I am upgrading many old Finale files by pasting them into a new v27 template in which all my Expressions and Articulations have custom-made positions. After pasting the old document into the template, there of course will be duplicate exressions and articulations.
Is there a method to swap out all old Expressions for Template expressions?
The Template expressions:
1- have exactly the same character, ie FF for FF
2. have a much lower Expression number in the list of Expressions
I know I can delete all Expressions not in use all at once, but that is NOT what i want! I want the old expressions (which are in use) to be swapped out in favor of the Template Expressions (which are NOT in use.)
If FInale can;t do it, do you know of a Lua script that can?
Swapping A Group of Old Expressions for New Ones
Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker
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Last edited by BurtGoldstein on Tue Feb 11, 2025 2:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Peter Thomsen
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If I understand you correctly, you have pasted an old document into a new template - right?
In the pasted score (layout) there are some expressions from the old document - right?
Back then (when you did the document) you edited edited these (old) expressions, so that they got custom-made default positioning settings - right?
Now you need to swap these old expressions with the Template Expressions, while - in the Expression Selection window - retaining all expressions (old expressions and Template Expression) - right?
Obviously the Template Expressions may have different default positioning settings than the old expressions.
Which means that the Template Expressions may default to a different positioning.
One way to do it:
1) Make a duplicate copy of the document, and save an expression library containing only the old expressions.
Which means that you, before saving the expression library, delete from the Expression Selection all the other expressions except the expressions meant for the library.
When you have saved the library, you can delete this duplicate document.
You can - anytime - load the saved expression library into any document.
2) To swap the expressions:
In the Expression Selection, select one of the old expressions, and click the Delete button.
Finale will warn you that the old expression is in use in the layout, and offer to replace it with another expression.
Obviously you need to replace the old expression with the corresponding Template Expression.
3) When step 2) is finished, load the saved expression library - to get the old expressions back in the Expression Selection.
In the pasted score (layout) there are some expressions from the old document - right?
Back then (when you did the document) you edited edited these (old) expressions, so that they got custom-made default positioning settings - right?
Now you need to swap these old expressions with the Template Expressions, while - in the Expression Selection window - retaining all expressions (old expressions and Template Expression) - right?
Obviously the Template Expressions may have different default positioning settings than the old expressions.
Which means that the Template Expressions may default to a different positioning.
One way to do it:
1) Make a duplicate copy of the document, and save an expression library containing only the old expressions.
Which means that you, before saving the expression library, delete from the Expression Selection all the other expressions except the expressions meant for the library.
When you have saved the library, you can delete this duplicate document.
You can - anytime - load the saved expression library into any document.
2) To swap the expressions:
In the Expression Selection, select one of the old expressions, and click the Delete button.
Finale will warn you that the old expression is in use in the layout, and offer to replace it with another expression.
Obviously you need to replace the old expression with the corresponding Template Expression.
3) When step 2) is finished, load the saved expression library - to get the old expressions back in the Expression Selection.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996
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Hi Peter,
No, I do not want to save the Old expressions. I want all the positioning of the new expressions to be used and none of the positioning of the old expressions.
I am sorry I was uclear, perhaps I was too terse when I wrote: "swap out all old Expressions for Template expressions?"
Or maybe I should just have used the correct Finale term: I want to replace the old with the new.
I know how to do this - one expression at a time.
My only purpose in posting my question was to see if anyone has a way to do all expressions at once.
All the old expressions are the same character as the new expression I wil swap it for: ie, the old expression is "F" (forte) and so is the Template expression.
Somehow a Lua (or other) script would have to recognize a character as "F", and replace it with the "F" that has a lower number. (All expressions are numbered. The template numbers arre always smaller than the numbers of the expressions of a document that has been pasted into the template.
No, I do not want to save the Old expressions. I want all the positioning of the new expressions to be used and none of the positioning of the old expressions.
I am sorry I was uclear, perhaps I was too terse when I wrote: "swap out all old Expressions for Template expressions?"
Or maybe I should just have used the correct Finale term: I want to replace the old with the new.
I know how to do this - one expression at a time.
My only purpose in posting my question was to see if anyone has a way to do all expressions at once.
All the old expressions are the same character as the new expression I wil swap it for: ie, the old expression is "F" (forte) and so is the Template expression.
Somehow a Lua (or other) script would have to recognize a character as "F", and replace it with the "F" that has a lower number. (All expressions are numbered. The template numbers arre always smaller than the numbers of the expressions of a document that has been pasted into the template.
- motet
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Unless you have a lot of files to do, doing this manually should be fairly quick--15 minutes or less? Personally, I'd stick with the old ones, as it seems like there's little to be gained by switching.
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I do have a lot of files to do. Not only is the one-at-a-time method time-consuming, it is error prone. Even one item replaced by the worng one can produce an error that can ruin a piece and be hard to sapot without listening to the whole piece.
It is not only dynamics, but other categories of Expressions that I have tweaked in my new template and would want swapped.
It is not only dynamics, but other categories of Expressions that I have tweaked in my new template and would want swapped.