PhotoScore 8 Ultimate and pdf to MusicXML

Discuss Photo Score issues here.
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jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:08 pm

Hello,
I am a new user of Photoscore 8 OSX (10.9.5) and have encountered several serious issues with the software:
1. Photoscore crashes with the attempted reading of some pdf files. I have followed the suggestion on Avid's site, in re access/authorizations to the lib folders. all to no avail.
2. When it does successfully read a pdf, the resultant, generated MusicXML file is improperly imported into Sibelius 8. Sibelius appears to have transposed the score, and any associated guitar tabs are completely in accurate, with missing notes, wrong notes, rests where notes should be, etc. Repeated attempts have note been successful.
3. The MusicXML files generated by Photoscore are either not recognized or are completely deranged when imported into other notation software programs as well, so it appears not to be an issue that is specific to Sibelius but, rather, Photoscore.


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

Post by bobp » Thu Oct 13, 2016 1:41 pm

Not all PDFs are created equal. PS will read most but not all of them. When PS won't open a particular PDF, I change the file to a different type of PDF. There are many programs that will do that. I use Cute PDF Writer. PS has always been able to read a PDF created by Cute PDF Writer.

I can't tell from your post if you are using PS properly. When PS opens a score, there will be errors marked in red. You need to fix all errors and make sure the score is as it should be, including key and time signatures, and clefs. Everything. Then transfer directly to Sibelius (there is a button to do this). No need to export as an XML and then open in Sibelius.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:06 pm

Hello bobp,
Thank you for your reply.
I will check into Cute PDF Writer, but I am beginning to wonder if all of the needed corrections are worth the effort. Photoscore's promo implies perfection, but that, as you know, is entirely unrealistic.

You mentioned the changing of a pdf to a "different type". I wasn't aware that there were different types of pdf files. Can you explain?
Thank you in advance.

P.S. I just did a search, and it appears that Cute PDF Writer is a Windows only program, I am using a Mac.

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

Post by bobp » Thu Oct 13, 2016 7:06 pm

Yes, you said you were using a Mac, and I forgot Cute is Windows.

For you, try this. Open a PDF that PS wont handle. Now print that PDF. One of the options that should come up is to create a PDF. Sounds crazy, I know, but it just might create a PDF that PS will open. That's what Cute does.

If it doesn't, there are plenty of PDF creators out there.

If you send a PS file to Sibelius with errors, Sibelius just makes a mess of everything. Depending on what you are trying to do, some people claim it's quicker to just enter every thing by hand in Sibelius to start with.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Fri Oct 14, 2016 1:20 am

Hello again,
Thank you for your input. I will give your suggestion a try.
As for inputting manually into Sibelius, for me, that would be counterproductive, as my main goal is to input commercially available scores—most are in pdf format—into Sibelius for practice and performance purposes. I am a jazz guitarist, and flipping pages with a many thousand dollar arch top guitar on my lap is asking for trouble, as in the guitar slipping from my lap, scratches against the music stand, and so on. A computer based display, in conjunction with a foot pedal for page changes, is much more appealing and effective. I have been using a British penned software program that does just that, but its most effective version only runs on Windows, and I have found the Windows 10 OS to be slow, pokey and constantly updating, thereby interrupting my sessions. OSX, on the other hand has, IMO, not demonstrated any of the Windows issues, ergo, the desire to switch platforms and software. That said, as noted in my prior post, I am currently running Sibelius 8 on a Mac and have noted it to be quite responsive. If I can resolve the issue of MusicXML importation, I will purchase another Mac for the studio and port Sibelius over to that computer.
Thank you once again for your assistance.
Ron

jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Fri Oct 14, 2016 2:57 pm

Well, I've read the manual several times, tried everything from different pdf formats, to scanning from a Twain scanner directly into Photoscore, all to no avail. I cannot get Photoscore 8 Ultimate to create an accurate or even marginally useful file. Where there are guitar tabs in the original, Photoscore replaces them with rests, shortens bars for no obvious reason and essentially creates a totally unusable file. I have also tried to delete the guitar tabs bars and then export directly to Sibelius 8. The notation comes across, but any attempt to recreate the guitar tabs in Sibelius is met with a continuous line of unrelated numbers across the high E string.

In summary, I have written this purchase off as an extremely bad investment, given that, from a pdf conversion perspective it is entirely useless.

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

Post by bobp » Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:26 pm

I don't know that PS was ever designed to work well with TAB. You last posts shed light for what you are trying to do. Thanks for that.

The best I can suggest is that Sibelius will change notes to TAB, and TAB to notes. If that helps any. Transcription of any sort is going to take time. I'm not sure the technology exists yet to do what you want quickly. You might be able to play the guitar part into Audio Score (I think that's the name of it) that comes with Sibelius. The free version notates melodies played into it. Might be a start.

