configuration whereby you play the keys on a controller keyboard, the MIDI signal travels to your computer, and the computer in turn sends the signal to a second MIDI keyboard—the one that actually produces the sound. If you have such a setup, you must turn on MIDI Thru to tell Finale Guitar to pass incoming MIDI signals along to the next MIDI keyboard.

Use the MIDI Thru dialog box to choose how you want MIDI Thru to work when you use Finale Guitar. The choices are to turn MIDI Thru off, map all channels to a single fixed channel, use Smart MIDI Thru (for recording with HyperScribe or editing with Speedy Entry), map each channel directly to the channel that is being played, or use an editable table of channels where you explicitly map each incoming channel to the outgoing channel you specify.

•	Off. Click this option if you don’t want to use MIDI Thru at all. When selected, no routing takes place.

•	Fixed Channel. Click this option if you want to route all incoming channels to the single channel you specify. Enter the number of the channel that you want all channels mapped to.

•	Smart. Click this option if you want to hear the channel and patch assigned to a staff while you’re recording with HyperScribe or editing with Speedy Entry. When selected, Finale Guitar looks at the Instrument List to see what instrument sound is set for the staff, and routes all incoming signals to the channel defined for that instrument. Note, however, that if you’re just playing your MIDI keyboard and not recording with HyperScribe or editing with Speedy Entry, Finale Guitar continues to use the last active "smart" channel (i.e., the last edited staff’s channel).

•	Direct. Click this option if you want Finale Guitar to map the outgoing channels directly to the incoming channels that are being played. (This is the same as choosing Table and leaving the MIDI Thru Table at its default mapping, in which the outgoing channel is the same as the incoming channel.)

•	Table • Edit. Click this option if you want to map incoming channels to different outgoing channels on a channel-by-channel basis. Click Edit to display the MIDI Thru Table dialog box where you can remap each incoming channel by entering a channel number in each text box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the MIDI Thru setting, or click Cancel to discard any changes you’ve made to the dialog box and return to the score. If you selected a MIDI Thru mode, MIDI Thru will be checked in the MIDI Menu. If you selected Off, MIDI Thru will not be checked, indicating that no MIDI Thru mode is in use.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Thru Table

How to get there

Choose MIDI Thru from the MIDI Menu. Click Table, then click Edit.

What it does

Midi Thru is the MIDI configuration whereby you play the keys on a controller keyboard, the MIDI signal travels to your computer, and the computer in turn sends the signal to another MIDI keyboard—the one that actually produces the sound. In this dialog box, you can route the signals coming from your controller keyboard to other MIDI channels, giving you control over which channels are received by your sound module.

•	1—64. The fixed number on the left indicates the channel of the incoming MIDI signal. Enter into the text box the number of the desired output channel for producing the sound. The default setting for each input and output channel is one-to-one.

•	Reset. Click this button to restore all settings to the original one-to-one channel mapping.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the MIDI Thru Table settings, or click Cancel to discard any changes you’ve made to the dialog box and return to the MIDI Thru dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI Tool Split window

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Click to select one measure, shift-click to select additional measures, drag-enclose to select several on-screen measures, or click to the left of the staff to select the entire staff. Double-click the selected region.

What it does

The MIDI Tool split-window provides a graphic display of the three kinds of captured MIDI data you can edit: key velocities, note durations (Start and Stop Times), and continuous data, which includes controllers (use of the pedals, patch changes, aftertouch) and wheels (pitch wheel, and so on). Because the window displays not only a graphic representation of these values for each note but also the notes themselves, you can get an immediate picture of the relationship between the two.

Furthermore, the MIDI Tool split-window offers you an option not available when you use the MIDI Tool commands without opening this window—you can edit specific notes, even if they’re nonadjacent or buried within chords. (For a full discussion of the kinds of data you can edit with the MIDI Tool and an explanation of the commands available, see MIDI Tool Menu. For a complete tutorial in the use of the MIDI Tool, see Installations & Tutorials.)

When you edit MIDI data in the MIDI Tool split-window, the changes you make apply to the selected layer (as indicated by the Layer push buttons on the bottom of the document window) and only to the top staff you are viewing. To edit a different staff, use the vertical scroll bar to move up and down through the staves. Use the horizontal scroll bars to move through your score as you normally would.

There are several ways to select specific notes in the split-window. To select one, click its handle; to select additional notes, shift-click their handles. You can also drag-enclose several handles to select them, or shift–drag-enclose to select additional groups. You can also select all notes within a certain region by dragging through the graph area (above the displayed notes); Finale Guitar responds by highlighting the handles of all notes within the region you select. (To select an additional region of notes in this way, shift-drag through the graph area.) To "deselect" a selected handle, shift-click it.

•	[Key Velocities]. Choose this item from the MIDI Tool Menu to tell Finale Guitar that you want to edit the key velocities of the notes displayed in the window (a graph of how hard each note was struck). The display becomes a graph; thin vertical lines represent the relative velocities of the notes displayed at the bottom of the window, and a "velocity ruler"— with notches from zero (silence) to 127 (very loud)—appears along the left edge.

If you’ve entered music with the Simple or Speedy Entry tools, the velocity of every note is 64. (64 is Finale Guitar’s default note velocity setting, which you can change by choosing Playback Controls from the Window Menu, clicking the expand arrow, and entering a new value in the Base Key Velocity text box.) If you’ve captured the key velocity (performance) data from a real-time HyperScribe performance, however, you’ll see those varying velocities displayed in this graph notation.

To edit the velocity of a particular note, double-click its handle. The Set To dialog box appears, in which you can enter a new velocity value. To edit the velocities of several notes, select them with any of the methods described above, then choose the appropriate command from the MIDI Tool Menu (see MIDI Tool Menu). To restore selected notes to their default velocity values, press backspace or use the Mass Edit Tool to erase Performance Data.

(Technical note: Finale Guitar stores the captured velocity values as the difference between the actual velocity with which you struck the notes and the default velocity, as determined by the Base Key Velocity text box in the Playback Controls. If you increase or decrease this Base Key Velocity value, therefore, you instantly increase or decrease the playback velocity of every note in the piece, even though their velocity values remain the same in proportion to one another.)

•	[Note Durations]. Choose this item from the MIDI Tool Menu to tell Finale Guitar that you want to edit the Start and Stop Times of the notes—the slight deviations from the beat that create swing feel, rolled chords, and so on—displayed in the window. The display becomes a graph; thin horizontal lines represent the relative note durations of the notes displayed at the bottom of the window, and a piano keyboard appears at the left edge to help you identify their pitches. Drag this keyboard up or down if you want to view higher or lower notes.

If you’ve entered music with the Simple or Speedy Entry tools, the Start and Stop Times of every note are zero, because the definitions of Start and Stop Times are the differences between the notated attack and release points of the notes and the actual (performed) attack and release points. The graph of a note whose Start Time is zero is perfectly flush with the vertical gridline representing its notated attack point, and that of a note whose Stop Time is zero stops neatly at the gridline representing its notated release point.

If you’ve captured the Start and Stop Time (performance) data from a real-time HyperScribe performance, however, you’ll see horizontal lines that don’t begin and end nearly so precisely at the vertical gridlines. For example, the graph of a note you held down slightly beyond the beginning of the next beat appears to extend just to the right of the vertical gridline (and has a positive Stop Time). The graph of a note you struck a fraction of a second early begins just before a vertical gridline (and has a negative Start Time).

To edit the Start and Stop Time of a particular note, double-click its handle; the Set To dialog box appears, in which you can enter a new value. To edit the Start and Stop Times of several notes, select them with any of the methods described above, then choose the appropriate command from the MIDI Tool Menu (see MIDI Tool Menu). To set the Start and Stop Times of selected notes to zero (so that they play back with "quantized" rhythmic perfection), press backspace or use the Mass Edit Tool to clear Continuous Data.

•	[Continuous Data]. Choose this item from the MIDI Tool Menu to tell Finale Guitar that you want to edit the continuous MIDI data—pedals, wheels, patch changes, and other non-note data—for the music displayed in the window. The View Continuous Data dialog box appears, allowing you to specify the controller data type you want to edit. (Patch Changes, Monophonic Aftertouch, and Pitch Wheel are dimmed, because these data have icons of their own in the MIDI Tool window [see below].) See View Continuous Data dialog box for descriptions of the elements of this dialog box.

When you return to the MIDI Tool split-window, the display becomes a graph; the highlighted area represents the specified controller’s value over time. A "value ruler" appears at the left edge, with notches from 0 to 127. This scale measures different qualities, depending on the controller you’ve selected.

To edit the controller setting for a particular region, drag through the region so that it’s highlighted (black areas become white, and vice versa). Choose the appropriate command from the MIDI Tool Menu to add to, subtract from, or otherwise change the controller’s setting during the selected region (see MIDI Tool Menu for a list of the available commands). To set the controller to its default value or "at rest" position in the selected region, press backspace or use the Mass Edit Tool to clear Continuous Data.

(Technical note: Continuous data is independent of the notes themselves. Therefore, no handles appear on the notes in the MIDI Tool split-window when you’re editing continuous data; you must select a region by dragging through the "graph" area rather than by selecting note handles. Note, too, that continuous data is displayed as a continuous horizontal "area graph," even if the controller is an event-oriented one, such as a patch change or usage of the pedal.)

•	[Patch Change]. Choose this item from the MIDI Tool menu to tell Finale Guitar that you want to add or remove patch changes in the music displayed in the window

When you return to the MIDI Tool split-window, the display becomes a graph; Finale Guitar tells you which patch has been set (in each region) by the height of the highlighted area. A "value ruler"—with notches that indicate patch numbers 1 to 128—helps you identify the patch that’s selected for each region.

To insert a patch change, click in the "graph area" at the location where you want it to occur, and drag to the right. It doesn’t matter whether you select a large region by dragging or only a tiny vertical sliver—all Finale Guitar needs to know is where the beginning of the selection falls, because that’s where it will insert the patch change. Choose Set To from the MIDI Tool Menu, and enter the patch number you want to change to. (You can also use the other commands from the MIDI Tool Menu to change the patch numbers in a selected region, although most of these other commands [Scale, Limit, and so on] have little musical relevance to patch numbers.) To remove patch changes from a selected region, press backspace or use the Mass Edit Tool to clear Continuous Data.

If a bank change is part of a patch setting, Finale Guitar displays a "B" in the MIDI Tool split-window within the graphic display of the patch change. No letter appears above the graph if a simple patch change was used.

•	[Channel Pressure]. Choose this item from the MIDI Tool menu to tell Finale Guitar that you want edit channel pressure data (monophonic aftertouch—the pressure you apply to a key while it’s being pressed down) in the music displayed in the window

When you return to the MIDI Tool split-window, the display becomes a graph; the highlighted area represents the aftertouch value over time. A "value ruler"—with notches from zero (no aftertouch) to 127 (maximum aftertouch)—appears at the left edge.

To edit the channel pressure value for a particular region, drag through the region so that it’s highlighted (black areas become white, and vice versa). Choose the appropriate command from the MIDI Tool Menu to add, subtract, or otherwise change the aftertouch value during the selected region (see MIDI Tool Menu for a list of the available commands). To set the aftertouch values to zero for the entire selected region, press backspace or use the Mass Edit Tool to clear Continuous Data.

•	[Pitch Wheel]. Choose this item from the MIDI Tool Menu to tell Finale Guitar that you want to edit pitch wheel data for the music displayed in the window

When you return to the MIDI Tool split-window, the display becomes a graph; the highlighted area represents the position of the pitch wheel over time. A "value ruler" appears at the left edge with notches from -8191 (pitch wheel all the way down) to 8192 (pitch wheel all the way up). Bear in mind that the pitch wheel’s value is 0 when it’s at rest (neither up nor down).

To edit the pitch wheel setting for a particular region, drag through the region so that it’s highlighted (black areas become white, and vice versa). Choose the appropriate command from the MIDI Tool Menu to add to, subtract from, or otherwise change the pitch wheel setting during the selected region (see MIDI Tool Menu for a list of the available commands). You may find the Scale command to be the most useful for creating pitch bends, because it creates smooth gradations from one pitch wheel setting to another.

Be sure to use one of the MIDI Tool Menu commands again later in the music to return the pitch wheel to its "at rest" position, however, or your synthesizer will believe that the pitch wheel is "stuck" in its transposed position for the remainder of the piece.

Tip: When Note Durations is selected in the MIDI Tool Menu, the vertical "ruler," which appears on the left side of the screen, displays pitches according to the pitch representation setting in the Program Options dialog box. Pitches are either represented as MIDI note numbers (60 = middle C), or as pitches where C4 (or C3 or C5) indicates middle C. Handles appear for each note in the current staff, and a horizontal line indicates the duration (Start and Stop Time) of each note.

Tip: When Continuous Data is selected in the MIDI Tool Menu, the vertical "ruler," which appears on the left side of the screen, displays values between 1-128. Many controllers (a type of continuous data) are either on (128) or off (1). Handles do not appear on notes, because continuous data is assigned to measures. A program change is also a type of continuous data. If a bank change is part of the program change message, a B appears above the program change display.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


More Quantization Settings

How to get there

Choose Quantization Settings from the Options Menu. Or, click the Quant Settings button in a number of related dialog boxes. Click More Settings in the Quantization Settings dialog box.

What it does

The More Quantization Settings dialog box provides more detailed control over how your MIDI input will be transcribed.

•	Retain Key Velocities • Retain Note Durations. These options tell Finale Guitar to remember the precise "feel" of your performance, and to keep this data handy for playback once it’s been transcribed. If you don’t select these options, then when you play back the transcribed music from the score, Finale Guitar will simply play the "sheet music"—the notated version, which will be rhythmically precise but expressionless and "square"—instead of an exact re-creation of the original sequence.

Key Velocity is the MIDI information that describes how hard you struck each key; in other words, it’s used mostly to re-create your dynamics when you play the piece back. Note Durations refers to Start and Stop Time Data—small rhythmic deviations from the beat that result in musical "feels" such as swing, rushing, rolled chords, and so on. If you select both of these options, Finale Guitar’s playback of your transcription will very closely resemble your original performance (but your document will be slightly larger when saved).

Hint: Retaining Key Velocity will allow you to automatically apply dynamics to your score using Auto-Dynamic Placement plug-in. Retaining Note Durations will allow you to further edit your MIDI information if you wish.

•	Include Voice Two. If there’s an inner voice in the music you’ll be transcribing, select this option; Finale Guitar will accurately transcribe the sequence into two independent voices per staff, one stems-up and one stems-down. (You can edit the two voices using the Voice 1/Voice 2 mechanism.)

If there are few places where you’ll be needing an inner voice, however, don’t select this option. This will prevent Finale Guitar from creating secondary voices where you didn’t intend them—for example, where two successive notes were accidentally overlapped in the sequence. The status of this option can have a dramatic effect on the "cleanness" of your transcriptions. Use the Retranscribe function in the Mass Edit Menu to correctly place Voice 1 and Voice Two in the few places you want them.

•	Allow Dotted Rests. Usually Finale Guitar writes out all rests instead of notating dotted rests. Select this option only if you want Finale Guitar to notate dotted rests when transcribing your MIDI file, or during a HyperScribe performance. For example, when this option is selected, Finale Guitar notates a quarter rest followed by an eighth rest as a dotted quarter rest.

•	Soften Syncopations. This option affects the way syncopations are transcribed by the HyperScribe Tool. Finale Guitar decides how to notate syncopation based on two factors—the time signature and whether or not this option is selected—but you must select this option before transcribing.

•	Remove Notes Smaller than ____ EDUs. Before converting any notes to grace notes, you may want to ensure that small glitches in the performance are not transcribed at all.  If you want to ensure that every note is transcribed exactly as it was captured, change this value to 0. This function is done before any other quantization is applied by Finale Guitar.

•	Allow Grace Notes. If you select this option, any note in the file that’s shorter than the quantization value will appear as a grace note in the score.

•	Remove Grace Notes. When this option is selected, any note in the file that’s shorter than the quantization value will be removed.

•	Convert to Real Notes. Finale Guitar automatically lengthens any notes in the MIDI file whose durations were less than the quantization value you’ve specified.

•	Minimize Number of Rests. Select this checkbox to prevent Finale Guitar from quantizing your rests as small as your notes.  Finale Guitar will fill out the notes through the rests (unless there is a rest on beat 1), so if you have stopped slightly short of you intended half note, you will not get a sixteenth note rest. You will still be able to enter sixteenth notes without any problems at all.

•	Sensitivity Level. Click the checkbox to enable this option. The number in this text box represents the finest quantization level Finale Guitar will use. Remember, Finale Guitar may "stretch" the notes in your performance as though the keys were pressed until the beginning of the next beat—in effect, creating a coarser (larger) quantization level. But the Sensitivity value indicates the smallest rhythmic value Finale Guitar will notate.

The Sensitivity is measured in EDUs (1024 per quarter note). To change the Sensitivity value, you can either enter a new number in the text box, or choose a value from the drop-down list.

For many situations, the default Sensitivity value (Sixteenth Note) works well. If, however, you’re using HyperScribe to transcribe small tuplets (like quintuplets) and you discover that Finale Guitar isn’t notating note values as fine as you’d like, or that it’s creating many grace notes, you need to choose the next smaller Sensitivity value, and try the transcription again.

•	OK • Cancel. When you click OK, Finale Guitar will change your Quantization Settings and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score without making any changes.

See Also:

Quantization Settings

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Move Layers

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures. Choose Move Layers from the Mass Edit Menu.

What it does

The Move Layers command provides a way to move music from one layer to another. You can even swap the music between layers—if, for example, you mistakenly entered several stems-down notes in Layer 1, which you intended to use only for stems-up (upper) voices.

•	Move Contents of Layer [#] into: Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4. Using these controls, you can specify how you want to move the selected music among the four transparent staff layers. Select the first two checkboxes, for example, and set up the drop-down lists as shown above, to swap the contents of Layers 1 and 2. Be careful, however. If there’s already music in the layer you choose from the drop-down lists, it will be replaced by the music you’re transferring. (Finale Guitar will warn you if you’re about to lose music that’s already in the destination layer.)

Note: If you set up these controls so that the contents of more than one layer get moved into the same other layer, Finale Guitar will only move the highest-numbered layer’s contents. For example, if you indicate that you want the contents of Layers 2, 3, and 4 moved into Layer 1, only Layer 4’s music will actually be moved.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to make the transfer and return to the score. Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to leave the layers as they were. You return to the score.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Multiple 'Total Passes' for Ending

How to get there

Click the Repeat Tool, and click a measure. When the Repeat Selection dialog box appears, double-click the Multiple Ending repeat bracket icon (the rightmost icon). Click Multiple. If there’s already a Multiple Ending repeat bracket in the measure, click in the measure. Then, double-click the Multiple Ending repeat bracket’s handle.

What it does

In general, you use the Multiple Ending repeat bracket as the first measure of, for example, a first ending. When Finale Guitar plays back the repeated section a second time through, this barline is responsible for directing playback to the second ending (or any other place in the score).

However, there may be times when you’ll want the playback to jump to another ending only on specific passes. For example, if this is a "1, 3, 5." ending, you’d want the playback to jump to the target measure (or target Mark-defined text repeat) only the second and fourth times through. In this dialog box, you can specify which times the Multiple Ending measure is to be played.

•	«    ». Click these right and left arrow buttons to scroll through the text boxes to specify more than four passes.

•	[Text boxes]. In each text box, enter a number corresponding to the repetition of the music on which you want Finale Guitar not to jump to another measure—in other words, specify which times the music should play this measure. For example, if you want Finale Guitar to jump to the second ending only the fourth time it encounters this measure, creating a "1, 2, 3." ending—enter 1, 2, and 3 in the first three text boxes.

•	Clear. Click Clear to enter zeros in all the text boxes. If you now click OK, you’ll return to the Ending Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box, where there’s no longer a mark in the Multiple checkbox.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your Multiple Total Passes settings. You return to the Ending Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box, where the Multiple checkbox is now selected and any number in the Total Passes text box is ignored. Click Cancel to return to the Ending Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box without changing the status of the Multiple Total Passes settings.

See Also:

Ending Repeat Bar Assignment

Multiple Passes Overview

Repeat Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Multiple 'Total Passes' for Repeat

How to get there

Click the Repeat Tool, and click a measure. (If there’s already a graphic barline repeat sign or text repeat in the measure, double-click the measure.) When the Repeat Selection dialog box appears, double-click one of the displayed text repeats (if any). (If none appears, click Create to create your own; click OK, then double-click the new text repeat.) Click Multiple. See Repeat Selection dialog box

If you’ve placed a text repeat in the score, you can also enter this dialog box by shift–double-clicking its handle, then clicking Multiple.

What it does

There may be times when you’ll want the text repeat you’re designing to affect playback only on specific passes. For example, if the text repeat says "To Bridge (1st and 3rd times only)," you’d want the text repeat to have no playback effect the second and fourth times through. In this dialog box, you can, in effect, specify more than one Total Passes value (see Repeat Assignment dialog box for a detailed description of total passes).

•	«    ». Click these right and left arrow buttons to scroll through the text boxes if you want to specify more than four passes.

•	[Text boxes]. In each text box, enter a number corresponding to the repetition of the music on which you want the Repeat Action to be performed. For example, if you want Finale Guitar to jump "To Bridge" only on the first and third repetitions of the music, enter 1 in the first text box and 3 in the second.

•	Clear. Click Clear to enter zeros in all the text boxes. If you now click OK, you’ll return to the Repeat Assignment dialog box, where there’s no longer a mark in the Multiple checkbox.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your Multiple Total Passes settings. You return to the Repeat Assignment dialog box, where the Multiple checkbox is now selected and any number in the Total Passes text box is ignored. Click Cancel to return to the Repeat Assignment dialog box without changing the status of the Multiple Total Passes settings.

See Also:

Multiple Passes Overview

Repeat Selection Dialog Box

Repeat Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Multiple Splits

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. In the Track/Channel Mapping for Staves dialog box, click the top unassigned row of track information. Click Multiple.

What it does

This dialog box works much the same as the Explode Music dialog box in the Finale Guitar program itself, but you use it when you’re transcribing a standard MIDI sequencer file. In essence, it lets you strip a chordal passage (from the combined sequencer tracks you’ve specified) into individual single-line melodies on separate staves. This is a good technique for separating single musical lines—for string parts, for example—into individual staves.

Before it will "explode" the specified tracks, however, Finale Guitar needs you to tell it, in this dialog box, how many resultant staves you want and how Finale Guitar should handle cases where there are more notes in a chord than there are staves to put them on.

•	Split into __ Staves. In this text box, enter the number of staves you want to result from this separation process. Finale Guitar takes the top note on each beat and places it in the top new staff; the second note on the second staff, and so on.

•	Overload Order. The Overload Order is the order in which "extra" notes are assigned to the resultant staves. For example, if you’re splitting the music from a chordal sequencer track into three staves, and one of the chords contains five notes, where should Finale Guitar put the extra two notes? You indicate the order in which you want extra notes distributed among the staves by entering a series of staff numbers in this text box.

If, in this example, you entered 12345678 in this text box, Finale Guitar would distribute "extra" notes from the original five-note chord sequentially among the resultant staves. That is, it would notate the top two notes on the first exploded staff, the next two on the second staff, and the fifth (bottom) note on the third exploded staff. If the Overload Order was 11111111, however, Finale Guitar would place all the "extra" notes (the top three of the original five-note chord) on the top exploded staff; the remaining staves would receive one note apiece.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your split setup, or Cancel to discard it, and return to the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box, where None will appear in the Split column for the row you clicked.

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Instrument Definition

How to get there

Choose Instrument List from the Window Menu, if it isn’t already selected. The Instrument List window appears on your screen. Choose New Instrument from the instrument drop-down list (with View by Staves selected), or click the New Instrument button (with View by Instruments selected).

To change the definition of an existing instrument, select the instrument in the Instrument List window, then click the Edit Instrument button. Or, click the Bank (B) column or ctrl -click the Channel (Chan.), Bank (B), Program Change (Prog.), or Instrument Name (Instrument) columns.

What it does

Use this dialog box to create new instruments and edit existing instruments, as well as to specify or modify channel, bank, and program change information for an instrument.

•	Instrument Name. Enter a name for a new instrument, or change the name of an existing instrument.

•	Channel. Enter the number of the MIDI channel the selected instrument will use for playback. Any layers or staves assigned to this instrument will automatically play back using that MIDI channel.

•	Patch: Program Change • Bank Select 0, Bank Select 32, Program Change • Bank Select 0, Program Change • Bank Select 32, Program Change • Program Change, Program Change. This drop-down list lists the types of bank and program changes available in Finale Guitar. Finale Guitar supports bank changes according to the MIDI Specification and to the implementations of several manufacturers. Choose the method which matches your MIDI gear. (Check your manuals to see if the manufacturer of your MIDI gear supports banks, and if so, which method is supported. Or, refer to the Appendix-Bank Select, which provides a list of MIDI instruments and the bank select method they use.)

The first option corresponds to the simple program change. The remaining options provide bank support. "Bank Select 0, Bank Select 32, Program Change" is the standard method of doing bank select; first controller 0 (C0), then controller 32 (C32) are sent with their respective values (these two controllers determine the bank), then a program change (PC) is sent. The next two drop-down list selections are variations on the standard. In both cases, only one of the controllers is sent with its value. The last case, Program Change, Program Change, is bank select done by two standard program changes.

•	Bank Select 0. This text box may be disabled depending on the selection in the Patch drop-down list. If available, enter the value of the bank you want selected.

•	Bank Select 32. This text box may be disabled depending on the selection in the Patch drop-down list. If available, enter the value of the bank you want selected.

•	Program Change. Enter the number of the program change (the number of the instrument sound) that you want Finale Guitar to send.

Note: If you prefer, you can directly enter the program change number into the Instrument List’s "Prog." (program change) column, instead of entering it here.

•	General MIDI. Select the General MIDI patch from this drop-down list to automatically set up the Banks and Program Change for the selected instrument.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm or Cancel to disregard your changes.

See Also:

Instrument List

General MIDI Patch Numbers and Names

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


New Staves

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool. Choose New Staves from the Staff Menu to add staves to the bottom of your score.

Or, click the Staff Tool, then click a staff handle. Choose Add Staves from the Staff Menu to insert staves before the selected staff or staves in your score.

What it does

The New Staves dialog box contains settings for the number of new blank staves to be added below the bottom-most staff, or inserted above a selected staff, as well as how far apart they should be placed.

•	Number of Staves. Enter the number of new blank staves you want added below the existing staves or inserted above the selected staff in the score.

•	Topline to Topline Distance. This is the distance between the new staves (in currently selected measurement units), measured from the top line of one staff to the top line of the next. Enter a value to place the new staves closer or farther apart than they already are in the score. You’ll usually want to enter a negative number, because you’re measuring down from the top line of the previous staff.

Note: Finale Guitar always measures Topline to Topline Distance from the top line of a standard, 5-line staff. To locate Finale Guitar’s "Topline" position on staves with fewer than five lines (such as percussion staves), look for the staff handle; it always indicates the top line position.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without adding staves. Click OK to add staves and return to the score.

Hint: Set the distance you want between the new staves. Use negative numbers to add staves beneath the existing staves.

See Also:

Staff Menu

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Open File

How to get there

This dialog box appears when you use Finale Guitar's File Menu to open or save files. It also appears when you import Encore, Rhapsody, MIDISCAN or SmartScore files. Use this dialog box to open an existing Finale Guitar or MIDI file that you want to work on in Finale Guitar. Or, use it to open Finale Guitar libraries which contain music markings that you can use in your score. Or, use this dialog to save TIFF files to use in a word processing program. Or, use this dialog to import files from other programs, such as Encore, Rhapsody, MIDISCAN or SmartScore.

You can also use this dialog box to save the current score that you're working in Finale Guitar. Or, use it to save Finale Guitar libraries which contain the current set of music markings present in your score. This dialog box works the same as any standard Windows Open or Save dialog box. The only difference is the File Type.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can specify what kind of file you want to save or open.

List Files of Type

Choose the file type you want to open or save from the drop-down list, or choose All Files to display all the files in the current directory regardless of file type. Choose Coda Notation File (.MUS) to display "regular" Finale Guitar files. Choose Enigma Transportable File (.ETF) to display Finale Guitar files that were saved in a special "transportable" format. Generally ETF files are used when you're going to share a file between PC's and Macintoshes. Choose MIDI File to display Standard MIDI Files created in Finale Guitar or a sequencer program. Choose Coda Template File (.FTM) to display Finale Guitar files saved as templates. These files open as "Untitled," but contain all the custom score settings contained in the template file. If you have chosen Export Page as TIFF, select TIF to save as a TIFF file.

In the Open Library dialog box, choose Library File (.LIB) to display the available Finale Guitar libraries (sets of musical markings such as Articulations, Text Expressions and Shape Expressions).

In the Import dialog box, choose Encore, Rhapsody, MIDISCAN, or SmartScore to display the files of the selected type in the scrolling list. To import a scanned TIFF file, from the File Menu, choose SmartScore Lite.

See Also:

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Page Format for Parts

How to get there

Choose Page Format for Parts from the Document Settings submenu of the Options Menu.

Or, choose Extract Parts from the File Menu. Click Page Format to access the Page Format for Parts dialog box.

What it does

The text boxes in the Page Format for Parts dialog box let you globally define various page layout aspects for your document: parameters for margins, page size, and music size. Settings in the Page Format for Parts dialog box let you define page formats separately for new left and right pages in your score. You can also position the first page’s top margin and the first staff system. The Page Format for Parts dialog box affects the page layout settings for the parts you create, instead of the full score.

•	Page Size: Height • Width • Portrait • Landscape. The numbers in the height and width text boxes specify the default size for new pages yet to be created. The default page size is 8.5 by 11 inches. The Portrait and Landscape radio buttons lets you determine your score’s orientation. You can also choose from the page sizes in the drop down, which displays your choices from your pagesizes.txt file.

•	System Scaling: Staff Height • And Scale System • Resulting System Scaling. Set the staff height, then apply a percentage to the value. The static text is the cumulative effect for all staves in the score. Tip: the absolute staff height is 96 EVPUs or .3333 inches or .8467 cm.

•	Scale Page to:. You can change the number in this text box to specify the percentage of enlargement or reduction you want applied to the music on all pages, expressed as a percentage of normal size.

•	Staff System Margins: Top • Left • Bottom • Right • Distance Between Systems. The System Margins represent the distance from the edge of each system to the Page margins (Right and Left), or the distance between one system and the one above it (Top), or the extra space between the bottom of one system and the top of the next (Bottom). The distance between the bottom of one system and top of the following system is the distance between systems.

•	First Staff System Margins: Top • Left • Distance from Top. Use these controls to make room for the title on the first page of your score. Enter a value in the Top text box to tell Finale Guitar how far down the page to place the first system, measured down from the top page margin. The Left value specifies how far you want Finale Guitar to indent the first system on the first page. Enter a value for the distance from the page margin.

•	Left Page Margins: Top • Bottom • Left • Right. The settings in this group box apply to newly created left pages when you’ve selected Facing Pages. All even-numbered pages are considered left pages (as Finale Guitar numbers them in Page View). When Facing Pages is not selected, these settings apply to all newly created pages.

•	Right Page Margins: Top • Bottom • Left • Right. These settings apply to newly created right pages when Facing Pages is selected. All odd-numbered pages are considered right pages (as Finale Guitar numbers them in Page View). When Facing Pages is not selected, Finale Guitar does not use these settings.

•	First Page Top Margin. Check this box to use a different value for the first page than the default for other pages. This value sets the position of the top page margin on the first page of your music. Enter a value to specify where, measured from the top of the page, Finale Guitar should place the music.

•	Units: EVPUs • Inches • Centimeters • Points • Picas • Spaces. Select the measurement unit for the values in this dialog box only.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made in this dialog box and return to the score. Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to ignore any changes you made in this dialog box. You return to the score.

See Also:

Extract Parts

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Page Format for Score

How to get there

Choose Page Format for Score from the Document Settings submenu of the Options Menu.

