The Sibelius Forum

The plugin "Make Pitches Constant Drums" is not going into my version of Sibelius version 8.4.2. I'm getting an error message saying "no available application can open it". When I downloaded it from the AVID site it said it's compatible with version 8x. I'm assuming the 8x means it's compatible with any version of Sibelius 8. Am I wrong?

Thanks.

Yes, you are wrong.

1. Since version 7.5 you have been able to use the built-in Install plug-ins feature to do the download, unzip and install process automatically. It makes life with plug-ins so much easier. (File-->Install Plug-ins)
2. plg files are not executables. You can't just double click one which is why you are getting the particular error.
3. If you'd rather install it manually (or if there is a reason for manual installation) then you need to find the plug-in folder C:\Users\[usename]\AppData\Roaming\Avid\Sibelius\Plugins (it may say Sibelius 8 - I can't remember) - this is for windows, if you are a mac user you'll need to find it yourself.

Make absolutely sure that Sibelius is not running - even in the background - then do the following:
Unzip the downloaded file and copy the extracted contents to the appropriate subfolder in the above folder. (See image)

Restart Sibelius.

You might also want to read the manual. In my (2020.3) version it's chapter 1.25 Working With Plug-ins.

Mike, thanks for your great response. I understand what you're saying, but don't know quite yet how to go about it since I have a mac. This is gonna take a little bit of time. I'll keep you posted.

Mike, as it turns out I met a fellow Sibelius user on youtube and he knew how to find and install the plugin I was looking for. This explanation only has relevance for people who use Sibelius.....I think. I'll explain it here if anyone wants to use this fantastic plugin. Here goes: Open up Sibelius and go to File > Plugins > Install Plugins > Show (All Plugins) > Scroll down to Notes and Rests > Click on Make Pitches Constant - Drums > Click Install. That's it. The plugin will be in Home > Plugins, scroll down to the plugin "Make Pitches Constant - Drums". What this plugin does is if you want the drums to accent any part of your score, you copy that part (like the 1st trumpet part, or any other part)and paste it to you drum part and it will add it to the top line of the drum part as a cue. This is especially good if you use slash lines in your drum part.
I hope someone can use it. I know I'll be using it a lot.