Finale allows you to save a PDF of your document, specific pages, or a specific region of your score. The following instructions explain how to export full pages using the File menu and Print dialog box. For instructions on exporting musical examples, see To export a selected region of music as a graphic.
Note: PDFs exported from Finale are always opaque.
- Open the file in Finale.
- Choose File > Export > PDF. If you would like to add PDF properties to the file (Subject, Title, Author, etc.), click Additional Properties, add the required info, then click OK.
- Name the file, chose a destination, and click Save. Finale creates a PDF of the currently visible document. For example, if a part is being viewed, Finale will create a PDF of the part.
Alternatively, you can print to PDF using the Adobe Acrobat Distiller print driver or a different PDF printer with the following steps:
- Open the file in Finale.
- Choose File > Print. The Print dialog box appears.
- Click Setup. The Print Setup dialog box appears.
- From the Printer Name drop-down menu, choose "Acrobat Distiller" or "Acrobat PDF" (or whatever Adobe PDF print driver is installed on your computer). Keep in mind, you’ll need to switch the printer back to your regular printer when you’re done creating PDFs.
- Click OK. If your document has parts, select which ones you would like to print using the score/parts check boxes in the upper left. Adjust any other print settings (see Printing).
- Click OK. Finale begins printing using the PDF printer. If Acrobat Distiller is running in the background (you’ll see it at the bottom of your screen in the taskbar), it will immediately launch the Acrobat Distiller. Once the Distiller has launched, it will display a Save PDF File As dialog box.
- Give the file a name (you may wish to save it to the Desktop for convenience) and click Save.