What it does

The text boxes in the Page Format for Score dialog box let you globally define various page layout aspects for your document: parameters for margins, page size, and music size. Settings in the Page Format for Score dialog box let you define page formats separately for new left and right pages in your score. You can also position the first page’s top margin and the first staff system.

Once you’ve changed any of the page layout variables, Finale Guitar will only apply the changed format to any new pages it creates—not the pages already created. You can use this trait to your advantage, since it allows you to use several different page layout schemes within a single document, if you wish.

To update staff margins and page margins of pages that are already in the score, you’ll use the Page Layout Menu’s Redefine Pages submenu, which allows you to update all existing pages in your piece, just the left pages, or just the right pages. You can also easily insert and delete blank pages in your score.

•	Page Size: Height • Width • Portrait • Landscape. The numbers in the height and width text boxes specify the default size for new pages yet to be created. The default page size is 8.5 by 11 inches. The Portrait and Landscape radio buttons lets you determine your score’s orientation. You can also choose from the page sizes in the drop down, which displays your choices from your pagesizes.txt file.

•	System Scaling: Staff Height • And Scale System • Resulting System Scaling. Set the staff height, then apply a percentage to the value. The static text is the cumulative effect for all staves in the score. Tip: The default staff height is 96 EVPUs or .3333 inches or .8467 cm.

•	Scale Page to:. You can change the number in this text box to specify the percentage of enlargement or reduction you want applied to the music on all pages, expressed as a percentage of normal size.

•	Staff System Margins: Top • Left • Bottom • Right • Distance Between Systems. The System Margins represent the distance from the edge of each system to the Page margins (Right and Left), or the distance between one system and the one above it (Top), or the extra space between the bottom of one system and the top of the next (Bottom). The distance between the bottom of one system and top of the following system is the distance between systems.

•	First Staff System Margins: Top • Left • Distance from Top. Use these controls to make room for the title on the first page of your score. Enter a value in the Top text box to tell Finale Guitar how far down the page to place the first system, measured down from the top page margin. The Left value specifies how far you want Finale Guitar to indent the first system on the first page. Enter a value for the distance from the page margin.

•	Left Page Margins: Top • Bottom • Left • Right. The settings in this group box apply to newly created left pages when you’ve selected Facing Pages. All even-numbered pages are considered left pages (as Finale Guitar numbers them in Page View). When Facing Pages is not selected, these settings apply to all newly created pages.

•	Right Page Margins: Top • Bottom • Left • Right. These settings apply to newly created right pages when Facing Pages is selected. All odd-numbered pages are considered right pages (as Finale Guitar numbers them in Page View). When Facing Pages is not selected, Finale Guitar does not use these settings.

•	First Page Top Margin. Check this box to use a different value for the first page than the default for other pages. This value sets the position of the top page margin on the first page of your music. Enter a value to specify where, measured from the top of the page, Finale Guitar should place the music.

•	Units: EVPUs • Inches • Centimeters • Points • Picas • Spaces. Select the measurement unit for the values in this dialog box only.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made in this dialog box and return to the score. Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to ignore any changes you made in this dialog box. You return to the score.

See Also:

Options Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Partial Measure Selection

This alert appears when you select only part of a measure, but then choose a command that works only on full measures.

To view this dialog box, click the Mass Edit Tool. From the Edit Menu, make sure Select Partial Measures is selected. Select a region containing partial measures. Choose one of the following Mass Edit Menu commands, which can only be applied to increments of a full measure: Utilities submenu: Music Spacing submenu: Apply Beat Spacing, Apply Note Spacing, Apply Time Signature Spacing; Fit Music; Move Layers.

See Also:

Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Percent Alteration Continuous Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. (If you’re editing only a single staff, double-click the highlighted area to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Percent Alter from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to change the continuous data value of every note in the selected region by a percentage of its current value. Because it changes the data of every selected note by a percentage, the Percent Alter command preserves the relative proportions of the existing values.

•	___ percent of current value. In this text box, enter the percentage by which you want the MIDI controller settings changed for the selected notes. This value can be any number above zero—you can enter 300%, for example, to make a particular value three times its current value. (The absolute value of MIDI controllers can’t exceed 127, however.)

When you select Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu, a dialog box appears in which you can specify the MIDI controller or wheel data you want to edit—pedaling, patch changes, pitch wheel, and so on. In this case, the number in the Percent Alteration text box specifies a percentage by which you want that controller’s values multiplied for all the selected music. The Percent Alter command isn’t relevant if you’ve specified a non-continuous controller such as the sustain pedal or a patch change; it may be useful, however, if you want to increase the degree of pitch bend or monophonic aftertouch by a uniform amount for every note in the selected region.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Percent Alteration Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. (If you’re editing only a single staff, double-click the highlighted area to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Percent Alter from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to change the key velocity of every note in the selected region by a percentage of its current value. Because it changes the data of every selected note by a percentage, the Percent Alter command preserves the relative proportions of the existing values.

For example, you can specify that each note in a selected region should be played back with half its volume by entering 50 (%) in the text box.

•	___ percent of current value. In this text box, enter the percentage by which you want the key velocities changed for the selected notes. This value can be any number above zero—you can enter 300%, for example, to make a particular value three times its current value. (The absolute value of key velocities can’t exceed 127, however.) The number in this text box represents a percentage of each note’s current MIDI velocity level; MIDI key velocity is measured on a scale from zero, which is silent, to 127, which is very loud.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Percent Alteration Note Durations

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. (If you’re editing only a single staff, double-click the highlighted area to enter the MIDI Tool split-window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Percent Alter from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to change the duration of every note in the selected region by a percentage of its current value. Because it changes the data of every selected note by a percentage, the Percent Alter command preserves the relative proportions of the existing values.

•	___ percent of current value. In this text box, enter the percentage by which you want the note durations changed for the selected notes. This value can be any number above zero—you can enter 300%, for example, to make a particular value three times its current value. The number in this text box represents the amount by which you want to shorten or lengthen the playback durations of all selected notes (regardless of their notated durations). Note that this is the only MIDI Tool command that directly modifies the durations of existing notes (the other commands modify the notes’ durations indirectly, by manipulating their Start and Stop Times). For example, if you want a region of eighth notes and quarter notes to play back staccato, enter 50 (%) in this box; the notes will be sustained for only half their original durations.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Percussion Map Selection

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool. Double-click a staff. Choose Percussion from the Notation Style drop-down list if it’s not already selected. Click Select.

What it does

The Percussion Map Selection dialog box displays the percussion maps available in this document. Finale Guitar’s default percussion maps (which were saved in Finale Guitar’s percussion library) appear in this dialog box, as well as any percussion maps you create or edit. Use this dialog box to view and delete percussion maps (that can be used for any staff), and to select the current map that Finale Guitar will use with the current staff.

Note: To load a percussion library, which can contain one or more predefined percussion instrument maps, choose the Open Library command from the File Menu and select the library you want to open. To save a percussion library, choose Save Library from the File Menu. Finale Guitar saves all the percussion maps listed in the Percussion Map Selection dialog box into one library.

•	View. Click View to open the Percussion Map Viewer dialog box, which allows you to view the settings in a percussion map.

•	Delete. Click this button to delete the currently selected percussion map from the list. If the map is selected for the current staff or any other staff in the piece, you must choose an alternate percussion map for those staves before you can delete the percussion map. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl-click to select only a specific additional item in the list.

•	Move Up • Move Down. Click these buttons to move the selected item or items up or down in the list. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl-click to select only a specific additional item in the list.

•	Select. Click the percussion map that you want to use for this staff, then click this button to return to the Staff Attributes dialog box. Finale Guitar will use the selected percussion map for this staff until you select a different map, reset the staff to standard notation, or choose another option from the Notation Style drop-down list in the Staff Attributes dialog box.

•	Cancel. Click this button if you decide not to change the percussion map used by this staff. The percussion map selected when you entered the dialog box will be saved. All other changes that you made using the Delete button are also saved.

See Also:

Selection Overview

Staff Attributes

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Playback Controls

How to get there

Choose Playback Controls from the Window Menu.

What it does

Playback Controls is a docked toolbar or floating window that give you tape-deck–like buttons for controlling the playback of your score. Click on the Playback Settings button to open the Playback Settings dialog box where you can specify a number of playback options, such as the tempo, range of measures to be played, overall volume level, and so on. Also, Playback Settings let you save a MIDI or playback file, and give access to the Playback Options dialog box, where you can further specify Finale Guitar’s playback behavior.

Playback Controls supports Finale Guitar’s HyperScribe recording and playback functions as well. To start recording, you can click Record in Playback Controls when the HyperScribe Tool is selected.

•	Rewind to Beginning. Click this button to enter the number 1 into the Measure text box, which indicates where playback will begin. If the music is already playing back when you click this button, Finale Guitar will stop playback for a moment, jump to the beginning of the score, and resume playback from there.

•	Rewind. Click this button and hold the button down to make the number in the Measure text box decrease rapidly. If the music is already playing back and you want to hear something again, click this button for a moment, then release; playback will resume from the measure number (that you just changed) in the Measure box.

•	Stop • Play • Pause. Click Stop to halt playback and reset the Measure text box to its original value (or, rather, to the value indicated by the Play From controls; see below). Click Play to begin playback. While the music is playing, the Measure text box shows you the measure being played. If you click Pause playback will stop and the Measure text box will show the measure you stopped at. After you click Pause, click Play to resume playback from the place you stopped.

•	Record. Click Record to start recording when HyperScribe is the selected tool. Be sure that you have specified a staff for recording into in the Instrument List window. Based on your settings in the Click and Countoff dialog box, Finale Guitar will either start recording immediately, or after playing the indicated number of countoff measures. Unless you’re tapping to provide the beat (Tap is checked in HyperScribe’s Beat Source submenu), Finale Guitar will wait for the start signal you selected in the Playback and/or Click dialog box before playing the countoff measures and recording your performance.

Note: As a shortcut you can click a measure in your score to start recording, instead of using the Record button. Finale Guitar will start recording into the measure you clicked, according to the click and countoff settings, just as if you clicked the Record button. If Multitrack Record is selected in HyperScribe’s Record Mode submenu, you must set up the Instrument List to specify the recording information (which staves or layers to record into, and which channels to receive from).

•	Fast Forward. This button makes the number in the Measure text box advance rapidly. If the music is already playing back and you want to skip ahead, click this button for a moment, then release; playback will resume from the measure number (that you just changed) in the Measure text box.

•	Fast Forward to End. When you click this button, the Measure text box shows the number of the last measure in the score.

If the music is already playing back when you click this button, Finale Guitar will stop playback for a moment, play the last measure of the score, and stop.

•	Measure__. This text box has two functions. Before you begin playback, it indicates the first measure to be played. And while playback is underway, it changes to show you the measure being played.

•	Playback Settings icon. Most of the time, the controls described above are adequate for controlling playback. If you want to use some of Finale Guitar’s more powerful options, click the Playback Settings button (a speaker icon). The Playback Settings dialog box opens to reveal several other controls and options. See Playback Settings dialog box.

•	Tempo: Whole Note • Half Note • Quarter Note • [etc.]. The Playback Tempo is used for playback only. The tempo used for recording is set in the Playback and/or Click dialog box. The Playback tempo controls let you establish the playback tempo for your piece. Of course, if you’ve set up the tempo in other ways, by placing tempo markings into the score for example, then this tempo setting will have no effect. See Playback and/or Click dialog box.

Not every tempo is measured in quarter notes per minute, of course, so you can select the basic unit of the tempo pulse (Half Note, Dotted Quarter Note, and so on) from the Tempo drop down list. To set the number of beats per minute—the actual tempo—either type a new number into the text box, or click the arrows to increase or decrease the displayed number.

See Also:

Playback Options

Click and Countoff

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Playback Options

How to get there

From the Options Menu, choose Playback Options. Or, choose Playback Controls from the Window Menu. Click the Playback Settings button; then click Playback Options.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can define Finale Guitar’s handling of a number of playback variables, for real-time playback and playback files. For example, you can specify whether or not it should scan the music and "chase" expression markings that occur before the measure you click (if you’re starting playback in mid-piece); and whether or not Finale Guitar should use the tempo, pedaling, and velocity information from your original real-time performance (if your piece is a transcription created with the HyperScribe Tool).

•	Play Recorded Key Velocities • Play Recorded Note Durations • Play Recorded Continuous Data • Play Recorded Tempo Changes. There are four kinds of playback data Finale Guitar stores invisibly with the notes in your score. Key Velocity data describes how hard each note was struck, which usually determines how loudly it plays back. Note Durations means Start and Stop Time data, the small rhythmic deviations from the beat that give a performance a certain rhythmic feel; swing, rolled chords, and rushing the beat are all products of Note Duration data. Continuous data is data generated by the pitch wheel, patch changes, and controllers such as the pedal.

All of this MIDI information is generated when you record a live performance using HyperScribe. To record key velocity and Note Duration information using HyperScribe, choose Quantization Settings from the Options Menu, then More Quantization Settings before recording, and check Record Key Velocities and Record Note Durations. (HyperScribe doesn’t record continuous data or tempo changes.)

You can also create this data directly in the score using the MIDI Tool (except for tempo changes, which you can create with the Tempo Tool). Of course, you can place articulation or expression markings into the score that produce similar playback effects.

If you select all four checkboxes, then, you’ll hear a playback that precisely duplicates your original performance—complete with pedaling, subtle dynamics, ritards and accelerandi, and uneven rhythms—even if the resulting notated version looks considerably different. If you don’t select any of these checkboxes, Finale Guitar will sight-read your notated score exactly as it appears on the screen—which will be a rhythmically square, expressionless playback with no dynamics and no tempo fluctuations.

•	Ignore Repeats. Select this checkbox if you want Finale Guitar to play through your piece, ignoring any repeat barlines or text repeats as though they didn’t exist.

•	Reset Repeats. Select this checkbox if you want Finale Guitar to treat any repeat barlines (or text repeats) it encounters as though it’s reaching them for the first time. If you don’t specify Reset Repeats, Finale Guitar will remember how many times it’s encountered each repeat sign each time you stop playback, and—when you start again—it will continue playing your piece as though you’d never stopped. If you’re proofreading a score by playing a section at a time, you probably won’t want to select this option; Finale Guitar will "remember its place" as you play each section.

•	Playback Files. All options in the Playback Files group box are only used when a playback file is selected for playback. (If you’re playing the Active File, Pre-Scan Music must be selected in Playback Settings.)

•	Wait for MIDI Sync. If your computer is connected to an external drum machine or other sequencer, and you want Finale Guitar to be the "slave" device for synchronization purposes, select this box (If you’re playing the Active File, Pre-Scan Music must be selected in Playback Settings.) Finale Guitar won’t begin playback until it receives a MIDI Sync signal from the external device. Note that when Wait for MIDI Sync is selected, the start measure displayed in Playback Controls is considered to be measure 1. For example, if the Playback Controls’ start measure is measure 10, and the master sends sync information to go to measure 5, Finale Guitar will advance 5 measures to measure 15.

•	Send Patch Changes During MIDI Sync • Send Continuous Data During MIDI Sync. These technical options are only available if you’ve selected Wait for MIDI Sync (and your computer is connected to an external sequencer).

In the event that the external sequencer is playing a sequence of its own, there’s a danger that your synthesizer will be confused by duplicate MIDI data being generated by Finale Guitar and the sequencer. Using these options, you can specify what kinds of MIDI data you want Finale Guitar to transmit, so that you can avoid simultaneous transmissions of the same kinds of data to the same synthesizer. Choose Send Patch Changes During MIDI Sync if you want Finale Guitar to transmit any patch changes you’ve created in your score as it plays back. Choose Send Continuous Data During MIDI Sync if you want Finale Guitar to transmit continuous data (use of the pedals, pitch or modulation wheels, aftertouch, and so on).

•	Use MIDI Configuration from: Playback File • Active Document. Suppose you create a playback file of a document and save it onto your disk (see Playback Settings for a description of playback files). Now you open a different document, but specify that you want to hear the playback file played back.

In that instance, Finale Guitar has two possible sets of MIDI setup information (MIDI channel assignments, patch selections, Instrument List configuration) from which to choose—that of the open Finale Guitar document, or that of the playback file you’ve selected. Use this drop-down list to specify which MIDI parameters you want to use.

•	Dynamics and Markings: Reset • Use Current Settings • Chase from First Measure. If you choose Chase from First Measure from this drop-down list, Finale Guitar will take a moment to read through, or "chase," any expressions, and patch changes that occur between the beginning of your piece and the first measure you’ve selected to play back. In so doing, Finale Guitar can take into account changes in tempo, volume, and patch settings that occurred earlier in the piece so that all MIDI variables will be at the correct current settings. (The "chasing" process may take awhile before playback begins, depending on how far you are from the beginning of the piece.)

Choose Reset, on the other hand, if you don’t want Finale Guitar to "chase" those tempo, volume, and other markings from the first measure before beginning playback in the middle of a piece. (Instead, Finale Guitar will begin playback using the Tempo and Base Key Velocity you’ve indicated in Playback Controls and Playback Settings, until it encounters any other expression markings while playing back.)

But if you plan to play your piece a section at a time, you may want Finale Guitar to simply remember the tempo, volume, and controller settings at the end of each passage you play, so that it will be ready to continue with the next measure. If you select Use Current Settings, Finale Guitar doesn’t have to "chase" these expressions from the beginning of the piece each time you continue playback; it remembers them.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made in this dialog box. Finale Guitar will use the option settings you’ve just made whenever it plays back your score or creates a playback file. Click Cancel to exit the dialog box without changing any settings.

See Also:

Playback Controls

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Playback Settings

How to get there

From the Windows Menu, choose Playback Controls. Click on the Playback Settings  button on the Playback Controls.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can define Finale Guitar’s handling of a number of playback variables, for real-time playback and playback files.

•	Play Mode: Non-Scrolling • Non-Scrolling (Pre-Scan Music) • Scrolling. Choose Non-Scrolling to play back your music without showing a pointer on the music as it plays back. Choose Non-Scrolling (Pre-Scan Music) if you want Finale Guitar to pre-process the music before it plays back; no pointer is shown when the music plays back. Choose Scrolling if you want Finale Guitar to show a pointer as the music plays back. Finale Guitar will automatically pre-scan the music before playing; when the pointer reaches the edge of the window, Finale Guitar advances to the next screen of music.

•	Swing: Swing Values. This control allows you to apply a swing feel to the entire piece. If you’ve created an Expression with a Swing effect, the expression will override this control. Click on the Swing Values drop-down menu to select from several levels of swing or type the percentage of swing in the text box (0% = no swing, 100% = standard swing). For more details, see Swing Playback.

•	Base Key Velocity. This number, on a scale from 0 (silent) to 127 (very loud), establishes the overall key velocity setting for the playback of your piece. (Key velocity is usually equated with volume, but not always. Finale Guitar calculates the effect of dynamic markings (expressions) based on this number. In other words, you can make the piece generally softer by decreasing this number (but individual dynamics within the piece will still override the playback control settings).

•	Always Start at: Measure ___ • Leftmost Measure • Current Counter Setting. Using these options, specify where you want Finale Guitar to begin playback; the default settings tell Finale Guitar to play from Measure__. Enter a number into the text box (or click the arrows to change the number). Alternatively, you can select the Leftmost Measure displayed on the screen or the current measure displayed in the counter setting box of the Playback Controls.

Using the Start and Stop options, you can even tell Finale Guitar to play measures that aren’t on the screen. Or, by entering a small range and repeatedly clicking the Play button, you can, in effect, "loop" through a certain segment.

•	Stop at: End of Piece • Measure ___. These controls let you specify where playback should stop. The default setting tells Finale Guitar to play to the end of the piece, but you can enter a number into the Measure text box—or click the arrows—to specify a certain stopping point.

•	Playback Source: Play Active Document • Play from Playback File. There are two kinds of files Finale Guitar can play. You’re already familiar with a Finale Guitar document—the notated, sheet-music kind of document you work on most of the time. The active document is the one in the frontmost window (if you have several documents open at once), whose name is identified by a check mark in the Window Menu.

A playback file is a special audio-only file which can be saved onto your disk independently of the notation document. When Finale Guitar creates a playback file, it’s already done all of the work involved in "sight-reading" your score. Therefore, when you play back a playback file, you’re less likely to overwhelm the computer with the task of creating MIDI playback—a useful fact to remember if you’re working on a fast or "notey" score which seems to be bogging down the computer.

The second important advantage of a playback file is that it permits the computer to focus its processing power on the task of scrolling the screen display to keep up with the audio playback. Only when it’s using a playback file (or pre-scanning the music) can Finale Guitar scroll the music on the screen for you.

If you’ve created playback files by clicking the Save File button, you can load them into Finale Guitar’s memory, ready to play, by clicking on Select File in the Playback File area. A list box will appear, showing the contents of the current folder on your hard disk; find the playback file you want to play and double-click it. Then make sure Play from Playback file is selected in Playback Source. Click Play on the Playback Controls to hear it played back.

•	Click and Countoff. Click this button to display the Click and Countoff dialog box, where you can set what will be played for a metronome click, whether a countoff will play and for how long, and when a metronome click will be heard. For information about setting the options for click and countoff in your music, see Click and Countoff dialog box.

•	Playback Options. Click this button to display the Playback Options dialog box where you can specify how Finale Guitar plays back your score. See Playback Options dialog box.

•	Playback File: Save File • Select File • Current Selected File. Click the Save File button to create either a MIDI file or a Playback File of the measures indicated in the Play From and Play Through boxes. You’ll be asked to provide a title, and you can save it into any folder on your hard disk. When you want to play it later, choose Play from Playback File from the Playback source area, then click on Select File in the Playback File area. When your file is selected, it will appear under Current Selected File.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to your score without making any changes to the dialog box. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm your playback settings and return to the score.

See Also:

Playback Controls

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Playback and Click
Playback and/or Click

How to get there

Click the HyperScribe Tool. Choose Playback and/or Click from the Beat Source submenu of the HyperScribe Menu.

What it does

Use the Playback and/or Click dialog box to set the recording tempo, to define a start signal for recording, and to select whether staves play back while Finale Guitar records your performance.

•	Beat equals. Click the note duration you would like to use for your beat.

•	Tempo • Listen. Finale Guitar will use this tempo for all HyperScribe record modes. Type the tempo into the text box, or click Listen and the Listen to Tempo dialog box appears; then tap the tempo on your MIDI device or in the dialog box with your mouse. Finale Guitar will fill in the tempo for you. See Listen to Tempo dialog box.

•	Play Staves While Recording. Select this option if you want staves selected in the Instrument List to play back. Playback and/or Click must be selected in the Beat Source submenu. See Instrument List window.

Note: Finale Guitar will not play back staves if either Tap or External MIDI Sync is selected in the Beat Source submenu.

•	Start Signal for Recording: None (Record Immediately) • Any MIDI Data • Standard Sustain Pedal • Nonstandard Sustain Pedal • Current Metronome Sound • Other. Choose None (Record Immediately) for Finale Guitar to start recording without waiting for any signal to begin. Choose one of the other options to have Finale Guitar start recording upon input of any MIDI data; when you press a standard (or a nonstandard) sustain pedal; or when the current metronome click is played, respectively. To define a start signal that is not listed, choose Other; the MIDI Event dialog box appears, where you can enter values for the MIDI event. Or, click Listen, then play the MIDI signal; Finale Guitar will enter the settings for you. See MIDI Event dialog box.

Note: The Start Signal for Recording setting is used only when you’re recording (and Playback and/or Click is selected in the Beat Source submenu), not when you’re playing back your music.

•	Click and Countoff. Click this button to display the Click and Countoff dialog box where you can set various options for the metronome click. See Click and Countoff dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the new settings, or click Cancel to discard any changes you made. You return to the score.

Tip: Record at a slower tempo if you don’t warm up on Chopin Nocturnes. Start Signal for Recording can be identified from a list of MIDI events or none at all (when you click in the measure Finale Guitar will be counting off).

See Also

HyperScribe Menu

Click and Countoff

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Print

How to get there

Choose Print from the File Menu.

What it does

This dialog box lists several printing options, which vary depending on your printer. You can specify, for example, which pages of the score you want to print, and how many copies.

You can control whether just odd or even pages print, and you can control how the pages print—in reverse order, or collated, or tiled. These options appear when you print your score by choosing Print from the File Menu. You can also print ranges of pages, include registration and crop marks on each page, and print one, two, or four pages of music on one printed page.

•	Print Range: All • From: ___ Through: ___. Specify the page range that you want to print. Click All to print your entire score, or click From:___ Through: ___ to specify a particular range. If you want to print a discontinuous range of pages, See the Page Ranges text box (below).

•	Print Quality. Choose the resolution setting you want from this drop-down list.

•	Copies. Enter the number of copies you want to print.

•	Print to File. Select this option if you wish to save a file in a format that can be printed by a computer that does not have Finale Guitar installed.

•	Print Display Colors. Select this option to allow Finale Guitar to print the colors on your display to your color printer. Note that if you do not have a color printer, this will only print in shades of gray.

•	Setup. Choose your printer or change your print settings from within the Page Setup dialog box. Click the Setup button to display the Page Setup dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to print. Click Cancel to return to the score without printing.

See Also:

Page Setup dialog box

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Page Setup

How to get there

Choose Page Setup from the File Menu.

What it does

 In this dialog box, you can specify which paper size you want to print on, but note that the page size of your score itself is completely independent of the page size you specify here. (Use the Page Layout Tool to set the actual printed image size.) To ensure 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. Finally, you can specify your choice of orientation (Portrait or Landscape) in this dialog box.

See Also:

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Program Options

How to get there

From the Options Menu, choose Program Options.

What it does

The Program Options dialog box lets you configure Finale Guitar’s program-wide settings.

Click a category on the left to see its corresponding options appear on the right side of this dialog box.

For example, click the Save category to specify whether to save your preferences automatically

when you exit Finale Guitar, or only when you explicitly use the Save Preferences command. You

can make as many changes as you like before returning to your score by pressing the Apply button

when you have finished changing the settings for any category. The settings in this dialog box are saved in your the Finale Guitar.INI file (in your Finale Guitar folder).

Special mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts

Hold down the Ctrl key and press PageUp to move to the next page.

Hold down the Ctrl key and press PageDown to move to the previous page.

See:

Program Options - Save/Open

Program Options - View

Program Options - Folders

Program Options - Display Colors

Program Options - Palettes and Backgrounds

•	Close Subsidiary Palettes When Leaving Tool. If this item is selected, Finale Guitar will close the Smart Shape Palette and Special Tools Palette whenever you change to another tool. If you prefer to leave the palettes displayed, deselect this checkbox.

•	Show Rest Palette for Simple Entry. Select this option to display the rest palette for Simple Entry.

•	Load Window States at Startup. If this item is selected, Finale Guitar will load the last saved position of the palettes and windows when you start Finale Guitar. See Save Window States at Exit below.

•	Auto Save File(s) Every ___ Minutes. If you tend to forget to save your work to your hard disk every so often (by choosing Save from the File Menu), Finale Guitar’s Auto Save command is a good safety net. When this feature is on, Finale Guitar will update a second copy (not the one you’re working on) at regular intervals. This second copy of your file is stored in the Auto Save folder specified in the Folders group box. If no folder is specified, the backup files are stored in the Music folder.

Select this checkbox; in the text box, specify how often Finale Guitar should save your work to the duplicate copy of the file you have open. After the number of minutes you specified have passed, a message will appear, letting you know that Finale Guitar is saving your work. (This feature does not save your changes when you exit from Finale Guitar, however. Be sure to save changes to your primary file when you exit.)

•	Make Backups When Saving Files. If this option is selected, Finale Guitar will automatically save a backup copy of your file in the Backup folder specified in the Folders group box. If no folder is specified, the backup files are stored in the Music folder.

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. When you turn the Make Backups When Saving Files feature on, and perform a Save command, this earlier version of the file is preserved as a backup. 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 Window States at Exit. If this item is selected, Finale Guitar will save the position of the palettes and windows when you exit Finale Guitar. To make the most use of these settings, position your palettes and the document window, make sure this item is selected, and then exit Finale Guitar. The next time you use Finale Guitar, click this item to select it, and make sure that Load Windows At Startup is selected.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your new program settings.

Tip: Click the Browse button to navigate to a specific folder if you do not know the full path to that folder

See Also:

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Quantization Settings

How to get there

Choose Quantization Settings from the Options Menu. Or, click the Quant Settings button in a number of related dialog boxes.

What it does

The Quantization Settings dialog box allows you to specify the smallest note value Finale Guitar will quantize input to and the type of quantization it will perform such as allowing or ignoring tuplets. If you want more detailed quantization settings, click More Settings and the More Quantization Settings dialog box will appear. See More Quantization Settings dialog box.

Keep in mind that in Finale Guitar, the term Quantization refers to something slightly different than it does in sequencing software. In sequencers, when you Quantize a note, you shorten or lengthen the start/stop times of the notes so that they are aligned more precisely with the pulse. In short, you change how the notes sound. If you quantize a measure of 16th notes to a 1/4 note quantization, you will subsequently only hear four quarter notes (probably chords) in this measure.

In Finale Guitar, on the other hand, the quantization affects how the notes appear rather than how they sound. Quantizing the same measure of 16th notes in Finale Guitar by a 1/4 note will cause four 1/4 note chords to appear BUT may still play back the 16th note run.

Although you can instruct Finale Guitar to play the music literally as it appears on the page, by default when you import a midi file or input in real time using Finale Guitar's HyperScribe Tool, Finale Guitar will retain how the music sounds separately from how it looks (rhythms are expected to look differently than the sound in swing music, for example). See Playback Options dialog box for more details.

Note: To update your Finale Guitar.INI file with the new settings you made (and all other current settings), remember that you must choose the Save Preferences command (File Menu then Save Special) unless you selected Save Preferences When Quitting in the Program Options dialog box. See Program Options dialog box.

•	Smallest Note Value. Select the smallest note value you expect to play from the palette displayed. If the value is not available, type the EDU value in the text box. Remember that eighth note triplets are shorter than regular eighth notes. If you want to have triplets for eighth notes, either use sixteenth notes as your smallest note value or enter 341 in the EDUs text box (One quarter note = 1024 EDUs, so an eighth note triplet is 1024 divided by 3 or 341.

•	No Tuplets. This option tells Finale Guitar that there will be no triplets (or any other tuplets) in your transcription. You’re telling Finale Guitar to assume that all small rhythmic values are sixteenth notes, 32nd notes, and so on—but never tuplets.

•	Mix Rhythms. This option tries to distinguish between tuplet and non-tuplet rhythms, based on the timing of the notes within the beat. A Mix Rhythms setting requires that you play accurately enough for the computer to make such distinctions. You may need to play slightly slower to achieve good results with this option.

•	Space Notes Evenly in Beat. This option tells Finale Guitar to count how many notes you played during a certain beat, and to notate them on that basis. If you played three notes, no matter how unevenly, they’ll be transcribed as a triplet; four notes will appear as sixteenth notes, and so on. These characteristics make Space Notes Evenly in Beat a good setting for swing tunes, because triplets are perfectly transcribed, and all the swung eighth notes are transcribed as normal eighth notes—which is the correct notation for swing (provided you write "Swing" above the first measure, as a performance indication). If you played only two sixteenths and one eighth note, the notes will be transcribed as a triplet.

•	More Settings.  Click this button to display the More Quantization Settings dialog box. This dialog box contains detailed options for transcribing your files such as allowing voice two and capturing Key Velocities. See More Quantization Settings dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. When you click OK, Finale Guitar will change your Quantization Settings and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score without making any changes.

See Also:

Options Menu

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Randomize - Key Velocities
Randomize Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Randomize from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can direct Finale Guitar to alter the velocity for all selected notes at random. This can be a useful option if you want to give your playback a more imperfect, "human" feeling. (The Randomize command isn’t available if you’ve selected Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu.)