Did you upgrade an under powered computer to W10? Minimum requirements are just that. More is always better when it comes to computers. You can turn off updates, and install them when you want. Or just don't hook up to the internet at critical times. Extra steps, I know. not always desirable. There are electric music readers that aren't Windows or iOS based.

You can't port Sibelius to another computer. You have to do a new install. You can have it active on two computers at once. Each installation is tied to one configuration and won't open on a second computer if ported.

Or, read your PDFs directly from Acrobat. You can read them from any tablet. Combine multiple pages into one file (if they aren't already) and store them on a micro sd card in the tablet. Music not in PDF form and be photographed or copied and saved as PDF.

Good luck.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:16 pm

Hello Bobp,
Regarding the computer, it was not an upgrade but, rather, a brand new Dell that came preloaded with Windows 10. So I assume that it embodies, at the very least, the minimum OS requirements. I have turned off updates, and that has removed or minimized one of my complaints, however, it is still slow. I have another, much faster computer that was used in the past for day-trading. It is quite fast, but is running Windows 7. I am going to move my software over to that computer and see if there is a difference. I suspect that there will be a noticeable difference because, in addition to a more sophisticated processor, it has 16GB ram and an SSD drive for the OS.

As for porting Sibelius, I did not intend for that to be taken literally. I meant that I would uninstall and then reinstall on the new machine.

In regards to other music reading software, I have researched them all. The only program—not tablet based app, where screens are too small for these old eyes—that reads PDF files and displays them to my satisfaction, is a Windows based work called Power Music Pro. The company does have a Mac version, but it has none of the features of the Windows based version, making it a no go. If the computer described above proves to be quicker than the current box, I will likely abandon Sibelius/Photoscore and continue using Power Music Pro until such time that Sibelius, or whatever software may be in vogue at the time —assuming that time ever arrives—is capable of reading PDF's with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Right now, too much time would be lost recreating the scores, time that would be better spent playing my instrument.
I appreciate your effort in addressing my issues.

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

Post by bobp » Sat Oct 15, 2016 11:54 pm

I find discussions like this very interesting and educational. Thanks for continuing to participate.

As for the tablet issue. I have a 9.7 inch android tablet. It is just a tad small to see things easily, so I know what you mean. But there are bigger ones. I have an adapter that came with my phone that connects micro usb to standard usb. I can hook up a mouse to my tablet. Since a foot switch is not unlike a mouse, I'll bet your foot switch could work with the adapter. The only app required is a PDF reader. All you'd be able to do is view each page, one at a time. A little trickier if you need to skip ahead or back. I have used my tablet this way(minus the mouse) to read lead sheets in a performance situation.

Never been a Dell fan. My W10 laptop has 8 GB of ram (8 seems to be the best minimum), and an i5 cpu. It's pretty peppy. Even better is my W10 desktop, which is similar to your W7 machine. It boots to the desktop in 17 seconds.

Hope you find the right combination that works for you.

Thanks again for the discussion.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Sun Oct 16, 2016 4:13 pm

Hello again,
Sorry for the delayed response ... Saturday night outing.
Yes, I am aware of the some of the larger tablets, but I find that my current 24" Dell monitor could use some stretching. In fact, for the more capable PC that I'd alluded to in my last post, I have ordered a 27" monitor, and would have ordered a 32", but for its weight and intended VESA mount. In addition, the tablets are a nuisance when it comes to file handling. Honestly, I really do not get the tablet craze. The thin laptops on today's market are about the same weight and thickness, have a real keyboard and are infinitely more capable, with all kinds of I/O ports, more storage and so on. As such, I have no use for a tablet, other than occasional reading on my Kindle, which requires little or no input. Furthermore, for my needs—as a guitarist—the use of a foot pedal for page turning is essential. And while there are Bluetooth pedals that will work with an iPad or Android equivalent, I haven't found Bluetooth to be all that reliable in my studio environment, where a hard wired USB connection is more desirable.
Have a great day.

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

Post by bobp » Mon Oct 17, 2016 6:38 pm

I think most people just need to browse the internet and handle email. All they need is a tablet. I tend to store important things on an external drive.

I hope you find a solution. I'm pretty cheap, so I would leave scores as PDFs and find a way to read them.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

jade89x
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:54 pm
Sibelius Version: 8
Operating System: Mac

Post by jade89x » Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:55 pm

I agree, in re PDFs.

For the past year or so I have using a program called Power Music Pro. It reads PDF files without issue, and allows a considerable amount of editing as well. However, the most functional version is Windows based, hence, my quest for a Mac alternative, as I have never been a fan of MSFT Windows. However, since PhotoScore and Sibelius represented the culmination of my quest for Mac based software, it appears that I will be carrying on with PM Pro, albeit, with a different and presumably more competent computer. Like you, I have not been appreciative of Dell computers, but the one in question was an inexpensive all-in-one—that should have raised a red flag—that provided a VESA mount for my stand, so I went with it. It will now find a new home in the trash, or perhaps it could be used as high-tech door mat.

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