Musescore 3 files compatibility issues
I am now regularly using musescore 3 on my desktop.
1) Unfortunately, I just discovered that I cannot use it on my tablet, because it runs Windows 10 32bits version. Hopefully, a 32bits release of musescore 3 will be available soon.
2) As my scores are organised by category rather than by software, I have a problem with the same file type being used by both musescore 2 and 3, but not readable by musescore 2 if generated by musescore 3. Is there a way to easily identify them? Due to compression, the contents is binary...
3) I am getting concerned about this compatibility matter; I understand that it is more exciting to develop new features than to file converters, but if the focus/policy is just to move ahead from version n to version n+1 wthout keeping further (even backward) compatibility, I see a risk to be stuck with a too old or too new score one day or another. Based on a reply to another post, the solution could be to convert all my Musescore files to music xml format to keep a "safe" copy hopefully surviving the evolution of Musescore. Is there a way to perform such conversion using Musescore line command parameters, so that it can be automated in a batch file.
4) I just discovered that I cannot open my new scores (version 3) with Musescore Songbook on my Android device. Is there a plan to adapt it in a near future?
Of course I realise that there is a lot of work to get a new major release in place; thanks to all those who are working on it. I would just like to stress that keeping at least some compatibility would avoid all these "cannot read file" issues and facilitate the migration.
Comments
Could you please try this package on 32-bit Windows? http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/musescore/releases/MuseScore-3.0.0/unsupporte…
It is similar to the official package but prepared manually for 32-bit Windows systems. FYI, this is still not an official build yet.
In reply to Could you please try this… by Anatoly-os
And 32-bit for Mac and Linux ? (I receive a few questions about that by users on guitar forums)
Something planned, or not yet?
In reply to And 32-bit for Mac and Linux… by cadiz1
Is there any need for Mac? Is any macOS that we currently do support available as 32bit, IIRC that stopped with MuseScore 1.1or 1.2? Windows 7-10 is supported and available as a 32bit and a 64bit version.
In reply to Is there any need for Mac?… by Jojo-Schmitz
A French user write: "Je suis sous mac version El Capitan, pour l'instant la version 3 n'est pas acceptée. Je vais patienter" :(
Translation: "I am under Mac version El Capitan, for now version 3 is not accepted. I will wait" :(
In reply to A French user write: "Je… by cadiz1
That is not about a a 32bit version, but about one we need a fixed Qt 5.9 for, which isn't yet available. But it is still on the radar.
In reply to That is not about a a 32bit… by Jojo-Schmitz
Okay, understood. I will transmit.
In reply to Could you please try this… by Anatoly-os
Thank you Anatoly, I will try it on my Windows 10 notebook.
I repeat here my other questions as there is a risk that they get lost due to "answers" that were actually other requests:
2) Is there a way to easily identify Musescore 3 vs Musescore 3 files?
Due to compression, the contents is binary...
3) The solution to secure my old and new scores could be to convert all my files to music xml format to keep a "safe" copy, hopefully surviving the evolution of Musescore.
Is there a way to perform such conversion using Musescore line command parameters, so that it can be automated in a batch file.
4) I cannot open my new scores (version 3) with "Musescore Songbook Pro" on my Android device.
Is there a plan to adapt it in a near future?
In reply to Thank you Anatoly, I will… by Flying Roger
I'm sure it is planned. But better ask/request this on musescore.com, in https://musescore.com/groups/musescore-android/
Edit: see https://musescore.com/groups/musescore-android/discuss/5030195
In reply to I'm sure it is planned. But… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thank you for the link.
I have posted a message there.
Wait and see.
In reply to Thank you for the link. I… by Flying Roger
It happened just yesterday, the latest version of the Andoid app (2.1.8) should now be able to work with MuseScore 3 scores, at least the changes text in the play store indicates that:
Added support fot MuseScore Editor 3 scores.
Fixed "Solo" mode in Mixer.
