News

Today MakeMusic released version 25.2 of Finale and an updated Dolet 6.9 for Finale plug-in. Both releases include notable MusicXML improvements to both import and export.

Finale v25.2 includes the last of the features that had been available in the Dolet for Finale plug-in, but not in Finale v25. This is the ability to open an empty file, such as a template, and import your MusicXML file into that template. This makes it faster to reformat MusicXML files into your own favorite Finale styles.

You can access this feature by setting the new MusicXML import preference “Use current document if empty”. Checking this option will import into the currently open file if possible – that is, if the file is empty and is open to a score rather than a linked part. This is the same behavior as the Dolet 6 for Finale plug-in. If you leave the option unchecked, the behavior is the same as in earlier versions of Finale – a new default document is opened and the MusicXML is imported there.

MusicXML preferences are available in Finale v25 via the File menu. Choose either the Import or Export submenu and then select “MusicXML Preferences…”. The preferences are also available when using the Dolet for Finale plug-in with Finale 2014.5.  In that case, go to the Plug-ins menu and choose the MusicXML submenu, then select “MusicXML Preferences…”.

Finale v25.2 includes an additional 12 new features and fixes to MusicXML export support. They include support for the Finale Copyist Text font as well as better export of metronome marks, compound dynamics, and chord symbols. Dolet 6.9 for Finale includes all these improvements, as well as most of the MusicXML improvements included in the original release of Finale v25. You can read more about all these updates in our Dolet for Finale release notes.

As with version 6.8, version 6.9 does not support Finale versions earlier than Finale 2009. This is due to the ongoing modernization of our software technology, especially for Mac platforms. If you are still using these older versions of Finale, we hope you will consider upgrading to the latest version. If not, please be sure to keep your current version of the Dolet plug-in.

Also note that the Dolet for Finale plug-in is 32-bit only. Finale v25.2 now includes all the added features that used to be part of the Dolet plug-in, plus some MusicXML features that only work in 64-bit Finale. With our 64-bit Finale v25, all the MusicXML functionality you need is available directly on the File menu.

We hope that you find these new plug-ins help in moving your music files between applications. If you have issues with the plug-ins, please let us know in the Finale portion of our Help Center.