File menu

• Open

• Close

• Save

• Save As

• Post at Finale Showcase

• MusicXML

• Page Setup

• Print

• Exit

• Recent Files

How to get there

The File menu is the first of NotePad’s unchanging menus.

What it does

As in many computer programs, NotePad’s File menu contains various commands for opening, closing, saving, and printing documents. Finally, the File menu contains the Exit command used to exit the program.

• Open. When you choose the Open command, the Open dialog box appears. Choose MIDI File (*.MID) to show and select MIDI files. Choose All Files (*.*) if you want NotePad to display all files in the current folder, regardless of file type. Use shift-click to select more than one file to open.

A Finale Notation File is the usual notation file you’ve been working with all along. It can be read by either the Macintosh or Windows version of NotePad.

See Opening files.

The Folder list box works like any Folder list box; double-click a folder to see its contents and use the scroll bars if necessary to view more folders. Select a different drive from the "Look in" drop-down list to view the contents of another drive.

• Close. Choose Close to close the active (frontmost) window. If you’re closing a document to which you’ve made changes not yet saved, NotePad will ask you if you want to save your changes; click Yes or Save to save your changes, or click No or Don’t Save if you don’t want your changes preserved. Click Cancel to return to that document without closing it. (You can also close a document by clicking the close box in the upper-right corner of the window.)
• Save. Choose Save to store on disk any changes you’ve made to the active document. When you’re working on a NotePad document (or any computer file), you’re actually making changes to an electronic copy of the original file that you have on your disk. As long as you’re in NotePad and the computer is on, the computer’s memory retains your editing. (See Save As dialog box.)

If the power fails or a system error occurs, however, all your editing is lost forever, unless you have remembered to save the changes onto a disk by choosing this command. It’s a good idea to save your work fairly often—every ten minutes, perhaps.

• Save As. As in many computer programs, the Save As command offers you a chance to create a duplicate of the document you’re working on, with a different name, and—if you wish—in a different folder or on a different disk. (When you choose the command, NotePad displays a dialog box and asks you to give the document a new name, which can’t be exactly the same as the current document’s in the same folder.)
• Post at Finale Showcase. This command will prompt you to save your file, then open your browser to place your file on MakeMusic’s website at http://www.finalemusic.com/showcase/default.aspx. The file will be freely shared with other NotePad users. Please follow the directions on the website.
• MusicXML: Import · Export. Choose Import to open a MusicXML file. See Import MusicXML dialog box. Choose Export to save a NotePad document in MusicXML format. MusicXML files can be opened in other music programs as well as earlier versions of Finale family products. See Export Music XML dialog box.
• Page Setup. This command 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. (See Setup Wizard.)
• Print. This command prints the score. When you choose this command, a 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.
• Exit. Choose Exit to exit NotePad and return to the Desktop. You don’t have to close the open documents; NotePad will close them automatically, after first asking you if you want to save your changes (if you made any).
• 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 folders in the open dialog box to find your file.

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