Added events that occur after long press on "Solo" and "Visibility" buttons in the Mixer
In reply to It heppened just yesterday,… by Jojo-Schmitz
The new version is not yet there for me.
I just registered as "beta"; maybe it is only visible there.
Concerning the Android version, I wonder why "Explore" does not allow to select local files; the only way to load a score is using a long press in a file explorer and selecting the "Songbook" app.
In reply to The new version is not yet… by Flying Roger
Possible, I'm registered for Beta too
In reply to Possible, I'm registered for… by Jojo-Schmitz
My "beta tester" status has just been confirmed and I have downloaded the beta version.
The bad news is that I cannot test, because the Musescore app no longer appears in the proposed list when I long tap on a .mscz file in the explorer !
II checked the version: Musescore 1.14 (not 2.1.8 like mentioned by Jojo-Schmitz.
In reply to My "beta tester" status has… by Flying Roger
That is the wrong beta then.
In reply to That is the wrong beta then. by Jojo-Schmitz
The application is "Musescore Songbook", the pay application.
I checked the "Musescore" app and there is indeed a v2 there, but I cannot install it, probably because I have the pay app.
In reply to The application is … by Flying Roger
Certainly not the reason, but indeed the one to install
In reply to Certainly not the reason,… by Jojo-Schmitz
The good news is that I have now resigned as beta, deinstalled and reinstalled the official "Songbook" app and I have recovered the possibility to open local scores with a long tap in the Android explorer.
The bad news is that this version cannot open Musescore 3 files...
Now , I was also able to install the Musescore app (v2.1.5).
Bad surprise: it proposes a 30 day trial and then an annual fee of 39€, but my former credentials are accepted.
The problem is that I cannot load local files with a long tap (it only shows the Songbook app), nor in the application by trying to add a score to the "Songbook tap", so I could not test new v3 files.
In reply to The good news is that I have… by Flying Roger
You need to get past that message and provide it your credentials in setting (the same you used when you bought the app I believe), as you bought the Songbook app you're entititled for this upgrade without costs
In reply to You need to get past that… by Jojo-Schmitz
I did, but I still cannot test because I cannot open local mscz files with this app.
- long tap in explorer: the app is not proposed
- using the "Songbook" tap in the app and clicking on the "+" shows my local files but when I select a mscz file, it says "no score found".
I have registered as beta tester on this app, and I got the newest v2.1.8 version.
With that version, I can select an mscz file in the "Songbook" tap, but when I click on "Open", it still shows an empty songbook "No score found". Any idea what I am doing wrong.
In reply to I did, but I still cannot… by Flying Roger
No. Except that I have't gotten this version to show my my online 3.0 scores, so maybe it isn't really there yet?
In reply to Thank you Anatoly, I will… by Flying Roger
Regarding your point 2), I take you meant Musescore 2 vs Musescore 3 files. You can in both cases save the scores as mscx ("Uncompressed MuseScore file (*.mscx)" in the Save As dialog), and the score will be saved in a XML format (not MusicXML, but an internal XML format) which has the version tag at the beginning of the file.
Take a peek at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19724021/parse-xml-file-with-window… for easy ways to extract the version from a command-line utility.
In reply to As per your point 2), I take… by dilon2001
Thank you dilon2001 for the link to stackoverflow parse-xml.
Actually, I would have to open all scores one by one to save them in mscx format, so not really a solution for me, but I will start studying the command-line parameters of musescore for possible automation of the conversion.
In reply to Thank you dilon2001 for the… by Flying Roger
$ zipgrep "museScore version" Create_New_Score.mscz Create_New_Score.mscx:<museScore version="3.01">so this is a MuseScore 3.0 file
MuseScore 2.x has "2.06" there.
See also https://musescore.org/en/handbook/developers-handbook/references/versio…
In reply to $ zipgrep "museScore version… by Jojo-Schmitz
umm, much easier. Thanks for the tip, Jo-jo
In reply to Could you please try this… by Anatoly-os
I was able to install this 32-bit package on my notebook under the latest version of Windows 10 - 32 bits.