•	Randomize the Key Velocities but Limit the Change to ___. In this text box, enter the maximum amount by which you want Finale Guitar to randomly vary the key velocity values of the notes in the selected region. The number in this text box represents MIDI velocity units, which are on a scale from zero, which is silent, to 127, which is very loud. You’ll probably find that a number between 10 and 20 produces satisfactory results (a more human "feel") without introducing obvious accents.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

Hint: Enter values between 5-20 to achieve a more "human" feel.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Randomize - Note Durations
Randomize Note Durations

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Randomize from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can direct Finale Guitar to alter the duration values for all selected notes at random. This can be a useful option if you want to give your playback a more imperfect, "human" feeling; or, by very slightly randomizing the Start Times of the notes in your piece, you can alleviate MIDI playback problems caused by too much note information being sent at the same instant to your MIDI instrument. (The Randomize command isn’t available if you’ve selected Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu.)

•	Start Times limited to ___ • Stop Times limited to ___. The numbers in these text boxes represent the amount by which you want to randomly vary the attack or release points of all selected notes’ playback (regardless of their notated durations). You’re specifying the maximum number of EDUs, of which there are 1024 per quarter note, you want added to (or subtracted from) the Start or Stop Times of the selected notes (see Start and Stop Times for a discussion of Start and Stop Times).

You might enter an EDU value of 1/16 (or less) of the predominant rhythmic values in the music, unless you want to produce unpredictable, strange rhythmic effects. To subtly soften the rhythmic precision of an eighth note (512 EDUs) passage, for example, you might type 32 into the Start and Stop Times boxes.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Rebeam to Lyrics

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures. From the Rebeam submenu of the Mass Edit Menu, choose Rebeam to Lyrics.

What it does

A convention used in opera or art song notation is beaming to lyrics. In this scheme, eighth, sixteenth, and shorter notes are never beamed together in the vocal line except when a syllable is sustained through more than one note (as a melisma). This dialog box lets you specify the lyrics you want rebeamed in this way.

•	Break Beams at Each Syllable in: All Lyrics • All Verses  • All Choruses • All Sections. When the first radio button is selected the drop-down list allowing you to select All Lyrics, All Verses, All Choruses, and All Sections is used. With this menu you can instruct Finale Guitar to impose word-by-word beaming for a certain lyric type, such as Verses or Sections. (Verses, Choruses, and Sections are functionally identical; they just give you a convenient method of subdividing your lyrics.)

•	Verse • Chorus • Section ___ . When the second radio button is selected, this drop-down list and the associated text box are used. With this drop-down list you can select a specific set of lyrics whose notes you want to rebeam. Choose the lyric type from the drop-down list, then type the lyric number (Verse 1, for example) into the text box.

•	Also Break Beams at Each Beat in the Time Signature. Select this checkbox if you want the beams in melismatic passages (where a single syllable is sustained through more than one note) broken at the beginning of each beat, as they would be if they were beamed normally, according to the time signature. If you don’t select this option, Finale Guitar will beam together all notes in a melismatic passage, even if it results in (for example) all eight eighth notes in a 4/4 measure being beamed together.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made; you return to the score, where Finale Guitar performs the rebeaming operation. Click Cancel if you decide not to do any rebeaming. You return to the score.

See Also:

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Redefine Pages

This alert appears after you choose Current Page or All Pages from the Page Layout Menu/Redefine Pages submenu. It warns you that any individual edits to the pages will be lost if you proceed.

To view this dialog box, choose either option from the Redefine Pages submenu of the Page Layout Menu while the Page Layout Tool is selected. Once you click O.K, the alert will appear.

See Also:

Page Format for Score

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Remove Staff

How to get there

Click on the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Optimize Staff Systems. Check Optimize Staff Systems, Remove Empty Staves, and Ask Before Removing Staves. Click OK.

What it does

Use this dialog box to control whether an empty staff is removed from a staff system during the optimization process.

•	Yes • Yes All • No • No All. Click Yes to remove the staff listed in the system listed only. Click Yes All to remove the staff listed in all systems where the staff is empty. Click No to leave the staff listed in the system listed only. Click No All to leave the staff in all systems.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to stop the optimization process without removing any staves.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Repeat Selection

How to get there

Click the Repeat Tool, and click a measure in the score. (If the measure already has a repeat, click it again.)

What it does

In this dialog box, you can choose either a repeat barline or a text repeat you want to insert in the score. You can select one of the four repeat barlines pictured in the window.

•	[The four graphic repeat icons]. The first icon, the Forward Repeat, is a purely graphic repeat barline. Normally, a musician relies upon such a barline to indicate the beginning of the repetition (the target measure). In Finale Guitar, however, this barline type has no playback functions of its own; that’s because you specify both the beginning and ending measures of the repeated section when you create the ending barline.

The second icon, the Backward Repeat, can have a playback effect assigned to it: in other words, it can operate in the way you’d expect—by directing the playback flow back to an earlier measure. Note, however, that like any of Finale Guitar’s repeats, it doesn’t have to direct playback to an earlier measure; you could define it to direct the playback to a later measure, if necessary.

The third icon, the Backward Repeat with Bracket, is identical to the Backward Repeat, except it has an adjustable bracket. You might use this barline to create a first ending, for example.

The fourth (rightmost) icon, the Multiple Ending Repeat bracket, offers a bracket alone. You can use this repeat bracket as the first measure of a two-measure first ending, or drag the rightmost handle toward the staff to create a final ending.

This repeat bracket has one significant difference from the other two functional graphic repeats. The two graphic Backward Repeats which contain barlines, jump to the specified target when the end of the measure is reached. In a measure containing a Multiple Ending Repeat Bracket, however, the playback jumps to the target when it reaches the beginning of the measure—once again, making this repeat bracket appropriate for the first measure of a first ending that’s several measures long.

To select one of these graphic repeats, double-click its icon. If you selected the first icon, you return to the score. If you selected either of the middle icons, you proceed to the Backward Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box. If you selected the rightmost icon, you go to the Ending Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box. See Backward Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box and Ending Repeat Bar Assignment dialog box for more information.

•	[Text Repeats]. In the scrolling display area of this dialog box, Finale Guitar lists the text repeats available in the document.

A text repeat is a piece of text, such as "To Coda," that functions as a fully operational repeat marking, just like a repeat barline.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to exit this dialog box without adding a repeat to your score.

•	Select. Instead of double-clicking a repeat icon (or a text repeat), you can click it once and then click this button. You proceed to the score or to the next dialog box.

See Also:

Repeat Assignment

Repeat Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Resize Page

How to get there

Click the Resize Tool. In Page View, click the upper-left corner of a page.

Or, click on the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Resize Pages.

What it does

This dialog box lets you specify how much you want to reduce or enlarge all the music (as well as text and expressions) on a page of your score (or many pages); if you wish, you can also change the actual page dimensions in the process.

•	Resize Page to ___%. The number in this text box specifies how much you want to resize the page, expressed as a percentage of the original full size.

•	Hold Margins. If you select this item, you won’t actually change the dimensions of the page itself, only the music itself. The result is that a different amount of music will fit on a page. (Be sure to choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu when you’re finished, so you can see the effects of your resizing on the number of measures that fit on a line.) See Resize Staff System dialog box for an illustration.

•	Page ___ Through ___ • Page ___ Through End of Piece. These options let you specify what range of pages you want to resize.

•	Update Page Format. When selected, Finale Guitar automatically updates the page size percentage in the Page Format for Score dialog box (Options Menu) to the current setting in the Resize Page dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your reduction or enlargement specifications. You return to the score. (If you clicked OK, be sure to choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu to correct any uneven measure spacing introduced by the resizing.)

Hint: Numbers greater than 100 enlarge it, and numbers less than 100 reduce it.

See Also:

Resize Tool

Page Layout Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Resize Staff

How to get there

Click the Resize Tool. In Page View, click directly to the left of a staff.

What it does

This dialog box lets you specify the percentage of enlargement or reduction you want applied to a staff.

•	Resize Staff to ___%. This number specifies how much you want to resize the staff, expressed as a percentage of the original full size.

•	System ___ Through ___ • System ___ Through End of Piece. These options let you specify the range of systems in which you want to resize the staff.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to proceed with the staff resizing, or Cancel if you decide note to resize anything. You return to the score.

Hint: Numbers greater than 100 enlarge it, and numbers less than 100 reduce it.

See Also:

Resize Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Resize Staff System

How to get there

Click the Resize Tool. In Page View, click directly to the left of, and between, two staves that are part of the same system.

Or, click on the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Resize Staff Systems.

What it does

This dialog box lets you specify the percentage of enlargement or reduction you want applied to a staff system.

•	Staff Sizing: Staff Height • Units • And Resize System • Resulting System Scaling. Set the staff height, then apply a percentage to the value. The static text is the cumulative effect for all staves in the system. Tip: the absolute staff height is 96 EVPUs or .3333 inches or .8467 cm. Select the measurement unit for the values in this dialog box only.

•	Hold Margins. This item offers you the chance to resize the system without actually resizing its image on the page proportionally—in other words, to maintain the current margins. The result is that the music is resized, so a different amount of it fits on a line. (Be sure to choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu when you’re finished, so you can see the effects of your resizing on the number of measures that fit on a line.)

If you reduce a system with Hold Margins and Resize Vertical Space selected, the music gets smaller, but the system still stretches from margin to margin, and the space between it and the following system is reduced proportionally (left). If neither option is selected, the system shrinks in every direction, including horizontally, but the space between it and the next system doesn’t change (right).

•	Resize Vertical Space. This item lets you proportionally resize the space between the system you’re changing and the next system. If you didn’t select this option before reducing a system, you may discover that there’s too much space between the reduced system and the next; and if you’ve enlarged a system, you might find that there’s too little space between the enlarged system and the next.

•	System ___ Through ___ • System ___ Through End of Piece. These options let you specify what range of systems you want to resize. To resize only the system you clicked, leave the numbers (that Finale Guitar proposes) alone.

•	Update Page Format. When selected, Finale Guitar automatically updates the staff sizing in the Page Format for Score dialog box (Options Menu) to the current setting in the Resize Staff System dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your reduction or enlargement specifications. You return to the score. Be sure to choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu to correct any uneven measure spacing introduced by the resizing. Click Cancel if you decide not to resize anything. You return to the score.

Hint: Numbers greater than 100 enlarge it, and numbers less than 100 reduce it.

See Also:

Resize Tool

Page Layout Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Respace Staves

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool, and select Respace Staves from the Staff Menu.

What it does

The Respace function adjusts the vertical spacing of all the staves in your document. It can either space them evenly, or—if your staves aren’t evenly spaced to begin with—it can preserve the gaps between staves, but make all gaps proportionally larger or smaller.

•	Top Staff Position: Keep Current Position. Leave this option selected if you don’t want to move the top staff.

•	Top Staff Position: Set to ___ . If you want to place the top staff a certain distance from the top of the screen, select this option and enter the distance in the text box.

•	Top Staff Position: Scale to ___ %. If you want to adjust the top staff’s position by a percentage of its current position, select this option. For example, to place it twice as far down from the top of the screen, you’d enter 200 (%) in the text box. You’d usually use this option only if you’re also adjusting the other staves by a percentage.

•	Distance Between Staves: Set to ___ . This option lets you specify a fixed amount of space between staves in the score; in the text box, enter the distance you want between staves.

•	Distance Between Staves: Scale to ___ %. If you don’t want all staves to be equidistant, but simply want to place them all closer together or farther apart, select this option, which preserves their relative distances. For example, if you’ve created a larger-than-usual gap between the woodwind staves and the strings, you could enter 50% in this text box. There would still be extra space—but both the gap and the distances between staves within the woodwind or string sections would all be half as large.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your new spacing settings.

Tip: If your score has different distances between groups (such as between woodwinds and brass), use Scale to a percentage to maintain those unique distances.

See Also:

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Web Page Options

How to get there

From the File Menu, choose Save Special, then Save As Web Page.

What it does

Finale Guitar supplies a quick, convenient way to turn your score into web page. Based on your choices in this dialog box, Finale Guitar will create a web page which will allow or disallow certain actions. If you want people to be able to preview your score, but buy the sheet music, you may wish to disallow printing or saving. Anyone who wishes to view this file will need the free Finale Viewer plug-in (also called the SmartMusic Viewer) to be used with an Internet browser. For more information about preparing your score for the Web, see To create a web page using the Save As Web Page command, below.

•	Viewer will allow: Transposition • Display of File Info • Scrolling • Viewing Multiple Pages • Save • Printing • Playback. Check the Transposition box to allow users to transpose your file in the Finale (SmartMusic) Viewer. Check the Display of File Info box to have the Finale (SmartMusic) Viewer show the title and composer information found in the File Info dialog box. Check the Scrolling box to show the scroll bars in the Viewer and allow users to scroll around the page. Check the Viewing Multiple Pages to allow users to view past the first page of the file. Check the Save box to allow users to save a copy of your file. Check the Printing box to allow users to print a copy of your file. Check the Playback box to allow users to playback the file.

•	Designate a Solo Instrument Staff: Staff • Instrument. These settings allow you to designate a specific staff as a solo instrument to provide for transposing the solo line only in the Viewer. For example, if you have a piece written for piano and clarinet, but the person viewing and printing the file plays oboe, they can change the transposition of the solo line, while keeping the entire piece in the same key. Select the Designate a Solo Instrument Staff to enable the feature. Select the staff and type of instrument from the Staff and Instrument drop-down list.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to use the information entered. Finale Guitar will ask to save your current document, if needed, and save an HTML document with the same name in your selected directory. Both the notation file and the HTML document must be placed on the website. Click Cancel to return to the score and not create a web page. For more information about preparing your score for the Web, see To create a web page using the Save As Web Page command, below.

To create a web page with the Save As Web Page command

•	Carefully prepare the file, completing all changes that might affect layout or playback. For example, you may wish to do a final Update Layout. Instead of disallowing Viewing Multiple Pages in the Web Page Options, you may find it easier to create a copy of your score with only the first page of music. Please note that the Display Colors will appear as black and white in the Viewer. For more information, see Page Layout.

You may wish to double-check the Playback Settings. For example, if you have the Playback Controls set to Always start at measure 13, the Viewer user will never be able to hear measure 1. Make sure you have the appropriate base tempo setting, although Expression and Tempo Tool adjustment can override the base tempo. Check for properly functioning repeats. For more information, see Playback Controls.

•	From the File Menu, choose File Info. The File Info dialog box appears. Add any comments or information to the File Info, if you will allow access to the File Info for the Viewer user. For more information, see File Info dialog box.

•	Check the file for any unusual fonts. Note that fonts are not embedded. In order for the user of the Finale (SmartMusic) viewer to see your file exactly as you do, they must have the same music fonts AND text fonts on their system. The Finale (SmartMusic) viewer includes the Maestro music font. Files containing the Maestro music font and common text fonts will appear the same for all users of the Viewer. Files containing other Coda music fonts may require users of the Finale (SmartMusic) to download additional fonts from the Coda website. Files containing obscure text or music fonts can result in font substitution and unexpected results. For more information, see Fonts in the User Manual.

•	Check the file for potential collisions after transposition. If you allow the Viewer user to transpose the solo line, note-attached items, such as articulations and expressions, will move with the transposed notes. Measure-attached items, such as lyrics, chord symbols, fretboards, repeats and measure-attached text blocks, will not move with the transposed notes and may result in collisions.

You may wish to post more than one version of the file. For example, you could have a high voice file and a low voice file. Lyrics, chord symbols and repeats could be positioned appropriately to avoid most collisions in those ranges.

•	From the File Menu, choose Save. Finale Guitar saves the notation file.

•	From the File Menu, choose Save As Web Page. Finale Guitar will ask to save your notation (or .MUS) file. You may change the directory if you wish.

•	Click Save. Finale Guitar will save the notation file and an HTML document (web page) with the same name in your selected directory.

You may now place *both* files on your website. Because the HTML document references the notation file, both files are needed in order for the web page to display properly.

Finale Guitar references the default.htm file when you save a web page. If desired, you may edit the default.htm file to make your Finale (SmartMusic) pages more closely match the look of your website. For more information about editing HTML, please see your local bookstore or library.

See Also:

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Save Library

How to get there

Choose Save Library from the File Menu.

What it does

In the course of working on scores, you may create your own markings and symbols. Finale Guitar allows you to save chord suffixes, percussion maps, and instrument definitions  into separate files called libraries. These sets of musical elements may then be "loaded into" any document.

This dialog box lets you specify which element of your document you want to save into a library.

•	[Library Types]: A summary of the options listed in this dialog box appears below. Click the radio button of the element of the currently open document you want to save separately.

Chord Suffixes & Fretboards: Chord suffixes including chords you’ve "taught" Finale Guitar to recognize. This library also saves any custom fretboards you’ve created. Finale Guitar will check for duplicate suffixes and only load new unique chord suffixes.

Fretboard Styles: Settings that determine how Finale draws custom fretboards, such as number of frets, string spacing, and fret number font.

Instrument Definitions: A set of staff-to-MIDI channel relationships for your particular MIDI setup, as established in the Instrument List Window.

Percussion Maps: Maps contained in the current file will be saved with this command.

Clefs: Clef libraries include accidental placements for major and minor keys.

•	OK • Cancel. Once you’ve chosen the element of your piece for which you want to create a library, click OK. Finale Guitar asks you to title the new library; the next time you’re working on a piece that requires the contents of that library, you can simply load it using the Open Library command. Click Cancel if you decide not to create a new library. You return to the score.

See Also:

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Scale - Continuous Data
Scale Continuous Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Toolsplit-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Scale from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to let you scale the values of the continuous data gradually from one value to another.

•	from ___ to ___. In these text boxes, enter the beginning and ending values of the gradual change you want Finale Guitar to effect over the selected region. The numbers you enter in the From and To boxes pertain to the controller you’ve specified (on a scale from -8192 to 8192). For example, you could create a smooth pitch bend by scaling the pitch wheel data for a selected region from 0 (the pitch wheel’s at rest value) to 8192. (Be sure you then scale it back down to 0 later in the piece, or your synthesizer will think that its pitch wheel is "stuck," and all notes your synthesizer plays will be transposed.)

•	Percent of Original • Absolute. When Finale Guitar scales the selected MIDI data from the value in one text box to the value in the other, it needs to know whether these specified values are the actual absolute values or percentages of the existing values. For example, if you click Absolute when creating a crescendo, the crescendo will be perfect; any subtle variations in key velocity among the notes of the selected passage (recorded from your original performance) will be lost. If you clicked Percent of Original, however, you could scale key velocities from, say, 50% to 200% of all notes’ current velocities, thus preserving individual dynamic fluctuations within the passage while still creating an effective crescendo.

•	in Increments of ___. This text box has no effect unless you’ve selected Absolute (see above). It lets you specify the increments by which you want Finale Guitar to scale the specified data type. For example, if you scale the pitch wheel from -8192 to 0 in increments of one, the pitch bend will be extremely smooth. But such a pitch bend will also take Finale Guitar a long time to calculate, and the storage of such large amounts of data will increase the amount of disk space consumed by your document. If you create the same pitch bend in increments of five or ten, however, Finale Guitar has far fewer calculations to make, but the pitch bend may sound less smooth.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Scale - Key Velocities
Scale Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Scale from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to let you scale the Key Velocity values gradually from one value to another. For example, you can create a smooth crescendo by scaling the key velocities of the notes in the region from 10 to 90. (MIDI velocity is measured on a scale from zero, which is very quiet, to 127, which is very loud.)

•	from ___ to ___. In these text boxes, enter the beginning and ending values of the gradual change you want Finale Guitar to effect over the selected region. The numbers in these text boxes represent either MIDI velocity values or percentages of the existing key velocity values, depending on whether you’ve selected Absolute or Percent of Original (see below). (MIDI key velocity values range from 0 [very quiet] to 127 [very loud]). If you enter a larger value in the first text box, the result will be a decrescendo; if you enter a larger value in the second box, the result will be a crescendo.

•	Absolute • Percent of Original. When Finale Guitar scales the selected MIDI data from the value in one text box to the value in the other, it needs to know whether these specified values are the actual absolute values (from 0 to 127 for Key Velocities, for example) or percentages of the existing values. For example, if you click Absolute when creating a crescendo, the crescendo will be perfect; any subtle variations in key velocity among the notes of the selected passage (recorded from your original performance) will be lost. If you clicked Percent of Original, however, you could scale key velocities from, say, 50% to 200% of all notes’ current velocities, thus preserving individual dynamic fluctuations within the passage while still creating an effective crescendo.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Scale - Note Durations
Scale Note Durations

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select a region of measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Scale from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to let you scale the values of the specified MIDI data type gradually from one value to another.

•	Start Times • Stop Times. These two radio buttons let you specify which MIDI data type you want to scale from one value to another—either the Start Time (the difference between the notated attack of a note and the time you actually played it) or the Stop Time (the difference between the notated release of a note and the time you actually released it).

•	from ___ to ___. In these text boxes, enter the beginning and ending values of the gradual change you want Finale Guitar to effect over the selected region (for the selected MIDI data type). The values you’re scaling are Start Times or Stop Times. The Start Time is the difference between the notated, or quantized, attack of a note and the moment you actually struck the note in your performance. The Stop Time is the difference between the notated release of the note and the moment you actually released the note (see Installations and Tutorials or Start and Stop Times for full discussions of these terms). The Start and Stop Times are measured in EDUs (1024 per quarter note). Therefore, by scaling the Start Times from, say, zero to –512 over a specific range, the notes will sound as though they’re being struck more and more before the beat, until they’re an entire eighth note (512 EDUs) early. If you scale the Stop Times from, say, 1024 to zero, the notes will sound as though they’re being sustained for shorter and shorter amounts of time beyond their notated values.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Scale View

How to get there

From the Scale View to submenu of the View Menu, choose Other (or type ctrl-0).

What it does

In this dialog box, you can specify the size at which you want the score displayed on your screen, expressed as a percentage of its actual size—in other words, you can "zoom in" to magnify fine details of your score or "zoom out" if you want to see many staves at once. Note that this screen display size has nothing to do with the actual (printed) size of the music.

•	Scale View to: ___ %. In this text box, enter the percentage by which you want the screen display enlarged or reduced. Type 200, for example, to "zoom in" so that the music is displayed at twice its normal size.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score, where Finale Guitar displays the music at the size you specified—or Cancel to return to the score without changing the display size.

Hint: numbers larger than 100 will increase the size.

Tip: To change the size of the printed music, use the Resize Tool

See Also:

View Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Measure Expression Assignment

How to get there

Click the Expression Tool, and double-click a measure. Select Measure Expression in the Expression Selection dialog box. Double-click an existing expression from the selection box, click an expression in the list and click select, or create one by clicking Create.

If a marking is already in the score, you can also reach the Measure Expression Assignment dialog box by shift–double-clicking its handle.

What it does

After you’ve selected a measure expression (any expression marking you want to appear in one or more staves or a list of staves), Finale Guitar displays this dialog box, offering you several additional options pertaining to the marking’s placement and playback. One of the most important options is the Staff List feature, which lets you specify in which staves you want the marking to appear (in the full score), as well as in which extracted parts it should appear.

•	Distance from Beginning of Measure • H: • V:. The numbers in these text boxes let you specify the precise vertical and horizontal distance between the expression you’re placing and the upper-left corner of the measure you clicked (not counting any meter or key signature). A higher number moves the marking to the right or upward. Of course, you can also simply drag the marking’s handle when you return to the score.

•	Beats • EDUs • [Current measurement unit]. Note that Finale Guitar measures the marking’s horizontal position in musical distance—that is, according to its rhythmic position in the measure. (If you later make the measure wider or narrower, the marking will remain proportionately in the right place.) Use the drop-down list beside the H: text box to choose the units of rhythmic measurement: beats or EDUs (1024ths of a quarter note). This drop-down list also includes the current Measurement Units (Options Menu), which is used only in cases where you position the expression before the measure that the expression is attached to.

•	Show On: All Staves • This Staff Only. Select All Staves to show the expression on every staff in the score and parts. All Staves is selected by default. Select This Staff Only to assign the expression to the current staff only. Use the This Staff Only option if you want an expression to appear only in the current staff.

•	Staff List: New Staff List • (All defined Staff Lists); Edit. Select New Staff List to display the Staff List dialog box, where you define which staves will display expressions. To select a Staff List already created for use in the score, choose its name from the drop-down list. Click Edit to display the Staff List dialog box for the selected Staff List, and change which staves the expression using that Staff List should appear in.

•	Begin Playback at Beginning of Measure • Position in Measure. If the expression you’re placing has been defined for playback, you can control where its playback effect will "kick in." When Beginning of Measure is selected, you’ll hear its effect at the beginning of the measure, even if the marking itself appears in the middle of the measure. When Position in Measure is selected, you won’t hear the marking’s effect until Finale Guitar reaches the marking itself while playing back, no matter where it falls (even if it’s in the previous or next measure); Position in Measure, therefore, is a good choice for dynamic markings.

•	Allow Individual Positioning. Normally, when you place a measure expression marking in the score, it appears in exactly the same position in every staff. When you drag any marking, the markings in all staves move simultaneously. Select this checkbox, however, if you want this marking to be independently movable in every staff. (To restore the marking to its "linked-together" mode, shift–double-click its handle in the score, and turn Allow Individual Positioning off.)

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score, where you’ll see the expression mark. Click Cancel to return to the score without adding or editing an expression mark.

See Also:

Expression Selection

Staff List

Expression Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Expression Selection

How to get there

Click the Expression Tool, and double-click a note or measure. (If the note already has an expression attached, click again.) This dialog box also appears when you’re programming an expression Metatool: While pressing shift, press a letter or number key.

What it does

This dialog box displays a palette of any Expressions (either text- or shape-based) you’ve created in your document. If your Maestro Font Default file is in place, this dialog box displays a selection of common Text Expressions, such as Finale Guitar, ritard, and various dynamic markings. When you click the Shape button (below the list box), you see a palette of Shape Expressions, such as slurs and crescendos.

From this dialog box, you can select an expression to put in the score, edit an existing one, or create a new one. Note that you can only create and edit text expressions. The number in the top left corner of each item lists the slot number for the item. This can be handy if you have the option of typing in the slot number in a dialog box instead of scrolling through the selection dialog box. Occasionally, a character in parenthesis appears in the top right corner of an item in the selection dialog box. This character indicates the Metatool assigned to the item.

•	Edit. After clicking an existing text expression, click Edit to enter the Text Expression Designer dialog box, where you can edit it. Remember that you’re simultaneously editing every occurrence of the expression in the score.

•	Create. Click Create if you want to create your own text expression. You proceed to the Text Expression Designer dialog box, where you can create a new expression.  You can select more than one item. See Text Expression Designer dialog box for more information.

•	Duplicate. Click Duplicate to make a duplicate copy of the highlighted expression. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl-click to select only a specific additional item in the list.

•	Move Up • Move Down. Click these buttons to move the selected item or items up or down in the list. You can select more than one item. Use Shift-click to select an additional item and include all the items in between. Use ctrl-click to select only a specific additional item in the list.

•	Text. If this button is selected, the selection box displays a list of Text Expressions—expression markings consisting solely of text characters. (Dynamics and certain musical symbols can also be considered text, even though they belong to the Maestro music font, or another music font.)

•	Shape. If this button is selected, the selection box displays a palette of Shape Expressions.

Important note: The functions of Shape Expressions such as phrase markings, slurs, and crescendos can be duplicated much more easily through the use of Smart Shapes. If you place a Shape Expression in more than one place in the score, be aware that editing it will change every occurrence of it in the score—a particularly unfortunate situation if, for example, you’ve carefully changed the shape of each slur to fit its particular notes.

•	Measure Expression • Note Expression. Use these radio buttons to determine if your expression should be attached to a note or a measure. If, when you clicked on the score, you were not near a note, that option is disabled and your expression will be attached to the nearest measure.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without adding an expression.

•	Select. After clicking a Text Expression or Shape Expression in the selection box (and changing the setting for note expression or measure expression), click Select to tell Finale Guitar you want to place it in the score. You proceed to the Expression Assignment dialog box (where you have some additional positioning options), and from there you return to the score.

Note that you can simply double-click the desired expression instead of clicking it and clicking Select.

See Also:

Selection Overview

Expression Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Staff List

How to get there

Click the Expression Tool. Double-click a measure. Select Measure Expression in the Expression Selection dialog box. Double-click an expression in the Expression Selection dialog box, or click an expression in the list and click Select. The Measure Expression Assignment dialog box appears. Click Staff List, then choose New Staff List from the Staff List drop-down list, or select an existing Staff List from the drop-down list, and click Edit.

If an expression is already in the score, shift-double-click its handle to display the Measure Expression Assignment dialog box. Click Staff List, then choose New Staff List, or select an existing Staff List from the Staff List drop-down list, then click Edit.

What it does

The Staff List dialog box provides control over creating and editing Staff Lists, which are used for showing measure expressions. You can name each Staff List that appears in the drop-down list and cycle through every Staff List in your score using the arrow controls or by choosing a Staff List name from the drop-down list. Staff Lists can be added or removed with the click of a button. You can also force Finale Guitar to always show a measure expression, overriding settings in the Staff Attributes dialog box.

•	Staff List. Choose the Staff List you want to edit from the drop-down list, or click the up or down arrow control to cycle through the Staff List names. Information about the currently selected Staff List appears in the dialog box.

•	List Name. The name of the currently selected Staff List appears here. If you’re adding a new Staff List, change the name that appears in the text box, then click Add. The names of the Staff Lists appear in alphabetical order.

•	Add • Delete. Click Add to add a new Staff List after you’ve entered the name of the new list. The new list will be added to the drop-down list in alphabetical order. You can create over 1000 staff lists (1023 to be exact). Click Delete to remove the currently selected Staff List. Finale Guitar removes the Staff List from the drop-down list.

•	Staves • Score • Parts. The name of each staff in the score appears in the Staves column. Entries in the Score and Parts columns for each staff indicate whether measure expressions for the staff should appear. Click in the Score or Parts column to set the Score and Parts entries for a staff. The Score and Parts columns cycle between three states as you click: hide an expression for the staff (the column is blank), show an expression (an "X" appears in the column), or force an expression to always appear (an "F" appears in the column). When an "F" appears, the expression will always appear in that staff, even if you’ve elected to hide an expression for the staff in the Staff Attributes dialog box.

•	Set Score • Clear Score • Set Parts • Clear Parts. Use these buttons to control all the settings in the Score or Parts columns at once. Click Clear Score (or Clear Parts) to remove "X" or "F" from every staff in the Score or Parts column. Click Set Score (or Set Parts) to add an "X" to every staff in the Score or Parts column.

•	Always Show On: Top Score Staff • Top Part Staff • Bottom Score Staff • Bottom Part Staff. If you’ve optimized your score so that all blank staves are hidden, but you want an expression (such as a rehearsal letter) to always appear at the top of the score above the top staff, the expression normally won’t be shown if the top staff was removed from a staff system by the optimizing process. Select Top (or Bottom) Score Staff to tell Finale Guitar to always show a measure expression on the top (or bottom) staff of each system, regardless of which staff happens to be at the top (or bottom) of the system.

Note: You can also make a measure expression always appear in the top or bottom staff for a part. This is a useful feature if you want to extract several staves from your score into a single "part" and then optimize the extracted part. Click Top (or Bottom) Part Staff to display a measure expression in the top or bottom staff of every system of the extracted part.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the Measure Expression Assignment dialog box without choosing any Staff List for the expression you’re adding or editing. Click OK to confirm your selection of a Staff List for the expression you’re adding or editing.

See Also:

Measure Expression Assignment

Expression Selection

Expression Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Select Default Fonts

How to get there

Choose Select Default Fonts from the Options Menu.

What it does

This dialog box lets you globally change the font for many element ins your score. It lets you change all occurrences at once, or set the primary font to the one you most often use..

Set the initial font for full and abbreviated staff names and group names. Choose a name item from the drop-down list, then click Set Font to specify the initial font for full and abbreviated staff names and group names. This font is used when you first create a name.

Use the Chord to specify the font and size chords

Maestro, a music font provided with Finale Guitar, is the default font for the musical symbol elements such as Music, Clef, Key, and Time. However, Finale Guitar offers you the option of setting these musical elements in any other music fonts, such as Jazz , Sonata or Crescendo.

•	Font display. The font, size and style specified for an item appears below the selected item, so you can see what font is selected without entering the Font dialog box.

