;Tips Hints Notes from On-line Documentation. For use with Tip of the Day ;created Feb 1999 ;revised June 1999 ;revised July 1999 ;revised June 2000 ;revised July 2000 ;revised July 2001 ;revised August 2001 ;revised August 2001 These are Tips of the Day. Leave them on at start up to learn what's new and some common features in Finale 2002. Click Next to see another tip. You can also access this dialog box from the Help menu. ;WhatIsNew Simple Entry has been redesigned for Finale 2002. Click on the Simple Entry Tool to try it. ;WhatIsNew2k1 You can Space Systems evenly on the page with the Page Layout Tool. ;WhatIsNew New to Finale 2002, most Speedy Edit commands apply to the previous note when you've jumped to the next blank measure. ;WhatIsNew The keyboard shortcuts new to Simple Entry now work in Speedy Entry as well. Learn one set of shortcuts for both tools, new to Finale 2002. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Can't remember how you created an item on the page? Use the Selection Tool. ;WhatIsNew Need to copy all the articulations, expressions and slurs from one part throughout the score? Use the new SmartFind and Paint feature found under the Mass Mover menu, new to Finale 2002. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Import your scanned music files either directly by choosing MIDISCAN under the file menu or by importing SmartScore files. ;WhatIsNew Finale 2002 now allows you to define a percussion map while importing MIDI Files or have Finale automatically do it. ;WhatIsNew Quick, how can you create the horn parts for a chart with just the chord symbols? Use the Auto Harmonize Plug-in new to Finale 2002. This plug-in was built from the makers of Band-In-A-Box. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Switch layers with new keyboard shortcuts. On Windows, while in any tool use: Alt+Sh+1, Alt+Sh+2, Alt+Sh+3, Alt+Sh+4. On Macintosh: Cmd+Opt+1, Cmd+Opt+2, Cmd+Opt+3, Cmd+Opt+4. ;WhatIsNew Now in Finale 2002, you can change durations, navigate and perform other commands from your MIDI keyboard while in Speedy Entry. Go to the Speedy Options menu item in the Speedy Tool. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Make your piece swing by setting the Swing effect in the Playback Settings dialog box. ;WhatIsNew Create lessons for your students with the new Exercise Wizard in Finale 2002. Start by going to the File menu, then to New then to Exercise Wizard. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Define your own fretboards with the new Fretboard designer. These fretboards can be saved as a library as well. ;WhatIsNew You can nudge Smart Shapes in Finale 2002. ;WhatIsNew2k1 You can have a different fretboard for the same chord symbol. ;WhatIsNew Finale 2002 features new Engraver Slurs. These slurs automatically avoid collisions with notes, stems and accidentals. Go to Smart Slur Options under the Smart Shape menu for settings to adjust. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Looking for the Special Tools, Note Mover, Graphics, MIDI, Ossia, Mirror or Tempo Tool? Since Finale 2001 on Windows there is an Advanced Tool Palette, which can be selected from the Window menu. ;WhatIsNew Define your staccato and tenuto articulations to be defined as Inside Slur in the Articulation Definition dialog box, new to Finale 2002. ;WhatIsNew2k1 There are 16 predefined clefs and you have the power to change a font or create your own shape for each clef. ;WhatIsNew You can have a duration and modifier(s) selected at the same time in Simple Entry. Enter C# in one click. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Visit the Net4Music website where over 60,000 music titles are available in secure, digital format. You can post your music. Choose Net4Music from the file menu. ;WhatIsNew Need to create worksheets for your class using Kodaly notation style? Choose New from Template under the File menu and then choose the Kodaly template in the Choral Templates folder, new to Finale 2002. ;Tooltip Remember that a tool specific menu will often appear when a tool is selected. If you choose a tool and want to perform an action, look for a new menu at the top of the screen. ;WhatIsNew You can define a staff size by an absolute value in the Page Format For Score dialog box, new to Finale 2002. ;WhatIsNew2k In Finale 2000, the three former Measure Tools of Measure Attributes, Measure, and Measure Number were combined into one tool: the Measure Tool. ;WhatIsNew2k Looking for the old Staff Expression Tool you used in Finale 98? There is one Expression Tool that allows you to attach the expression to the measure or note. ;WhatIsNew2k Immediately apply correct music spacing with Automatic Music Spacing checked under the Edit menu. ;WhatIsNew If you create a percussion staff with the Setup Wizard, Finale will automatically set up the Percussion Map so that the notes will appear in the correct place on the staff, playback with General MIDI sounds and use proper notehead shapes, new to Finale 2002. ;chapter 1 The Save command saves only the active document (the one in the front-most