If you complete the Authorization/Registration Wizard and encounter one of these error messages, follow these steps:

"We were unable to complete your Internet authorization. If you have a firewall..."

"Unable to locate serial number on file."

"Serial Number already in use."

"Error Message from Authorization Server: Unable to log incoming data. String or binary data would be truncated. The statement has been terminated."

"Sorry, you have entered an invalid serial number."

Every license of Finale, Allegro, PrintMusic, SongWriter, and NotePad is assigned a unique serial number. If you are using a demo version of one of our products, please click here to learn more about our registration process. You can find your serial number in one or more of the following locations, depending on the version of the software you have purchased:

• On the software's CD/DVD case. Look for a yellow sticker on the software's CD/DVD case or paper sleeve, or on the inside cover of your Installation and Tutorial Guide. This sticker will have the serial number on it.
• On the registration "Read Me First" card. Look for a yellow, pre-printed sticker on the registration "Read Me First" card that came in your software's box. This sticker will have the serial number on it.
• Online. If you downloaded the software from our web site, or if you have registered a previous version, you can find your serial number in your online account at FinaleMusic.com. Log in here to view your registration history, which is a list of the product numbers you have registered.
• In the program. If you have access to a previously authorized installation of your software on another computer you can find your serial number in the program itself.
  • On Windows, launch the program, click on the Help menu, and then About [your product].
  • On Mac, launch the program. From the [your product] menu, click About [your product].
• demo

Please note: If you upgraded your license from an earlier version, your serial number is the same for each version you own. Look for your original serial number (from any previous version you owned) to registered your new version.

Finale and Allegro allow two installations per serial number, while PrintMusic, SongWriter, and NotePad allow one installation.

If you wish to move your software to a new machine, you will have to deauthorize your product from the other machine beforehand. You can deauthorize your product through the Help menu if your computer has an Internet connection. If the computer does not have an Internet connection, you can deauthorize the software by emailing us with your Serial Number and the reason why you wish to re-authorise and we will de-authorise it for you..

If your computer fails, and you replace it or have it repaired, your authorization will be lost. Please email us with your Serial Number and the reason why you wish to re-authorise and we will reset it for you.

To authorize your copy of Finale, Allegro, PrintMusic, or SongWriter, follow these steps:

1. Open the program on your computer. If you already have the program running and wish to authorize it without re-launching it, simply open the Help menu and choose "Authorize/Register [your product]..." and skip to step 3.
2. If the program prompts you to authorize or register, click the "Authorize Now" or "Register Now" button.
3. In the Authorization Wizard that appears, you will be walked through a few steps to authorize the program. There are three different methods of authorization you can choose from:
4. • Automatically Online
   • Manually at our Web site or by Phone
   • Manually via Fax or Mail. Australian and New Zealand customers can fax us on 02 9981 1875 or post it to Intelliware, 38 Campbell Ave, Dee Why, NSW, 2099.
     
   If your computer can connect to the Internet, your program will automatically be authorized when the Authorization Wizard is finished. The manual Web site/phone and fax/mail methods require a few extra steps, but do not require you to connect to the Internet. Choose whichever is more convenient for you, and simply follow the steps listed onscreen to finish.

To see a video walkthrough of how to authorize, click here.

Having problems registering using the automatic online method? Click here for help.

Can't find your serial number? Click here for help.

To uninstall Finale, Allegro, PrintMusic, SongWriter, NotePad, or Finale Reader from a computer, please follow the steps below.

If you are using Windows:

1. Click the Windows Start button.
2. Click Control Panel, then locate Add or Remove Programs (Programs > Uninstall on Windows Vista/7).
3. Find the Finale version you want to remove.
4. Select the Remove or Uninstall option
5. Follow the steps provided in the Uninstall Wizard that appears.

If you are using Windows and you also wish to remove the serial number data (clean uninstall):

1. Go to the Start menu and select Run. Type in “Regedit” (without quotes) in the window and hit the Ok Button. In the registry editor, go to File>>Export and give it a name, such as “RegBakFinale.reg” This could take three to five full minutes. If the program says “Not Responding”, simply wait as the backup is still processing.
2. Carefully navigate to the following key. If you're not familiar or not comfortable modifying the registry, you may want someone local to assist you:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MakeMusic\Finale200[x]\
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\MakeMusic\Finale200[x]\
   Delete the entire folder key and its subkeys.
   
3. Close the Registry Editor.

If you are using Macintosh OS X:

1. Open the Macintosh Hard Drive (HD) folder.
2. Open the Application folder.
3. Find the Finale folder you want to remove. If you have any personal files in this folder, you will want to move them into another location to save them.
4. Move this folder into the trash.
5. Empty your trash.

