Finaletips.nu - The Finale Productivity Tips Site

For Finale 2010 and later. This is a multi-purpose plug-in that creates patterns of various elements in the selected area. Version 1.07 has this functionality:

Beamed Groups

Reorder Notes - Changes the order of the notes entries within each beamed group. Rests inside a beamed group are unaffected.
Merge to Chord - Replaces a beamed group with a chord. The resulting chord will have the duration of the full beamed group.
Articulations - Creates standard articulation patterns for the beamed groups. Only staccato, tenuto and accents are affected.
Slurs - Creates slurs at specific positions on beamed groups. Old slurs in the beamed group are replaced.
Chord Symbols - Creates chord symbols above the start of each beamed group, based on the beamed group's tonal material.

Chords

Break - Breaks a chord into a single-note sequence that spans the duration of the chord.

Dynamics

Carbon Copy - Copies all dynamics in the region from a source staff to all other selected staves. It can optionally adjust to areas where the destination has no music.
Hairpins - Creates hairpin marking (or hairpin pair) for the width of the selected region. Old hairpins in the region are removed.
Hairpin Swells - Creates cresc+dim hairpin markings ('messa di voce' markings) on long single notes. Tied notes counts as one note.

Performance Notation

Articulations - Creates or recreates standard articulations according to a specific pattern. Only staccato, tenuto and accents are affected.
Slurs - Creates slurs according to a specific pattern. Slurs break at rests. Tied entries count as one. Grace note slurs are treated independently.

Sequences

Two-state Patterns - Expands a reoccuring sequence that has only two states (an 'ON' and 'OFF' state). Exactly 2 notes/rests must be available at the start of the region.
Numbered Measures - Creates a numbered sequence, one expression per measure, for example for a repeated music pattern. The selected category's font and position info is used.
Delete Numbers - Removes the number expressions that has been added to the region by this plug-in. All other expressions are unaffected.

For Finale 2010 and above. This plug-in helps to find and correct cautionary accidentals in the document. It works differently than other cautionary accidentals solutions for music notation software, since it first provides a list with suggested accidental changes. In the next step, the user confirms which of the changes that should be made.

JW Accidentals contains numerous options to fine-tune the processing, handled through Setting Profiles.

For Finale 2010 and above. It includes these tasks:

• Transform meter (including metronome marks) to a larger/smaller meter
• Transform between triplet and compound meters (including metronome marks)
• Transform between compound and non-compound meters
• Create time signatures based on the contents
• Create cadenza measures/passages based on the contents
• Unhide the cadenza measure time sigs/barlines
• Create time signatures based on the contents, but keep the displayed time signature
• Expand/shrink the contents of the measure to cover the time signature
• Create or remove swing notation rhythms
• Create/sharpen/flatten/remove dotted rhythms
• Transform/merge/split rests rhythms
• Merge measures
• Merge/split tuplets
• Merge tuplet rests

A demonstration video of some of the features is available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmzOQfXfqKI

For Finale 2010 and later versions. This is a multi-purpose plug-in for tasks that are related to layers, chord lines and other kinds of music lines that appear throughout the score.

(This plug-in replaces the old plug-ins JW Merge Layers, JW Explode Layers, JW Quick Explode and JW Chord Manager. These plug-ins are now marked obsolete.)

Version 1.00 contains the following tasks:

Layers

Copy - Copies the contents from one source layer to another destination layer.
Move - Moves the contents from one source layer to another destination layer. Layer-assigned expression are moved to the destination layer.
Swap - Swaps the contents between two layers. Hidden layers can't be swapped. Layer-assigned expressions are also swapped.
Remove - Deletes the contents for the selected layers. Hidden layers are never removed. Layer-assigned expressions are also removed.
Merge - Merges note layers with identical durations.
Split - Splits notes in Layer 1 to multiple layers.
Expression Merge - Transforms identical layer-assigned expressions (if found for all used layers) into one expression for all layers.

Staves

Merge - Merges contents from multiple staves to one staff (according to various notation styles).
Split - Distributes notes from chords on one staff to multiple staves.
From Layers - Distributes layers to individual one-layered staves.
To Layers - Merges one-layer staves into one staff with multiple layers.

Chord Lines

Add - Adds lines of notes to chords or to single notes.
Delete - Deletes a note line from chords. At least 2 notes must be available prior to removal.
Drop - Drops a specific line one octave down.
Keep - Keeps a specific note line while removing the other chord notes.
Rotate - Rotates the chord by moving the top/bottom note an octave. A minimum of 2 notes is required for the chord to be rotated.
Transpose - Transposes a specific note line or the full chord.
Split Unisons - Splits unison intervals into octaves.

