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Posted By : bwest87 - 4/18/2013 11:32 PM

Hi,
I'm curious where the documentation is on Plugin development. Is there an SDK? The only references I'm seeing to that are from like 2008 and prior.
Is Finalescript the langauge for plugin-development or is there something else?

And in general, this is about me potentially creating plugins to render a notation system that my partner and I have developed, called Hummingbird (www.hummingbirdnotation.com). We've received quite a bit of interest in the system recently, and would like to create a plug-in for Finale if possible. Obviously we can create a new music font for it, but we'd have to go deeper. Specifically, are finale plugins capable of some of the following...?

-Drawing rhythm markers programatically based on measure width? (Or alternatively, showing different glyphs based on measure width?)

-Not just rendering new sharp and flat symbols, but attaching them to the note, rather than putting them slightly to the left?

-Changing how ties and dots work, such that a dotted quarter becomes a quarter connected to a special kind of eighth note.

Thanks. Any insight you could provide would be great. Thanks! - Blake

Posted By : Charles Lawrence - 4/22/2013 9:20 AM

Blake,

Finalescript is not used for plug-in development. It is actually a plug-in itself which provides a scripting language that allows for the automation for many Finale commands, functions, and utilities. It is not very well documented, buggy, and leaves much to be desired.

Plug-ins are currently being developed mostly by Jari Williamsson. Find his site here: http://www.finaletips.nu/

Another source is Tobias Giesen, but I don't think he is currently active in developing anything new. Find his site here: http://www.tgtools.de/index-en.htm

Another is the Patterson collection, some of which are bundled in Finale. Find his site here: http://www.robertgpatterson.com/

Another is PDK Tools found here: http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-52653/Finale/pdktools.html

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. If I omitted somebody, my apologies.

I think most anything that you want to do could be accomplished programmatically with a plug-in. I have no experience myself with developing any plug-in. Check out the sites quoted for tips, hints, and ideas.

[EDIT] Sorry, I had originally misspelled Mr. Giesen's name. My apologies to him.

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Post Edited (Charles Lawrence) : 4/23/2013 9:05:23 AM (GMT-5)

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