window). ;WhatIsNew Easily align all your dynamics to the hairpins with the TGTools Align/Move Dynamics plug-in included with Finale 2002. ;ToolTip Use the Staff Tool to create, delete, or edit staves in your score. ;WhatIsNew Want your trills, glissandos and hairpins to playback? Use the TGTools Smart Playback plug-in included with Finale 2002 to do it. ;WhatIsNew2k Looking for partial measure or regional selection under the Mass Mover menu? It was moved to the Edit menu in Finale 2000. Assign alternate notation to partial measures and any layer with the Staff Styles. You can find these under the Staff menu as part of the Staff Tool (no longer under the Mass Edit menu). ;WhatIsNew2k1 New since Finale 2001: hear the note on entry in Simple Entry. ;WhatIsNew Have your band practice their parts before the gig by saving your Finale compositions as SmartMusic Accompaniments. Use SmartMusic Studio to rehearse your music. Go to Save Special under the File menu for details, new to Finale 2002. ;ToolTip Use the Simple Entry tool to point and click notes and rests into the score. Choose the note or rest from the palette, then click in the staff. ;WhatIsNew2k Attach a Glissando to notes or measures with the Glissando Smart Shape Tool. Or better yet, create your own Smart Shape. ;WhatIsNew Looking for some creative compositional ideas? Use the suite of Composer Assistants created by IRCAM. All tools are plug-ins found under the Plug-ins menu in the Composer Assistant folder. ;plugin Use the Add Cue Notes Plug-in to offer the Oboe part to the First Clarinet or Trumpet Part. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Need to make your music look hand written, but you cannot read your own writing? Use the Jazz Font. Choose the Jazz Font radio button in the Setup Wizard. ;ToolTip Use the Lyric Tool to create, delete, or edit lyrics in your score. ;WhatIsNew Need to change the beams on your piece to follow a specific house style? Use the Patterson Beams plug-in that is included with Finale 2002. You'll find this plug-in and many other powerful tools under the Plug-ins menu. ;chapter 4 The most efficient way to take advantage of the power of Bookmarks is to first set the document up in the window just the way you want to see it before creating a bookmark. Be sure you have the music, the view (Page or Scroll view) and the view percentage showing on the screen, then select the Add Bookmark command in the View menu. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Plug-ins now respect the Show Active Layer state under the View menu. This means you can apply plug-ins to one layer at a time. ;WhatIsNew Use the Extract Lyrics plug-in, new to Finale 2002, to copy all of the lyrics out of a Finale file and paste them into a text file. You could use this to create liturgical aids for the congregation. ;WhatIsNew2k Need to make a cut away score? With Staff Styles, found under the Staff menu of the Staff Tool, you can define or edit any aspect of the staff. ;plugin If you've entered your music with HyperScribe and retained key velocities, you can automatically enter dynamics with the Auto-Dynamic Placement Plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k You have total control of beams with the Beaming dialog box under the Document Settings submenu of the Options menu. You have probably started a file with the Setup Wizard found under the New submenu of the File menu. But, don't forget you can also add a staff with the Wizard under the Staff menu with the Staff tool. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Need to transcribe the soundtrack from "Brassed Off"? Use the Brass Band template, one of over 40 that come with Finale. ;ToolTip Use the Measure Tool to create, delete, or edit measures as well as measure numbers and multimeasure rests in your score. ;chapter 5 As you use Finale's enharmonic spelling methods, remember the enharmonic spelling applies only to non-diatonic notes (notes that are outside of the scale). Finale uses the key signature to spell notes that are within a scale. Change the nudge "amount" used with Special Tools under the Options menu at Movable Items. Use the arrows to nudge items. ;WhatIsNew2k1 New since Finale 2001, the Insert Mode in the Speedy menu. This allows you to put notes or rests before the cursor in a measure. Note, you can still use Sh+number to insert a note. ;WhatIsNew2k Decide how to handle Metatools with the Expression Tool under the Expression menu. You can always attach the expression to the measure, the note, or allow the vicinity of your click to assign the attachment. You can define how the left barline at the start of the system should appear in Meaasure Attributes. ;plugin You need to have some flagged Grace Notes slashed? Use the Slash Flagged Grace Note Plug-in to do it. If you choose Maestro, Petrucci, Engraver, or Jazz as the default music font, Finale resets the music symbols in the Notation drop-down list then automatically updates the Music Character Positioning dialog box to the correct settings for the font you selected. Retaining Key Velocities in Quantization