•	Lyrics: Verse • Chorus • Section; Set Font. Choose this command, then click Set Font to specify the default font, size and style for Lyrics. These three types of lyrics are technically identical, as far as Finale Guitar is concerned, except that each type may have its own default font. (When you enter the text for lyrics, use the Set Font button in the Edit Lyrics window to specify variations from the primary font.)

•	Text: Text Expression • Text Block • Staff Names (Full) • Staff Names (Abbreviated); Set Font. Choose this command, then click Set Font to choose the default font, size and style of various text elements.

Choose Text Expression to specify the primary (default) font for text expressions you create with the Expression Tool.

Choose Text Block to specify the primary (default) font for text blocks.

•	Chord; Set Font. Click this button to set the font for chords. This will ensure correct font and character spacing when you enter new chords directly into the score using Finale Guitar’s Type Into Score method.

•	Music; Set Font. Click this button if you want to use a music font other than the Maestro font that came with your Finale Guitar package. Finale Guitar will display the Font dialog box, from which you can select the font, size and style of the new music font.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to undo, the font changes you’ve made, and return to the score.

See Also:

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Program Options - Display Colors

How to get there

Choose Display Colors from the View Menu. Or, from the Options menu, choose Program Options and select Display colors.

What it does

The Display Colors dialog box allows you to assign colors to different layers as well as to different elements in your score such as Articulations, Text Blocks and Smart Shapes. This is useful for differentiating between various objects in order to easily identify which tools created them, or to which layer they belong. Display colors can be printed. Select Print Display Colors in the Print dialog box. (See Print dialog box.) The color display settings are Program Options that are saved when Finale Guitar saves your preferences in the Finale Guitar.INI.

•	Use Score Colors. Select this checkbox if you want Finale Guitar to display musical items in color. If it is not selected, color is not used for musical items, but is still used for the interface elements. To print using the display colors, this checkbox must be selected.

•	Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4 . . . Note Expressions. A number of items in your score can be assigned different colors. Click Select on any item button to choose a color for the item. The color specified for Staff Names will be used for all staff names in the score—both full and abbreviated names and the default, non-printing names. The color specified for Group Items will be used for all group names in the score—both full and abbreviated names and the default, non-printing names. It will also be used for the brackets and alternate barlines for the group of staves.

•	Layer Colors Apply to All Layer Items. Select this checkbox if you want Finale Guitar to set all items in layers 1–4 to the specified colors for each layer, including items such as expressions, chords and lyrics.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to save new settings and return to the score, or click Cancel to cancel any changes you made to the settings.

See Also:

View Menu

Program Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Select Region

How to get there

Choose Select Region from the Edit Menu. (Used with the Mass Edit Tool, Staff Tool, Measure Tool and MIDI Tool.)

What it does

When you want to select a region of measures to edit, erase, or copy, you normally click to select one measure, shift-click to select additional measures, drag-enclose to select several on-screen measures, click to the left of the staff to select the entire staff, or choose Select All from the Edit Menu to select the entire document.

However, many of these methods require that the measures you’re selecting be visible on the screen. With this dialog box, however, you can select large or small sections of your score without scrolling; in fact, if you’re viewing measure 200, you can even select measures 1 through 10 remotely (without actually clicking any measures) from this dialog box. Finale Guitar will select the specified measures, even if you can’t see them. This dialog box even lets you select a certain range of beats within the measures.

•	From Staff: ___ • Measure: ___ • Beat. Using these controls, specify the staff name and measure number, respectively, of the first measure of the region you want selected. Choose the staff name from the drop-down list, and type a number into the Measure text box.

If you select any measures before you choose Select Region from the Edit Menu, Finale Guitar identifies the first selected measure’s number and staff name in these boxes automatically. That’s useful to remember if the first measure of the desired region is visible on the screen—then, when you arrive at this dialog box, you only have to specify the ending measure of the region (see below), which saves you several steps.

With the beat selection you can specify which beat in the measure you want to begin the selection. Type it into the text box at the right side of the dialog box. For example, if the fourth beat of the measure is supposed to begin the selected region, type a 4 into the box. Alternatively, you can choose EDUs from this drop-down list, and enter an EDU value (1024 per quarter note) to specify a starting point with high precision. If you select a beat, Finale Guitar will put a checkmark next to Select Partial Measures in the Edit Menu to show it has been enabled.

•	Through Staff: ___ • Measure: ___ • Beat. Using these controls, specify the staff name and measure number, respectively, of the last measure of the region you want selected. Choose the staff name from the drop-down list, and type a number into the Measure text box.

Again, if you select any measures before you choose Select Region from the Edit Menu, Finale Guitar enters the last selected measure’s number and staff name (or number) in these boxes automatically. That’s useful to remember if the last measure of the desired region is visible on the screen—then, when you arrive at this dialog box, you only have to specify the beginning measure of the region (see above).

And here, too, you can also specify which beat in the measure you want to end the selection by typing a beat number into the text box at the right side of the dialog box. Alternatively, you can choose EDUs from this drop-down list, and enter an EDU value (1024 per quarter note) to specify an ending point. If you select a beat, Finale Guitar will put a checkmark next to Select Partial Measures in the Edit Menu to show it has been enabled.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score, where Finale Guitar selects (highlights) the measures in the region you specified. Click Cancel to return to the score without selecting any measures.

See Also:

Mass Edit Tool

Edit Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Selection Overview

The following dialog boxes are very similar. Click a dialog box name for specific information.

Articulation Selection

Copy Fretboards from Suffix

Chord Suffix Selection

Expression Selection

Fretboard Selection

Percussion Map Selection

Smart Line Style Selection

Symbol Selection

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Send MIDI Value

How to get there

Choose Send MIDI Value from the MIDI Menu.

What it does

This dialog box simply provides a convenient way to transmit any MIDI message directly to your MIDI device. You might send a "note off" message on all channels in the event of MIDI lock (the same function as the All Notes Off command–see MIDI Menu); you might use it to change the patch setting of one of your keyboards; or you could reset a MIDI keyboard’s sustain pedal or pitch wheel that’s become "stuck" in the down position, for example. The permissible range of values in any of the text boxes is zero to 127.

To send bank and program changes immediately, enter the program change and bank select values into the Send MIDI Value dialog box. Sending controller data is simple. To choose a controller, click Controller, then choose the name of the controller, such as 64:Sustain Pedal, from the Controller drop-down list.

•	All MIDI Channels • Only MIDI Channel ___. With these controls, you specify the MIDI channel on which you want Finale Guitar to transmit the specified MIDI data. If you select All MIDI Channels, Finale Guitar transmits the specified data on all sixteen MIDI channels (from both ports). If you select Only MIDI Channel ___, Finale Guitar only transmits the data on the MIDI channel whose number you enter in the text box.

•	Key Off • Key On. Click one of these buttons if you want Finale Guitar to transmit a Key Off ("release the key") or Key On ("play the key") message to the key whose number you’ve entered in the first text box. (MIDI key numbers increase sequentially as you move to the right on the keyboard; middle C is key number 60.) In the second text box, enter the key velocity value with which you want the note struck (or released, for synthesizers that respond to key off velocity data).

•	Controller. Click this button and place the controller number in the first text box (or select the desired controller from the drop-down list). In the second text box, enter the value you want sent for the controller whose number you’ve entered in the first text box.

•	Patch. Click this button to make a Patch change. From the drop-down list choose whether you want to make a simple program change, or a bank and program change; then use the Bank Select and Program Change text boxes to make the changes. Or just select the instrument you desire from the General MIDI drop down list and the Bank Select and Program Change will be set for you automatically.

•	Pitch Wheel • Channel Pressure. Click one of these buttons if you want Finale Guitar to transmit the pitch wheel or channel pressure (monophonic aftertouch) value you’ve specified in the text box.

•	Other. If you’re very familiar with the MIDI protocol, you can use this button and set of text boxes to transmit other kinds of MIDI data—system exclusive data, for example. The first text box contains the highest portion of the status byte. The contents of the remaining text boxes depend upon that status byte.

•	Done • Send. Click Send to transmit the data you’ve specified. Click Done to exit the dialog box.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Set Distances

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. Define track-to-staff mappings for the desired tracks by clicking each row of information (see Track/Channel Mapping dialog box). When you’re finished, click Set Dist.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can specify a uniform distance between staves in the Finale Guitar document that results from your MIDI file transcription, as well as the distance between the top staff and the top page margin. Note that you can override these settings on a staff-by-staff basis by clicking the staff name and changing the Distance number in the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box.

•	Distance to Top Staff. The number in this text box specifies the distance between the top line of the first staff and the top of the window in Scroll View (the default is –.28 inches, because it’s being measured down from the top of the window). You can think of this distance as the distance between systems.

•	Distance Between Staves. The number in this text box specifies the distance from the top line of one staff to the top line of the next. The default is –.83 inches, because each successive staff is placed below the previous one in the system.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your staff placement settings and return to the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box. Your distance settings will be reflected in the Distances column. Click Cancel to return to the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box without specifying a uniform distance between staves and systems.

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

Import MIDI File Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Set Patch To

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu, then check Patch Changes. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Set To from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to allow you to set the patch values of the selected region.

•	Patch • Bank Select 0 • Bank Select 32 • Program Change • General MIDI. To enter bank and program change data from the MIDI Tool, follow the procedure for entering simple patch changes, then enter the program change and bank select values into the Set Patch To dialog box that appears. You can also select the instrument you want from the General MIDI drop down list to automatically set up the Bank Selects and Program Change required.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Pickup Measure

How to get there

From the Options Menu, choose Document Settings, then Pickup Measure.

What it does

Use this dialog box if the first measure of your score is a pickup measure; Finale Guitar will automatically add blank "count-off beats" before the pickup itself and adjust the measure numbers. You can enter an EDU value yourself (1024 per quarter note); a simpler route is to click on the palette of note values. Click the value of the pickup and click OK. Finale Guitar fills in the text box for you. When you return to the score, Finale Guitar will have created invisible "rests" at the beginning of the measure for a duration long enough to fill the measure and still leave room for the pickup value you specified. Any notes you now enter will appear after these invisible rests. This method is only effective if the pickup measure is the first measure of the score.

•	[Note durations]. Click on a note that equals the sum of your pickup notes.

•	Clear Pickups. Click on Clear Pickups to remove a pickup and restore the measure to a normal, non-pickup, measure.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing any pickup settings. Click OK to confirm your pickup settings and return to the score.

See Also:

Document Settings

Options Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Set To - Continuous Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Set To from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s function is to allow you to set the values of the selected MIDI data type to a specified value.

•	Set Continuous Data to ____. In the text box, enter the value to which you want to set the continuous data within the selected region. The number you enter in the text box pertains to the controller you’ve specified (on a scale from 0 to 127). For example, the sustain pedal (controller 64) only has two possible values: 127 (pedal down) and zero (pedal up). Therefore, to insert a "pedal down" message, click in the "graph area" of the MIDI Tool split-window at the location where you want it to occur and drag to the right. (It doesn’t matter whether you select a large region by dragging or only a tiny vertical sliver—all Finale Guitar needs to know is where the beginning of the selection falls, because that’s where it will insert the "pedal down" message.) Choose Set To from the MIDI Tool Menu, and enter the 127 in the text box. (Be sure to use the Set To command again later in the passage to set the sustain pedal’s value to zero, or Finale Guitar will play back your piece as though the sustain pedal was never released.)

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Set To - Key Velocities

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Set To from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s wording changes to reflect your MIDI data type selection (key velocities, note durations, or continuous data). Its function is to allow you to set the values of the selected MIDI data type to a specified value. For example, if you’ve selected Key Velocities, you can specify that all notes in the selected region should be played back with the same volume by setting their velocity values to a single MIDI velocity value. (MIDI velocity is measured on a scale of zero, silent, to 127, very loud.)

•	Set Key Velocities to ____. The numbers in these text boxes represent MIDI velocity values (which range from 0 to 127); Finale Guitar will set all notes in the selected region to the key velocity value you enter in the text box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Set To - Start/Stop Times

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool. Select some measures. Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities, Note Durations, or Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool split-window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Set To from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

This dialog box’s wording changes to reflect your MIDI data type selection (key velocities, note durations, or continuous data). Its function is to allow you to set the values of the selected MIDI data type to a specified value. For example, if you’ve selected Key Velocities, you can specify that all notes in the selected region should be played back with the same volume by setting their velocity values to a single MIDI velocity value. (MIDI velocity is measured on a scale of zero, silent, to 127, very loud.)

•	Start Time • Stop Time. The Start Time is the difference between the notated, or quantized, attack of a note and the moment you actually struck the note in your performance. The Stop Time is the difference between the notated release of the note and the moment you actually released the note (see Installation & Tutorials for full discussions of these terms). In this case, then, you’re setting the Start and Stop Times of all notes in the selected region to a certain number of EDUs (1024 per quarter note). If you enter zero in both text boxes (and select both checkboxes), Finale Guitar will adjust the attacks and releases of the notes in the selected region so that they’re perfectly "quantized" with their notated values; when you play them back, they’ll sound rhythmically perfect. If you click Stop Times and enter 512 in the text box, for example, Finale Guitar will sustain every note in the selected region one eighth note’s time beyond its notated value.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window (or the score).

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Shift Lyrics

How to get there

Click the Lyrics Tool. Choose Shift Lyrics from the Lyrics Menu.

What it does

When you’re working with lyrics, you may occasionally need to push all the syllables in the music to the right or left by one note. For example, suppose you enter the lyrics in the Edit Lyrics window but forget to anticipate a melismatic passage (where one syllable is sustained over several melody notes) in the melody. When you use the Click Assignment feature to place the lyrics into the score, Finale Guitar will assign a syllable to each note of the melisma, and no subsequent syllables will align with their correct notes for the rest of the melody. You can use the Shift Lyrics feature to shift all the syllables simultaneously so that they’re aligned with the correct melody notes.

In this dialog box, you have several options for shifting the lyric syllables. You can specify that you want them shifted forward, backward, all the way to the beginning (or ending) of the score, or only as far as the next melody note without a syllable.

•	Shift Lyrics to the Left • Right. From the drop-down list, choose the direction in which you want Finale Guitar to slide the lyric syllables, relative to the notes.

If you choose Left, then when you return to the score, click within the staff lines at the position of the note just to the left of the first syllable you want moved; Finale Guitar will move that syllable (and subsequent syllables) to the left by one melody note, automatically skipping over rests and tied notes. Click again (in the staff lines at the position of the note just before the first syllable) for each additional one-note shift.

If you choose Right, click within the staff lines at the position of first syllable you want moved; Finale Guitar will push that syllable (and subsequent syllables) to the right by one melody note, automatically skipping over rests and tied notes. Click again (in the staff lines above the first syllable) or each additional one-note shift.

•	Shift Syllables by One Note, to the End of the Lyric • Shift Syllables by One Note, to the Next Open Note. Finale Guitar needs to know what range of syllables you want it to shift. If you click the first option, Finale Guitar will slide every syllable (from the one you click) all the way to the end of the lyric. (See Specify Current Lyric dialog box for a full description of Finale Guitar’s three lyric types.) If you click the second option, Finale Guitar will only shift syllables from the one you click through the next note that has no syllable attached to it.

•	Rotate Syllables. This option is only useful if you’ve created a set of lyrics with more syllables than there are notes to attach them to. Select this option on those rare occasions when you want to replace the syllable on each note with the syllable to its right or left—but without changing which notes have lyrics.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score. If you selected To The Right, click in the staff above the first syllable you want to shift to the right. If you selected To The Left, click in the staff at the position of the note just before the first syllable you want shifted to the left. Click Cancel to return to the score. Finale Guitar won’t shift any lyrics if you click the staff.

See Also:

Lyrics Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Simple Entry Tuplet Definition

How to get there

Click the Simple Entry Tool. On the Simple Entry Tool Palette, click the Simple Tuplet Tool, then shift-click the first note to include in the tuplet group.

What it does

In this dialog box you can define the rhythmic aspects of a tuplet grouping—the number of eighth notes that are to be played in the time of a quarter note, for example. Use this dialog box to define any tuplet more complicated than a triplet in the current duration. For more complex adjustments to tuplets, see Tuplet Tool.

Note that you can predefine the default visual aspects of the tuplets in your score, so that every tuplet you create automatically appears with a neatly positioned bracket (for example). To do so, ctrl-click the Tuplet Tool (in the Main Tool Palette, not the Simple Entry Palette). Finale Guitar displays the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box, where you can specify these parameters. (See Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box for a more complete discussion.)

•	__ ____in the space of __ _____ • Half(s) • Dotted Quarter(s) • Quarter(s) (etc.). Define the rhythmic qualities (temporal definition) of the tuplet by entering numbers in these two text boxes (to specify how many) and selecting the rhythmic-value from the drop-down list (to specify "of what value").

•	Save as default Simple Entry tuplet definition. Check this box to always use the tuplet definition defined above. For example, you could set the Simple Entry Tuplet Definition to 3 Eighths in the space of 2 Eighths and check Save if you wanted to enter a long series of eighth note triplets. This is especially useful if the eighth note triplet sometimes start with a quarter note.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the tuplet appearance you’ve created. You return to the score.

See Also:

Simple Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Size

How to get there

Click the Text Tool. Select Other from the Size submenu of the Text Menu.

What it does

The Size dialog box allows you to select any point size for your text.

•	Point Size. Enter the point size for your text.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score.

See Also:

Text Menu

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Specify Current Lyric

How to get there

Click the Lyrics Tool. Choose Specify Current Lyric from the Lyrics Menu.

What it does

Your lyrics can include up to 512 of each of Finale Guitar’s three lyric types: Verse, Chorus, and Section. There’s no technical distinction between these three types—the lyrics you enter as a Verse can be used in the chorus of your song, and vice versa. They’re only there to help you keep track of your lyrics, and to make it easy to change the font or style for a large chunk of lyrics at once (you can specify different fonts for Verses, Choruses, and Sections, by choosing Select Default Fonts from the Options Menu).

In this dialog box, you can specify the lyric type you want to edit (in the Edit Lyrics window), insert into the score (using the Click Assignment or Type Into Score commands). In the text box, you can also specify by number which Verse, Chorus, or Section you want to edit.

•	Verse • Chorus • Section. Click the radio button corresponding to the lyric type you want to select.

•	Number. The number in this text box identifies the specific Verse, Chorus, or Section that’s currently selected.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score. Now you’re ready to edit, type (with Type Into Score), or "click-assign" the lyric you specified. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing the lyric type or number.

Tip: To Scroll through Lyrics in the score while in Type Into Score mode, use Ctrl -Up and Down arrows.

See Also:

Lyrics Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Speedy Options

How to get there

Click the Speedy Tool. From the Speedy Menu, choose Speedy Options.

What it does

When you click on a measure with the Speedy Entry tool, an editing frame is drawn around the measure clicked. The Speedy Options dialog box allows you to control the size of this editing frame. You can also change other functions of the Speedy Frame in this dialog box. In the bottom of the dialog box, you can specify how Finale Guitar responds to your MIDI device.

•	Speedy Frame: Scale to Staff • Minimum Percentage • Maximum Percentage. Select this radio button to adjust the size of the Speedy Frame based on a combination of the view percentage and the size of the staff. Use the Minimum and Maximum text boxes to keep the Speedy Frame within reasonable limits.

•	Speedy Frame: Use Fixed Scaling of. Select this radio button to set the size of the Speedy Frame to a specific percentage. Enter a percentage of the original staff in the text box. The Speedy Frame will be displayed in the selected percentage.

•	Fill With Rests when Leaving Measure. Check this box to have Finale Guitar add enough rests to make a full measure upon exiting the measure. See Mass Edit Tool/Utilities/Fill With Rests.

•	Auto Launch Frame. With this option checked, selecting the Speedy Entry Tool will open a measure for editing. No mouse click is needed.

•	Use MIDI Device for Input for Input • Use MIDI Modifier Keys when in MIDI Input Mode. The Use MIDI Device for Input for Input checkbox mirrors the Use MIDI Device for Input for Input item in the Speedy Menu. When Use MIDI Modifiers is checked, Finale Guitar will respond to MIDI signals to set the duration, tie notes and other functions, as specified in the selected Key Map.

•	MIDI Modifier Assignments: [Key Map list] • Create Key Map • Edit Key Map • Delete Key Map. Select a map of MIDI keys from the drop-down menu to use, edit, or delete. To create a new map, click Create Key Map. Select a map and click Edit Key Map to modify the selected map. See Edit MIDI Modifiers dialog box. To remove a map, select it then click Delete Key Map.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your speedy frame settings and return to the score.

See Also:

Speedy Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Staff Attributes

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool. Choose Edit Staff Attributes from the Staff Menu. Or, double-click a staff handle, or a staff name handle.

What it does

In the Staff Attributes dialog box, you can specify dozens of staff-specific traits for the staff whose handle you clicked, including its name, transposition, and clef. You can also tell Finale Guitar whether or not certain musical elements should appear in this staff—measure numbers, default whole rests, time signatures, and repeat ending brackets, to name a few.

You can create and edit full and abbreviated staff names mixing fonts and styles. You can also allow or prevent optimization of the current staff.

•	Staff Attributes for: Arrow controls. These arrows appear to the right of the staff name drop-down list, making it easy for you to move consecutively through the staves to select staff attributes. Click the arrows to change staves instead of choosing a new staff name from the drop-down list.

•	Full Name • Edit; Abbr. Name • Edit. The full or abbreviated names you enter for the staff appear in a regular text font. Click the Edit button to display the Edit Text window, where you can enter or edit the full or abbreviated staff name and set fonts and text styles. See Edit Text window.

•	First Clef • Select. This display identifies the clef that will appear at the beginning of the staff. To change this clef, click Select. The Clef Selection dialog box appears, displaying Finale Guitar’s ten default clefs. Double-click the one you want; you return to the Staff Attributes dialog box, where Finale Guitar displays the clef you clicked.

•	Alternate Notation • Select. Use this checkbox and select button to set alternate notation for the entire staff. See Alternate Notation dialog box.

•	Transposition • Select. If the instrument whose staff you’re establishing is a transposing instrument (such as a trumpet or clarinet), select Transposition, then click the Select button. The Staff Transpositions dialog box appears, in which you can specify the interval by which you want the music on the staff to be automatically transposed. See Staff Transpositions dialog box. To make the staff non-transposing again, click the checkbox again to deselect it.

Once you’ve established the transposing instruments’ staves, you can tell Finale Guitar to display the full score either in its transposed form or in its untransposed (concert pitch) form. Choose Display in Concert Pitch from the Options Menu to show the score untransposed.

The staves in the full score always print out exactly as they appear on the screen (whether transposed or in concert pitch); when you extract parts, however, the resultant parts are always printed in their transposed form.

•	Staff: Standard 5-line • 1-line with Full Barline • 1-line with Short Barline• 0-line with Full Barline. Choose from four commonly-used staves.

•	Break barlines between staves • Break repeat barlines between staves. Normally, when you group some staves together, the barlines are drawn continuously through them (including the blank spaces between them). Select "Break Barlines Between Staves" if you want barlines—both normal and repeat barlines—not to continue through to the next staff above this one. (If this staff isn’t part of a staff group, you won’t notice any difference. You group staves by selecting their handles with the Staff Tool and double-clicking one of the selected handles.)

Select "Break Repeat Barlines Between Staves" if you want to break repeat barlines that would normally continue through to the next staff above this one. This option doesn’t affect normal barlines.

•	Display rests in empty measures. To save you time, Finale Guitar normally draws a default whole rest in every blank measure. Deselect this checkbox if you don’t want Finale Guitar to draw these "false" whole rests for this staff. You might wish to suppress them if, for example, you simply want to print out blank score paper.

•	Flat Beams. Select this option to force all the beams in the staff to draw flat instead of at an angle.

•	Hide Staff. Select this option to hide the current staff. Use this control when you want to hide a staff used for ossia measure source staves, or if you’ve created a staff that contains playback effects such as written out trills or tremolos.   The word "(hidden)" appears in Staff Lists next to the staff name for any staves that are hidden.

•	Ignore Key Signatures. Select this option if you want Finale Guitar to transpose all the notes in the staff to the key of C for the entire piece, regardless of any key changes that occur. This option is necessary for use with percussion staves.

•	Notehead Font; Select. You can choose any font for your noteheads without affecting flags, rests, and accidentals on the notes in the staff. When the Notehead Font checkbox is selected, Finale Guitar uses the font you select for the current staff. When this checkbox is not selected, Finale Guitar uses the font specified in the Select Default Fonts dialog box. Click Select to display the Font dialog box. The Maestro Percussion font included with Finale Guitar contains noteheads for use on percussion staves, as well as noteheads to use for hymnals requiring shape notes.

•	Items to Display: Augmentation Dots • Clefs • Endings and Text Repeats • Key Signatures • Measure Numbers • Measure Expressions • Rests • Staff Name • Stems • Ties • Time Signatures. These checkboxes specify which musical elements will appear in this staff. For example, you probably wouldn’t want measure numbers to appear in both staves of a piano part; to omit them from the bass-clef staff, you’d deselect the Measure Numbers check-box. Click the Select button to the right of the Stem Check box to customize your stem settings. See Staff Stem Settings dialog box.

•	Notation Style: Standard • Percussion • Tablature; Select. Choose a notation style, then click the Select button to display the dialog box for that style. See Percussion Map Viewer dialog box. See the User Manual under Guitar Notation for more information regarding tablature.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the settings you’ve made in this dialog box and return to the score.

See Also:

Staff Tool

Tablature Staff Attributes

Percussion Map Selection

Percussion Map Viewer

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Note Expression Assignment

How to get there

Click the Expression Tool, and double-click on, above, or below a note. Select Note Expression in the Expression Selection dialog box. Double-click an existing expression from the selection box (or create one by clicking Create). If a marking is already in the score, you can also reach this dialog box by shift-double-clicking its handle.

What it does

After you’ve selected a note expression to place in the score, Finale Guitar displays this dialog box, offering you several additional options pertaining to the marking’s placement and playback definition.

•	Distance from Top Note • Bottom Note • H: • V:. These controls let you specify the precise vertical and horizontal position of the expression mark. If you’re attaching this expression to a chord, first decide whether you want it "fastened" to the top or bottom of the chord, by choosing Top Note or Bottom Note from the drop-down list.

Next, specify the marking’s distance from that note by entering values in the H: (horizontal) and V: (vertical) number boxes. (A higher number moves the marking to the right or upward.) Of course, you can also simply drag the marking’s handle when you return to the score.

•	On Playback, Affect: Current Layer • Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4 • Chord • Dynamic Layer. The essential function of these drop-down list choices is to let you specify which of these musical elements you want affected by a marking’s playback definition. For example, it’s possible to specify that a dynamic marking affect only the chord symbol above the music to which it’s attached, or to attach a patch change to only one of Finale Guitar’s four layers.

If you leave Current Layer selected, the expression you’re assigning will affect the layer of the note it’s attached to.

•	Begin Playback at Assigned Note • Position in Measure. If the expression you’re placing has been defined for playback, you can control where its playback effect will "kick in." When Assigned Note is selected, you’ll hear its effect beginning with the note to which you attached it. When Position in Measure is selected, you won’t hear the marking’s effect until Finale Guitar reaches the marking itself while playing back, no matter where it falls (even if it’s in a different measure).

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score, where you’ll see the expression marking. Click Cancel to return to the score without adding or editing an expression marking.

See Also:

Expression Selection

Expression Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Optimize Staves

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. Choose Optimize Staff Systems from the Page Layout Menu.

What it does

In published full scores, it’s customary to omit from a system any staves that consist of entirely of rests. The result is a more compact and readable score. In Finale Guitar, this process of suppressing the printing of empty staves within each system is called optimizing systems.

Use this dialog box to place or remove optimization on the specified staff systems. Optimizing can perform two functions: it always makes the staves in the staff systems independently adjustable in Page View for a single staff system; and—depending on your settings—it removes empty staves from the staff systems.

Using this dialog box, you can specify the systems you want optimized—all of them, for example. Finale Guitar redraws your score (in Page View), omitting blank staves from the specified systems; you’ll find that your score now fits on fewer pages.

Optimizing systems in Finale Guitar has another important benefit: it permits staves within staff systems to be independently movable in Page View. Under normal circumstances, when you move, respace, or rearrange staves using the Staff Tool all staff systems are affected. If you have optimized a system, however, you’ll find that the Staff Tool now allows you to vary the positioning and spacing of staves for a single staff system. Furthermore, again using the Staff Tool, you can create a new grouping of staves which will affect only that staff system, letting you change the way in which your staves are bracketed.

Finale Guitar locks in this staff configuration. If, for example, you return to Scroll View after optimizing systems, and add some music to a staff which no longer appears in Page View (because the system has been optimized), the staff won’t reappear. If you want to edit, reformat, enlarge, or reduce your music, remove optimization before you do it (by choosing the Optimize Staff Systems command again and selecting Remove System Optimization), and later reapply optimization. For this reason, it’s best to make optimization the last thing you do before printing, after the piece has been formatted, proofread, and ready to be given its final layout. See Staff Attributes dialog box.

A measure with a "real" whole rest—one you’ve entered with the Simple Entry or Speedy Entry Tool—is not considered empty. If you notice that an apparently empty staff won’t disappear from its system, it probably contains a "real" whole rest, which you must remove before reapplying the Optimize All Staff Systems command.

You can, however, use this fact to your advantage to prevent the disappearance of a staff you don’t want removed—the treble-clef staff of a piano part, for example; simply enter a "real" whole rest in one of the empty measures, and it won’t be removed from the system (and hence it won’t be separated from the bass-clef staff).

Note that you can tell Finale Guitar to ask you before removing each empty staff from the system, which means you can leave certain blank staves in place, if you want (the same result you get by inserting "real" whole rests).

After optimizing a staff system, Finale Guitar will display a non-printing Optimization icon in Page View to the right of the system.

•	Optimize Staff System(s). Select this button if you want Finale Guitar to hide empty staves from the systems specified in the Staff System(s) __ through __ boxes. In Page View and in printouts, the empty staves won’t appear in the affected systems. If you optimize a completely empty staff system, Finale Guitar will still display the top staff, even though it’s blank.

•	Remove Empty Staves. This option determines whether Finale Guitar will remove empty staves from the staff system. When this option is selected, Finale Guitar optimizes and removes empty staves from the staff system. When this option is not selected, Finale Guitar optimizes the staff systems, but keeps all staves—even if they’re empty.

•	Ask Before Removing Staves. Finale Guitar uses this option only when Remove Empty Staves is selected. When Ask Before Removing Staves is selected and Finale Guitar finds an empty staff in the staff system, Finale Guitar asks you to confirm that you want the staff removed for that system. You can click on Yes All or No All to skip the remaining confirmations for all staves in all systems. When this option is not selected, Finale Guitar removes any empty staves from the staff system automatically.

•	Keep At Least One Staff. This option is used only when Remove Empty Staves is selected. It determines whether at least one staff will remain in an optimized staff system—even if all staves are empty.

•	Remove Staff System Optimization. Select this button if you want to restore all empty staves to the systems specified in the Staff System(s) __ through __ boxes. You might wish to remove optimization, for example, if the page layout has shifted, or you’ve added music in a previously empty measure, such that some of your music now doesn’t appear (because it falls on an optimized staff). Once you’ve made such staves reappear with this command, reoptimize the score to ensure that only truly empty staves are omitted.

•	Whole Document • System(s) __ through __. Click on Whole Document to optimize the entire document. In the System text boxes, specify the range of systems you want optimized. These numbers are inclusive; Finale Guitar optimizes the systems whose numbers appear in the text boxes and all systems in between. Leave the second box empty if you want to optimize to the end of the score.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the score, where Finale Guitar has hidden (or restored) the empty staves in the systems you specified. Click Cancel to return to the score without affecting optimization.

See Also:

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Staff Transpositions

How to get there

In the score: Click the Staff Tool. Click the staff handle you want to set as a transposing instrument, then choose Edit Staff Attributes from the Staff Menu. In the Staff Attributes dialog box, click Transposition, then click Select.