Musescore3 starts and displays the score/menu/palette elements normally, but then it immediately crashes.
In reply to I was able to install this… by Flying Roger
Not good. Do you have internet connection on the notebook? Could you run it like "MuseScore3.exe -w" and try again?
In reply to Not good. Do you have… by Anatoly-os
I had Internet when I tested.
Concerning the proposed test, I need to know what the effect of "-w" is and why this test needs Internet..
In reply to I had Internet when I tested… by Flying Roger
It disables the Web part of the startcenter. So it does not need Internet access. But without MuseScore does or at least tries, and some firewall might block it for that reason
In reply to It disables the Web part of… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks for tip, the application starts without problem using the -w.
Note that I had Internet access when testing it and the windows 10 firewall does not block the app on my 64bits PC.
At least I have a workaround for the startup/crash problem.
If an integrated automatic conversion function is not practical then a standalone conversion tool would be a nice solution to allow v2 scores to be converted to v3 without overwriting the v2 source.
I have tried transferring scores as music XML files with only partial success, (with Guitar Pro and TablEdit), so I would suggest saving PDF versions as a fallback option as this at least gives an accurate representation of the printed score.
In reply to If an integrated automatic… by yonah_ag
It is already, MuseScore 3 opens MuseScore 2 files and treats tham as an import, which means it wants you to store them under a different name (and warns if you pick the same one)
In reply to It is already, MuseScore 3… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks, I'll download v3 and start using it.
Perhaps a batch conversion tool could be made available for users who have a lot of scores to update. Maybe this could just be a command line option.
In reply to Thanks, I'll download v3 and… by yonah_ag
That too is possible already, but not trivial
In reply to It is already, MuseScore 3… by Jojo-Schmitz
Is it documented?
In reply to Thanks, I'll download v3 and… by yonah_ag
All available options are listed here: https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/mscore/musescore.cpp… with short comments.
In reply to All available options are… by Anatoly-os
Thanks for the link.
I see that the options can also be displayed by typing "MuseScore3.exe -?" at the command prompt.
Many interesting possibilities there, like conversion to mp3, midi or pdf in batch mode.
In reply to Thanks for the link. I see… by Flying Roger
When you open a v2 score with v3 you are recommended to reset all element positions. Whether I choose "Yes" or "No" my scores are about 95% correct and need the remaining 5% of elements to be manually adjusted. Yes vs No just affects which elements need correction. Adjustments are mainly positions but I also had a few font-size issues.
So I would test some of your own scores before batch converting as you may find they each need a bit of final adjustment.
In reply to When you open a v2 score… by yonah_ag
I have rather simple scores, and answering no to the reset question creates a messy score which makes me wonder who would ever answer no to the reset question.
So I am quite surprised to read that you get scores 95% correct whatever you answer.
In reply to I have rather simple scores,… by frfancha
It depends on how you tend to use manual adjustments in 2.x. Some types of manual adjustments end up being unnecessary in 3.0 and reset does great with those. Otherwise mean essentially the same thing in both versions and not resetting does great with those. The problem is the manual adjustments that are needed in both versions but that work differently; these are ones for which it's a toss-up. If your score has many of those, sometimes best is to not take the automatic global reset then go through the score and use Ctrl+R to reset things that look off and then if necessary reapply new manual adjustment.
In reply to Thanks, I'll download v3 and… by yonah_ag
See https://musescore.org/en/node/278640, esp. https://musescore.org/en/node/278640#Batch_conversion_job_JSON_format
In reply to See https://musescore.org/en… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks, the -j option looks just the job and the JSON file can be made via a short script to process all mscz files in a folder, (or can the in/out parameters use wildcards?)
Track this issue at #281539: MuseScore 3 on Windows 32-bit is not available