For Finale 2010 or later. This plug-in can create and display staff sets in a list and navigate between the staff sets. Navigation to a staff set can be made in Page View as well. Furthermore, each staff can be named and the staff set names are saved with the document (a category named JW Plug-in Data must exist in the document for this purpose).

When a staff set is created, it inherits the relative vertical staff positions from the selection.

This plug-in supports windowshade, a feature which can be turned on by using the JW Plug-in Tool plug-in.

A small modeless navigator window that can stay on screen at the same time as the document. It can help with the navigation to specific locations in the documents. For Finale 2010 and later. The 1.06 update also includes optional support (through the JW Plug-in Tool) for both windowshade feature and a thin window layout.

It supports navigation to:

• Any auto-rehearsal mark (browsing)
• Specific rehearsal marks
• Specific actual measure numbers
• Specific defined measure numbers
• Double barlines
• Final barlines
• Double barlines or final barlines
• Key signature changes
• Time signature changes
• Starts of measure number regions
• Staff system starts (browsing)
• Specific staff system numbers
• Text
• Text (case sensitive)

For Finale 2010 and later versions. This is a plug-in for manipulation/editing of measure number regions and measure numbers. It has the following features:

• Create - Creates a new measure number region that covers the current selection, and splits the underlying region into adjacent regions.
• Join Adjacent Regions - Joins adjacent measure number regions within the selection into one long region. The settings for the earliest region will be used.
• Inherit Adjacent Region Settings - Copies the visual appearance and positioning from the adjacent region. The earliest region's settings will be used. Useful for exampe if one visual change in one region should be transferred to other regions.
• Delete - Deletes measure number regions that start and end within the current selection. Measure number regions that span the whole document are not affected.
• Cover Holes - Covers measures that lacks measure numbering by extending a previous measure number region.
• Select Previous/Next - Selects the previous/next measure number region in the document.
• Offset Numbering - Changes the relative numbering of the regions that are fully covered by the selection. The value can be both negative and positive.
• Offset Location - Moves the regions location relatively in the document by a measure offset. Regions that are fully covered by the selection are moved.
• Remove Manual Positioning - Resets manually positioned measure numbers in the selection to their default positions.
• Reset Defaults - Deletes all manual edits (forced to be shown/hidden or repositioned) in the selection, to revert to the defaults.
• Align Manual Edits - Top (or Bottom) - Aligns all manual edits in the selection to the highest (or lowest) position found. Each measure number region is treated independently.
• Align All Numbers - Top (or Bottom) - Aligns all numbers in the selection to the highest (or lowest) position found. Each measure number region is treated independently.
• Numbering Style - Changes the numbering style for the measure number region(s) that are fully covered by the selection.
• Prefix/Suffix - Changes the prefix and suffix text for the measure number region(s) that are fully covered by the selection.
• Font Size - Sets the font size (in points) in the region(s) that are fully covered by the selection.
• Relative Font Size - Changes the font size relatively to the current size for measure number regions that are fully covered by the selection.
• Font Style - Changes the font style for measure number regions that fully are covered by the selection.
• Use Document Options's Font - Copies the current default font for Measure Numbers to the score (or parts) panel of the region.
• Count Regions - Reports the number of measure number regions that fully or partially covers the selected measures.
• Find Hole - Reports the number of measures in the selection that aren't covered by a measure number region.
• Find Overlap - Reports the number of measures in the selection that are covered by more than one measure number region at the same time.

For Finale 2010 or later. This plug-in adds or updates grace note slashes on beamed groups, taking the angle of the beam into account. It follow the same rules for adding slashes as flagged grace notes do. If you change grace note document options or the appearance of a beamed grace note group, please run the plug-in again to update the slashes.

If no slash appears, make sure that either the first entry in a beamed grace note pattern is set to use a slashed grace note, or use the "Always slash flagged grace notes" Document Option.

The slashes are added to the document as shape articulations. The shape articulation definitions are reused if possible.

For Finale 2010 and later. This plug-in (a "Seinfeld"-type of plug-in) does these tasks fully automatically:

• Positions tremolo articulations correctly
• Fixes the bug where whole note tremolo goes on the wrong vertical side
• Lifts the stem length if necessary

The plug-in auto-detects the tremolo articulations, so it can be run on sections without tremolos as well.

Tip 1: To change side of a whole note tremolo, flip the "invisible stem" of the whole note with Simple or Speedy entry.

Tip 2: If you use Patterson Beams or any similar task, run these kind of tasks before applying this plug-in.