Settings...More Settings will allow you to automatically apply dynamics to your score using the Auto-Dynamic Placement plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k Need to create a unique shape for barlines? You can with the Custom Barline style. Double click on a measure with the Measure tool, then click Custom. ;plugin In one step, add a double bar before every key change and a final barline at the end of the piece with the Automatic Barlines Plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Need to share some music with your Scandinavian friends? Finale offers Scandinavian chord symbol spellings. ;ToolTip Use your MIDI Keyboard or solely your computer keyboard to enter music with the Speedy Entry Tool. ;Chapter 6 You can override global Tie Direction settings in the Tie Options dialog box when you set an individual tie's direction to Over or Under in the Tie Alterations dialog box with the Special Tools Tie Tool. You can break all ties at Time Signatures in the Tie Options dialog box found in the Document Settings submenu of the Options menu. You can break all ties at Key Signatures in the Tie Options dialog box found in the Document Settings submenu of the Options menu. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Want to transcribe "Danny Boy" as performed by the 27th Lancers? Start it with the Drum Corps template. ;plugin Remove all ties with the Canonic Utilities Plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k To cut away elements behind an enclosure, choose the Opaque button in the Enclosure Designer dialog box. ;Chapter 7 Check Tempo Changes, Continuous Data, and Convert Markers options in the Import MIDI file dialog box to allow Finale to remember the precise "feel" of the original sequence, and to keep this data handy for playback once the MIDI file has been imported. To play back your music with the captured nuances of Tempo Changes, Continuous, Note Durations, and Key Velocities, be sure you've selected all four data types in Playback Options under the Options menu. ;plugin Invert a melody with the Canonic Utilities Plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k Mass Mover Metatools 6 through 9 can be programmed to any transposition you wish. To do so, hold down Shift then press one of the numbers. To apply: select a region with mass mover, then press the number. ;ToolTip Attach Chord Symbols to notes or rests with the Chord Tool. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Need to create Musica Ficta? You can now move accidentals vertically with the Accidental Mover Tool on the Special Tools Palette. ;Chapter 9 You can create a group for instruments with the Staff Tool. Finale will automatically center the group name between the staves. To revert the position of the full or abbreviated staff name to its default position, select the staff name handle and press backspace. (Or, make sure that Position is not selected in the Staff Attributes dialog box.) To revert the position of the full or abbreviated group name to its default position, select the group handle and press backspace. (Or, make sure that Position is not selected in the Group Attributes dialog box.) If you want to use the same notehead font for all staves in the score, it's quickest to set the notehead font in the Select Default Fonts dialog box. The Percussion Map Designer dialog box serves two functions. First, it lets you create or edit a percussion map, which you can use on any staff in your score. Second, it lets you choose which notes you actually want to define for the current percussion staff. ;ToolTip Use the Resize Tool to change the size of the music on the page. Use the Zoom Tool to change the size of the music on your computer monitor. ;WhatIsNew2k To change how Finale spaces music, go to Music Spacing Options under the Document Settings menu. Occasionally you may wish to notate more than one percussion instrument on the same line or space on the staff. This is easy to do in the Percussion Map Designer dialog box. Simply select different notes from the list box, change their note heads then drag them, so they share the same Staff Position. To turn off stem connections in a document, choose Stem Connections from the Options menu then de-select the Use Stem Connections checkbox. If two handles appear on a staff with the Staff Tool selected, drag the top handle to adjust the staff's position in every staff system in Page. Drag the lower handle to adjust the staff's position in that staff system only. Only delete staves if you want them permanently removed from your score. To recover deleted staves, immediately choose Undo from the Edit menu. To temporarily remove a staff, choose Hide Staves checkbox in the Staff Attributes dialog box. ;ToolTip Define the key signature of your piece or a group of measures with the Key Signature Tool. ;WhatIsNew2k1 You can enter a rest in Speedy by pressing Ctrl+Sh+(1-8). To load a percussion library, which can contain one or more predefined percussion instrument maps, choose the Open Library command from the File menu and select the library you want to