Printing problem in Musescore 3

• Mar 6, 2020 - 19:45

OS is Linux Mint Mate 19.2. Previously used Musescore 2 in both Win7 and Mint with good results. Followed advice here and downloaded Musescore 3. Although I had not installed v.3, when opening scores in the v.2 folder, they open in 3 by default, even though v.3 is now in Trash, no other v.3 items anywhere in computer, and package manager shows only v.2 as installed. Musescore in pkg mgr.png

Since v.3 download, cannot print scores, as printer dialog box shows v.3 cannot find printer, which works as expected for any other print job requested. Note that the only option shown is Print to file as PDF. Print request re Musescore.png

Also another pop-up displays that I have never seen before. I guessed the errors mentioned were the originally shown 0.00 margins, which I changed, but the message persists. Error message re Musescore.png

Anyone?


Comments

It's not clear what you mean when you say you downloaded MuseScore 3, and yet also say it is in the trash and not installed. What exactly did you download? The AppImage? This would not show as installed ina pakcage manager, because that's not how AppImage works.

Anyhow, my guess is you have an older build of MuseScore 3, before we fixed the bug that prevented the AppImage from being able to access the necessary libraries on some systems. Try downloading the current AppImage (3.4.2) and running that instead. Although that will require you to clarify/understand what it is you are actually running currently.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Thanks for responding.

"It's not clear what you mean when you say you downloaded MuseScore 3, and yet also say it is in the trash and not installed" Sorry to be less than clear- On your suggestion a while back, I downloaded the v.3.4.2 file, which showed as an entry in the Downloads folder. I took no action to install the program, because I saw a mention, perhaps here, of bug(s) needing correction. In my experience with other programs, downloading a program is not enough to actually install it- typically done via a right-click on the entry or via the Terminal. In this case, v.3 seems in fact to be installed. IIRC this was around the first of the year, but I didn't try to print a score until a couple of days ago.

"Try downloading the current AppImage (3.4.2)" That's the file currently designated Trash. I do realize that the Trash designation doesn't actually change anything. After I downloaded it I saw a comment, maybe on this forum, that there was a problem with it, so I took no further action.

"Although that will require you to clarify/understand what it is you are actually running currently." I'm no whiz, but looks to me like v.3.4.2 is running. The gui is different from the v.2 previously used and when opening a score file I see a blue Musescore 3 popup, also I have not downloaded any other versions.

One point I didn't make clear yesterday is that, in the Print pop-up, the dropdown arrow next to the printer menu does not in fact offer any further options when clicked- it just highlights the current "choice."

I considered trying to uninstall 3.4.2 via Terminal, but was afraid I would lose my current library of about 40 saved scores, since they now seem to be incorporated in the newer version.

In reply to by Slowpoke

Every version of every program has bugs. So don't let the fact that 3.4.2 has some known bugs stop you from using it. 3.4.1 had bugs, will have bugs, 2.1.0 had bugs, 2.3.2 had bugs, 1.3 had bugs, 6.9.7 will have bugs, 58.32.14 will have bugs.

3.4.2 is the current version and least buggy version ever. Unless you have some really specific reason to need to use an older and buggier version, you should be using 3.4.2, absolutely.

So it still isn't clear how you downloaded 3.4.2. Did you use your Linux pakcage manager, or did you get the AppImage file from this site? What is the precise file name you downloaded?

In any case, installing or uninstalling different MuseScore never in any touches any score you created yourself. Your scores are your scores, living in the folders you placed them in. They are in no sense whatsoever "incorporated" into MuseScore itself. They are just plain ordinary files on your hard drive.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

"So it still isn't clear how you downloaded 3.4.2" When it became available, I was getting a pop-up from Musescore every time I opened my then-current v.2.1.0. The message included a link to download the new version. I eventually opened the link.

Currently, the repo version, 2.1.0, is installed as per posted s/shot. And, as mentioned, 3.4.2 is activated. Both versions appear in the Docs folder with the same sets of subfolders. But by default, scores in the v.2 folder open in v.3, and each time, there is a pop-up offering to reconfigure outdated score elements.

For my purposes, I have been well served by v.2 and only have a problem with v.3 in that I can no longer print a score, and also that there is a glitch in the Save function as well, leading to a dead end. I'd be pleased to use v.3 if it will save and print scores as did v.2.

If I'm sure that my scores will be saved, perhaps one strategy is to uninstall both versions and reinstall v.3. Currently those scores are in Musescore subfolders, but I could move them, or even burn them to a thumb drive for reinstallation.

My thanks, again, for helping me with this.

In reply to by Slowpoke

As I asked before, in order to understand more about what is happening, we'd need to know the precise filename you downloaded. That will help us understand what it is you actually have. Also go to Help / About and confirm that it really says 3.4.2. Click the button next to the Revision, which copies some info to your clipboard, and paste it into your response.