Currently Google Chrome will not properly load the local help file from within Finale. We are working on a solution for this. In the meantime, use a different browser that will work such as Explorer or Safari or you can go into Finale's Program File Folder, open the Help Files folder and open the Finale.htm file within Chrome. You can then bookmark this page if you'd like to use it in Chrome.

Finale, PrintMusic, and Finale SongWriter each come with a printed Quick Reference Guide* (also available in electronic format), a User Manual in electronic format, and video walkthroughs that are included with the boxed product or through the Help menu in the program itself.

In addition, there are numerous third party training materials available on the Internet, in bookstores, and on our website. Click here for a list of additional resources for your Finale family notation product.

*Note that the printed version of the Quick Reference Guide is only included with boxed products and media kit purchases, and is not included with downloaded products.

Finale 2011, Finale 2010b, PrintMusic 2011, PrintMusic 2010, SongWriter 2010, NotePad 2011, NotePad 2010, and Finale Reader are compatible with Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard) with the exception of few known problems that have workable solutions. For more information about the system requirements of our notation products, click here.

• Errors during installation of Finale on Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
• TIFF files crashing on Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
• Fonts not displaying correctly on Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
• Garritan Aria Player compatibility with Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard)

Reports of compatibility problems with earlier versions of Finale, PrintMusic, and NotePad that are supported on Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard) seem to be limited to the same issues listed above. The Aria Player used with Finale 2009c has also received an update which can be found here. However, due to the timeline of when these products were designed and tested, they are not officially supported on Snow Leopard at this time.

Versions of Finale, Allegro, PrintMusic, SongWriter, and NotePad that are not supported on Leopard will have similar compatibility problems on Snow Leopard. To read more about this, click here.

To be notified when this article is updated with more information, please click here to subscribe to the Finale information service.

Finale 2011, Finale 2010b, PrintMusic 2011, PrintMusic 2010, SongWriter 2010, NotePad 2011, NotePad 2010, and Finale Reader are fully compatible with Windows 7. If you are using one of these programs, make sure that you also have the most recent maintenance update available for your program (click the appropriate link above). For more information about the system requirements of our notation products, click here.

To be notified when this article is updated with more information, please click here to subscribe to the Finale information service.

The Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems include a security/permissions feature known as User Access Control. This feature limits the ability of some programs to freely access other programs without having a certain level of permission. In order for Finale to access the user manual, Finale may need to have an elevated access level.

To access the user manual, try the steps below:

1. Close your program if it is open.
2. Right-click on the Finale icon on the desktop.
3. Select Run as Administrator.

This will allow the program to run in an elevated administrator access level and will allow you to open the user manual directly from the Help menu.

If you do not wish to run in Administrator mode, you can also open the user manual from the Start menu. Simply go to Start, All Programs, Finale 200x, User Manual. You can also access the manual from our web site here: https://www.finalemusic.com/UserManuals.aspx.

In an effort to provide the most efficient support possible, phone support is reserved to help you with technical issues regarding your notation product. Due to our high volume of calls and the desire to better serve the needs of all customers’ technical issues, we are unable to offer how-to or in-depth tutorial advice on using your notation product over the phone. MakeMusic defines technical support problems as a functionality or feature of the product that does not perform as documented. Unexpected behavior that we verify to be isolated to a customer’s specific configuration or environment does not constitute a technical problem. MakeMusic may provide troubleshooting suggestions for unexpected behavior in these cases. However, MakeMusic is not responsible for the resolution of any such behavior.

We understand and encourage your desire to learn as much as possible about the product and would like to help direct you to the best ways to find information. Several help resources are available within the software itself under the Help menu, as well as a variety of online resources at our Support Portal. These resources provide a great way to research questions and get the most out of your software. Each resource has its own strengths, so make sure to read more about the strengths of each resource to get the most out of your search.

Tutorial Support: Answers to many common questions are provided at our Support Portal. The Support Portal offers a variety of resources ranging from step-by-step tutorials to our searchable User Manual and Knowledge Base. If you are unable to find your answers here, you can also ask our Support Team a question online.

Technical Support: Visit our Support Portal to quickly search the Knowledge Base for immediate results on common technical problems and troubleshooting steps. To contact support directly, you can ask our Support Team a question online 24 hours a day

There are several things that can cause odd playback behavior in Finale. Please click here to obtain assistance with issues related to no sound on playback or crashing when you try to play a document. You will be directed to the Finale Knowledgebase where you will be able to define the nature of your playback issue and find the answer to help you.