open. To save a percussion library, choose Save Library from the File menu. Finale saves all the percussion maps listed in the Percussion Map Selection dialog box into one library. Rather than create new maps, you may find it easier to edit the percussion maps contained in Finale's default percussion library. You can then save your edited may and load into other files. You can override the barline selected for a group on a measure-by-measure basis by choosing Override Group Barlines in the Measure Attributes dialog box. When you choose this option, the barline set in the Measure Attributes dialog box will always appear. ;plugin Retrograde a melody with the Canonic Utilities Plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k1 You can make a clef always appear, as well as make a clef show to the left or right of the barline. ;Chapter 11 Use Hide Clef in the Change Clef dialog box at the end of a first ending repeat to set the clef for the second ending without displaying it. ;plugin Show accidentals on all notes with the Canonic Utilities Plug-in. ;Chapter 12 When specifying beat durations for dotted notes in Time Signatures, select Use EDUs for Beat Duration, then enter the duration in EDUs instead of entering the numbers you want to appear in the lower half of the composite time signature. A quarter note equals 1024 EDUs. A dotted quarter note equals 1536. For large Time Signatures used for some scores, use the Engraver Time font and change the distance between the numbers in the Time Signature Options dialog box found in the Document Settings submenu of the Options menu. ;ToolTip Group notes and rests as triplets with the Tuplet Tool. ;WhatIsNew Now in Finale 2002, use Simple Entry to enter triplets. Click the duration you want and the tuplet tool on the Simple Entry Pallete. If you accidentally enter too many notes in Simple Entry, use the Eraser tool to delete them. You can also delete accidentals, ties and dots, new to Finale 2002. You can navigate through notes in Simple Entry. Ctrl-click on Win or Opt-Click on Mac to select the note. The Left and Right arrow moves you through the notes and rests. ;plugin Transpose in Semitones with the Canonic Utilities Plug-in. ;Chapter 15 As in any dialog box, you don't have to click the radio button itself to select one of the following options; you can also click anywhere on the words themselves that label the checkbox. To change a note to a rest while in Speedy Entry, press backspace/clear. The single note becomes a rest of the same duration. ;plugin Warn the musicians of a Key Signature cancellation with the Cautionary Accidentals Plug-in. ;ToolTip Enter your music in real time with the HyperScribe Tool. ;Chapter 16 If your real-time transcriptions consistently transcribe durations that are too large, lower the smallest note duration in Quantization Settings under the Options menu. ;plugin Change the font for all Staff Names, Group Names, Text blocks, or Lyrics with the Change Font Plug-in. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Working on your theory project and need to check for parallel motion? Use the Parallel Motion plug-in, new since Finale 2001. ;ToolTip Clarify tempo and dynamics to the players by attaching expressions to measures, notes, or rests with the Expression Tool. ;Chapter 17 You can specify the three Tap States in addition to the "main" duration/division setup you establish in the Tap Source dialog box. As you play during HyperScribe, you can switch freely among Tap States I, II, and III. If you are not pleased with the results of your HyperScribe session, check your quantization settings in Quantization Setting dialog box in the Options menu. It's a good idea to tell Finale beforehand exactly how you want the triplets notated--whether or not they should have a bracket or slur--and so on. Change the default Tuplet Definition by Ctrl/double-clicking on the Tuplet Tool. If you are having problems getting clean notation during real time entry, increase Remove Notes Smaller than __ EDUs in the More Quantization Settings dialog box to 60 EDUs. If your performance begins with a pickup measure, fill the first part of the measure with "dummy" beats; the Transcription window always transcribes on the assumption that the first note is beat 1. ;ToolTip With the Time Signature tool, you can define the time signature for the whole piece or a group of measures. ;plugin Check the range of each staff with the Check Range Plug-in. You can even define the range for each staff. ;Chapter 19 You can use the Mass Mover Tool to copy mirrored measures just as you would copy normal measures. