Sibelius First: able to add plugins?

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EighthSymphony
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:11 am

Post by EighthSymphony » Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:51 am

Is it possible to add plugins to Sibelius First? Searching for "first" and "plugin" on this forum told me these terms are too common to index. I couldn't find anything in the manual. I tried searching for the plugins folder, which I found, then added the plugin, then restarted First but the plugin didn't appear.


EighthSymphony
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:11 am

Post by EighthSymphony » Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:49 pm

Looks like the answer is no and yes.

I wanted to use the plugin Add Fingering to Notes, which is used by guitarists to simplify the addition of fingerings to scores.

For the plugins, I first tried searching out my drive for the location of existing plugins (C:\ProgramData\Avid\Sibelius 7 First\Resources\en.lproj\Plugins) and then adding a folder with the Add Fingering to Notes plugin. I then restarted First but the plugin didn't show up. So I then removed one of the plugin folders to test if that really was the correct location. I restarted first and those plugins were not available (thus confirming the location). So then I tried adding the Add Fingerings plugin to an existing folder, restarted, but it still didn't show up. This led me to believe that first cannot add new plugins (it is SO restricted - sigh :cry: ).

However, then I renamed an existing plugin (AddBrassFingering) in order to save it, then renamed AddFingeringtoNotes.plg to AddBrassFingering.plg and put it where the original brass fingering plugin was. Viola!!! It worked. :!: :)

So thew lesson here is that you rename plugins that you want to use to the same names as the existing plugins, replacing those that you don't use with those you do. The limitation, of course, is that you are limited to the number that are hard-coded into First, which is 33 if I counted correctly.

kwreiss
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:13 pm

Post by kwreiss » Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:20 pm

The procedure for Sibelius 7 First is ineffective. SOMEONE PLEASE NOTE THIS AND REPLY. Avid will not:

First, the PLUG-IN procedure is absent from the user manual. Though I finally found something on the internet.

Here is the question. I need to annotate piano note fingerings. I located the S.7 version: AddFingeringToNotes.plg

NOW how to install it.

I am using S. 7 First (trial) on Win 7 64 bit OS. The plugin instruction I found (alas), but it is at least ambiguous. It reads:

Sibelius 7.x:

Open a My Computer or Windows Explorer window and choose Tools > Folder Options
Choose the View tab and make sure Show hidden files and folders is switched on, then click OK.
Navigate to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\


Note that the location probably ought to be:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Avid\

or further down the tree yet!!!!!!!!

I inserted the file: AddFingeringToNotes.plg

all over the place. Re staring Sebilius 7 First failed to detect the plug-in.

What the heck??????????????????????????????????????????

bobp
Posts: 1182
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:53 am

Post by bobp » Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:02 pm

You can not add plugins to Sibelius First. It is one of the many limitations of using First instead of the full version.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

TomasBu
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:32 pm

Post by TomasBu » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:49 pm

In fact, you can use new plug-ins in Sibelius First the way EighthSymphony described. You should inactivate existing plug-in like Preferences.plg (in C:\ProgramData\Avid\Sibelius 7 First\Resources\en.lproj\Plugins\Other folder) by renaming it to say Preferences.pl_, copy the new plug-into the same folder and rename it to the disabled plug-in (in this case Preferences.plg).

I did this successfully with Play Ornaments plug-in which is said to work in Sibelius 5 but it seems to be working in my copy of Sibelius First 7.1.3. The plug-in even lists with correct name "Play Ornaments" in "Other" subgroup.

Enjoy!

writeway
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:58 pm
Sibelius Version: One
Operating System: Windows

Post by writeway » Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:01 am

So I just wanted to summarize what I learned from this page. This page helped me a lot. I'll put my process in my own words, which may help someone. I tried to follow the instructions from the others posters on this page, but still had to experiment around to get it to work for me, as one detail was a bit vague.

My goal was to install a plugin in the version of Sibelius I have. Documentation for Sibelius in my experience leaves a lot to be desired. If I open my version of Sibelius, click the File tab, and from the File menu click Help, under About Sibelius, it says Version: 2018.4 build 1696. So technically that is the version I have. But I have also in the last year heard my version of Sibelius called Sibelius One, and possibly Sibelius 8. I wouldn't mind a help topic describing the differences between the versions. I have the impression that my version, and I forget what I paid for it, is the economy version. From this plugin page to which I am adding this post, I learned from EighthSymphony that my version cannot technically have plugins added to the default 33 that come with it. I will say that finding help for working in Sibelius can be a nightmare. I watched a YouTube video about how to install plugins today, and an essential option on the File tab menu named "Install Plugins" which seemed to really streamline the process, was not available in my version of Sibelius. The YT video was for Sibelius 7.

The good news is that I also learned from this page that one can in fact sacrifice a built-in plugin (one of the original 33) and replace it with one more suitable to my workflow.

Now how to do this required experimentation, even though two people explained the process.

What worked for me was to navigate to the path where each previous poster specified. I chose to sacrifice the Preferences plugin in the Other folder. I did not research this, I just chose it at random because I was in a hurry (to install the AddPickupBar plugin).
Bafflingly, what worked for me was to rename the original Preferences.plg plugin (as noted by other posters) Preferences.plg_ (with underscore; NOTE you have to change the file extension name--it doesn't work if you change the "Preferences" part).

Then I had to rename the AddPickupBar.plg "Preferences.plg". Note that Sibelius should be closed as you do these things. You need to start it after you make the changes for it to change anything about the menu that is revealed when one clicks the Plugins button in the app.

Surprisingly, in the Other folder, after opening the app, "Add Pickup Bar" (with a space between the words) is now in the Other folder, and Preferences is gone. (Sibelius must gather its information to populate the menu from something in the *.plg files themselves, rather what the file is named.)
Hope this helps.

MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:32 am

I don't understand you people. You expect a FREE program to have the same facilities as a fully paid major piece of software. Ingenious though your workarounds may be, you run the risk of severely damaging your program - and possibly your computer.

Good luck with that!

You should also realise that this forum is visited by Avid representatives from time to time and, as you are breaking the terms of your licence to use the program, don't be surprised if your sibelius stops working altogether when they revoke your licence or when their legal department get in touch!
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

SewTallSoprano
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:31 pm
Sibelius Version: First 7.1.3
Operating System: Mac

Post by SewTallSoprano » Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:09 pm

I, too was searching for a way to add plugins to Sibelius First. I am disappointed that it cannot be done. And BTW, I DID PAY for my full version of Sibelius First to that person who said it was free...I paid over $100 a few years ago for this smaller version since I do no write for full orchestra and such.

andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:36 pm

You may not be aware that the free Sibelius First (which is pretty useless) is not the same as your Sibelius First. That stripped down version of the original full Sibelius programme is now called Sibelius (and remains just as stripped down) and what was just called Sibelius is now Sibelius Ultimate.

Confused? A lot of people are and were, especially when they thought they were upgrading to a new version and actually found themselves downgrading.

And, yes, the facility to add plug-ins was taken away. IIRC, Sibelius First cost around 1/6th of the full programme, so it's not surprising that some of the most useful bits were removed. It was almost a 'taster' for the full version. Too limited for a lot of people, who took the upgrade path to full Sibelius.

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