Transcribing a MIDI file: Choose Open from the File Menu, and choose MIDI File from the List Files of Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. In the Track/Channel Mapping for Staves dialog box, click the topmost unassigned row of track information. Click Transposition.

What it does

You can define any staff in Finale Guitar to have any instrument transposition; for example, a trumpet staff can be notated up a whole step, yet Finale Guitar will still play back the music at concert pitch. While you’re working on the score, you can view the instrumental staves in either their transposed or concert-pitch forms.

In this dialog box, you can specify one of several common transpositions, or you can create your own. You can also tell Finale Guitar that it should use a different clef for this instrument when the staff is displayed in its transposed form. (Finale Guitar will use the normal clef you’ve specified as the First Clef for the untransposed staff.)

You can set up a staff to transpose chromatically, moving notes on a staff without changing the key signature. You can also direct Finale Guitar not to transpose the staff at all by choosing None from either the Key Signature or Chromatic drop-down list. The Set to Clef option lets you simply click on a graphic display containing all the clef choices to select a clef.

•	Key Signature. The Key Signature transposition drop-down list shows the most common transpositions that you might want to use. Make an appropriate selection from the choices. In this list, M = major, m = minor, P = Perfect, and the numbers represent intervals (for example, 6 = sixth). Choose None to deactivate all transposition settings in this dialog box, except Set to Clef. Choose Other if you prefer to make your own transposition settings for less common instruments. If you choose Other, be sure to enter values into the Interval and Key Alter text boxes (see below). Finale Guitar will use these and the Set to Clef settings when transposing the staff.

For this instrument…	Choose this transposition
None	Create Set to Clef transposition
A instrument (e.g. A clarinet)	(A) Up m3, Add 3 flats
B flat instrument (e.g. clarinet, trumpet)	(Bb) Up M2, Add 2 sharps
B flat instrument-treble   (e.g. tenor sax, bass clarinet)	(Bb) Up M9, Add 2 sharps
D instrument (e.g. trumpet)	(D) Down M2, Add 2 flats
E flat instrument (e.g. E flat clarinet)	(Eb) Down m3, Add 3 sharps
E flat instrument (e.g. alto sax)	(Eb) Up M6, Add 3 sharps
E flat instrument-treble (e.g. baritone sax)	(Eb treble clef) Up M6+Octave, Add 3 sharps
F instrument    (e.g. French Horn)	(F) Up P5, Add 1 sharp
G instrument     (e.g. alto flute)	(G) Up P4, Add 1 flat
Instrument    (e.g. contrabass)	Up Octave
Instrument    (e.g. piccolo)	Down Octave
Other	This setting is for compatibility with Finale files
•	Simplify Key. If checked, Finale Guitar examines the key produced by a transposition and determines if an enharmonic spelling would result in fewer sharps or flats. For example, a passage in B Major for B flat trumpet, when unchecked, would be notated in C sharp Major (which has 7 sharps). When checked, the passage is notated in D flat Major instead (with 5 flats). This checkbox is checked by default, and can be changed for each staff.

•	Interval. Enter a number for the desired degree of diatonic transposition. A positive number notates the part higher than the instrument’s sound, and a negative number makes it lower. A value of zero indicates that no transposition will take place, 1 raises the part one step (an interval of a second), 2 raises it a third, and so on. Negative numbers lower the part. To lower a part one octave, for example, you’d enter -7.

•	Key Alter. Use the Key Alter text box to tell Finale Guitar how to modify the key signature. A positive number in this text box adds sharps to the key signature (or subtracts flats), and a negative number subtracts sharps (or adds flats).

•	Chromatic. The Chromatic transposition drop-down list contains the same options as the Key Signature drop-down list, except for the key change settings. Instead, Finale Guitar will show the appropriate accidental on each transposed note without affecting the key signature. Choose None to deactivate all transposition settings in this dialog box, except Set to Clef. Choose Other if you prefer to make your own transposition settings for less common instruments. If you choose Other, the Interval dialog box appears. Finale Guitar will use the Interval settings and the Set to Clef settings when transposing the staff.

For this instrument…	Choose this transposition
None	Create Set to Clef transposition
A instrument   (e.g. A clarinet)	(A) Up m3
B flat instrument   (e.g. clarinet, trumpet)	(Bb) Up M2
B flat instrument-treble   (e.g. tenor sax, bass clarinet)	(Bb treble clef) Up M9
D instrument (e.g. trumpet)	(D) Down M2
E flat instrument (e.g. E flat clarinet)	(Eb) Down m3
E flat instrument   (e.g. alto sax)	(Eb) Up M6
E flat instrument-treble   (e.g. baritone sax)	(Eb treble clef) Up M6+Octave
F instrument   (e.g. French Horn)	(F) Up P5
G instrument   (e.g. alto flute)	(G) Up P4
Instrument   (e.g. piccolo)	Down Octave
Instrument   (e.g. contrabass)	Up Octave
Other	This setting is for compatibility with Finale files
•	Set to Clef. To change the clef for a transposed staff (such as a treble clef baritone part), select this checkbox, then click the clef that you want displayed for the staff in its transposed form. If you don’t want Finale Guitar to use a different clef than the clef specified in the Staff Attributes dialog box, deselect Set to Clef.

Note: When Set to Clef is selected, Finale Guitar displays the selected clef regardless of any other clef changes in the staff (unless you have Display Score in Concert Pitch" selected in the Options Menu). If you want all clef changes to appear for a staff, make sure that Set to Clef is not selected in this dialog box, then choose the proper clef in the Staff Attributes dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the Staff Attributes dialog box without changing the transposition settings. Click OK to confirm the transposition settings for the staff and return to the Staff Attributes dialog box. Finale Guitar selects the Transposition checkbox.

Note: When Set to Clef is selected for a staff, no clef changes will appear on the score. If you want clef changes to appear for the staff, deselect Set to Clef, then specify the Starting Clef in the Staff Attributes dialog box instead.

See Also:

Staff Tool

Staff Attributes

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Tap Source

How to get there

Click the HyperScribe Tool, and choose Tap from the Beat Source submenu of the HyperScribe Menu.

What it does

When you use HyperScribe to transcribe a real-time performance, Finale Guitar needs to know where the beats fall in relation to the music you’re playing. One of the easiest ways to provide a tempo reference is to tap in time with your own playing by either playing a note on a MIDI device or using a foot pedal. As long as your taps and your playing are synchronized, with this option, you can speed up or slow down and Finale Guitar will still transcribe the performance correctly.

In this dialog box, you tell Finale Guitar what key, pedal, or controller you’ll be tapping to provide a tempo reference as you play.

•	Standard Sustain Pedal • Nonstandard Sustain Pedal • MIDI Note: • Channel: • Listen. If you’ll be needing both hands for your performance, you might opt to tap the foot pedal to provide a tempo reference. Standard Sustain Pedal is the standard MIDI instrument sustain pedal (Controller #64). Nonstandard Sustain Pedal refers to Yamaha sustain pedals and a few others, whose pedal down/pedal up polarity is reversed (relative to most pedals).

If you’ll only be playing with one hand, you can use the other to tap a key to serve as the tempo reference. Click MIDI Note. Then type a key number into the MIDI Note text box (middle C = 60) and the Channel text box.

Instead of typing numbers, you can let Finale Guitar fill in these text boxes automatically—click Listen, whereupon Finale Guitar will prompt you to play a key. Finale Guitar will enter the correct information. (If Finale Guitar doesn’t respond when you play a note or pedal, then your MIDI system may not be connected properly.) See Listen dialog box.

•	Other. If the beat reference will be neither a pedal nor a key, click Listen. Then trigger the MIDI event you wish to use.

•	Tap equals. Click the note duration you would like to use for your tap beat.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your selection of tap signal and return to the score.

See Also:

HyperScribe Menu

HyperScribe Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Text Expression Designer

How to get there

Click the Expression Tool, and double-click a note or measure. (If you want to edit a text expression that’s already in the score, double-click or ctrl-double-click its handle.) Click Create, or click a text expression and then click Edit.

What it does

There are two kinds of Expressions: Text Expressions, composed of words or symbols you can type (Finale Guitar, ritard, dynamic markings, and so on), and Shape Expressions, composed of shapes

In this dialog box, you can create a new Text Expression or edit an existing one, including correcting its spelling or setting its font. If you click Assign Tempo, the dialog box expands to show you the tempo definitions to which you can assign your Text Expression.

•	[Text box]. This text box is where you type the expression text itself, which appears in the system font regardless of the actual font you’ve chosen. For example, if you’re using the Maestro font to create an F symbol, you’ll see a capital F in this box.

You can incorporate the number sign (#, or shift–3) into the text for your expression; it acts as a stand-in for data that may change, depending on the situation. When the Text Expression appears in the score, Finale Guitar will substitute a number for the number sign, depending on the Replace ‘#’ Sign option you’ve selected.

•	Set Font. Click this button to display the Font dialog box, where you can specify a font for the text expression. Once again, the expression will appear in the system font in the Text Expression Designer; only when you return to the Expression Selection dialog box (or to the score itself) will you see the expression displayed in the font you chose.

•	Assign Tempo. Click this button to make the dialog box expand. Additional options appear, governing this expression’s effect on playback tempo. If your score isn’t intended for MIDI playback, you need never click this button or know what it conceals.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to return to the Expression Selection dialog box, where your new (or edited) text expression appears in the list (in the font you’ve specified)—or to return to the score. Note that when you edit an expression, your editing will affect every occurrence of the marking in the score. Click Cancel to return to the Expression Selection dialog box (or to the score) without creating or editing a text expression.

•	Assign Tempo • [Note Durations] • Text Box. Place a checkmark on Assign Tempo and choose a duration to set the selected expression to have an effect on the tempo at which the score plays back.

See Also:

Expression Selection

General MIDI Patch Numbers & Names

Expression Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


There Are Too Many Beats In This Measure

How to get there

Click the Speedy Entry Tool. Make sure Check for Extra Notes is checked in the Speedy Menu. Click a measure, if needed, and enter more notes than are permissible according to the time signature (five quarter notes in a 4/4 measure, for example). (If the dialog box doesn’t appear immediately, you’ve turned off the Jump to Next Measure feature in the Speedy Menu; click the screen or press zero to exit the editing frame, and the dialog box will appear.)

What it does

This dialog box lets you know you’ve put too many beats into a measure, and asks how you want to handle the extra beats. If you’re in the middle of editing a measure, you can tell Finale Guitar to wait until you exit the measure before determining whether or not to display. Exit the editing frame by pressing zero, and choose Jump to Next Measure from the Speedy Menu, so that there’s no longer a check mark beside it. The dialog box will now appear only when you try to exit the editing frame (with check extra notes selected) of a measure with too many beats.

Note: As in any dialog box, you don’t have to click the radio button itself to select one of the following options; you can also click anywhere on the words themselves that label the radio button.

•	Leave the measure alone. Click this option to exit the editing frame, leaving the extra beats where they were. (You’d want to select this option if you were creating a cadenza, for example, which typically has more beats than the time signature would normally allow.) However, until you adjust the positions of the notes in the measure, you may see the extra notes "floating over" into the next measure.

•	Delete the extra notes. Click this option if you want Finale Guitar to eliminate the extra notes or rests from the end of the measure, even if it means truncating the value of the last note or rest.

•	Move the extra notes to the next measure. Click this option if you want Finale Guitar to cut the extra notes or rests from the end of the measure and notate them in the following measure. This could result in the last note being tied over the barline.

•	Keep moving the extra notes until all measures contain the correct number of beats. Click this option if you want Finale Guitar to cut the extra notes or rests from the end of the measure and notate them in the following measure; if that measure then has too many beats, Finale Guitar cuts the extra notes from the end and puts them in the third measure, and so on until every measure contains the proper number of beats. In effect, this option rebars the music, redistributing the notes until every measure has the proper number of beats, according to the time signature.

•	OK. Click OK to exit the dialog box—and the Speedy editing frame—and process the extra beats as you specified.

See Also:

Speedy Entry Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Time Signature

How to get there

Click the Time Signature Tool, and double-click a measure.

What it does

In this dialog box you can specify a new meter for the measure you clicked (and following measures), including composite meters (3+2+2/8, for example). You can also create one time signature that controls beaming of eighth notes, and a separate one that appears in the score.

The Time Signature dialog box contains an Options button which, when clicked, makes the dialog box expand so that it reveals some additional options.

Finale Guitar will default to a time signature of 4/4 in the few cases where Finale Guitar needs a default setting.

•	Composite. Click this button if you want to create a composite (complex) time signature, such as 3+2+2/8. The Composite Time Signature dialog box appears; see Composite Time Signature dialog box.

•	 ||Options. Click this button to make the dialog box expand, revealing a lower portion containing display options. At that point, click Options again to restore the dialog box to its compact form.

•	Number of Beats • Beat Duration. Use the upper scroll bar to specify the upper number of the time signature—the number of beats in each measure. Use the lower scroll bar to specify the lower number of the time signature—the rhythmic value of each beat. For greatest control, click the right and left arrow buttons to change the number one increment at a time.

The way that you define your meter is very important, because it also governs beaming in the affected region. In the case of cut time, for example, you should set the scroll bars so that the display shows two half notes. This way, the eighth notes will be beamed together in groups of four.

Even if you want Finale Guitar to display a completely different time signature in the score (by using the options described below), you still need to create an appropriate time signature using these primary scroll bars to govern the beaming of your piece.

•	Measure ___ Through ___. Click this option, and then specify the range of measures you want to be affected by this new time signature by entering their numbers in these text boxes. Finale Guitar will display the measures numbers for any region you have drag-selected in these text boxes.

•	Measure ___ Through End of Piece. If you want the meter to be changed from the measure you clicked all the way to the end of the document, click this option. (In the text box, Finale Guitar proposes the measure you originally clicked.)

•	Measure ___ To Next Time Change. If you want the meter to be changed from the measure you clicked until the next measure with a different time signature, click this option. (In the text box, Finale Guitar proposes the measure you originally clicked.)

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to exit this dialog box and change the time signature in the specified measures. Click Cancel to exit this dialog box without changing the meter.

•	Use a Different Time Signature for Display. This option, which only appears after you click Options, gives you complete control over beaming. Here’s how it works:

Using the primary time signature scroll bars (described above), create a meter that will produce the beaming pattern you want. For example, suppose you want a time signature of 3/4, but you want eighth notes beamed together automatically in groups of three. In such a case, you could use the primary scroll bars to create a 6/8 time signature. But since you want 3/4 to appear in the printed score, click Use a Different Time Signature for Display, and set up the lower pair of scroll bars to display 3/4 time.

•	Composite • Number of Beats • Beat Duration. These elements, which only appear after you click Options, duplicate the functions of the Composite, Number of Beats, and Beat Duration controls in the un-expanded dialog box. These, however, only affect the time signature that will appear in the score, and don’t affect beaming.

•	Rebar Music. Use the Rebar Music checkbox to control whether Finale Guitar rebars (rebeams) the music when changing the time signature. When selected, Finale Guitar rebars the music according to the time signature. When deselected, Finale Guitar leaves the beaming of the notes as it currently appears in the score.

•	Abbreviate. Use the Abbreviate checkbox to specify whether to abbreviate (c) or not (4/4) in a particular occurrence of a time signature. You can decide whether or not to use the symbols (c or C) each time a cut or common time signature appears in your music. This capability lets you easily mix c and 4/4 (or C and 2/2) in one piece. You use a simple option, the Abbreviate checkbox in the expanded Time Signature dialog box.

Here’s an example. Perhaps you normally use the symbols for common and cut time in a piece, but you occasionally need to use 4/4 or 2/2 in the same piece. Edit the time signatures in the measure where you want to change their appearance, and choose the appropriate option in the expanded Time Signature dialog box.

See Also:

Time Signature Tool

Composite Time Signature dialog box

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Track/Channel Mapping

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. In the Track/Channel Mapping for Staves dialog box, click the topmost unassigned row of track information.

What it does

This dialog box offers you a great deal of control over the way in which your sequencer-file tracks are transformed into Finale Guitar staves.

For example, you can tell Finale Guitar to create up to eight staves out of a single sequencer track. You can also tell Finale Guitar to create one Finale Guitar staff from up to four sequencer tracks—to transcribe several woodwind tracks onto a single staff, for example.

Furthermore, you can create four staves from four tracks, but without necessarily having a track-to-staff correspondence; for example, you can tell Finale Guitar to treat the notes in all four tracks as if they came from a single track, and then to split them into Finale Guitar staves by register—the highest notes into one staff, and so on.

This dialog box also lets you specify the staff name, clef, transposition, and spacing of each resultant Finale Guitar staff. You can also select a Percussion Map which adjusts the percussion notehead, placement and alternate playback.

•	Track/Channel Mapping for Slot (#). This number indicates which "slot" or row of track information you’re creating or editing.

•	Track/Channel. There are four pairs of text boxes at the top of the screen, letting you specify the track number (and, within that track, the MIDI channel number) of each sequencer track whose music you want included in the staves you’re about to create.

To create a single staff from a single track, enter the track’s number and the MIDI channel from which it was recorded in one pair of the Track/Channel boxes. Note: You normally don’t have to enter anything in the MIDI Channel text box (the second text box of each pair). Enter a MIDI channel value only if you want to specify that a single MIDI channel’s data be transcribed from a track containing music recorded from several MIDI channels.

Next, enter a staff name, transposition, clef, and so on. Of the Split options, leave None selected—otherwise, you’ll transcribe the selected track onto more than one staff.

To create a single staff from multiple sequencer tracks, enter up to four track/MIDI channel number pairings in the text boxes. (Note again that you can leave the MIDI Channel boxes blank—or enter zero—if each track was only recorded from a single channel, or if it’s OK for Finale Guitar to notate the contents of all channels in the track onto one Finale Guitar staff.) Once again, enter a staff name, and leave the None radio button selected—or, if you want to include on the resultant staff only the notes within certain pitch ranges, click Filter (see below).

To create several staves from either a single sequencer track or several tracks, enter the track and channel numbers in the text boxes, as before. This time, however, you must specify one of the Split options (see below). As far as Finale Guitar is concerned, the music on all the tracks you’ve specified in the text boxes are part of a single "source" track, which you can then split, by register, into as many as eight staves.

•	Split: None. If this radio button is selected, Finale Guitar will place the music from all the tracks you’ve specified in a single staff, instead of splitting it into separate staves.

•	Fixed. When you click this radio button, Finale Guitar displays a special Split Point dialog box, in which you can specify up to four split points for the music in the specified tracks. In each pair of text boxes, you enter a low and a high key number; in this way, you can specify up to four registers, each of which will be notated on its own staff (in the same top-to-bottom order as the text box pairs) in the resultant Finale Guitar document. (Middle C is key number 60, and the numbers increase sequentially as you move up the keyboard. But you don’t have to type in these numbers; you can enter them simply by clicking the Listen button and then playing the notes. Finale Guitar will enter their key numbers in the text boxes automatically. See Fixed Split dialog box for a more complete discussion.)

•	Multiple. Click this button to display the Multiple Splits dialog box, where you can "explode" all the music on the specified tracks onto as many as eight staves. The advantage of this method is that notes are "separated out" in order from top to bottom, instead of by register; in other words, this would be a more appropriate way to separate single musical lines—for string parts, for example—into individual staves.

This dialog box works in much the same way as the Explode Music command in the Mass Edit Menu, letting you specify the number of resultant staves as well as the Overload Order. For a more complete discussion, see Multiple Splits dialog box.

•	Hand Width. Click this radio button to display the Hand Width Split dialog box, which lets you transcribe the contents of the sequencer tracks you’ve specified onto two staves, splitting the notes by tracking the positions of your hands on the keyboard. Finale Guitar follows your hands as they move up and down the keyboard, eliminating the need to specify a single, fixed split point—provided there’s always enough distance between the hands for Finale Guitar to tell which hand is which. For a more detailed discussion of this dialog box, see Hand Width Split dialog box.

•	Filter. Click this radio button to display the Filter Channels dialog box. With this option, you can specify certain ranges of notes from each of several tracks that you want to be merged onto a single Finale Guitar staff. See Filter Channels dialog box for more information.

•	Staff Names. In these text boxes, enter staff names for the Finale Guitar staves you’re creating.

•	Transpose. Click the appropriate Transpose checkbox to display the Staff Transpositions dialog box, in which you can specify an instrumental transposition (for a trumpet or clarinet, for example). This is the same dialog box that appears when you click Transposition in the Staff Attributes dialog box; see Staff Transpositions dialog box for a complete description of the options.

•	Clef • Select. This text box identifies, by number, the staff’s starting clef. Finale Guitar offers ten standard clefs, numbered 0-7, and 16-17.

Enter the number in each Clef text box corresponding to the clef you want to designate as the starting clef for the resultant Finale Guitar staff. You can also click Select to choose from a graphic of each available clef.

•	Distance. The number in this text box specifies the distance, between the top line of the staff you’re defining and the top of the Finale Guitar window (in Scroll View). It’s a negative number, because this staff appears below the top of the window. Note that if you want all your staves evenly spaced, you don’t have to enter numbers in these boxes; instead, when you return to the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box, click Set Dist. A dialog box appears, in which you can enter a global staff distance measurement. (See Set Distances dialog box.)

•	Percussion Map • Select. The number in this text box specifies which Percussion Map you’ve selected for this staff. Click the Select button to open the Percussion Map Selection dialog box, where you can select from any Percussion Maps available in the default file. See Percussion Map Selection dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the track-to-staff configurations you’ve created. You return to the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box.

See Also:

Fixed Split Dialog Box

Multiple Splits Dialog Box

Hand Width Split Dialog Box

Filter Channels Dialog Box

Import MIDI File Options

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want transcribed. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. If you have already selected Set Track-to-Staff List and Don’t show this during File Open, Finale Guitar will display the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box without first going through the Import MIDI File Options dialog box.

What it does

The easiest way to translate the "tracks" from your MIDI sequencer file into notated Finale Guitar staves is to leave the default option, Tracks Become Staves, selected. When you do, each track from your sequencer file is transcribed onto its own staff in Finale Guitar.

If you want more flexibility, however, you can display this dialog box, in which you can specify a number of track, MIDI channel, and staff configurations. You can specify the top-to-bottom order of the resulting Finale Guitar staves, as well as staff transpositions, clefs, and the distance between staves in the resultant Finale Guitar document.

•	AutoSet to Tracks • AutoSet to Channels. Click these buttons to create a Finale Guitar staff for each sequencer track or MIDI channel, respectively. You’ll notice that these are exactly the same as the Tracks Become Staves and Channels Become Staves options in the previous (Import MIDI File Options) dialog box. The difference is that after clicking one of these buttons, you can then modify the assignments that appear in this dialog box. For example, you can set the staves’ clefs, transpositions, names, and so on—options that aren’t available when you click the Tracks Become Staves or Channels Become Staves buttons.

•	Track/Channel • Split • Name • Trans • Clef • Distance • Perc. The largest part of this dialog box is devoted to this display, which is a scrolling list of the 128 possible staves you can create in any Finale Guitar document. In the Track/Channel column, you see the name of each track and the MIDI channel to which it was assigned in the original sequencer file. In the Split column, Finale Guitar displays the split option, if you’ve specified one (for example, you might want the track split into two staves—for a piano part, for example). The Name column displays the staff name; Trans is the transposition, if any (for a transposing instrument such as a trumpet or clarinet); Clef indicates the clef, by number (0 through 7 and 16-17); and Distance indicates the distance between the top line of the staff and the top line of the one above it. The Perc column indicates which Percussion Map will be used to adjust the display of percussion noteheads, placement and alternate playback.

Each row of information represents one Finale Guitar staff. To specify all of the variables mentioned above, click anywhere in a row (but define the rows from top to bottom). The Track/Channel Mapping dialog box appears, where you can split the sequencer track you clicked into as many as eight Finale Guitar staves. You can base this split on MIDI channel, the range of notes, or the top-to-bottom order of notes in each chord (like the Explode Music command in the Mass Edit Menu). See Track/Channel Mapping dialog box for more information.

•	Load • Save. Once you’ve created a mapping setup, you needn’t re-create it the next time you want to transcribe a similarly configured MIDI file. Instead, after creating the mapping by working through this dialog box, click Save; Finale Guitar asks you to title this "TrackMap file." Later, if you want to transcribe the same MIDI file—or a similarly configured one—click Load. Double-click the TrackMap File’s title in the list box that appears; the Track/Channel Mapping dialog box fills itself out automatically.

•	Set Dist. Click this button to display the Set Distances dialog box, in which you can specify a uniform distance between staves in the resultant Finale Guitar document, as well as the distance between the top staff and the top page margin. See Set Distances dialog box for details.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your track-to-staff mapping and return to the Import MIDI File Options dialog box. Click Cancel to return to the Import MIDI File Options dialog box without changing the track-to-staff mapping.

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

Import MIDI File Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Import MIDI Data from Clipboard

How to get there

Place some MIDI data on the clipboard (from Finale Guitar or another sequencing program). Click the Mass Edit Tool or any other tool with regional selection. Select a region of music. Choose Import MIDI from Clipboard from the Edit Menu.

What it does

Use the Import MIDI Data from Clipboard dialog box to change quantization settings and other options when you’re importing MIDI data from the clipboard.

•	Continuous Data. Select this checkbox to include Continuous Data when importing MIDI Data.

•	Tempo Changes.  Select this checkbox to include Continuous Data when importing MIDI Data.

•	Quantization Settings. Click this button to display the Quantization Settings dialog box which allows you to change your quantization settings.

To use the current settings in the Import MIDI Data from Clipboard dialog box (without displaying the dialog box on the screen), press shift when you choose Import MIDI from Clipboard from the Edit Menu.

See Also:

Quantization Settings dialog box

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Import MIDI File Options

How to get there

Choose Import MIDI File Options from the MIDI Menu. The Import MIDI File Options dialog box appears.

Or,

Choose Open from the File Menu and click MIDI file (from the File Type drop-down list).(or click the file-type icon until MIDI File is selected). Double-click the name of the MIDI file you want to transcribe.

What it does

When you tell Finale Guitar to "open" a MIDI file, you’re essentially telling it to transcribe the file. The options in this dialog box are very similar to those you encounter when you’re transcribing real-time performances in a Finale Guitar document—quantization and split point options, key and time signature settings, and commands to "capture" MIDI data (such as pedaling and key velocity information).

You also use this dialog box to tell Finale Guitar how you want the tracks of the sequencer file translated into Finale Guitar staves. For example, you can specify that each track simply become one staff, or that the contents of each MIDI channel become one staff. However, you can also enter other dialog boxes from within this one, where you can specify much more elaborate track-to-staff configurations.

Follow your sequencer’s instructions for creating a standard MIDI file.

•	Tracks Become Staves. Click this button if you want Finale Guitar simply to notate the contents of each sequencer track on one staff. Finale Guitar will select the treble or bass clef for each staff, based on the register of the music in each track. In fact, if the notes have such a wide range that it wouldn’t be appropriate to place them all on one staff, Finale Guitar splits the track into two staves with different clefs.

Technical note: Finale Guitar selects a clef as follows. If all the notes of the track are above MIDI key number 47 (that’s B a ninth below middle C), it selects the treble clef. If all notes are below key 72 (C above middle C), it selects the bass clef. If the notes in the track don’t fall into either category, Finale Guitar transcribes them onto two staves, splitting them into treble- and bass-clef staves using F below middle C as a split point.

•	Channels Become Staves. Click this button if you want the contents of each MIDI channel (regardless of its track assignments) transcribed onto a single Finale Guitar staff. Once again, Finale Guitar attempts to make intelligent decisions regarding the selection of a clef for each staff.

•	Set Track-to-Staff List; Select. If you click this button, Finale Guitar will display the Track/Channel Mapping for Staves dialog box when you open a MIDI file, where you can specify a number of track, MIDI channel, and staff configurations. You can specify the top-to-bottom order of the resulting Finale Guitar staves, as well as staff transpositions, clefs, and the distance between staves in the resultant Finale Guitar document. The Select button is only displayed when you are importing a file and do not have  Don’t show this during File Open selected. If you have selected Set Track-to-Staff List and Don’t show this during File Open while in the MIDI Menu, the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box will appear when you open a MIDI file instead of the Import MIDI File Options dialog box. See Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box for full details.

•	Key Signature: Use the File’s. Click this button if you want Finale Guitar to notate the transcription with the key signature specified by the MIDI file (if it was created by a sequencer that lets you specify one).

•	Key Signature: Infer from the File. Click this button if you want Finale Guitar to attempt to deduce the correct key signature by examining the notes in the sequencer file. Finale Guitar will analyze the music, measure by measure, placing key changes where it considers them necessary. You won’t see the results of Finale Guitar’s intelligent guesses until it’s finished transcribing the file into standard notation.

•	Key Signature: Infer, Ask me first. Click this button if you want Finale Guitar to attempt to deduce the correct key signature by examining the notes in the sequencer file, but to let you confirm its guesses. When you click the OK button to begin the transcription, Finale Guitar will display the key signature dialog box at each measure in which it detects a key change, letting you confirm or cancel its decision.

•	Key Signature: Set Key Signature. Click this button if you simply want to tell Finale Guitar what key the file is in. Finale Guitar displays the Key Signature dialog box, where you can scroll to the correct key signature and click OK.

•	Time Signature: Use the File’s. Click this button if you want Finale Guitar to notate the transcription with the time signature specified by the MIDI file (if it was created by a sequencer that lets you specify one).

•	Time Signature: Set the Time Signature. Click this button if you simply want to tell Finale Guitar what time signature the file is in. Finale Guitar displays the Time Signature dialog box, where you can set the correct time signature and click OK. (See Time Signature dialog box if you need help in setting the time signature.)

•	Tempo Changes • Continuous Data. These options tell Finale Guitar to remember the precise "feel" of the original sequence, and to keep this data handy for playback once it’s been transcribed. If you don’t choose these options, then when you play back the transcribed music from the score, Finale Guitar will simply play the "sheet music"—the notated version, which will be rhythmically precise but expressionless and "square"—instead of an exact re-creation of the original sequence. (Important note: To play back your music with these captured nuances, be sure you’ve selected all four data types for playback (see Playback Options dialog box). Tempo Changes information describes changes in the actual tempo, such as ritards and accelerandi. Continuous Data is controller data (MIDI signals generated by pedals, patch changes, and so on) and wheels (like the pitch wheel).

•	Create Instruments from Initial Patches • Use General MIDI Patch Names. Use these settings to import patch information into Finale Guitar’s instrument list.

•	Quant Settings. Click this button to display the Quantization Settings dialog box where you can set more options regarding the type of quantization, smallest allowed value, whether to capture Key Velocities and Note Duration, etc. See Quantization Settings dialog box.

•	Create Percussion Staves: Channel • Clef • Percussion Map. Check this box to have Finale Guitar create and configure percussion staves from the MIDI file. Enter the playback channel in the Channel text box. Finale Guitar will suggest channel 10, the default percussion channel for General MIDI. Next to Clef, Finale Guitar will display the selected clef for percussion staves. Click Select to choose a different clef. The Percussion Map text box indicates which Percussion Map will be used to adjust the display of percussion noteheads, placement and alternate playback. Click the Select button to choose a different percussion map. See Percussion.

•	Don’t show this during File Open. Select this option if you wish to use the current settings in the Import MIDI File options next time you import a MIDI file. The Import MIDI File Options dialog box will not be displayed when you import a MIIDI file, only when Import MIDI File Options is selected from the MIDI Menu.  Deselect this checkbox to again display the Import MIDI File Options dialog box when importing MIDI files. If you have selected Set Track-to-Staff List and Don’t show this during File Open, Finale Guitar will display the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box without first going through the Import MIDI File Options dialog box. See Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to proceed with the transcription. After a moment, Finale Guitar displays the transcribed score. If you discover that your settings weren’t quite right, you can close the new Finale Guitar document and try again—the original MIDI file is unaffected by Finale Guitar’s transcription efforts. Click Cancel if you decide not to transcribe the MIDI file.

See Also:

Track/Channel Mapping

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

Quantization Settings

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


MIDI File Status

This status box appears when Finale Guitar is transcribing the MIDI File you opened. It allows you to see that the file is being successfully imported into Finale Guitar.

