Finale resources
If you’re switching to Dorico, see the Dorico page for help.
Resources
- Finale User Manual | Quick Reference Guide – for Windows
- Finale User Manual | Quick Reference Guide – for Mac
- User Manuals, Finale 2009 to 2026
- Jason Loffredo’s Conquering Finale website has been taken down; the content now lives on the Scoring Notes website. The Conquering Finale YouTube Channel is still available.
Crossgrades
- Finale availability ended August 25, 2024. Finale technical support ended August 25, 2025.
- As of July 23, 2026, the Finale/Dorico crossgrade is no longer sold in the MakeMusic Store. It must be purchased from Steinberg and no longer includes a copy of Finale 27. To purchase, go to the Steinberg website, Dorico page. Select “Buy” then look for “Competitive Crossgrade”.
- Crossgrade from Avid (Sibelius) is still available.
- MuseScore Studio is free.
Fonts
All of Finale’s fonts are now available to download and install.
- MakeMusic Fonts and Licensing Information
- Download and install all Finale fonts on Mac and Windows – Scoring Notes blog, January 21, 2025
Open and Convert Finale Files
- Exporting MusicXML Files from Finale – from MakeMusic
- Jason Loffredo, Farewell, Finale – Last video in the Conquering Finale series. Start at 17:36 for advice on converting to MusicXML
- Jason Loffredo, Converting XML files – part of the video series, Finale to Dorico: Conquering the Transition. A really good tutorial that’s helpful whether you’re switching to Dorico or another notation program.
- Denigma – Web-based tool for converting Finale files to MusicXML. For more about how Denigma works, see: Jason Loffredo, “Denigma Online solves the riddle of opening Finale files — without Finale” – Scoring Notes, August 6, 2026. As of October 21, 2026, Denigma now supports both .musx and legacy .mus files.
- Maestro is a free desktop app that opens Finale Files. Intro and review, both from Scoring Notes