Then tell us how you are running this - are you starting it from the command line, from a program icon, by double-clicking a score in your file manager, by double-clicking the executable file for MuseScore in your file manager, or what. It seems at least some of the time you are opening by double-clicking the score, because you do mention that, but I don't know if that's the only way you are starting it.

Again, if you are running the 3.4.2 AppImage, it should be showing you printers. And if 3.4.2 is intalled correctly, it should indeed be the program that is opened when you double-click a score.

I'm kind of guessing from what I can piece together that you probably did install this from the Mint repository, which isn't the method I recommend - I recommend downlaoding the AppImage form this site, as I have explained before. It's possible the Mint folks messed something up when they built the version they put in their repo, and that might explain any problems you are seeing. The AppImage is the only one we build and test ourselves.

As for whatever problem you are having saving, best to start a new thread for that and describe that problem in more detail.

But one thing I can see - the dialogs in your screenshot say you are running as superuser. Under no circumstances should you be doing that! Running as superuser is something intended only for expert users who need to do advance system administration (or less expert users who are following an exact and trusted set of steps to accomplish one particular task that requires it . It's way too easy to completely screw up your system, and indeed running ordinary programs as superuser very often causes problems in itself.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

From the clipboard:

OS: KDE Flatpak runtime, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (64-bit): 3.4.2., revision: 148e43f

This machine is set to open files with a single click. I open scores by clicking on desired score in Musescore2 subfolder.
"Again, if you are running the 3.4.2 AppImage, it should be showing you printers. And if 3.4.2 is installed correctly, it should indeed be the program that is opened when you double-click a score." Yes, 3 opens. But, no matter how I request printing, via print icon, file>print, or ctr+p, this print box displays:
Print box.png
Selecting Options displays the expanded version posted earlier.

"I'm kind of guessing from what I can piece together that you probably did install this from the Mint repository, which isn't the method I recommend" The only version in the repo is 2.0. See above comments for source of 3.

No idea why the superuser designation appears. As you likely know, that normally comes via Terminal and calls for a password- none of that happened here.

"As for whatever problem you are having saving, best to start a new thread for that and describe that problem in more detail." As for detail, AFAIK, I believe I have related everything there is to say about this, not sure what I could add.

In reply to by Slowpoke

I see the word "Flatpak" in the version info, that is, I assume, telling me you did not in fact download the AppImage. Again, the AppImage is what you want. Click the Download link at top of this page, then Software, and make sure you get the AppImage, and read the instructions for using and optionally installing it (I do recommend the installation, it makes things very seamless).

Probably the fact that you are using Flatpak is why you are having printing problems.

But before you do anything else, you need to figure out why you are logged in as superuser and fix that ASAP. It's way too easy to damage your Linux installations in ways that will be almost impossible to diagnose and fix otherwise.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

As mentioned, v.3 came to me via a link on a pop-up that appeared each time I opened v.2. I ignored it at first, but eventually opened the link and v.3 downloaded. No reason to think it was not an official Musescore file.

Re the su question- I don't use the su account except when required. No other app in this machine shows the su status. All this adds up to a corrupted v.3 file, and the answer is to replace it.

In reply to by Slowpoke

No. Whatever came to you that way must have provided by your distribution's package manager, or by Flatpak. Again, this is not the officially supported version. I think you're problem will solved instantly if you do as I have been suggested all along and remove that and instead download and install the AppImage.

Many programs don't bother to warn you when you are superuser indeed. But the fact that this is showing up defini8tely indicates you need to look into in your system. Or perhaps find someone with Linux expertise to help you, ASAP before you do any serious damage to your system. Sorry to be alarmist, but running as superuser without knowing exactly what you are doing is a diaster waiting to happen.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

"Whatever came to you that way must have provided by your distribution's package manager." I accept that, and don't question it. Interesting, though, that it can't be found in the repo.

Been checking on that su issue- the Terminal shows me as normal user- $ instead of #.

My concern at this point is to preserve the many hours' work represented by my saved scores, currently in Musescore2 &3 subfolders. I'm about to copy them to external storage, and since I'm due for a bare-metal weekly backup anyway, that will be my fallback solution. Of course, that also saves the corrupted app.

I'm familiar with the command, but seems to me the scores subfolder would also be deleted, so I need to save them elsewhere. If I save the individual scores to another location, in or external to the computer, does any part of the Musescore app stay with them? Or, if I download the app from here, will it overwrite the current version?

In reply to by Slowpoke

MuseScore program is one thing, scores are another one. Thanks God, installing MuseScore does nothing to your existing scores.
If you have a doubt, just put all your scores in a folder anywhere on your disk before trying uninstall/reinstall action (and of course having an external backup, whatever the type of files, is ALWAYS a good idea).
Now the best thing to do is really to follow the advice of Marc and to start from the "official" appimage provided on this site.

In reply to by Slowpoke

Flatpak is its own thing, evidence seems to be that this is what you have. I've never used it so I can't really help, except to suggest you do whatever searches it takes to learn how to undo that.

In any case, aside from the fact that the Flatpak build apparently is missing support for CUPS, I see no reason to believe it is "corrupted" in any way, so there should be no worries about copying it elsewhere.

