Encyclopedia

Below you see a list of "how-to" instructions arranged alphabetically by musical situation. If "Table of Contents" is selected this list also appears in the navigation pane to the left. This section is a musical cookbook. You won't find Staff tool, Page Layout dialog box, or HyperScribe listed here because they are all terms you encounter only in PrintMusic. (To learn about those and other PrintMusic-specific topics, consult the "Reference" section of the Table of Contents or choose the "Search Reference (what it does)" filter located above your search results.)

Instead, this section contains entries for musical elements and situations, such as beaming, copying music, rehearsal marks and so on. After a brief introduction, each entry includes at least one step-by-step tutorial; broader topics, like Rests, have several such tutorials. Following each instruction is an explanation of the step you just took, a description of PrintMusic's response to it, or a description of an available detour to another feature. The "how-tos" are devised so that, if you are in a hurry, you can skip the editorial material and just follow the bulleted instructions step-by-step.

These steps assume some familiarity with PrintMusic. In particular, they assume you have worked through most of the Finale PrintMusicTutorials Manual. Some of the tutorials in this section are, in fact, pared-down versions of the tutorials in the Installation and Tutorials manual. In some circumstances, then, you may learn the most by reviewing the same topic in both resources.

The PrintMusic Encyclopedia is not meant to be a complete guide to PrintMusic itself. PrintMusic's flexibility allows for many approaches to a vast universe of musical styles. Although we can't cover every possibility, we've tried to anticipate as many musical problems as we could.

You will find many links to reference material, the Visual Index, and other sources. Use the Back button on your browser to return to previously viewed topics. Also note that all topics can be reached using the Table of Contents to your left, or by using the Search or Index functions. Use the "Search Encyclopedia (how to)" filter above your search results to display only Encyclopedia entries.