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Bug Importing PDFs of Sheet Music from Finale


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Hi,

Just a heads up about a bug I had already experienced (and reported) back when I bought PagePlusX6. Apparently Affinity Publisher still has the same issue that made it impossible for me to use PagePlus to publish sheet music.

I create sheet music using Finale. That program can export/print its .mus files as PDFs. Only in PagePlus / Affinity Publisher this sheet music turns into gobbledygook. I attach a file to illustrate the end result. I also include a PDF to show what it should look like.

I do hope this issue can be resolved. Thanks.

Viktor

24.afpub

Lesson 24.pdf

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I have exactly the same issue. Any PDF or SVG file made in Finale is broken when put into AF publisher. These Finale PDf and SVG files work correctly in InDesign, just do not work at all in AF Publisher. Will this be fixed?

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It is possible (but tedious and counter-productive) to export each individual page from Finale as an image file, which AF Publisher will then not distort. But I hope this bug can be fixed that PDFs of sheet music from programs like FInale could just be imported directly to AF Publisher. This bug meant that my original purchase of AF Publisher's predecessor was just a waste of money.

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The work around of using a TIFF 1200 dpi will work but is not perfect. There still is some rasterization (jaggies) in the curves on notes, slurs and hairpins. I might be able to get away with using this method for printing but it is still a bit rough. Additionally, the file size (if the TIFFS are embedded) can become huge. it would be better to simply fix this issue in AF Publisher so I (and many others) can use it for publishing instead of having to use InDesign.

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@EditionVVN @Wes Jacobs

If I download the pdf file from the first post in this thread and place it in a APub document, I see the garbled notation, very weird!

However, I use Finale's big rival, Sibelius for music notation.  If I export to pdf from Sibelius, that opens in APub without any problem, see the file below, a very simple score.

IOW, I think this problem is something to do with the way in which Finale exports pdf files, rather than a problem with the way in which APub imports pdf files.

HTH
Jeff

Test score.afpub

Win 10 Pro, i7 6700K, 32Gb RAM, NVidia GTX1660 Ti and Intel HD530 Graphics

Long-time user of Serif products, chiefly PagePlus and PhotoPlus, but also WebPlus, CraftArtistProfessional and DrawPlus.  Delighted to be using Affinity Designer, Photo, and now Publisher, version 1 and now version 2.

iPad Pro (12.9") (iOS 17.4) running Affinity Photo and Designer version 1 and all three version 2 apps.

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You may be correct. I use Sibelius also and I know that the PDF files from Sibelius work in AF Publisher. I also note that Finale PDF files work perfectly in InDesign and all other programs that I have placed them into. It seems that Finale and AF Publisher do not like each other. I am working with the people at Finale to see if they can find a problem on their end (they might blame Publisher!) One thing you might try with Sibelius: Begin with a more complex music file that includes grace notes etc. I have seen issues in AF Publisher with PDF files from Sibelius that include more complex music i.e. grace notes. I will be interested to hear about your results. WJ

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3 minutes ago, Wes Jacobs said:

...I also note that Finale PDF files work perfectly in InDesign and all other programs that I have placed them into...

That is because they are not opening a PDF for editing. Until such time as Affinity products have that option (PDF pass-through), your PDFs will not behave the same as ID or QXP or ...

Personally, when I have received finished music PDFs for publishing in any application, I have (nearly) always converted the fonts to curves using pdfToolbox or Acrobat. If I had a large document made largely/completely of sheet music, I might change that to normal placing/importing.

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