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Transposition

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures. Choose Transpose from the Mass Edit Menu.

What it does

In this dialog box you can specify a transposition of any interval, from a half step to many octaves, you want to be applied to the selected measures (or to the mirror, or to a note in the selected motif). This kind of transposition has nothing to do with the key signature; it merely transposes the selected music up or down by the interval you specify, adding or subtracting accidentals as necessary.

•	Up • Down. Choose the direction of the transposition relative to the existing notes.

•	Diatonically • Chromatically. Specify what kind of transposition you want—a diatonic one (that moves notes up and down the scale) or a chromatic one (that can move notes by half steps).

•	Interval: • Perfect Unison • minor second […etc.] • Perfect Octave • Other. From this drop-down list, choose the interval by which you want the selected music transposed. To transpose an interval greater than an octave, you can add one octave (or several) to the selected interval by entering a number in the Plus __ octaves text box (see below). If you choose Other, the Interval dialog box appears, so that you can specify an interval not listed in the drop-down list. (See Interval dialog box.)

•	Plus ____ octaves. If you enter a number in this text box, Finale Guitar will add that number of octaves to the radio-button interval you’ve specified. (You can enter a negative number if you want to transpose the selected music by that number of octaves in the opposite direction from the radio-button interval you’ve specified.)

•	Preserve Original Notes. Select this option when you want to keep the original line of music when transposing notes to a selected interval. In effect, you’re doubling the notes in your score. When this option is not selected, Finale Guitar transposes the existing line of notes without keeping the original line.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your transposition selection. If you click OK, Finale Guitar performs the transposition.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Tuplet Definition

How to get there

To display the Tuplet Definition dialog box, click the Tuplet Tool, then click the first note to include in the tuplet group, or click the first note of a tuplet, then double-click one of its handles. Or, click the Speedy Entry Tool, click a measure to display the editing frame, then press ctrl-1 to define the tuplet you want to enter.

What it does

In this dialog box you can define both the rhythmic and visual aspects of a tuplet grouping—the number of eighth notes that are to be played in the time of a quarter note, for example—and whether or not a bracket or slur should appear, and so on.

Note that you can predefine the default visual aspects of the tuplets in your score, so that every tuplet you create automatically appears with a neatly positioned bracket (for example). To do so, ctrl-click the Tuplet Tool; Finale Guitar displays the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box, where you can specify these parameters. (See Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box for a more complete discussion—although its contents are identical to almost all of this dialog box.)

Note also that you can store tuplet "definitions"—the settings you make in this dialog box—in a tuplet Metatool, so that you can instantly transform non-tuplet notes into tuplet notes (having the tuplet definition you prefer) with the press of a key. In fact, you can assign a different set of Tuplet Definition settings to each of the number and letter keys on your keyboard.

When you create a new tuplet, Finale Guitar usually places a number over it (such as the 3 above a triplet). In this dialog box, you can change the tuplet notation for each individual notation; for example, you could tell Finale Guitar to display a slur or bracket in addition to the number.

•	__ ____in the space of __ _____ • Half(s) • Dotted Quarter(s) • Quarter(s) (etc.). Define the rhythmic qualities (temporal definition) of the tuplet by entering numbers in these two text boxes (to specify how many) and selecting the rhythmic-value from the drop-down list (to specify "of what value").

For example, suppose you want to create an eighth-note triplet. In the score, click the Tuplet Tool, and click the first of the three normal eighth notes you want to transform into triplets. When this dialog box appears, enter 3 and 2 in the text boxes ("3 in the space of 2"); choose eighths from the drop-down list: 3 eighths in the space of 2 eighths. (Alternatively, you could create an eighth-note triplet by specifying 3 eighths in the space of 1 quarter.) These text boxes apply only to the tuplet you’re currently placing in the score.

•	Number: Nothing • Number • Ratio. Use this drop-down list to specify whether Finale Guitar should place a number, a ratio, or no mark on a tuplet.

•	Shape: Nothing • Slur • Bracket. Use the Shape drop-down list to display the tuplet with no shape appearing over it, or with a slur or bracket. Tuplets with slurs actually use slurs (with tapered ends), unless the slur is "broken" (Break Slur or Bracket is selected) in which case Finale Guitar uses curves (with non-tapered ends).

•	Placement: Manual • Beam Side. When Manual is selected in this drop-down list, Finale Guitar uses the settings from the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box to position the tuplet on the notes in the score. Drag to reposition the tuplet in the score. When Beam Side is selected and you create a tuplet on beamed notes, Finale Guitar automatically places the tuplet on the beam side and matches the beam angle. If Beam Side is selected and you create a tuplet on unbeamed notes, Finale Guitar places the tuplet using the Default Tuplet Visual Definition dialog box settings. You can then drag to adjust the tuplet in your score.

•	Break Slur or Bracket. If you’ve chosen a slur as the shape for the tuplet, then select Break Slur or Bracket, to have Finale Guitar break a slur or bracket to allow for a number to be placed there.

•	Allow Horizontal Drag. Select this option so you can drag every tuplet handle horizontally on-screen. You can move a slur, bracket, and number to the left or right.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the tuplet appearance you’ve created. You return to the score.

See Also:

Tuplet Tool

Default Tuplet Visual Definition

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Unknown Chord Suffix

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool. Choose one of the three Chord Analysis Options from the Chord Menu (MIDI Input, One-Staff Analysis, or Two-Staff Analysis). Click a chord in the score, or click a note and play a chord on your MIDI keyboard, whose suffix hasn’t been loaded into, or created in, this piece.

What it does

When Finale Guitar encounters a chord it doesn’t recognize, this dialog box appears, asking how to handle the situation. (You can dramatically decrease the number of times this box appears if you load a Chord Suffix Library into your piece—or if you have the Maestro Font Default file in place, which already has a Chord Suffix Library loaded.)

•	I’ll Find A Match. If you click this button, you enter the Chord Definition dialog box, where you can construct the chord yourself, including its suffix (see Chord Definition dialog box). If the chord you played was one that Finale Guitar doesn’t usually understand (such as a major sixth chord or a "V–11" chord like F/G), clicking the I’ll Find a Match button also means "I’ll teach it to you." Once you’ve selected the chord symbol, Finale Guitar will recognize this chord in any inversion and register (but only if it’s built on the same root), and will correctly identify it the next time it occurs.

•	Let Finale Guitar do it. Click this button if you want Finale Guitar to do its best to identify the chord. Finale Guitar always identifies a chord correctly—but it doesn’t always label it the same way you would, particularly in the case of very complex chords, or ones from which some tones are missing.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score, where you can re-enter the chord.

See Also:

Chord Definition

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Unknown Font

How to get there

From the File Menu, choose Open Library. Double-click the name of a library that was created with a font that’s no longer installed on your System.

What it does

You’ll encounter this dialog box when you try to open a library of symbols or expressions that were created with fonts that are no longer installed, or a library that was created on someone else’s computer (with a different set of fonts installed). Finale Guitar gives you two options for handling the missing fonts. You can either select a new font to replace the missing one, or you can tell Finale Guitar to go ahead and load the library, substituting the System font for the missing fonts until you later install the missing font into your Windows Font folder. At that point, the library elements will reappear in their original fonts.

•	Add the Font to the Font List. Click this button (or press return) if you want Finale Guitar to display the library element in the system font until such time as the missing font is reinstalled.

Finale Guitar doesn’t actually install a font in your system when you click Add. Instead, it adds the missing font’s name to its font selection boxes; it will appear dimmed (like the names of any other missing fonts). When you later install the missing font in your System, its name will no longer be dimmed, and the library elements in question will reappear in their original fonts (instead of the substitute font).

•	Select Another Font. Click this button if you want to substitute a different font for the one that’s missing. Finale Guitar responds by displaying the Font dialog box, in which you can select the new font.

If there are other fonts that were used to create the library (that are now missing), Finale Guitar displays the Font dialog box again so that you can repeat the process.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to do the selected action. Click Cancel to return to the score without making any changes.

See Also:

Font

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


View Continuous Data

How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool and select a region of measures in a staff. Double-click the selected region to enter the MIDI Tool split-window, if you want. Choose Continuous Data from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The MIDI Tool allows you to edit the values of any MIDI continuous data (controllers, wheels, and so on). In this dialog box, you specify the controller whose data you want to edit.

•	Controller ___. [Controller drop-down list] In this text box you can specify a controller by entering its number, or use the drop-down list to see a list of standard controller messages with a brief description. Here are some common controllers and their numbers:

Controller number	Controller	Controller number	Controller
1	Modulation wheel or lever	64	Sustain pedal
2	Breath Controller	65	Portamento
4	Foot Controller	66	Sostenuto
7	Main volume	67	Soft Pedal
10	Pan
Patch Changes • Channel Pressure • Pitch Wheel. Select the data you want to view and edit. When you click OK, you’ll be able to edit the specified data type. For instructions on editing these data types, see MIDI Tool window.

•	Listen. If you’re not sure of the number or name of the MIDI controller type whose data you want to edit, click Listen. Finale Guitar goes into listening mode until you "play" the controller; it then enters the correct controller number in the text box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your controller selections. You return to the MIDI Tool split-window or the score.

See Also:

MIDI Tool Menu

MIDI Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Technical Support

As a registered owner, you may call Coda for technical support whenever you need help with Finale Guitar. There is no cost for this help (except for long-distance charges). In addition to technical support benefits, you'll automatically receive company and product information from time to time, as well as official notification of all future upgrades to your program.

Before you contact tech support, be sure to search the User Manual

 (Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 (or higher) must be installed) for information on your question.

If you have a question about a specific tool, click on the word TOC to the right, short for Table of Contents and scroll through pages using the Page Down key on your keyboard to go to the next page. Once you find the proper chapter, place your cursor on the page number to jump to that specific page. Note, the cursor will change from an open hand to a pointing finger when you move onto a link.

If you have a question about a musical term or symbol and don't know what specific tool to use, click on the word Index then click on the appropriate letter (like R)  on the right side to jump to the R's of the Index. Scroll through the pages, then place your cursor on the page number of the topic you want more information. Note, the cursor will change from an open hand to a pointing finger when you move onto a link.

If you have a question and are unsure where it might be listed , choose Find (Ctrl-F) from the Tools Menu. Enter the word or phrase you are looking for. If the first find is not exactly what you are looking for, choose Find Again (Ctrl-G) from the Tools Menu to continue looking through the manual.

If you have a problem with connecting MIDI or printing with Finale Guitar for example, check in the Troubleshooting section of the Appendix to the User Manual. Common problems and solutions are given in this section.

You can contact us through any of the following:

Address

Coda Music Technology

6210 Bury Drive

Eden Prairie, MN 55346-1718

Coda Technical Support

(952) 937-9703

11:00 am to 4:00 pm (US Central Time)

Monday through Friday

FAX

(952) 937-9760

E-Mail

If you have a modem, you can access Finale Guitar information, and communicate directly with Coda Technical Support by sending email to winsupport@codamusic.com.

Visit the Coda Music Technology support web site to see answers to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), engage in a forum discussion with other Finale Guitar users and discover the latest news from Coda Music.


G_Key Velocity
Key Velocity

The attack volume of a MIDI note. The term "Key Velocity" derives from the force applied to a key struck on a MIDI keyboard.


G_Tuplets
Tuplets

The irregular division of notes into a given beat (i.e. 3 into 2).

Includes triplets, quintuplets, septuplets, etc.


G_TIFF
TIFF

Tagged Image File Format—format for storing bitmapped images/graphics. This format is supported on both Macintosh and Windows (.tif extension) and does not require a PostScript printer.


G_Track
Track

A location where one records or plays back a musical message —usually a portion of the total arrangement. Tracks are for convenience; channels are required.


G_ETF
ETF

Enigma Transportable File. A file format easily shared between Windows and Macintosh for Finale Guitar files.


G_Mus
Mus

MUS or .mus. A standard Coda notation or music file.


G_FTM
FTM

A file format that behaves like a piece of stationary or template in Finale Guitar.


G_Maestro Font
G_Maestro

One of Finale Guitar's music character fonts. Both TrueType and PostScript versions are supported.


File/New/Document With Setup Wizard

Use this menu item to begin a new file with a series of questions asked such as Title, Composer, Page size and instruments used.

See Also:

Default Document

Document From Template

File Menu


File/New/Default Document

Use this menu item to begin a new file based on the default file in the Finale Guitar Component Files folder. The default file has one staff with one page of music.

See Also:

Document With Setup Wizard

Document From Template

File Menu


File/New/Document From Template

Use this menu item to begin a new file based on an existing file. Finale Guitar provides a group of templates based on common instrument combinations.

See Also:

Document With Setup Wizard

Default Document

File Menu


Edit/Automatic Music Spacing

Use this menu item for Finale Guitar to apply Music Spacing as notes and rests are entered.

Tip: If this menu item is not checked, use the Mass Edit Tool and Apply Music Spacing from the Mass Edit Menu.

See Also:

Edit Menu


View/Customize Palettes

Choose the Tool Palette you wish to edit to your needs.

Main Tool Palette

Navigation Tool Palette

Simple Entry Tool Palette

Simple Entry Rests Palette

Smart Shape Palette

See Also:

View Menu

Customize Toolbars


View/Customize Palettes/Main Tool Palette

Choose this menu item to display the Customize Toolbars dialog box, where you can edit and rearrange the tools that appear on the palette. Tools appearing in the Left window can be added; Tools appearing in the Right window are currently appearing on the Tool Palette.

See Also:

View Menu

Customize Toolbars


View/Customize Palettes/Navigation Tool Palette

Choose this menu item to display the Customize Toolbars dialog box, where you can edit and rearrange the tools that appear on the palette. Tools appearing in the Left window can be added; Tools appearing in the Right window are currently appearing on the Tool Palette.

See Also:

View Menu

Customize Toolbars


View/Customize Palettes/Simple Entry Tool Palette

Choose this menu item to display the Customize Toolbars dialog box, where you can edit and rearrange the tools that appear on the palette. Tools appearing in the Left window can be added; Tools appearing in the Right window are currently appearing on the Tool Palette.

See Also:

View Menu

Customize Toolbars


View/Customize Palettes/Simple Entry Rests Palette

Choose this menu item to display the Customize Toolbars dialog box, where you can edit and rearrange the tools that appear on the palette. Tools appearing in the Left window can be added; Tools appearing in the Right window are currently appearing on the Tool Palette.

See Also:

View Menu

Customize Toolbars


View/Customize Palettes/Smart Shape Palette

Choose this menu item to display the Customize Toolbars dialog box, where you can edit and rearrange the tools that appear on the palette. Tools appearing in the Left window can be added; Tools appearing in the Right window are currently appearing on the Tool Palette.

See Also:

View Menu

Customize Toolbars


Window/Simple Entry Rests Palette

When this item is checked, the Simple Entry Rests Palette appears on the screen. You can close the palette by choosing the item from the Window Menu so that the check mark disappears. Depending on the settings in the Program Options dialog box, you may have to click the Simple Entry Tool to display this palette.

For detailed information, see the Simple Entry Rests Palette and Program Options dialog box.

See Also:

Window Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Help/User Manual/Jazz Font Character Map

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the Jazz Font Character Map file of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/User Manual/Maestro Font Character Map

Choose this menu item to launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the Maestro Font Character Map file of Finale Guitar's User Manual.

See Also:

User Manual


Help/Coda Music Technology Website

Choose this menu item to go to the Coda Music Technology Website for information about Finale Guitar and other products made by Coda Music Technology.

Tip: Internet Access will be needed to view the site.

See Also:

Help Menu


Help/Register Finale Guitar

Choose this menu item to register your version of Finale Guitar with Coda Music via the Internet. Registered Users of Finale Guitar have access to Technical Support and notification of future updates and upgrades.

Tip: Internet Access will be needed to view the site.

See Also:

Help Menu


Help/Finale Guitar Trade-Up

Choose this menu item to view the latest special offers Finale Guitar trade-up offers from Coda Music Technology

Tip: Internet Access will be needed to view the site.

See Also:

Help Menu


Help/Tip Of The Day

Choose this menu item to view the Tip Of The Day dialog box. The Tip Of The Day provides basic instructions on how to use Finale Guitar and what’s new to Finale Guitar as well.

See Also:

Help Menu


Staff/New Staves (with Setup Wizard)

Choose this menu item to create new staves by choosing from a list of instruments already defined.

Tip: If no staff is selected, the new staves will be created at the bottom of the score; however, if a staff is selected, the new staves will be inserted above the selected staff.

See Also:

Staff Tool

Staff Menu


Staff/Clear Alternate Notation

Choose this menu item to remove Alternate Notation from measures (or entire staves) selected in the score.

See Also:

Staff Tool

Staff Menu


Staff/Apply Alternate Notation

Choose this menu item to apply an Alternate Notation style to the measures (or entire staves) selected in the score.

See Also:

Apply Alternate Notation dialog box

Staff Tool

Staff Menu


Measure Menu

Use this menu to add or insert blank measures to the document, edit how measure numbers appear through the score, and create or break multimeasure rests.

Add

Insert

Delete

================

Multimeasure Rests

Edit Measure Attributes

================

Show Measure Numbers

Hide Measure Numbers

Reset Number Defaults

================

Dragging Selects Measure Handles

Dragging Selects Number Handles

See Also:

Menus

Measure Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Measure/Show Measure Numbers

Choose this menu item to force measure numbers to appear in the selected measures.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu


Measure/Hide Measure Numbers

Choose this menu item to force measure numbers to disappear in the selected measures.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu


Measure/Reset Number Defaults

Choose this menu item to return the measure numbers in the selected measures to their default settings.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu


Measure/Dragging Selects Measure Handles

Select this menu item to select measures when drag-enclosing with the Measure Tool.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu


Measure/Dragging Selects Number Handles

Select this menu item to select measure numbers when drag-enclosing with the Measure Tool.

See Also:

Measure Tool

Measure Menu


Expression Menu

Use this menu to define how metatools will behave.

Metatools: Attach to Measure

Metatools: Attach to Note

Metatools: Context Sensitive

================

Display Expressions for Parts

See Also:

Expression Tool

Menus

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Expression/Metatools: Attach to Measure

Choose this menu item to make all metatools attach expressions to the measure, regardless of whether there is a note or rest in the measure.

Tip: To create a metatool, hold down the Shift key while pressing a number or letter. Then, choose the expression you wish to assign to that number or letter when the Expression Selection dialog box appears. To attach a metatool, hold down the assigned number or letter and click in the measure.

See Also:

Expression Menu

Expression Tool


Expression/Metatools: Attach to Note

Choose this menu item to make all metatools attach expressions to a note or rest. Note that if there is no note or rest in the measure you click, an expression will not be attached.

Tip: To create a metatool, hold down the Shift key while pressing a number or letter. Then, choose the expression you wish to assign to that number or letter when the Expression Selection dialog box appears. To attach a metatool, hold down the assigned number or letter and click in the measure.

See Also:

Expression Menu

Expression Tool


Expression/Metatools: Context Sensitive

Choose this menu item to make metatools attach expressions depending on where you click. For example, if you click in an empty measure, the expression will attach to the measure. However, if you click near a note or rest, the expression will attach to the note.

Tip: To create a metatool, hold down the Shift key while pressing a number or letter. Then, choose the expression you wish to assign to that number or letter when the Expression Selection dialog box appears. To attach a metatool, hold down the assigned number or letter and click in the measure.

See Also:

Expression Menu

Expression Tool


Text/Inserts/Symbol

Choose this menu item to see all the characters in the current font. When you select the item, it will be inserted into the current text block.

See Also:

Symbol Selection

Text Menu

Text Tool


MassEdit/Clear Entries and Smart Shapes

Choose this menu item to remove notes, rests and smart shapes from selected measures.

Tip: For more control, choose Clear Items from the Mass Edit Menu to selectively delete items from the score.

See Also:

Mass Edit Tool

Mass Edit Menu


Page Layout/Space Systems Evenly

Choose this menu item to display the Space Systems Evenly dialog box, where you can tell Finale Guitar to place the systems evenly spaced vertically on the page, to make maximum use of the page. You can even tell it to skip pages that are only partially full.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Update Page Format for Score

Choose this menu item to have changes you make in the Page Layout tool apply to the Page Format For Score dialog box in the Document Settings submenu of the Options Menu.

Tip: You can make changes in the Page Format For Score dialog box and then choose Redefine Pages from the Page Layout Menu to affect all pages at once, or just the current page.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Page Size

Choose this menu item to enter the Page Size dialog box. In this dialog box, you can define the size of paper Finale Guitar will allow for the music. Remember that Finale Guitar’s page and the page of your Printer can be two different sizes and/or orientations.

For more information, see Page Size dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Edit System Margins

Choose this menu item to see a dialog box with all the dimensions of Staff Systems. You can apply changes from this dialog box as well.

For more information, see Edit System Margins dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout/Allow Individual Staff Spacing

Choose this menu item to allow the staves in the currently selected Staff System to move independently. Finale Guitar will Optimize the staves, but keep all of the staves. Note that, like Optimization, Allow Individual Staff Spacing will lock the current layout and should be done after all changes have been made to the document.

Tip: To adjust the distance between staves on a System by System basis, use the Staff Tool.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

Staff Tool


Page Layout/Adjust Current Page Only

Choose this menu item to affect only the margins of the page you are currently working on. For example, use this on the first page of the score to make room for full staff names on the left margin.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Page Layout Menu

Use this menu to insert or remove blank pages, remove empty staves with optimization and adjust the margins of staff systems, page margins and page sizes.

Delete Blank Pages

Insert Page Break

Delete Page Break

Insert Staff Systems

Delete Staff Systems

================

Redefine Pages

Optimize Staff Systems

Fit Music

Space Systems Evenly

================

Avoid Margin Collision

Update Page Format For Score

================

Edit System Margins

Allow Individual Staff Spacing

================

Edit Page Margins

Adjust Current Page Only

================

Page Size

See Also:

Menus

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Measure/Add

Choose this menu item to add measures to the end of your score.

Note: Measures will be added in all staves of the score.

For more details see the Add Measures dialog box.

See Also:

Measure Menu

Measure Tool


Measure/Insert

Choose this menu item to insert measures prior to a selected measure.

Note: Measures will be added in all staves of the score.

For more details see the Insert Measures dialog box.

See Also:

Measure Menu

Measure Tool


Measure/Delete

Choose this menu item to delete selected measures from the score.

Note: Measures will be removed in all staves of the score.

See Also:

Measure Menu

Measure Tool


Measure/Edit Measure Attributes

Choose this menu item to edit the characteristics of measures. For example, change the barline style or the width of the measure.

For more details see the Measure Attributes dialog box.

See Also:

Measure Menu

Measure Tool


Edit System Margins

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Edit System Margins.

What it does

Use this dialog box to set the System Margins numerically.

•	Top • Left • Right • Bottom • Distance Between Systems. Use these text boxes to enter the staff system margins for the specified systems. Changes do not occur until you click the Apply button. Changes are applied to any value with a checked box.

•	 Space for Additional System. This text displays the amount of space required to place an additional system on the current page.

•	Change: System ___ Thru: ___  • Select All. Select which systems should be affected by the specified margins. Select a system range or all systems.

•	Apply • Close. Click Apply to make the adjustments and leave the dialog box available for more changes. Click Close to return to the score without making any changes.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Edit Page Margins

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Systems, then Edit Margins.

What it does

Use this dialog box to set the Page Margins numerically.

•	Top • Left • Right • Bottom. Use these text boxes to enter the page margins for the specified pages. If the adjacent checkbox is checked, changes will affect that margin.

•	Change: Page ___ • All Pages • Left Only • Right Only • Page Range: From: ___ Thru: ___ • Adjust Right or Left Only. Select which systems should be affected by the specified margins. Select a specific page, all pages, all left pages or all right pages, or a page range. When Adjust Right or Left Only is selected, and you adjust a left page, Finale Guitar also adjusts all left pages in the specified range. If you adjust a right page, Finale Guitar adjusts all right pages in the range. For example, if you set the page range to page 5 through 10, then adjust page 3, Finale Guitar adjusts pages 5, 7, 9 and page 3.

•	Apply • Close. Click Apply to make the adjustments and leave the dialog box available for more changes. Click Close to return to the score without making any changes.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Page Size

How to get there

Click the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout Menu, choose Page Size.

What it does

Use this dialog box to change the size or orientation of the specified pages.

•	[Page sizes] • Width: • Height: • Portrait • Landscape. Select the desired page size from the drop-down list or type in the desired Width and Height (custom will be displayed in the drop-down list). Select Portrait or Landscape as well.

•	Change: Page __ only • All Pages. Use these options to select the pages you would like affected by the page size settings you have made.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to execute the selected changes. Click Cancel to return to the Page Layout window without any changes.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Apply Alternate Notation

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool. Select a region of measures. Choose Apply Alternate Notation from the Staff Menu.

What it does

Use the Apply Alternate Notation dialog box to apply the specified notation style to the selected region.

•	Notation Styles. Select the desired notation style from the list box.

•	OK • Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without making changes. Click OK to apply your changes and return to the score.

See Also:

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


SmartMusic Accompaniment Options

How to get there

From the File Menu, choose Save Special, then Save As SmartMusic Accompaniment.

What it does

Finale Guitar supplies a quick, convenient way to turn your score into a SmartMusic Public Accompaniment. Note: SmartMusic Public files require a subscription to SmartMusic Studio 7.0 to open.

•	Select Solo Instrument: Include Intelligent Accompaniment. Check the Include Intelligent Accompaniment box to create a SmartMusic accompaniment file that will follow a particular melodic line. If this option is unchecked, a SmartMusic accompaniment file will be created without the following capability. When Include Intelligent Accompaniment is unchecked, No Melody Instrument will appear in the Instrument drown-down list. You can choose an Instrument instead of No Melody Instrument for non-Intelligent Accompaniment files; the selected Instrument and Staff will be used only for playing the Solo track and not for following.

•	Select Solo Instrument: Instrument • Staff. These settings allow you to designate a specific staff as the solo instrument that the Intelligent Accompaniment will follow. The selected staff will also playback when Hear Solo Line is active in SmartMusic. Select the type of instrument and staff from the Instrument and Staff drop-down lists.

The selected Instrument tells SmartMusic Studio what the intended instrumentation is, particularly important for transposing instruments. If the musician plays a different instrument, they will be able to select a different instrument and the solo line will automatically be transposed to the appropriate transposition.

The selected Staff tells SmartMusic Studio which staff or track to use for "matching" against the musician’s performance.

•	File Info. Click this button to open the File Info dialog box, where you specify the title and composer as it will appear in SmartMusic.

•	Select Accompaniment Staves. These settings allow you to designate staves to be combined into a piano accompaniment. All staves will play back with a piano sound, regardless of the sounds assigned in the Instrument List. Note that percussion staves should be excluded.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to use the information entered. Give the file a name in the Save As dialog box and click Save. For more information about preparing your score for the SmartMusic Studio, see To prepare a file for SmartMusic Studio in the User Manual.

See Also:

File Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Redefine Pages/All Pages

Use this menu item to redefine the entire score according to the settings in the Page Format for Score dialog box.

See Also:

Page Format for Score

Redefine Pages Menu

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Redefine Pages/Current Page

Use this menu item to redefine the page currently viewed according to the settings in the Page Format for Score dialog box.

See Also:

Page Format for Score

Redefine Pages Menu

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Tie Direction/Flip

Choose this menu item to force the tie in the opposite direction from which it is currently curved.

See Also:

Automatic

Over

Under


Tie Direction/Automatic

Choose this menu item to allow Finale Guitar to decide what direction to set the curve of the tie.

See Also:

Flip

Over

Under


Tie Direction/Over

Choose this menu item to turn the tie curve over easy.

See Also:

Flip

Automatic

Under


Tie Direction/Under

Choose this menu item to turn the tie curve under.

See Also:

Flip

Automatic

Over


Simple Entry Rest Palette

Choose "Simple Entry Rest Palette" from the Window Menu to display or hide the Simple Entry Rest Palette. This palette contains an individual icon for each rhythmic value for a rest. (If the Simple Entry Rest Palette doesn't appear, click the Simple Entry Tool.) Using the tools on this floating palette, you can enter rests into your score by clicking one rest at a time. The Simple Entry keyboard commands are summarized in the diagram that appears on your Quick Reference Card.

Tip: You can also use the Simple Entry Palette to enter rests by holding the Shift key as you click in the score.

Double Whole Rest

Click the staff to place a double whole rest.

Whole Rest

Click the staff to place a whole rest.

Half Rest

Click the staff to place a half rest.

Quarter Rest

Click the staff to place a quarter rest.

Eighth Rest

Click the staff to place an eighth rest.

16th Rest

Click the staff to place a 16th rest.

32nd Rest

Click the staff to place a 32nd rest.

64th Rest

Click the staff to place a 64th rest.

128th Rest

Click the staff to place a 128th rest.

See Also:

Simply Entry Tool

Simple Entry Palette


New File Tool

Click on this tool on the File Utilities Palette to begin a new score.

See Also:

File Utilities Palette

File Menu


Hand Grabber Tool

When the Hand Grabber Tool is selected, you can drag the mouse across the music in any direction to shift its position on your screen, as though you’re sliding the score page across your desk. In most cases, it’s a faster, more efficient way of moving around the score than using the scroll bars.

Special mouse clicks

While using any other tool, press the right mouse button to switch temporarily to the Hand Grabber Tool. Drag in the score to make a display adjustment without having to move the mouse to the Navigational Tools Palette.

See Also:

Navigational Tools Palette

For complete information, see the Hand Grabber Tool in the User Manual.


Zoom Tool

Use this tool to magnify or reduce the music as it’s displayed on the screen. You’re not actually enlarging or reducing the printed size of the music – only "zooming in" or "zooming out" while you’re working on it.

If the Zoom Tool is selected, and you click (in Scroll View) or drag across the music (in Page View), Finale Guitar enlarges the display, making it easier for you to do detail work. If you press Ctrl-while clicking or dragging, however, Finale Guitar makes the music smaller, letting you see more of the score on the screen.

Special mouse clicks

Click the music to display it at twice its previous size.

Ctrl-click the music to display it at half its previous size.

In Page View, drag diagonally across a region of music to enlarge it just enough to fill your screen.

While using any other tool, shift-click the right mouse button to zoom in, even though the Zoom Tool isn’t selected. Ctrl-shift-click the right mouse button to zoom out.

See Also:

Navigational Tools Palette

For complete information, see the Zoom Tool in the User Manual.


Options/Remove Deleted Items

Choose this menu item to reduce the size of the Finale Guitar file by removing items you have deleted in the process. For example, staves, expressions, and shapes are stored until you choose this menu item to completely remove them from the file.

See Also:

Options Menu


Simple/Check for Extra Notes

This command is selected by default. When selected, Finale Guitar checks each note you enter, and will not allow you to enter extra notes in the measure. If you try to add too many notes for the measure, or extend the duration of an existing note too far, Finale Guitar will beep to warn you, and won't allow you to enter the note in the measure. When Check for Extra Notes is not selected, you can enter as many notes in a measure as you'd like. Remember that any extra notes will extend past the barline of the measure.

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple/Playback

When this item is selected, every time you enter a note, you will hear the new pitch, and any other pitch in the chord, played through your MIDI device. Deselect this item to turn off playback of pitches. This command is linked to the Playback option in the Speedy Menu. If you change the selection here, it will also change in the Speedy Entry Tool and vice versa.

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple/Fill With Rests

When this item is selected, Finale Guitar will add rests to complete the measure whenever you finish working in a measure.

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple/Select Notes on Entry

When this item is selected, you can immediately use keyboard shortcuts to modify the note that was just entered. Note that you will need to clear the selection before switching tools.

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Edit Text

How to get there

To edit all text blocks in the document (text blocks, and staff and group names): Click the Text Tool. Choose Edit Text from the Text Menu.

To edit a single text block: Click the Text Tool. Click a text block handle. Choose Edit Text from the Text Menu.

Note: You can also edit lyrics using Finale Guitar’s text editing window. See Edit Lyrics window.

