Window menu

How to get there

The Window menu is one of Finale’s unchanging menus; that is, it appears regardless of which tool is selected.

What it does

The Window menu controls (and indicates) which windows are open, and which are in front (active). It also has Tile and Cascade commands, which automatically and neatly arrange multiple open windows into a more convenient layout.

Score Manager. Choose this command to display the Score Manager, which allows you to control virtually all aspects of your score instruments.
Mixer. Choose this command to open the Mixer, which offers master and staff controls that allow you to adjust playback output in real-time.
Movie Window. Choose this command to open Finale’s integrated Movie Window, which allows you to view movie clips and Finale’s scrolling playback simultaneously.
Playback Controls. Choose this command to display the Playback Controls, the floating window that controls playback in your file. Choose this item a second time - so that the check mark disappears - to hide the Playback Controls.
Main Tool Palette. When this item is checked, Finale’s Main Tool palette is open on the screen. The Main Tool Palette always floats in front of all other windows; you can close it by choosing this item so that the check mark disappears.
You can close it by choosing this item so that the check mark disappears. The default position of the Main Tool Palette is docked at the top of the screen. You can also dock the palette in a vertical strip or create a floating palette. Click on the edge of a docked palette and drag it into the middle of the screen to create a floating palette. As you drag the palette, an outline will appear showing the shape and position of the palette in that location. If a floating palette is minimized, (displayed as a small icon in the lower part of the screen), double-click the icon to restore it to its previous size.
Advanced Tools Palette. Choose this command to display the Advanced Tools palette, which contains the MIDI tool, Special Tools Tool, Graphics tool, Ossia tool, Mirror tool, Note Mover tool, and Tempo tool.
Navigational Tools Palette. Choose this command to display the Navigational Tools Palette, which contains the Zoom Tool and Hand Grabber Tool.
Simple Entry Palette. When this item is checked, the Simple Entry palette appears on the screen. Depending on the settings in Preferences-Palettes and Backgrounds, you may have to click the Simple Entry tool to display this palette.
Simple Entry Rests Palette. When this item is checked, the Simple Entry Rests palette appears on the screen. Depending on the settings in the Preferences-Palettes and Backgrounds dialog box, you may have to click the Simple Entry tool to display this palette.
Smart Shape Palette. When this item is checked, the Smart Shape palette appears on the screen. Depending on the settings in Preferences-Palettes and Backgrounds, you may have to click the Smart Shape tool to display this palette.
Special Tools Palette. When this item is checked, the Special Tools palette appears on the screen. Depending on the settings in Preferences-Palettes and Backgrounds, you may have to click the Special Tools tool to display this palette.
File Palette. When this item is checked, the File palette appears on the screen.
Edit Palette. When this item is checked, the Edit palette appears on the screen.
View Palette. When this item is checked, the View palette appears on the screen.
Layout Palette. When this item is checked, the Layout palette appears on the screen.
Customize Palettes. Use this submenu to change the appearance or location of individual tool buttons on the various palettes. See Customize Palettes submenu.
Status Bar. The status bar is the thin strip at the bottom of Finale's application window, where Finale shows help messages and identifies each tool as you click it. Choose this item to make the status bar disappear, so that you have more space for the display of your music. Note that the check mark in the Window menu disappears. Select this item again to make the status bar reappear. The item should now be checked.
Arrange Icons. If you've minimized any windows on a document (by clicking the Minimize button in the upper-right corner), icons for the windows appear within Finale's application window. Choose this command to align the document icons neatly at the bottom of the application window.
Cascade Windows. If more than one file window is open on the screen, this command neatly stacks them so that they overlap by a half-inch or so, as though they're a deck of cards being fanned from upper-left to lower-right. Because this arrangement leaves each window's name bar visible, it's easy to jump from one window to another (by clicking any visible part of it). The active window is the one in the lower-right.
Tile Windows Vertically • Horizontally. If more than one file window is open on the screen, this command neatly places them side-by-side (vertically) or one atop the other (horizontally), subdividing your screen area so that all windows are the same size. The active window is the one whose title bar is highlighted.
New Window. Choose this command to create a duplicate of the active window (and of the same file), in which you can scroll, enlarge, reduce, or change views independently of the original window. The various windows of a single file are identified in the bottom portion of the Window menu.
When you edit music in one of the duplicate windows, the music is instantly edited in the other window(s) as well. This can be useful if you have a score with multiple linked parts. You can vertically tile the Score window and the Part window and observe how your edits in one affect the other.
Close Window. Choose this command to close the current active window. If you close the last active window on a document, Finale closes the file, asking if you want to save changes (if any changes were made since you last saved the file).
[File windows]. The names of all file windows are listed in the order they were opened at the bottom of the Window menu. A check mark appears by the active window. Choose a window's name to make it active.

Tip: To switch the active document window, press CTRL+TAB.