Before:

After:

It supports the following fonts:

• Maestro
• Jazz
• Engraver
• Broadway Copyist
• Maestro Wide
• Petrucci
• Oslo
• StockholmClassic
• StockholmPlate
• Vienna
• RevereFinale
• FPArticulations (and Bill Duncan's Articulations)
• GoldenAge

Put pedal up/down markings where CC64 MIDI controller events are found. The pedal markings are put in the score as articulations. It's quite a quick hack: one current limitation is that you must have definitions of the pedal markings (as Maestro) in the articulation list before you start - otherwise nothing will show up.

For Finale 2010 and later versions. A plug-in that changes all notes of one pitch within the region to another pitch. Useful for example for correcting enharmonic spellings in a region, swap note pitch patterns or change tonality. The window is modeless, so it can be opened while the document is edited.

The top part of the window is a simple one-note pitch change utility. The bottom part of the window contains a multi-pitch part that can be used for more complex pitch replacements. If the Respace option is set, note spacing is applied to the region after the pitch replacements.

Creates pop/jazz "topline notation" for chord instruments. Apply the plug-in on a region with written out chords that you want to display as topline notation. The playback will preserve playback of the chords and makes sure that the extra stems are at least one octave long. Also includes a "revert" function to get the written-out music back.

For Finale 2011 and above. This plug-in is a diagnostic tool that lists a staff's percussion layout and links it to the mapped playback, staff position and GM/default. The contents in the list can be sorted.

For Finale 2012 and later. This plug-in splits a group into adjacent subgroups. The group that will be split must match the top and bottom staves of the selection. The subgroup will be of the length of the selection.

Groups will not be split if region spans exactly the same staves as a Finale 2012 multi-staff instrument (use the Change Instrument utility in Finale for that).

The created subgroups will get a hidden "(Split Group)" text at the end.

For Finale 2010 and later. This plug-in is for documents that use live performance data (if the document is using Human Playback, you need to set "HP (Incorporate Data)" in the Human Playback Preferences). It syncs the live performance data between staves in the document, so instrument in other staves can follow a performance by another instrument. Start time, end time and velocity for the notes are affected.

Mark the target region where you want to sync the live performance data. Mark the source staff for the groove (to sync to) in the plug-in window. The source staff can be a part of the destination region.

Start time and velocity will be adjusted if source and target notes start at the same position in the notated music. End time will be adjusted if the source and target notes start at the same position, and have the same duration in the notated music.

A completely new design of the Expand Region plug-in, with much more functionality. For Finale 2010 and later. (The much-more-limited 1.00 version is still available for download.)

New in version 2:

• Modeless dialog window user interface (you can have the plug-in window open while you work with the document)
• Expand to key signature change option
• Expand to time signature change option
• Expand to Start/End of document option
• Expand to measure number region start/end option
• Expand to system boundaries option
• Expand to page boundaries option
• Expand to Rehearsal Marks boundaries option
• Beeps when no expansion is possible
• Support for double barline separately
• Support for final barline separately

JW Plug-in Tool keeps track of the installed/uninstalled JW freeware plug-ins (including versions), and can be used as a tool to set "hidden" options in JW freeware plug-ins. It can also be set to alert (when Finale starts up) that there are updates available. For Finale 2010 and later.

IMPORTANT! This plug-in requires an internet connection for its functionality. The plug-in does not send any files to another destination, but it downloads up to 3 small text files for analyzing available plug-ins, available options and latest plug-in revisions. The text files are downloaded to the temp folder and are removed after processing.

Copies a rhythm pattern from one source region (layer 1) to a destination region (any layers and any number of staves). The pitches are kept in the destination. Only destination staves that match with the same number of notes will change. The plug-in is quite flexible and can work with ties and over barlines. Articulations from the source are copied to the destination.

For Finale 2010 and later.

For Finale 2010 and above. This plug-in contains 9 different note spacing styles that can be applied easily to a region in the document, through a modeless window interface. A feature to set the selected mode as the default for the document is also available.

A plug-in for Finale 2012 and later. The plug-in copies a page layout from a source part to the currently displayed part, through an easy-to-use user interface. The measure layout for each system gets locked, so the layout will remain the same in source and destination. It will check that measures are empty before parts with multi-measure rests are copied.

The window (where the source part is selected) is modeless, so it can be open while moving between different parts (or documents).

The following are copied from the source part:

• Page settings (size/margin/etc)
• Staff system settings (size/distance between/page breaks/etc)
• Measure with (+additional space before/after measure) 
• Multimeasure rests