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Tired of opening all the parts after you've extracted them? Have Finale automatically open them after extraction. ;plugin Make sure you don't have too many beats or too few beats in all your measures with the Check Region for Durations Plug-in. ;ToolTip Use the Page Layout Tool to organize the music on the page before you print. ;Chapter 20 ;plugin Received an older Finale file that does not beam eighth notes in groups of 4 in Common Time? Use the Classic Eight Notes Plug-in to correct the file. ;Chapter 21 If you make a habit of attaching a breath mark as an articulation to the previous note, you'll always remember where to click in order to see its handle. If you make a habit of attaching a cesura as an articulation to the note that precedes it, you'll always remember where to click in order to see its handle. If you don't want the tremolo "beams" to actually touch the stems of the notes, you can adjust them to create a slight gap between each end of the beam and the note stem. To do so, click the Beam Extension Tool of the Special Tools and drag the beam handles inward. ;plugin How many notes have you put in the piece? Find out with the Count Items Plug-in. ;ToolTip With the Mass Mover Tool, you can do a wide variety of chores to a region of staves and/or measures. ;Chapter 22 Check Individual Positioning in Repeat Assignment dialog box to allow Coda signs to be moved independently between staves. ;plugin Need to calculate the amount of Staff Systems to be paid for your engraving work? Use the Count Items Plug-in. ;Chapter 23 Select Always Show on Top (or Bottom) Staff in the Measure Number dialog box to tell Finale to always show a measure number on the top or bottom staff of each system regardless of which staff happens to be at the top (or bottom) of the system. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Since Finale 2001, you can insert and delete systems with the Page Layout Tool. This prevents existing layout from being disturbed. ;Chapter 25 If you use a Metatool to place a Shape Expression into the score, you create a duplicate of that shape. This gives you an important advantage when you're placing several of the same shape into a score, because it means that you can reshape or resize each copy individually. Otherwise, changing one occurance of that shape would change all other occurances as well. ;plugin Place Forward and Backward repeat signs in less than 5 seconds! Use the Easy Repeats Plug-in. Just select the region with the Mass Mover and apply. ;ToolTip To allow a staff to change from one clef to another, use the Clef Tool. ;Chapter 29 The nudge "amount" in the Movable Items dialog box only applies when you're working with Special Tools. When you use the nudge keys at other times, the element is adjusted by one pixel each time you press the keys. Instead of changing settings in the Special Tools' Tie Alterations dialog box, you can drag individual ties by their handles to change their placement and shape onscreen as well as flip ties using Ctrl/Command-F. If you want an asymmetrical beaming pattern (such as three, three, and two eighth notes in common time), click the Composite button in the Time Signature dialog box and enter the desired groupings into the text boxes. ;plugin The (enter boastful musician's instrument here) player says they play the highest or lowest note in the piece. Prove them right or wrong with the Find Range plug-in. ;Chapter 30 You can undo any Mass Mover operation by choosing Undo from the Edit menu. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Publish your masterpiece to the web by choosing Publish to Finale Showcase. ;plugin Will your Magnum Opus be out of range for your Junior High Choir? Confirm or deny with the Find Range plug-in. ;Chapter 31 You must be in Page View to use the Measure Tool Break, Create, or Edit multimeasure rest commands. If you find that you're using the Edit command frequently to change multimeasure rests, consider changing the global settings in the Options menu found under the Document Settings submenu. Use the Ties command in the Mass Mover Change menu to adjust more than one tie in a region. To adjust a single tie or the tie end after a system break, use the Tie Tool of the Special Tools. When Finale spaces the notes of your score, it widens the selected measures as necessary to make room for lyrics, if any. If you choose Music Spacing Options from Document Settings submenu of the Options menu, you'll discover that there are other elements you can take into consideration when spacing measures: chord symbols and accidentals, for example. ;ToolTip Attach slur, hairpin, and glissando markings to your score with the Smart Shape Tool. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Save your music as a web page. Then, you can have others view it with the Finale viewer, a free plug-in for web browsers. ;plugin The Publisher demands that all beams in one staff be flat. Use the Flat Beams plug-in. ;Chapter 34 When you shrink notes, Finale automatically shrinks anything attached to them proportionally: Lyrics, Chord symbols, Articulations, Staff Expressions, and so on. For lyrics, a simple way to maintain a fixed font size on reduced or enlarged notes is to specify Fixed in the Size submenu of the Text menu or check Fixed when you select a font. For chords, a simple way to maintain a fixed font size on reduced or enlarged notes is to specify Fixed when you select a font. ;ToolTip Edit individual MIDI events of notes with the MIDI Tool. ;plugin The Publisher first