Recent changes introduced in Snow Leopard may affect the fonts used by Finale in rare cases. Apple is aware of this problem, and is currently working on a fix.

In the meantime, to correct the problem:

1. Quit Finale.
2. Open Font Book (Applications > Font Book).
3. From the Edit menu, click Select Duplicated Fonts.
4. From the Edit menu, click Resolve Duplicates.
5. Quit Font Book and then launch Finale.

If these steps do not restore your fonts, please contact Customer Support for further assistance.

The User Code is a computer ID that is used to authorize your Notation Product. Although the user code contains no personal information about you or your computer, each User Code is unique to a specific computer.

There are two places in the Authorization Wizard* to find the user code. One is in the Phone Authorization Window, and the second is on the last page of the Fax/Mail registration window. Of these two, the Phone option is easiest to find. To find the User Code, follow these steps:

1. To start this process you will need to be in the Authorization Wizard inside the Notation Software. If the Authorization Wizard is not on your screen, from the Help menu, click Register/Authorize Finale to bring it up.
2. In the Wizard, choose the Phone method of registration. In versions 2009 and later, the internet method must be attempted first before you can select the Phone method.
3. After choosing Phone, hit the Next button to proceed to the phone registration page. At the top of this window you will see a place to enter your serial number, and below it your software registration user code.

*In versions 2006 and earlier, this wizard will be labeled as the Registration Wizard.

The Site License Monitor is a free utility available to our Site License users of Finale. To obtain the Site License Monitor, contact MakeMusic Customer Support by submitting a Support Case.

Make sure you have your site license serial number ready, as this is required for a copy of the Site License Monitor. Included with the Site License Monitor are instructions for setup and use.

If for any reason your original installation disc(s) become damaged or lost, please contact MakeMusic Customer Support to request a new one.

Please click here to obtain assistance with issues related to MIDI when you try to record or  play a document. You will be directed to the Finale Knowledgebase where you will be able to define the nature of your MIDI issue and find the answer to help you.

Preliminary testing on Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) with Finale 2011, Finale 2010, PrintMusic 2011, PrintMusic 2010, SongWriter 2010, NotePad 2011, and NotePad 2010 has indicated no major compatibility issues. However, we did discover some minor problems that users should be aware of:

1. Finale may crash on launch due to a problem with how Mac OS X 10.7 saves application states. Click here to view the solution for this crash.
2. Mac OS X 10.7 no longer supports or offers Rosetta for PowerPC applications. Some older versions of Finale will not install on Mac OS X 10.7, and we suggest users upgrade to the latest version of Finale.
3. Users may encounter a warning that Java Runtime must be installed when launching Finale 2011 for the first time. Java will be automatically downloaded to your computer and Finale 2011 should open correctly afterwards.
4. When opening Finale 2011, the Check for Updates dialog box will display on launch regardless of the preference set previously.
5. Apple has reversed mouse scrolling from previous versions of Mac OS X. For example, scrolling down will move the page up, and scrolling right will move the page left. This option can be changed in System Preferences > Mouse > Un-check Scroll with finger direction.
6. Due to security changes in Mac OS X 10.7, the Root and User Library folders are now hidden folders in Finder. To access Finale's support files, use the Go feature in Finder (Go menu > Go to Folder, or press Shift + Command + G) and type the following path(s) depending on the location needed:

If using Finale 2010 or another notation product, substitute Finale 2011 with the name of your product.

• 1. User Library:
     ~/Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 2011/
  2. Root Library:
     /Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 2011/
  3. Preferences:
     ~/Library/Preferences/
  4. AudioUnit Plug-ins:
     /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components
     

Previous versions of Finale Notation products have not been tested on Mac OS X 10.7, and will not be supported on Mac OS X 10.7.

Here are some possible reasons for an error message from MIDIScan:

1. TIFFs scanned at 300 dpi tend to produce the best results.
2. The TIFF must be grayscale.
3. There should be no LZW compression on TIFF files, and the file should be a standard TIFF. Some scanning applications save TIFF files that are specific to their product line; if you suspect that your scanning software is producing non-standard TIFF files, try opening it in another application or graphic utility, eliminating compression, and saving it again. Paint Shop Pro is one application capable of saving uncompressed TIFFs.
4. Skewed scans are not properly recognized. Make certain your scan is properly aligned to avoid errors.
5. Clear, clean originals tend to give the best results. Handwritten scores and poor quality originals tend to cause error more frequently.