In looking at all the enhancements of Finale 2012, several can be loosely described as making Finale more portable, in one way or another, and that’s the focus of the above video. Why on earth would “portability” matter to a Finale user? The video describes three examples:

• Finale’s redesigned playback infrastructure means that your Finale files can be shared with others who run Finale on different computer platforms, as well as those who don’t have your favorite sound libraries installed: In both cases, your files will automatically play back the best available sounds.
• If you tote your laptop between different MIDI keyboards (as does Tom Johnson) Finale 2012 ensures you no longer have to configure Finale to use a different keyboard each time you switch. These same improvements also help new Finale users as they don’t have to configure a keyboard in the first place.
• Unicode font support makes it possible to use every symbol in your fonts, which facilitates the creation of lyrics and other text in any language; especially useful if your music will travel around the world.

Because all three developments were initiated in response to customer contacts (most often in the form of questions to our support staff) they’re likely to be most recognized by those familiar with how previous versions of Finale worked. As is the case with so many improvements, those who begin with Finale 2012 will simply find they’re able to focus on their music without encountering hurdles, and that’s okay too.

Let us know what you think of the video, the advances, or anything else by clicking on “Comments” below.