While Finale’s What’s New and Features web pages offer long lists of improvements found in Finale 2014, today I’d like to highlight one new benefit doesn’t appear on our website.

Finale 2014 is the first version to include a completely automated software update system. Best of all, it only automatically updates if you WANT it to. How does it work?

The first time Finale launches, you’re asked if you’d like Finale to automatically check for updates. If you say YES, Finale will subsequently search MakeMusic’s servers silently on your behalf. If you say NO, Finale will not trouble you about this again, although you can always check for updates yourself in the Help menu on Windows and the Application menu (also known as the “Finale 2014” menu) on Mac.

If you replied YES, when Finale discovers an update you are presented with Release Notes (detailing what is included in the update), and are given the opportunity to Install Now, Install Later, or Skip. When an install is selected, Finale will download the updater, ask you to quit Finale, run the updater, and re-launch Finale, so you can continue on your way.

While Finale’s previous mechanism would notify you of each update, you had to log-in to the website (requiring you to remember your password), navigate the download library, download the update, close Finale and install the updater yourself.

In addition to making it easier for you to update your software, the new system also simplifies the process on our end, allowing us to share updates with you more easily (as evidenced by the recent timely release of Finale 2014a).

Please let us know how the automatic updates in Finale 2014 – or indeed any aspect of Finale 2014a – are working for you by clicking on “Comments” below.