can I get musescore 3 to open scores that have been produced on 4?

• Mar 27, 2023 - 22:10

Musescore 3 is much easier to use and I would like to open scores that I have prodced on 4 so I can work on them in Musescore 3. Is this possible?


Comments

Export them uncompressed as *.mscx. This file can be opened by MuS 3.
Alternatively: The mscz files can be opened by a ZIP tool. So the mscx file can be extracted and used by MuS 3.

In reply to by HildeK

I don't seem to have this as an option. In the Export menu, I have the choices of PDF, PNG, SVG, MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, MIDI, MusicMXL, and Braille. In Save As, I have the choice of MSCZ or "Uncompressed MuseScore folder (experimental)", which produces not a folder but a file that appears to be identical to MSCZ. So, how to I export to MSCX?

In reply to by rednoise99

Handbook: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/opening-and-saving-scores#Save_to_c…
It says:
"There is also an option in your “Save” dialog to save files in an uncompressed format (“Uncompressed MuseScore folder”). This option creates a new folder on your computer that contains a MuseScore (.mscx) file, as well as a thumbnail image file (.png) and any relevant .json, .mss, and .xml files."

Open this folder and open the .mscx file with MuS 3.
You will get the same if you extract the .mscz file with e.g. 7-zip.

But also, if you explain what in particular you are having trouble with in MuseScore 4, we're happy to help! It's actually designed to be much easier to use, and almost all new users would readily agree that has been achieved. But, it does mean a bit of re-learning for people accustomed to the old ways of doing things.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

It's actually designed to be much easier to use, and almost all new users would readily agree that has been achieved.

Technically speaking, everyone is a new user with respect to a new major release.
However, when it comes to making a comparison - and using words like "easier", or "much easier"...
Some new users would likely have no experience at all with prior versions of MuseScore (i.e., a newbie), and while they may find MS4 "easy" to use, they will not find it much easier, because the word "easier" implies a comparison - either to MS3 (or something else like Sib. or Dor. or Fin...).
On the other hand, MuseScore 3 users, since they are not newbies, can legitimately compare MS4 to MS3 and make a valid statement such as the OP's: Musescore 3 is much easier to use...
I have seen such opinions expressed with every new major release, and this statement (by a user of the prior release) - that "MS3 is easier" - is a valid comparison.

...if you explain what in particular you are having trouble with in MuseScore 4...

Okay, for starters...
Users accustomed to MS3 may have trouble with any of the following:
https://musescore.org/en/node/334701

A lot of this goes beyond simple problems like finding the playback tempo slider, or the concert pitch button, or the fermata sign, advancing chord symbol input by measure, etc.
Of course, explaining the particulars is best - especially if MS4 offers an erstwhile solution, or presents a "new" feature which solves the issue, or can utilize a "workaround" for the time being.
Sometimes, though, after explaining the particulars, the answer is to wait for a new update.
Again, this has happened with every new major release.

Then, only after most of the dust settles - the re-learning of the "old ways" (e.g., velocity controls, image capture, guitar bend playback, line hook settings, PRE, etc.) can begin.
I eagerly anticipate that time.

BTW: Marc... Thanks for "unbundling" the "old" GM sounds for use with MS Basic. The "fret noise" sound, when used discreetly, can impart a subliminal reality to guitar playback.
(Though helicopter, bird tweet and a few others always have me wondering how often they get used - and by whom.)

In reply to by Jm6stringer

The issues you describe with usability testing are well-known and frankly not hard to solve. Eg, have two groups of new users, let one perform a task in version A, the other in version B, and note how long it takes to them to achieve the task and how they assess the ease of use. Or give a single group of users both version and ask them to perform the same task in each and choose which is easier (making sure half try A firs,t the other half B first). Usability testing methodologies are pretty well established by now.

The main difference between MuseScore 4 and every single other release of MsueScore is, there actually has been usability testing :-). Another difference is, the interface has actually been designed by a note usability expert with a special focus on the new user experience. Previous iterations of the interface have been "designed" by software developers, most of whom were already expert users.

Anyhow, yes, a number things have changed, so when people ask for help finding some particular command that moved, or finding a new way of performing some task that has been replaced with a new method of performing that same task, I'm always happy to answer. But different users might need help with different things, so one can't just rattle of a list of every single change and hope it helps everyone. When a particular user says what particular problem they are experiencing, we can go from there. And that's why I asked.

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