What it does

The Edit Text window displays text in the same fonts and styles that will appear on the screen and on printout. A rectangle around a portion of text indicates an insert command was used to display the date, composer, or similar text items (see Text Menu/Inserts for a complete list of inserts). The Edit and Text menus are available when the window appears so you can copy and paste text, change fonts and styles, and carry out other editing tasks. Note that text always appears left-justified within the display area and the commands in the Justification submenu are not available from the Text Menu when the Edit Text window is displayed; to change the justification of the text, edit the text block on-screen. For details, see Text Menu and Edit Menu.

•	Editing: [Item Type] • ID [ID #]. These settings identify the text block you’re currently editing. The type of text block being edited—full or abbreviated staff name, group name, or block of text—appears first (Item Type). The text’s Finale Guitar-assigned ID number also appears.

Up and down arrows appear when you choose Edit Text when no text blocks are selected. Click the arrows to cycle through all the text blocks in the score.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your settings and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score without changing the settings.

Note: You can also edit lyrics using Finale Guitar’s text editing window.

See Also:

Text Menu

Edit Menu

Lyrics Tool

Text Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Page Layout/Edit Page Margins

Choose this menu item to see a dialog box with all the dimensions of Page Margins. You can apply changes from this dialog box as well.

For more information, see Edit Page Margins dialog box.

See Also:

Page Layout Menu

Page Layout Tool


Full Measure

This alert appears when you attempt to apply an alternate notation style such as one-bar repeats to part of a measure. Click OK to apply the Alternate Notation to the entire measure.

Tip: Turn off Select Partial Measures under the Edit Menu or double-click when selecting to include the entire measure.

See Also:

Select Partial Measure

Apply Alternate Notation

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Speedy Edit Commands/Add Note

Choose this menu item to add a pitch to the selected note.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Delete Note

Choose this menu item to remove a pitch from the selected note.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Delete Entry

Choose this menu item to delete the entire chord, note or rest.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Show/Hide Entry

Choose this menu item to either show or hide the entire chord, note or rest.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Raise Half Step

Choose this menu item to raise the selected pitch by a half step.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Lower Half Step

Choose this menu item to lower the selected pitch by a half step.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Raise Half Step (entire measure)

Choose this menu item to raise the selected pitch by a half step throughout the entire measure.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Lower Half Step (entire measure)

Choose this menu item to lower the selected pitch by a half step throughout the entire measure.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Show/Hide Accidental

Choose this menu item to force the accidental to either show or hide on the selected pitch.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Freeze/Unfreeze Accidental

Choose this menu item to force the accidental to either appear (freeze) or appear if needed (unfreeze).

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Enharmonic

Choose this menu item to change the spelling of the selected note. For example, A flat instead of G sharp.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Enharmonic (entire measure)

Choose this menu item to change the spelling of the selected note throughout the measure. For example, A flat instead of G sharp.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Add/Remove Accidental Parentheses

Choose this menu item to have the accidental on the selected note appear in parentheses.

Tip: Force an accidental to show by pressing the * key.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Flip Stem Direction

Choose this menu item to reverse the current stem direction of the selected note.

Tip: Select the first note of a beamed group to change the direction of all stems in the beam group.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Set Stem Direction to Automatic

Choose this menu item to allow Finale Guitar to set the stem direction.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Break/Join Beam

Choose this menu item to either force the selected note to beam to the previous note or to break the beam between the two notes.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Flat Beam

Choose this menu item to force the selected beam to appear horizontally flat.

Note: Select the first note of the beam group to flatten the beam.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Tie/Untie to Next Note

Choose this menu item to place a tie to the next note.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Tie/Untie to Prev Note

Choose this menu item to place a tie to the previous note, even across the barline.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Add Dot

Choose this menu item to place an augmentation dot on the current note.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Grace Note

Choose this menu item to change the selected note to a grace note, or to change the note from a grace note back to a normal size note.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Slash Flagged Grace Note

Choose this menu item to place a slash through the flag of the selected grace note.

Tip: Globally set flagged grace notes to have slashes in Document Options dialog box in the Document Settings Submenu of the Options Menu.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Edit Commands/Freeze/Float Rest

Choose this menu item to force the rest to appear in the default position (centered in the staff lines) or to float according to layer settings.

See Also:

Speedy Edit Commands Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Previous Measure

Choose this menu item to jump to the preceding measure.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Next Measure

Choose this menu item to succeeding measure.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Next Layer

Choose this menu item to cycle through the four layers.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Change Voice

Choose this menu item to switch to the other voice.  Hint: There are two voices for each layer.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Up a Staff

Choose this menu item to move to the staff above the current one.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Down a Staff

Choose this menu item to move to the staff below the current one.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Start of Measure

Choose this menu item to place the cursor on the first beat of the measure.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/End of Measure

Choose this menu item to place the cursor after the last entry of the measure.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Previous Note

Choose this menu item to place the cursor on the preceding note.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Next Note

Choose this menu item to place the cursor on the succeeding note.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Up Step

Choose this menu item to place the cursor up one step.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Navigation/Down Step

Choose this menu item to place the cursor down one step.

See Also:

Speedy Navigation Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Tie Direction/Flip

Choose this menu item to force the tie in the opposite direction.

See Also:

Speedy Tie Direction Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Tie Direction/Automatic

Choose this menu item to allow Finale Guitar to determine the direction of the tie.

See Also:

Speedy Tie Direction Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Tie Direction/Over

Choose this menu item to force the tie to appear over the notes.

See Also:

Speedy Tie Direction Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


Speedy Tie Direction/Under

Choose this menu item to force the tie to appear under the notes.

See Also:

Speedy Tie Direction Submenu

Speedy Menu

Speedy Tool


G_Jazz Font
Jazz Font

A font that looks like handwritten notation typically seen in Jazz and Studio music.


Customize Toolbar

How to get there

From the View Menu, choose Customize Palettes, then choose one of the Palettes. The Customize Toolbar dialog box appears.

What it does

Use the Customize Toolbar dialog box to add, remove, or rearrange the tools in your palettes.

•	Add • Remove. Select an icon from available buttons, then click Add to move the icon onto the toolbar. Select an icon from the Toolbar buttons, then click Remove to delete the icon from the toolbar.

•	Move Up • Move Down. Select an icon from the Toolbar button, then click Move Up or Move Down to rearrange the order of the tool in your palette.

•	Close • Reset. Click Close to save the new settings and return to the score. Click Reset to return the palette to the default tool arrangement.

See Also:

View Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Entering the Music

Use the Setup Wizard to create your score with the desired instruments, key signature and time signature. There are many ways to enter music in Finale Guitar: Simple Entry (no MIDI device needed), Speedy Entry (MIDI device optional), HyperScribe (MIDI device required), or Import a MIDI file by choosing Open from the File Menu and set the file type to MIDI file.

For more information, refer to the Tutorial book that came with Finale Guitar, view the QuickStart video accessed from the Help Menu, refer to the User Manual for a complete discussion about each Tool, menu and dialog box.

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Editing the Music

Use the Speedy Entry Keypad change the pitches of notes, the durations of notes, when notes are beamed and whether accidentals appear as well as the Mass Edit Tool to make changes to a region of music. Check your work by playing back the file from the Playback Controls.

Previous Step

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Entering Lyrics

Attach lyrics to notes with the Lyrics Tool.

Tip: Use the Spacebar to advance to the next note while Typing Into Score; use the Hyphen key to advance to the next syllable.

Previous Step

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Spacing the Music

If Automatic Music Spacing is checked under the Edit Menu, your music is automatically spaced as you enter it according to engraving standards. If unchecked, then select a region with the Mass Edit Tool and choose Apply Note Spacing from the Music Spacing submenu of the Mass Edit Menu.

Previous Step

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Entering Chord Symbols

Attach Chord Symbols with an alternate bass note and suffix with the Chord Tool.

Previous Step

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Entering Dynamics, Articulations and other Expressions

Attach dynamics (such as Forte or Piano) and other expressions (such as a tempo and Meno Mosso) with the Expression Tool. Use the Articulation Tool to attach markings (such as staccato and tenuto). Finally, use the Smart Shape Tool to attach slurs, glissandos, and hairpins (crescendos).

Previous Step

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Editing the Page Layout

If you are not currently in Page view, switch to it from the View Menu. Use the Page Layout Tool to adjust Page Size, Page Margins and Staff System Margins and the size of the music on the page. Use the Mass Edit Tool with the Fit Music dialog box to arrange the measures per system.

Tip: Select a measure with the Mass Edit Tool, then press the Up or Down arrow on your keyboard to move the measure to the previous or next Staff System respectively.

Previous Step

Next Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Optimize the Page
Optimizing the Page and Printing

If your score has multiple parts you can hide staves with no music to reduce the number of Pages by choosing Optimize Staff Systems from the Page Layout Menu. You can also separate individual parts into separate files by choosing Extract Parts from the File Menu. Finally, choose Print from the File Menu to print your composition.

Previous Step

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


File/Close All

Choose this command to close all the active windows. Finale Guitar will ask you if you want to save any window that has had any changes; click Yes (or press enter) to save your changes, or click No if you don’t want your changes preserved. Click Cancel to return to the active document window without closing it.

See Also:

File Menu


Window/File Utilities Palette

Choose this item to display the File Utilities Palette, which contains icons representing basic actions such as Print, Open, Save, Paste, etc.

See Also:

Window Menu


Window/Navigational Tools Palette

When this item is checked, the Navigational Tools Palette is open on the screen. The Navigational Tools Palette can be attached to the sides of the window or float in front of all other windows; you can close it by choosing this item so that the check mark disappears.

For detailed information, see the Navigational Tools Palette

See Also:

Window Menu


Tools Menu

This menu provides an alternate way for you to switch between tools while using Finale Guitar. For a description of each tool, see Main Tool Palette.

See Also:

Menus


Simple Edit Commands/Up Diatonically

Choose this menu item to move the selected note up a line or space.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Down Diatonically

Choose this menu item to move the selected note down a line or space.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Double Sharp

Choose this menu item to add a double sharp to the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Double Flat

Choose this menu item to add a double flat to the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Show/Hide Accidental

Choose this menu item to force accidentals to show or hide for the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Parenthesize Accidental

Choose this menu item to put accidentals in parentheses for the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Flip Stem

Choose this menu item to flip the stem direction for the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Default Stem

Choose this menu item to restore a flipped stem to its default direction for the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Break/Join Beam

Choose this menu item to either beam the selected note to the previous note, or to break the beam between the selected note and the previous note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Default Beam

Choose this menu item to restore default beaming for the selected note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Flat Beam

Choose this menu item to flatten the beam for the selected note’s beam grouping; choose it again to restore the default beam angle.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Show/Hide Entry

Choose this menu item to make an entry (a rest or a note) invisible; choose it again to reveal an invisible entry.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Tie To Prev Note

Choose this menu item to place a tie between the selected note and the previous note.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Note to Rest

Choose this menu item to change the selected note into a rest of equivalent value.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Edit Commands/Define Tuplet

Choose this menu item to display the Simple Entry Tuplet Definition dialog box, where you can tell Finale Guitar what kind of tuplet you want to create.

For further information, see Simple Entry Tuplet Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Simple Edit Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple/Simple Edit Commands

This submenu lists the Simple Edit commands and their keyboard shortcuts. Select the desired option from the menu, or just use the menu as a reminder for the keyboard shortcut.

Up Diatonically

Down Diatonically

================

Double Sharp

Double Flat

Show/Hide Accidental

Parenthesize Accidental

================

Flip Stem

Default Stem

================

Break/Join Beam

Default Beam

Flat Beam

================

Show/Hide Entry

Tie To Prev Note

Note to Rest

Define Tuplet

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple/Simple Navigation Commands

This submenu lists the Simple Navigation commands and their keyboard shortcuts. Select the desired option from the menu, or just use the menu as a reminder for the keyboard shortcut.

Select Previous Entry

Select Next Entry

Selection Up Note

Selection Down Note

Clear Selection

Select All Notes in Chord

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Navigation Commands/Select Previous Entry

Choose this menu item to move the selection to the previous note or rest.

See Also:

Simple Navigation Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Navigation Commands/Select Next Entry

Choose this menu item to move the selection to the next note or rest.

See Also:

Simple Navigation Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Navigation Commands/Selection Up Note

Choose this menu item to move the selection to the next higher note in the chord.

See Also:

Simple Navigation Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Navigation Commands/Selection Down Note

Choose this menu item to move the selection to the next lower note in the chord.

See Also:

Simple Navigation Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Navigation Commands/Clear Selection

Choose this menu item to clear the selection from the current entry – in other words, to deselect the currently selected note or rest.

See Also:

Simple Navigation Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Simple Navigation Commands/Select All Notes in Chord

Choose this menu item to select all the notes in the chord (this only works if the currently selected note belongs to a chord).

See Also:

Simple Navigation Commands submenu

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Delete Element

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool and click a note. (If the note already has an chord attached, click again.) Select an chord that is already in use in the document, then Click Delete.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to delete suffixes from the Chord Suffix List and specify how to handle any suffixes of that type already in the score. You can replace them with another suffix or you can just have them deleted.

•	Delete element from selection palette and replace in score with: Select. Choose this option if you want to replace the deleted element with a different expression. Click Select to bring up the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box where you can choose the new element.

•	Delete element from both selection palette and score. Choose this option to delete the articulation or expression without replacing it in the score with another expression.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to delete the expression. Click Cancel to return to the Articulation or Expression Selection dialog box without deleting anything.

See Also:

Chord Tool

Chord Suffix Selection dialog box

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Percussion Map Viewer

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool. Double-click a staff or from the Staff Tool, or from the Staff Menu, choose Edit Staff attributes. From the Notation Style drop-down list, choose percussion. Click Select, then click View.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to see which notes have been enabled for proper playback of percussion staves in the selected percussion map.

•	MIDI Pitch • Playback • Notehead • Name. MIDI pitch refers to the MIDI pitch, usually on Channel 10, that the position of the staff is based on. Playback refers to the MIDI pitch number that will sound when that note is played. Notehead refers to the notehead that the pitch will display and print. Name is the name of the sound that is assigned these parameters.

•	Close. Click close to return to the Percussion Map Selection dialog box.

See Also:

Percussion Map Selection

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Repeat Assignment

How to get there

Click the Repeat Tool, and click a measure. (If there’s already a repeat sign or text repeat in the measure, double-click.) When the Repeat Selection dialog box appears, double-click one of the displayed text repeats (if any). If you’ve placed a text repeat in the score, you can also enter this dialog box by double-clicking its handle.

What it does

A text repeat is a piece of text that functions as a fully operational repeat marking, such as "To Coda," "D.S. al Coda," and "D.C." Once you’ve selected a text repeat by double-clicking it, this dialog box appears, in which you can define its playback effect. If you simply want it to appear as a graphic marking (with no playback function), just click OK without changing anything in the dialog box.

•	Repeat: (#). This indicator identifies the text repeat by number.

•	Measure: (#). This indicator identifies the measure you clicked by number and the measure where the repeat will have it’s effect.

•	Mark • Jumper. Select the radio button that describes the function of your text repeat, as follows: A Jumper directs playback to another measure or to another repeat defined as a Mark—for example, to the coda. A repeat defined as a Mark doesn’t direct playback anywhere—in fact, it’s the target for a Jumper which has been set to jump to a Mark defined repeat.

In other words, if you’re defining a text repeat to be a Jumper—one that says "To Coda," for example—playback can be directed to a specific measure in the score, or to another text repeat defined as a Mark (the word "Coda," for example). If you plan to use this method, where a text Jumper directs playback to a Mark, be sure to note the number ID of the Mark defined text repeat (as indicated by the "Repeat:" indicator at the top of this dialog box), because you’ll need to enter this number in the Target text box (see below) of the Jumper repeat.

•	Target. The number in this text box is used when you’re designing a Jumper repeat. The number placed in this text box directs the flow of playback to either another measure or to a Mark-defined text repeat.

When the Measure radio button (see below) is selected, this text box indicates the measure number to which the text repeat should direct playback.

When the Repeat radio button (see below) is selected, this text box indicates the Repeat ID number of a text repeat you have defined to be a Mark. Note: To make this method work you must have defined the selected text repeat as a Mark. If the Target number is zero, the text repeat will have no playback effect.

•	Measure • Repeat. These radio buttons let you identify the number in the Target text box. If you click Measure, the number in the Target text box indicates the measure number to which the playback will jump when it encounters this text repeat. If you click Repeat, the number in the Target text box indicates the ID number of a Mark-defined text repeat to which the playback will jump when it encounters the text repeat you’re defining. Remember, a text repeat can direct the playback to any measure in the score, regardless of whether it occurs before or after the text repeat measure.

Note: these buttons, as well as the Target text box, have no effect when the Mark radio button in this dialog box is select (indicating this repeat is to be used as a Mark-defined text repeat and will have no playback-directing capability of its own).

•	Always Jump. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will execute the repeat every time the playback reaches the text repeat—creating, in effect, an endless loop.

•	Jump on Total Passes. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will only execute the repeat upon one particular repetition of the music (as specified by the number in the Total Passes text box). You might select this Repeat Action if the text repeat is "Last time to Coda," for example.

•	Repeat Until Total Passes. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will execute the repeat every time the playback reaches the text repeat until it’s been reached a specified number of times (the number in the Total Passes text box), after which it won’t repeat any more.

•	Stop on Total Passes. If you select this radio button, Finale Guitar will execute the repeat every time the playback reaches the text repeat until it’s been reached a specified number of times (the number in the Total Passes text box), after which it will stop playback.

•	Total Passes. The Total Passes text box lets you specify how many times the playback should reach the end of the text repeat measure (how high Finale Guitar should "count") before Finale Guitar performs the Repeat Action you’ve specified. (The number in the Total Passes text box has no effect, however, if you’ve selected Always Jump.)

•	Multiple. There may be times when you’ll want the text repeat you’re designing to affect playback only on specific passes. For example, if the text repeat says "To Bridge 2nd and 4th times only," indicating you want the playback to jump to the Target Measure (or the Mark-defined text repeat) the second and fourth times through. Click the Multiple checkbox to enter the Multiple Total Passes for Repeat (#) dialog box, where you can, in effect, specify more than one Total Passes value. (In this example, you would enter 2 in the first text box and 4 in the next.) When you click OK and return to the Repeat Assignment dialog box, the Multiple is selected and the Total Passes text box is ignored. See Multiple Total Passes for Repeat (#) dialog box.

•	Reset on Repeat Action. Once Finale Guitar has played the music the number of times specified in the Total Passes text box—and thus performed the Repeat Action—it will, if you wish, reset its internal "counter" back to zero and begin counting toward the Total Passes number again. This option could be useful if you’re creating nested repeats, and want an inner repeat to be fully executed with each pass of the larger repeated region.

•	Jump if Ignoring Repeats. Select this option on any repeat that you want taken unconditionally if Finale Guitar is ignoring repeats. For example, you could set this at the beginning of a first ending repeat.

•	Relative Jump. Select this option to indicate that Finale Guitar should add the number in the Target Measure text box to the current measure number to find the jump location, rather than treat the Target Measure number as an absolute measure number. Enter a negative number in the Target Measure text box for the number of measures you want Finale Guitar to jump back, and a positive number for the number of measures to jump forward. For example, if this option is selected and there’s a value of -8 in the Target Measure text box, Finale Guitar will jump back 8 measures from the current location.

•	Individual Positioning. Finale Guitar usually places a text repeat in the same place in every staff. Click Individual Positioning to allow each staff’s text repeat to be independently movable.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made in this dialog box and place the new (or modified) text repeat in the score. Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to ignore any changes you made in this dialog box. You return to the score.

See Also:

Repeat Selection

Repeat Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Sweep For Channels Present in a Track

How to get there

Choose Open from the File Menu, and select MIDI File from the File Type drop-down list. Double-click the name of a MIDI file you want to transcribe. In the Import MIDI File Options dialog box, click the Set Track-to-Staff List radio button. Click Sweep.

What it does

This dialog box is a reference feature; it helps you identify the tracks of the MIDI file you’re transcribing by showing you which MIDI channels contain recorded data.

•	Sweep Track. Enter the number of the sequencer track you want to scan for information in this text box.

•	Key On/Key Off. When you click Sweep, Finale places an X in this row for each MIDI channel in which you recorded notes (Finale searches for "note on" and "note off" data).

•	Controller • Patch Change • Pitch Wheel. When you click Sweep, Finale places an X in these rows for each MIDI channel in which you recorded MIDI controller (pedaling, for example), patch change, and pitch wheel information, respectively.

•	Sweep. Click this button to tell Finale to display an X in the column for each MIDI channel number in which one of the four data types was recorded on the specified track. This process has no effect on your data; it’s strictly an indicator to help you identify the track you’re working with.

•	Done. Click this button to return to the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box.

See Also:

Import MIDI File Options

Track/Channel Mapping to Staves

For complete information, see the Finale 2002 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale.


Symbol Selection

How to get there

Click on the Text Tool. Double-click on an existing text block handle or double-click on the page to create a new text block. From the Text Menu, choose Inserts, then Symbol.

What it does

From this dialog box you can choose any letter, number, or symbol in the selected font by double-clicking it

The currently selected font for the element appears in this dialog box.

•	Font. The currently selected font is displayed.

•	Select. Instead of double-clicking any character, you can click it once and then click Select. You return to the score.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the previous dialog box without selecting a character.

See Also:

Text Tool

For complete information, see the PrintMusic! 2002 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in PrintMusic!.


Fretboard Editor

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool, choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu, then click any note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached. In the Chord Definition dialog box, click the Edit button in the Fretboard area if you have fretboards created. Otherwise, click Select, then Edit.

If a note has a chord symbol attached, click the note to make the chord’s handle appear. Double-click the handle, click the Edit button in the Fretboard area.

What it does

This dialog box allows you to create custom fretboard diagrams.

•	Name. Displays the name of this group of fretboard diagrams.

•	Show/Hide Group. Click the Show Group button to expand the dialog box to display all of the fretboard thumbnails for this group. Click the Hide Group button to collapse the dialog box and hide the thumbnails.

•	Instrument • Edit Instrument. Click this button to change the number of strings, tuning and other aspects of the selected instrument. See the Fretboard Instrument Definition dialog box for details.

•	Fretboard Tools: Hand Grabber • Eraser • Open Circle • Closed Circle • X • Open Diamond • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • T • Barre. Click on the Hand Grabber tool then click and drag the fretboard to move your view of the fretboard. You can also select the Hand Grabber Tool with the shortcut of right-click and drag. Click the Eraser, then click on any marking on the fretboard to remove it. Click the Open or Closed Circle, X, Open Diamond, a number, or T; then click on a string to add the marking. Click on the Barre, then click and drag to draw a barre. Clicking on a mark with its associated tool will erase the mark.

•	Clear Items. Removes all of the fretboard markings to display a blank fretboard.

•	Multiple Items per String. Check this box to allow more than one marking on each string.

•	Number of Frets. Type in this text box the number of frets to display in this fretboard diagram.

•	Play. Click this button to have Finale Guitar play the chord as an arpeggio.

•	Fretboard Number: Show • Number. Check the Show button to display the text fr. and the number of frets in the number text box.

•	View: Percent • Style. Choose a view percentage from the drop-down list to change the display, but not resize the fretboard.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the changes to the fretboards and return to the Chord Definition dialog box. Click Cancel to return to the Chord Definition dialog box without modifying the fretboards.

•	Generate. Click on Generate to have Finale Guitar create new fretboards in this group based on the nearest already existing fretboard. Finale Guitar will only change unlocked fretboards.

•	Clear Unlocked • Lock All • Unlock All. Click Clear Unlocked to clear the contents of unlocked fretboards. Click Lock All to freeze all of the group fretboards. Click Unlock All to unlock all of the group fretboards and allow Generate to make changes. Next to each root’s fretboard diagram is a small lock icon. These icons indicate the lock status for each fretboard. They may be clicked to lock or unlock the individual fretboard.

See Also:

Chord Definition

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Expression/Display Expressions for Parts

Through the use of Staff Lists, you can use the Expression Tool to place a measure attached marking in only certain staves in the full score, but in a different set of staves (usually all of them, or all staves in an instrumental section) in the extracted parts. By selecting this option, you tell Finale Guitar to display expressions as they’ll appear in the extracted parts (which means you’ll usually see each marking in more staves). If this option isn’t selected (which is the default condition), you’ll see the markings only in the staves you specified for display in the full score.

See Also:

Expression Menu


Program Options - Save/Open

How to get there

From the Options Menu, choose Program Options and select Save/Open.

What it does

In this category, set Finale Guitar to save automatically at regular intervals, make backups while

saving or save preferences while quitting Finale Guitar.

•	Auto Save File(s) Every ___ Minutes. If you tend to forget to save your work to your hard disk every so often (by choosing Save from the File Menu), Finale Guitar’s Auto Save command is a good safety net. When this feature is on, Finale Guitar will update a second copy (not the one you’re working on) at regular intervals. This second copy of your file is stored in the Auto Save folder specified in the Folders group box. If no folder is specified, the backup files are stored in the Music folder.

Select this checkbox; in the text box, specify how often Finale Guitar should save your work to the duplicate copy of the file you have open. After the number of minutes you specified have passed, a message will appear, letting you know that Finale Guitar is saving your work. (This feature does not save your changes when you exit from Finale Guitar, however. Be sure to save changes to your primary file when you exit.)

•	Make Backups When Saving Files. If this option is selected, Finale Guitar will automatically save a backup copy of your file in the Backup folder specified in the Folders group box. If no folder is specified, the backup files are stored in the Music folder. 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. When you turn the Make Backups When Saving Files feature on, and perform a Save command, this earlier version of the file is preserved as a backup. 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 Preferences When Exiting. This option is selected by default. When selected, Finale Guitar automatically saves your preferences each time you exit the application. However, if you prefer that Finale Guitar saves your preferences only on command, make sure this option is not selected. If that’s the case, Finale Guitar will only save your preferences when you choose the Save Preferences command from the File Menu.

•	Automatically Convert Text In Files From Other Operating Systems. Check to Automatically Convert to translate upper-ASCII characters (such as è, ö and hard spaces) into the appropriate character on the current system. If Finale was unable to translate the character, it will display the problem character as a question mark. Finale will only check text fonts, as defined in the MacSymbolFonts.txt file, not music or symbol fonts.

See Also:

Program Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Program Options - View

How to get there

From the Options Menu, choose Program Options and select View.

What it does

Make settings regarding appearance of certain items program wide.

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•	Show Tools Menu. Select this checkbox to display the Tools Menu where you can select Tools from the menu instead of the Main Tool Palette.

•	Save Window States When Exiting. If this item is selected, Finale Guitar will save the posi-tion of the palettes and windows when you exit Finale Guitar. To make the most use of these settings, position your palettes and the document window, make sure this item is selected, and then exit Finale Guitar. The next time you use Finale Guitar, click this item to select it, and make sure that Load Windows At Startup is selected.

•	Load Window States When Starting. If this item is selected, Finale Guitar will load the last saved position of the palettes and windows when you start Finale Guitar.

•	Pitch Representation: MIDI Note Number • Pitch. Choose how you want Finale Guitar to represent MIDI notes throughout the application—by note number (middle C is always 60) or by pitch (C1, D1, E1, and so on). Click MIDI Note Number to display MIDI pitches by their MIDI note number. Click Pitch if you want Finale Guitar to spell out the pitch. Your choice is reflected in any dialog box that displays MIDI pitch, such as the MIDI Tool split-window.

You can choose to enter a MIDI pitch value in a dialog box as a pitch or as a MIDI note number. If the first character you type is a number, Finale Guitar assumes you’re entering a MIDI note number. Otherwise it’s assumed that you’ve entered a pitch, and Finale Guitar will match the pitch representation. The next time you enter the dialog box, the edit field displays the MIDI pitch value as a number or pitch, according to your program options selection. This setting is saved with program preferences.

•	Pitch Representation: Middle C = C3 • C4 • C5. Use this drop-down list to choose whether you want Finale Guitar to spell middle C as C3, C4 or C5. MIDI manufacturers use various representations for middle C, so you can now change the display in Finale Guitar to match your MIDI gear. This setting is saved with program preferences.

See Also:

Program Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Program Options - Folders

How to get there

From the Options Menu, choose Program Options and select Folders.

What it does

In this category, you can specify different folders to store your files in. When Finale Guitar saves

or opens music or library files, it looks in the specified folders. Note that Finale Guitar will use the

settings from the Maestro Font Default file, if the default file is stored in the Component Files folder. If you

do not enter alternate folders for the temp files, libraries and music files, Finale Guitar will store

those files in the current folder. To select a new folder, type in the path and folder name, or use the

Select button for the folder you are changing.

•	Folders: Music • Libraries • Backup • Auto Save • User Manual • Templates • Temporary Files; Browse. You can specify different folders to store your files in. When Finale Guitar saves or opens music or library files, it looks in the specified folders. Note that Finale Guitar will use the settings from the Maestro Font Default file, if the default file is stored in the music folder. If you do not enter alternate folders for the temp files, libraries and music files, Finale Guitar will store those files in the current folder. To select a new folder, type in the path and folder name, or use the Browse button for the folder you are changing.

See Also:

Program Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Program Options - Palettes and Backgrounds

How to get there

From the Options menu, choose Program Options and select Palettes and Backgrounds

What it does

This category allows you to customize the appearance of all of Finale Guitar’s palettes as well as customize the background color. You can change the size and style of all the tool palettes and menu bars, as well as when you want them to appear based on the tool selected.

•	Size: Large • Medium • Small. You may want to change the size of your palettes from the default size to better fit within the area of your screen. You may also want to specify larger tool icons for higher quality graphics. Choose large for the highest quality graphics, which will display tool icons at 32x32 pixels. Choose medium for medium quality tool graphics, which will display at 26x26 pixels. Choose Small to specify the smallest tool size with minimal graphic quality.

•	Style. Click this drop-down arrow to choose from a variety of styles for your tool palettes. The number of options available in this drop-down list depends on the tool palette size selected.

•	Close Smart Shape Palette When Leaving Tool. If this item is selected, Finale Guitar will close the Smart Shape Palette whenever you change to another tool. If you prefer to leave the Smart Shape palette displayed, deselect this checkbox.

•	Close Simple Entry Palette When Leaving Tool. When this item is selected. Finale Guitar will close the Simple Entry Palette whenever you change to another tool.

•	Show Rest Palette for Simple Entry. Select this option to display the rest palette for Simple Entry.

•	Document Window Background: Graphic File; Select • Default • Tile • Stretch • Solid Color; Select. Click the Select button for Graphic File to choose one of Finale Guitar's backgrounds to place behind the score, or to choose your own background graphic. Choose Tile to tile the background graphic. Choose Stretch to automatically stretch the graphic to fit the background area. Click the Select button for Solid Color to choose a solid color for your background.

See Also:

Program Options

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Tablature MIDI Channels

How to get there

From the MIDI Menu, choose Tablature MIDI Channels

What it does

While using a MIDI guitar for entry, each string will use an independent MIDI channel for transcription

into the score. This allows Finale Guitar to transcribe the correct fret number while recording

into a tablature staff with HyperScribe.

•	Map MIDI Channels To Tablature Staff Strings. Check this box to use independent channels for each string in a Tablature Staff.

•	Listen for String #. Click in the text box under the channel column of the string you want to assign. Then, click the Listen For String button. Play the string on the MIDI guitar to send Finale Guitar the MIDI channel information. To configure the channels sent the your MIDI guitar, refer to the instructions that came with the guitar to MIDI interface.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your MicNotator set-tings and return to the score.

See Also:

MIDI Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Staff Stem Settings

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool, and double-click any staff. Click the Stem Settings button in the Items

to Display subsection.

What it does

In this dialog box, specify the direction, staff offset and beam offset for stems in a staff. These settings are particularly useful for TAB notation.

•	Stem Direction: Default Direction • Always Up • Always Down. Choose Default Direction to use the document’s default stem direction as defined in Layer options (see Layer Options dialog box). Choose Always Up to freeze all steps in the staff up. Choose Always Down to freeze all stems in the staff down.