wants the beams flat in one staff, but they change their mind. Use the Remove Flat Beams Plug-in to change it. ;Chapter 35 When you create your own suffixes, add characters to the suffixes in the order you'd say them out loud--it will make typing chords easier in the long run. Whatever you enter (whether it follows convention or not), Finale will faithfully match the characters in the order you type them with the order they were created in the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box. Use the Caps Lock key when you know you want only uppercase chords and are entering via Type Into Score. ;plugin You want to hide ledger lines for four measures in the Percussion staff? Use the Ledger Lines (Hide) Plug-in. ;Chapter 36 If you want a quick MIDI audio check of the notes you're attaching lyrics to, hold down the Ctrl/option key and the space bar and drag the cursor across the staff. Finale will play any note the cursor touches, no matter which direction you drag. ;plugin You hid ledger lines in a staff but now need to show them? Use the Ledger Lines (Show) Plug-in. ;ToolTip With the Repeat Tool, you can place a graphic or text repeat that will have a playback effect. ;Chapter 37 You can change character settings for inserts placed in text blocks (you might underline the date, for example). Simply select an insert you've placed in a text block (such as the date), then choose a font or other character setting from the Text menu. Finale changes the entire contents of the insert to the new setting. Use the Justification submenu in the Text menu to position text within an editing frame. Use the Alignment submenu in the Text menu to align a text block itself on a page (or change the alignment settings in the Frame Attributes dialog box). ;plugin You don't want your co-worker to see your motif that will be a Top 40 hit next year. Use the Notes and Rests (Hide) plug-in to make them disappear. ;Chapter 38 Create a special graphics folder (perhaps in the Finale folder itself) for the graphics files used in your Finale documents. This will help you locate graphics files placed into your Finale document if you later move the document to another computer for editing or printing. When copying Finale documents, make sure that you copy all the graphics used in the files as well. Be aware that the higher the resolution you select for a graphic file, the larger the resulting files will be, and your printer may run out of memory. ;plugin Your co-worker has left for the day and you can begin again on your Top 40 hit. Use the Notes and Rests (Show) plug-in to see them again. ;ToolTip Place the Title, composer and copyright information on the page of your score with the Text Tool. ;Chapter 39 When you're working with Facing Pages with different left and right page margins, deleting two pages at a time will maintain the correct margins. ;plugin You want to make it clear to the next Wynton Marsalis, who plays in your 6th grade Band, that measures 1 through 50 are the same lick. Use the Number Repeated Measures Plug-in as a reminder. ;Chapter 42 Keep in mind that Finale numbers its pages consecutively in Page View regardless of which page number you choose to display in the footer; it is the number Finale displays in Page View that you should enter. ;ToolTip Place the logo of your publishing house on each page of your score with the Graphics Tool. ;plugin Rudimental Drum parts in 10 seconds! Use the Rhythmic Subdivisions Plug-in to write all the notes. ;Chapter 43 As a HyperScribe shortcut, you can click a measure in your score to start recording instead of using the Record button. Finale will start recording into the measure you clicked, according to the click and countoff settings, just as if you clicked the Record button. ;ToolTip Make fine adjustments to notes, stems, and beams with the Special Tools Tool. ;plugin The Clarinet plays quarter notes; the Violin plays the same passage as sixteenth notes. Use the Rhythmic Subdivisions Plug-in to create the Violin part. ;Chapter 44 Finale stores the captured velocity values as the difference between the actual velocity with which you struck the notes and the default velocity. If you increase or decrease this Base Key Velocity value, therefore, you instantly increase or decrease the playback velocity of every note in the piece. Continuous data is independent of the notes themselves. Therefore, no handles appear on the notes in the MIDI Tool split-window when you're editing continuous data. You must select a region by dragging through the "graph" area rather than by selecting note handles. You can't assign the same input or output device to more than one bank of Finale channels. After all, each device only uses 16 channels. You can, however, select more than one device for a bank of Finale channels. This allows you to double the number of devices playing the affected staves' music. ;WhatIsNew2k1 Can't reach tech support? The area code for Coda Music has changed from 612 to 952. The number for tech support is 952 937 9703. ;Endtip Thank you for choosing Finale as your Music Notation Software.