•	Horizontal Stem Offsets: Up Stem • Down Stem. Enter a value in the Up Stem or Down Stem text box to specify the horizontal gap between the notehead (or fret number) and the up and/or down stems in a staff.

•	Use Vertical Offset For NoteHead End of Stems • Offset from Notehead(s) • Offset from Staff • Up Stem • Down Stem. With Offset from Notehead selected, specify a value in the Up Stem or Down Stem text box to define a specific vertical gap between the notehead (or fret number) and the start (notehead end) of up and/or down stems in a staff. With Offset from Staff selected, specify a value in the Up Stem or Down Stem text box to define the absolute vertical position of the notehead end of up and/or down stems relative to the staff.

•	Use Vertical Offset for Beam End Of Stems (Offset From Staff) • Up Stem • Down Stem. Check this box, and enter a value in the Up Stem and/or Down Stem text box to define an absolute vertical position, relative to the staff, for the stem endpoints (beam end of the stem).

•	Units: EVPUs • Inches • Centimeters • Points • Picas • Spaces. When you enter the Staff Stem Settings dialog box, Units defaults to the current measurement unit selected in the Measurement Units submenu of the Options Menu. If you prefer, choose a different measure-ment unit for beaming from the drop-down list.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your stem settings and return to the Staff Attributes dialog box.

See Also:

Staff Attributes

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Tablature Staff Attributes

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool, and double-click any staff. From the Notation Style drop-down list choose Tablature, then click Select.

What it does

Use this dialog box to make custom settings for a TAB staff including string tuning. You can use Finale Guitar to create tablature notation (for guitar or banjo, for example), where small numbers appear on a special "staff" to indicate fret numbers.

•	Instrument: Standard Guitar…Vihuela; Edit Instrument. Select the type of tablature staff you want to create from this drop-down list. Click the Edit Instrument button to define a different fretboard instrument. See Fretboard Instrument Definition dialog box.

•	Default Lowest Fret. Type in this text box to indicate the lowest fret to use in the staff by default.

•	Capo Position. Type a fret number in this text box to indicate the location of a capo.

•	Show Tuplets. Check this box to display tuplet definitions in the TAB staff.

•	Show Clef Only On First Measure. Check this box to display the TAB clef on the first mea-sure only, and not at the beginning of subsequent systems.

•	Vertical Offset. Use this field to specify the vertical offset for the positioning of fret numbers on the strings of the staff. Click the drop-down list to specify a different measurement unit.

•	Font; Set Font. Indicates the current fret number font. To change the font, size and style, click the Set Font button. The Font dialog box appears. See Font Dialog box for more infor-mation.

•	Use Letters. Check this box to use fret letters in the TAB staff instead of numbers.

•	Break Tablature Lines At Numbers. Select this option to have space between the tablature lines and the tablature numbers.

•	On "OK", Reset Staff’s Attributes To Tablature Defaults. Check this box to revert to Finale Guitar’s default TAB staff settings.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your tablature settings. You return to the Staff Attributes dialog box. If you clicked OK, Tablature will be selected in the Notation Style drop-down list.

See Also:

Staff Attributes

Staff Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Simple/Select Tablature Notes on Entry

Choose this menu item to immediately use keyboard shortcuts to modify the note that was just entered. Please note that selection is always cleared when leaving the Simple Entry Tool.

See Also:

Simple Menu

Simple Entry Tool


Smart Shape/Smart Shape Placement

This command displays the Smart Shape Placement dialog box where you can specify how a slur, glissando and Tab slide will appear next to the note. These settings apply to the end points of shapes you are about to create. They will also apply to end points of similar types of shapes in the score, if those end points haven't been manually adjusted. Once you manually adjust an end point of an existing shape, that end point is no longer affected by Smart Shape Placement settings. Hint: You manually adjust a smart shape end point by clicking on it and dragging.

For detailed information, see the Smart Shape Placement dialog box.

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

Smart Shape Tool


Smart Shape Placement

How to get there

Click the Smart Shape Tool. Choose Smart Shape Placement from the Smart Shape Menu.

What it does and how it works

Settings in the Smart Shape Placement dialog box let you control with precision how slurs, bends and glissandos attach to notes or noteheads in a score, by defining their position relative to the top center or bottom center of a note or the tip of a stem. This guarantees exact positioning and consistent placement by Finale Guitar that would be time-consuming and difficult to achieve if you had to manually adjust each Smart Shapes yourself. Any changes you make to a particular type of Smart Shapes in the Smart Shape Placement dialog box will affect the corresponding end points of similar Smart Shapes in the score, except for any end points that have been manually adjusted.

The horizontal and vertical positions of a slur or bend end are measured from a reference point that is different for slurs attached to noteheads and those attached to stems.

For slurs or bends attached to noteheads, the reference point is the top center or bottom center of the notehead. When the horizontal and vertical offsets are zero, the slur or bend end will touch the reference point on the notehead.

For slurs or bends attached to stems, the reference point is the end of the stem. When the horizontal and vertical offsets are zero, the slur or bend end will touch the end of the stem.

Important: Remember that whenever you create a slur, bend, slide or glissando, Finale Guitar uses the current Smart Shape Placement settings. Changes to these settings also apply to corresponding end points that haven’t been manually adjusted in existing Smart Shapes. However, end points that you’ve manually adjusted are never affected by Smart Shape Placement settings.

•	Slur • Tab Slide • Glissando • Guitar Bend. Select the type of Smart Shape you would like to set placement options for from the drop-down list. The appropriate list box is displayed for each type.

•	Slur List box. The different notational contexts upon which the attachment of slurs and bends is based are modeled in the list box. The general placement of slurs and bends is based upon standard music notational practice. However, the precise placement is entirely up to you.

Finale Guitar makes intelligent decisions about a slur or bend’s direction and end position based on the stem positions of notes, as well as conditions of voicing and beaming. The slurs in the list box represent the rules that Finale Guitar automatically follows.

Although there are a limited number of examples in the list box, they cover most of the contexts for controlling how note-attached slurs will connect to noteheads and/or stems. In the first slur model shown in the list box above, you have control over two separate connections, even though they appear in the same example.

The start of a slur or bend where a normal stem-down note begins a slur or bend (i.e., the stem is not frozen downward), and

The end of a slur or bend where a normal stem-down note ends a slur or bend.

The examples shown in the list box are meant to be general; the above example controls all similar situations of normal stem-down notes, not merely notes that begin and end on the same pitch.

When you want to change how slurs and bends are attached in specific contexts, select the specific model and edit its Start Point and End Point. You can edit the settings by dragging the slur ends in the display area (or by typing new values in the text boxes).

Important: These changes are global. In other words, changes to the Smart Shape Placement settings affect all the existing and yet-to-be-entered slurs and bends in your score, unless you’ve manually adjusted the end points of a particular slur or bend; Finale Guitar won’t change any slur or bend you've deliberately edited. Note that any settings that refer to up-stem or down-stem layers also apply to Voice 1 and Voice 2 notes, as well as stems frozen using the Mass Edit Tool, or Speedy Entry Tool.

As you’d expect, there are exceptions to these rules, and these exceptions allow you more flexibility. If you freeze note stems (for example, when you’re working with two layers or voice or using Mass Edit Tool), Finale Guitar may automatically flip the slur. You can also override individual slur or bend directions by using the Direction submenu in the Smart Shape Menu. Collision avoidance in Engraver slurs can also override Smart Shape Placement settings.

•	Tab Slide List box. The different notational contexts upon which the attachment of tab slides is based are modeled in the list box. Finale Guitar makes intelligent decisions about a tab slide’s direction and end position based on the positions of notes, as well as the pitch direction. The slides in the list box represent the rules that Finale Guitar automatically follows.

When you want to change how tab slides are attached in specific contexts, select the model from the list box and edit its Start Point and End Point. You can edit the settings by dragging the slide ends in the display area (or by typing new values in the text boxes).

Important: These changes are global. In other words, changes to the Tab Slide Placement settings affect all the existing and yet-to-be-entered slides in your score, unless you’ve manually adjusted the end points of a particular slide; Finale Guitar won’t change any slide you've deliberately edited.

•	Glissando List box. When you want to change how glissandos are attached edit its Start Point and End Point. You can edit the settings by dragging the glissando ends in the display area (or by typing new values in the text boxes).

Important: These changes are global. In other words, changes to the Glissando Placement settings affect all the existing and yet-to-be-entered glissandos in your score, unless you’ve manually adjusted the end points of a particular glissando; Finale Guitar won’t change any glissando you've deliberately edited.

Active display area. Use the Active display area to alter the Smart Shape model selected in the list box. Simply drag the Smart Shape’s end points to adjust where they’re placed relative to the notehead or stem. Note that the values for the Start and End Points are updated as you drag. Changes you make to the Smart Shape’s end points will apply to all Smart Shapes of this type that you create. These changes will also apply to end points that haven’t been manually adjusted in all similar Smart Shapes in the score.

•	Guitar Bend List box. There are three figures Finale Guitar defaults to while creating Guitar Bend Smart Shapes, Bend (top option), Release, (second option) and Quarter Bend (third option). Choose the figure you want to edit from the list on the left. Then, use the preview window to make desired edits to its default appearance. Important: These changes are global. In other words, changes to the Guitar Bend Placement settings affect all the existing and yet-to-be-entered guitar bends in your score, unless you’ve manually adjusted the end points of a particular guitar bend; Finale Guitar won’t change any guitar bend you've deliberately edited.

•	Start Point H: • Start Point V: These settings define the horizontal and vertical positions of the Smart Shape in relation to its start point. The Smart Shape initially attaches to the note stem or to the center top (or bottom) of the notehead, depending on the rule.

Drag the cursor to the left or right to change the Smart Shape’s horizontal position. As you move to the left, the H: text box changes from zero (the initial setting) to a negative number. As you drag the cursor to the right, the H: text box becomes a positive number.

To change the vertical distance or angle between the Smart Shape and the note, drag the Smart Shape up or down as far as you need. Drag the cursor up or down to change the vertical offset. The further you move the Smart Shape up from its initial setting, the positive number in the V: text box increases. If you drag the Smart Shape downward, the number becomes negative.

•	End Point H: • End Point V: These settings show the horizontal and vertical positions of the Smart Shape in relation to its end point. The Smart Shape initially attaches to the note stem or to the center top (or bottom) of the notehead, depending on the rule.

Drag the cursor to the left or right to change the Smart Shape’s horizontal position. As you move to the left, the H text box changes from zero (the initial setting) to a negative number. As you drag the cursor to the right, the H text box becomes a positive number.

To change the vertical distance or angle between the Smart Shape and the note, drag the Smart Shape up or down as far as you need. Drag the cursor up or down to change the vertical offset. The further you move the Smart Shape up from its initial setting, the positive number in the V: text box increases. If you drag the Smart Shape downward, the number becomes negative.

•	Units: EVPUs • Inches • Centimeters • Points • Picas. The first time you enter the Smart Shape Placement dialog box, the measurement drop-down list defaults to the current unit selected in the Measurement Units submenu of the Options Menu. Choose an alternate measurement unit if you prefer to work in other units.

•	Reset • Cancel • OK. Click Reset to restore the built-in Finale Guitar default settings. Click Cancel to cancel any changes you made to the settings, or click OK to save any new settings and return to the score.

See Also:

Smart Shape Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Smart Shape/Guitar Bend Options

Choose this command to display the Guitar Bend Options dialog box, where you can customize the appearance of Guitar Bend Smart Shapes.

For detailed information, see the Guitar Bend Options dialog box.

See Also:

Smart Shape menu


Guitar Bend Options

How to get there

Click the Smart Shape Tool. From the SmartShape Menu, choose Guitar Bend Options.

What it does

The Guitar Bend Options dialog box allows you to specify various settings related to how the bend

affects tab numbers in a tab staff and the text that accompanies bend curves when you create them.

Settings you make in this dialog box will affect all guitar bends in your document.

•	Place Release Bend Number in Parenthesis. Check this box to place a parenthesis around a fret number when the number indicates a bend that has been released.

•	Hide "Bend-to" number. In tab notation, the second note of a bend is often absent in the tab staff. Check this box to automatically hide the second fret number of a guitar bend.

•	Automatically Generate Text. Check this box to automatically generate text indicating the pitch variation of the bend. If the second note of a bend is one half-step higher than the first, for instance, you will see a "1/2" accompanying the guitar bend when this option is selected.

•	Replace "1" with "Full". Check this box to indicate bends of a whole step with "full" instead of "1". Click the Set Font button to the right of this check box to specify the Font, Size or Style of the text "Full" as it will appear in the score. This option is only available if Automatically Generate Text is selected.

•	Whole Number/Set Font. Click this Set Font button to specify the Font, Size or Style of any whole number generated while entering a guitar bend.

•	Fraction/Set Font. Click this Set Font button to specify the Font, Size or Style of any fraction generated while entering a guitar bend.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the changes you’ve made to your settings for guitar bends. You return to the score.

See Also:

Smart Shape Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Smart Line Style Selection

How to get there

Ctrl-click the Custom Line Tool in the Smart Shape palette.

What it does

The Smart Line Style Selection dialog box allows you to select from a number of user-defined Lines styles to place in your score.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the score without placing a Smart Line Style in the score.

•	Select. After clicking the Smart Line Style you want to place in the score, click Select. You return to the score, and can then place the Smart Line Style. Instead of using the Select button, you can simply double-click the desired Smart Line Style.

See Also:

Smart Shape Tool

Selection Overview

For complete information, see the Finale 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale.


Chord/Enable Chord Playback

Check this option to include chord definitions in playback. Uncheck this option to remove chord definitions from playback.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Simplify Spelling

Choose this command to switch between spelling chord roots enharmonically, or spelling chord roots exactly as defined in the Chord Definition dialog box. When selected, Finale Guitar spells the root using the "simplest" enharmonic spelling (for example, Finale spells E# as F). When this command is not selected, Finale Guitar spells the root using the exact root and alteration that appears in the Chord Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord Style/European

When selected, Finale Guitar displays the chord root and alternate bass note as letters. An accidental, if present, follows the chord root.

This style is the same as Standard, with one exception; Finale Guitar always displays a natural sign on B natural.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord Style/Roman

When selected, Finale uses Roman numerals to represent the chord root and alternate bass note. An accidental, if present, precedes the chord root.

When entering chords, type upper or lowercase letters to determine whether lowercase roman numerals are used. For example, in the key of C Major, C = I, d=ii, e=iii, F = IV, and so on.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord Style/Nashville A

When Nashville A is selected, Finale Guitar displays the chord root and alternate bass note as a scale degree number. An accidental, if present, precedes the chord root.

 In the key of C Major, 1 indicates a C chord, 2 indicates a D chord, 3 an E chord, and so on, up to 7, which indicates a B chord.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord Style/Nashville B

When Nashville B is selected, Finale Guitar displays the chord root and alternate bass note as a scale degree number. An accidental, if present, is placed after the chord root. In the key of C Major, 1 indicates a C chord, 2 indicates a D chord, 3 an E chord, and so on, up to 7, which indicates a B chord.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord Style/Sofeggio

When selected, Finale displays the chord root as Do, Di, Ra, Re, Ri and so on, starting with Do as the first scale degree, Di the next half-step, Re the second scale degree, and so on.

The following table shows how Finale displays the chord root for each scale degree and half-step in the key of C Major.

Note	Chord Root (in C Major)

Do	C (or B#)

Di	C#

Ra	Db

Re	D

Ri	D#

Me	Eb

Mi	E (or Fb)

Fa	E# (or F)

Fi	F#

Se	Gb

So*	G

Si	G#

Le	Ab

La	A

Li	A#

Te	Bb

Ti	Cb (or B)

* If you prefer using Sol rather than So, add the "l" as a suffix in the Chord Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord Style/Scandinavian

When selected, Finale displays the chord root and alternate bass note as letters. An accidental, if present, follows the chord root.

This style is the same as Standard, with a few exceptions; instead of B flat, B and B#, Finale displays B flat, H, and H#.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Left-Align Chords

Normally, Finale centers each chord symbol above the note to which it's attached. When this item is selected, however, Finale aligns the leftmost edge of each chord symbol with the note below it. Choose this command a second time to restore chord symbols to their centered position.

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Chord/Italicize Capo Chords

If you’ve checked Capo At Fret in the Chord Definition dialog box, select this command to display the capo chord italicized.

See Also:

Chord Definition

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Lyrics/Rhymer

Choose this command to display the WriteExpress Rhymer dialog box, where you can generate rhymes from a library of over 90,000 words.

See Also:

Lyric Menu


Add Word Extensions

Choose this command to automatically add word extensions to lyrics where appropriate throughout the document.

See Also:

Lyric Menu


Remove Word Extensions

Choose this command to remove all word extensions in the document.

See Also:

Lyric Menu


Mass Edit/Utilities/Change Lowest Fret

Choose this command to display the Change Lowest Fret dialog box, where you can set the lowest fret for a selected region of a tablature staff.

See Also:

Change Lowest Fret dialog box


Change Lowest Fret

How to get there

Click the Mass Edit Tool, and select a region of measures in a TAB staff. Choose Lowest

Fret from the Utilities submenu of the Mass Edit Menu.

What it does

Use this dialog box to specify the lowest fret for a region of tablature in a TAB staff.

•	Use Staff’s Default Lowest Fret. Select this option to use the Default Lowest Fret specified in the Tablature Staff Attributes dialog box.

•	Specify Lowest Fret. Enter a fret number to tell Finale Guitar to recalculate the string placement of the fret numbers to appear no lower than a certain fret.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your transposition selection. If you click OK, Finale performs the transposition.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Mass Edit/Utilities/Create Easy Repeats

Choose this command to easily enclose the selected region with repeat bars.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


Mass Edit/Utilities/Create First Ending Repeats

Choose this command to easily enclose the selected region with repeat bars and specify a first ending.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


Create First Ending Repeats

How to get there

With the Mass Edit Tool selected, highlight a region of measures. Then, from the Mass Edit Menu, choose Utilities > First Ending Repeats.

What it does

Use this dialog box to specify the number of measures in the first ending and the number of passes.

•	Total Passes. Enter the total number of times you want Finale to playback the repeated region.

•	Measures under Ending Bracket. Enter the number of measures you want to include under the ending bracket.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to return to the score with the first ending repeat added. Click Cancel to return to the score without creating a first ending repeat.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu


Mass Edit/Utilities/Create Metronome Marking

Choose this command to create a metronome marking expression at the selected measure.

See Also:

Create Metronome Marking dialog box

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


Create Metronome Marking

How to get there

With the Mass Edit Tool selected, highlight a measure. Then, from the Mass Edit Menu, choose Utilities >> Create Metronome Marking.

What it does

Use this dialog box to specify the number of beats per minute and whether or not to playback the generated metronome marking.

•	[Duration icons and text box]. Select one of the icons, or enter a number of EDUs in the text box to indicate the main beat.

•	Define Expression for Playback. Check this box to tell Finale Guitar to play at the tempo specified.

•	Create as; Measure Attached • Note Attached. Choose Measure Attached to assign the generated expression to the measure. Choose Note Attached to assign the generated expression to the first note in the selected region.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to return to the score with the metronome marking added. Click Cancel to return to the score without creating a metronome marking.

See Also:

Mass Edit Menu

Mass Edit Tool


MIDI/Tablature MIDI Channels

Choose this command to open the Tablature MIDI Channels dialog box where you can assign a channel for each string on a MIDI guitar.

See also:

MIDI Menu


Fretboard Instrument Definition

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool, choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu, then click any note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached. In the Chord Definition dialog box, click the Edit button in the Fretboard area. Click on Edit Instrument.

If a note has a chord symbol attached, click the note to make the chord’s handle appear. Double-click the handle, click the Edit button in the Fretboard area, then click Edit Instrument.

What it does

In this dialog box you can define the number of strings, tuning and other aspects of an instrument that affect how a fretboard diagram is displayed.

•	Name. The name of the instrument.

•	Number of Strings. Type the number of strings of your instrument into this text box.

•	Number of Frets. Type the number of frets of your instrument into this text box.

•	String 1: • String 2: . . . String 24: • Listen. Define up to 24 strings. Either type the string into the text box, or, if you don’t know the MIDI note number, clicking the Listen button will bring up the Listen dialog box. Highlight the text box next to the string number you want to enter. Click the Listen button and play the note on your MIDI instrument for the highlighted string. Finale Guitar will enter the MIDI note number for you.

•	New • Duplicate • Delete • Set As Default. Click New to define a new instrument. Click Duplicate to make a copy of the selected instrument. Click Delete to remove the selected instrument. Click Set As Default to make the selected instrument the default for all fretboards in this document.

•	Speedy Clef. Click this button to open the Clef Selection dialog box where you can choose a clef to use when editing TAB staves , which use this instrument, as standard notation in Speedy Entry.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the instrument definition for the fretboards and return to the Fretboard Editor dialog box. Click Cancel to return to the Fretboard Editor dialog box without modifying the instrument definition.

See Also:

Chord Definition

Fretboard Editor

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Chord Suffix Editor

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool, choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu, then click any note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached. In the Chord Definition dialog box, In the Chord Definition dialog box, click on Advanced to expand the dialog box. Click on Select near Suffix to enter the Chord Suffix Selection box, then click Create. (If there are already chord suffixes listed in the Chord Suffix Selection dialog box, click one and then click Edit.)

If a note has a chord symbol attached, click the note to make the chord’s handle appear. Double-click the handle, click on Advanced, then Suffix Select, then click Create.

What it does

In the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box you can create and edit chord suffixes. Finale Guitar perceives a chord as a root tone sounding together with notes specific intervals above it; these notes constitute the suffix. Therefore, Finale Guitar uses the same suffix whether you play a C major seventh or an F major seventh—the relationship of the suffix notes to the root is the same.

Each letter of the suffix can have its own font, size, and position, making subscript and superscript numbers (for example) possible. You can only edit one character of the suffix at a time, moving among the characters with the Prev and Next buttons. You use the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box both to define the graphic appearance of the suffix and to specify a voicing for a chord’s playback.

You can also use the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box to teach Finale Guitar new chords when you’re entering chords using one of Finale Guitar’s automatic analysis modes. When you see the Unknown Chord Suffix dialog box, click I’ll Do It, to access the Chord Definition dialog box; then create the chord symbol (and its suffix, if necessary) in the Chord Definition dialog box (see Chord Definition dialog box). The next time you play the chord (in any octave or voicing), Finale Guitar will know what chord symbol to display. (This custom teaching feature is "root-specific," however; if you only teach Finale Guitar to recognize a C major sixth chord in the key of C, it will only recognize major sixth chords built on C. But it will recognize, for example, a Gmaj6 in the key of G and an Amaj6 in the key of A.)

•	Symbol. This text box displays the currently selected character of the chord suffix. If you’re creating a new suffix, the text box is initially empty; type the first letter of the new suffix here, and click Next or Update to make it appear in the display. The character in the Symbol box is always displayed in the System font, even if you’ve specified a different font for the character. (The character appears with the correct font in the display area.)

If you want to choose the character from a palette, select the font with the Set Font button. Then click the Symbol button; Finale Guitar displays a selection box containing every symbol in the font. Double-click the one you want; its corresponding System font character appears in the Symbol text box.

You can only type one letter at a time into the Symbol text box unless you’ve told Finale Guitar that you’re entering a number (by selecting Number), in which case you can enter a multidigit number.

•	Number. Select this option if the symbol you’re adding to a chord suffix is a number, in which case the Symbol text box will allow you to type numbers with several digits. In other words, if you select Number, you can enter 13 in the Symbol box; if you didn’t select Number, you’d have to enter the 1 and the 3 as separate symbols.

•	Prefix with: Flat • Sharp • Plus • Minus. If the Prefix With checkbox is selected, the four prefix options become available (flat, sharp, plus, and minus). You’ll generally use these prefixes in conjunction with a number (–9, for example), but they’ll work on an alphabetic character too. You can add a separate prefix to each character or number in the chord suffix.

•	H: • V:. The H: and V: boxes contain coordinates that determine the distance of the currently selected character from the chord suffix’s handle (where the crosshairs intersect, at the suffix’s lower-left corner). The chord suffix handle is considered the zero point. The H: number sets horizontal distance (a positive number moves the character to the right, negative to the left) and the V: number sets the vertical distance (a positive number moves the character upward, negative downward).

If you drag the currently selected character’s handle in any direction, the H: and V: numbers will change as you move it. If you’re trying to align characters with each other, however, you may find that typing values in the H: and V: boxes gives you greater precision. Enter a new value in the H: or V: box, then click Update to see the effect of the new numbers on the display. (Note that each time you add a new character, Finale Guitar automatically adds enough horizontal space to make room for the new character.)

•	Prev • Next. Use the Prev and Next buttons to move through the various characters that constitute the chord suffix (because you can only edit one letter or number at a time). If you’ve already selected the last character in the suffix (and it’s displayed in the Symbol text box), then click Next to open a slot for an additional character; Finale Guitar will automatically place the new character’s handle far enough to the right that it doesn’t overlap the previous character.

•	Set Play. Click this button to enter the Suffix Keynumber Offsets dialog box, where you can define a particular voicing you want Finale Guitar to use when it plays back a particular chord symbol. See Suffix Keynumber Offsets dialog box.

•	Set Font. Click this button to enter the Font selection box, where you can specify the type characteristics of the currently selected character. Use this button if you’re combining several fonts within a single suffix—for example, if the suffix contains a half-diminished symbol (ø), you can use the proper symbol from the Maestro music font. (The current character is displayed in the Symbol text box, although it always appears there in the System font, no matter what font you’ve selected using the Set Font button. Click the Update button to see the effects of your font changes in the display area.)

Incidentally, don’t use this button to change all suffixes to a new font, one character at a time. Instead, use the Change Chord Suffix Fonts command in the Chord Menu.

•	Show Handles. Finale Guitar normally displays a small square handle at the lower-left corner of the currently selected character, which you can drag to reposition the character. Deselect Show Handles if you want these handles to be invisible (if they’re obscuring some small character, for example). You can still drag the character by its handle, but the handle itself will be invisible.

•	Update. The Update checkbox has two functions. First, you need to click it in order to see the effects of any changes you make (in the H, V, or Symbol text boxes, or using the Set Font or prefix buttons) on the display of the suffix.

Second, when the Update checkbox is selected, you’ll see the character at all times while you’re dragging it; when Update isn’t selected, you’ll only see the character in its new position when you finish dragging.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve made in this dialog box and return to the Chord Definition (or Chord Selection) box. If you’ve created a new suffix, it’s now stored in the Chord Selection box. Click Cancel to tell Finale Guitar to ignore any changes you made in the Chord Suffix Editor. You return to the previous dialog box.

See Also:

Chord Definition

Chord Suffix Selection

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Suffix Keynumber Offsets

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool. Choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu. Click a note (if it already has a handle, double-click the handle). Click Advanced. If the Suffix ID text is zero, click Select, click a suffix, click Edit, and click Set Play. Otherwise, click Suffix Edit and click Set Play.

What it does

In this dialog box, you can define the voicing you want Finale Guitar to use when it plays back the chord suffix you clicked. Each note of the chord is identified by a number that represents its interval, in half steps, from the root; this number is called the keynumber offset. Either enter each keynumber offset in a text box and click the right and left arrows to scroll the display, or—more efficiently—click Listen and play the chord in whatever voicing you prefer (see Listen dialog box); you can build a suffix of up to sixteen notes. A negative number specifies a note that’s been played below the root of the chord, and a positive number specifies one above.

Every time Finale Guitar encounters a chord symbol with that suffix in playback, it will use the voicing you specified. Because the notes of the playback definition you’re creating are measured from the root, a given suffix will always play back correctly, no matter what the root of the chord—in other words, a minor ninth will always sound like a minor ninth.

Technical note: This dialog box is also where Finale Guitar stores its knowledge of chord symbols; when you play a Cm7, Finale Guitar consults the information in this dialog box to decide which chord symbol to display (when you’re using one of its automatic-chord input features). Technically, you could edit Finale Guitar’s associations of chord suffix to a group of notes (and their intervals from the root) in this dialog box, so that Finale Guitar would display Csus4 when you played a Cm9 (if you really wanted it to), for example. However, if your aim is to teach Finale Guitar to recognize unusual or complex chords, you’ll find Finale Guitar’s learned chords feature to be a far more convenient method.

•	<<  >>. Click these arrow buttons to scroll to the right or left through the series of sixteen keynumber offset values.

•	Clear. Click Clear to set all the text boxes to zeros, removing the chord’s playback definition.

•	Listen. Instead of typing in half-step values, you can enter the appropriate numbers in all of the text boxes at once simply by playing the complete chord on your MIDI keyboard. Click Listen; Finale Guitar displays a message asking you to first play the root of the chord, so it will have a point of reference from which to compute the keynumber offsets. Now Finale Guitar prompts you to play the suffix itself (without the root). Finale Guitar enters the appropriate numbers in the text boxes. Remember that even though you just played a specific root and suffix voicing, Finale Guitar will remember this suffix voicing no matter what its root—so, for example, you can define all your major seventh chords at once.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm the playback definition for the chord suffix and return to the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box. Click Cancel to return to the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box without modifying the suffix’s playback definition.

Hint: Each number or offset represents the interval, in half steps, from the root. Clear sets the numbers in all the text boxes to zero, removing the chord's playback definition. Press Listen to let you play the chord on your MIDI keyboard and have Finale Guitar automatically enters the offsets for you.

See Also:

Chord Suffix Editor

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale Guitar.


Speedy/Edit TAB as Standard Notation

Check this menu item to display standard notation in the speedy frame while editing a TAB staff. Uncheck this option to display fret numbers in the speedy frame while editing a TAB staff.

See Also:

Speedy Menu

Speedy Entry Tool


Diatonic Instrument Definition

How to get there

Click the Staff Tool, and double-click any staff. From the Notation Style drop-down list choose Tablature, click Select, then click the Edit Instrument button. Click the Define button.

What it does

In this dialog box, specify the pitch variation, in whole and half steps, for a diatonic fretted instrument. In the text box, enter "1" to specify a pitch variation of a half step from the previous (lower) fret or from the nut. Enter a "2" to specify a pitch variation of a whole step from the previous (lower) fret or from the nut. Separate each entry in this text box with a comma.

•	OK • Cancel. Click OK (or press enter) to confirm, or Cancel to discard, your changes and return to the Fretboard Instrument Definition dialog box.

See Also:

Fretboard Instrument Definition dialog box

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale.


View/Select Display Colors

Choose this command to display Program Options-Display Colors. Program Options-Display Colors allows you to assign colors to different layers as well as to different elements in your score such as Articulations, Text Blocks and Smart Shapes. This is useful for differentiating between various objects in order to identify which tools created them, or which layer they belong to. Colors are used for on-screen display only -- not for printing.

For detailed information, see Program Options-Display Colors.

See Also:

View Menu


Chord/Chord Style

Use this submenu to choose the display style for all chord roots and alternate bass notes in the piece.

Standard

European

German

Roman

Nashville A

Nashville B

Solfeggio

Scandinavian

See Also:

Chord Menu

Chord Tool


Copy Fretboards from Chord Suffix

How to get there

Click the Chord Tool, choose Manual Input from the Chord Menu, then click a note that doesn’t have a chord symbol attached. In the Chord Definition dialog box, click on Select in the Fretboard area.

If a note has a chord symbol attached, click the note to make the chord handle appear. Double-click the handle, click on Select in the Fretboard area. In the Fretboard Selection dialog box, click Select Suffix next to Copy Fretboards from Another Chord Suffix.

What it does

The Copy Fretboards from Suffix Selection dialog box allows you to use fretboards from other chord suffixes.

•	Cancel. Click Cancel to return to the Fretboard Selection dialog box without copying fretboards.

•	Select. After clicking the suffix you want to use, click Select. You return to the Fretboard Selection dialog box. Instead of using the Select button, you can simply double-click the desired chord suffix.

•	View. Click View to see a listing of the fretboards found in the selected chord suffix.

See Also:

Chord Tool

For complete information, see the Finale Guitar 2003 User Manual. To access, click on the Help button [image] in Finale.