I'm not sure what command you mean that would delete your score subfolder, but to be clear, I never recommended any such command (eg, "rm -rf" would deleted your scores folder, but please do not run that, especially as root). Nothing I'm suggesting will impact your scores folders in any way whatsoever, although of course regular backup is a good idea, and doing it before any sort of system or software update is that much more so.

Your terminal window might not be running as root, but apparently your file browser is, if that is how you have been starting MuseScore. Either that or the MuseScore executable has its SUID bit set. Could be something Flatpak does, again I'm not familiar with it. In any case it would take someone who has some Linux expertise working directly with your system to figure out everything that may need fixing at this point.

But the AppImage is just a normal file you can run directly (in which case it overwrites nothing) or install via the "install" option s described in the instructions that go with it when you visit the downloaded page. If you install as root, it goes to /usr/bin normally, otherwise it goes somewhere you have write permission to (I'm not sure all the ins and outs of how it decides). I doubt it knows anything about how to remove a Flatpak installation, so you would want to do that first.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Marc- thanks for another detailed reply. I've been all over this machine, and none of the indications I have found show me as a default su. This must be some quirk of the Flatpak element involved here. BTW- the version of Musescore3 that is the core of the problem here does not ask for a password, another bit of evidence.

I don't know what Flatpak is, never heard of it before. Are you telling me not to run to clear the current app out?

In reply to by Slowpoke

Quite the opposite. I'm not familiar with Flatpak either except I know it's a thing that is somehow kind of sort of like AppImage, except I don't think we support it directly the way we do AppImage. So I definitely recommend learning enough about Flatpak to figure out how to uninstall MuseScore. Or somehow also learn enough how your system is configured to figure out how to uninstall it, if in fact it is not Flatpak but something else. All I know if, this is not the build we provide and support, and life will go more easily if you do remove it.

As for the superuser issue, as I said I see two reasonably possible scenarios. One is that Flatpak has set this to SUID root, in which case, that problem is solved once you get rid of the Flatpak build of MuseScore (no idea if they make the same mistake with other software they install). But the other very real possibility is that while your terminal window is running as a normal user, your file manager is not, and any program it kicks off ends up running as root. Easiest way to test for that is to try to use the file manager to do something you normally can't, like rename a file in /usr/bin. So, maybe try to use the file manager to rename some program in there (that you aren't currently using!) and see if it lets you (then immediately change it back if so). If it doesn't, then maybe it is just a Flatpak issue, and something to take up by consulting whatever support resources Flatpak provides (to learn how to uninstall MuseScore and to make sure they aren't controlling any other applications on your system without your knowledge).

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

While trying to figure out my next steps without invoking disaster, it occurred to me that this app supplied through Flatpak has never been actually installed, it just runs via the entry in Docs. Perhaps I can delete it? (Update- deleted all Musescore3 subfolders except scores as well as parent folder. Will start a new thread to get clarity on which Musescore3 version to download here- I see a couple of choices.)

Your suggestions for the su question are good ones- once I get rid of the problem file, I'll try them.

Hello, I once had a printer that wasn't on display. Also in the printer installation of Linux nothing could be done. Then I installed CUPS, since then my printer was displayed. You can also try it.

In reply to by Pentatonus

Thank you for posting. My current thinking is, in an abundance of caution, to burn the scores to a spare thumb drive and then uninstall all traces of both versions of Musescore. Then I'll download (and install if necessary) the current version from the site and reload the saved scores.

Started with Mint early last Dec.- previously ran Win7. I like Mint much better than Windows, and the rolling train wreck of Win10 was not an option. That said, the learning curve is substantial, especially considering the multitude of new apps to learn. And added to the updated Musescore, plenty of room for me to get something wrong.

In reply to by Slowpoke

I'm not sure why WIndows 10 is not an option, it's really going to be a far better choice for the vast majority of people who are already familiar with Windows and not familiar with Linux. Don't get me wrong, I love Linux myself, but no way would I recommend it for someone who isn't already very comfortable with computer adminstration. Like you said, the learning curve is enormous, and it's not just a week or two of getting used to a few differences like it is going from MuseScore 2 to MsueScore 3 or Windows 7 to Windows 7. It will likely be many months, or more likely years, before you're as comfortable with it as you were with Windows. On the other hand, if you enjoy the challenge, then have a ball!

Anyhow, definitely do not uninstall MuseScore 2. It coexists happily with MuseScore 3, and you may find you want to keep using it for some of your older scores if they look too different in MuseScore 3.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I watched the rollout of 10 for several months before the 7 cutoff, largely via www.askwoody.com, where I have been a contributing member for years. (I donate here as well, not a believer in "free".) In addition to ongoing major bug problems, the deal breaker for us here is the embedded telemetry in 10. We are fiercely protective of our privacy, and as such, do not use anything Google-related- no Search, Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, or anything else with that big G. We want no snooping from MS either. We are always on alert for any intrusions, including cookies, which get deleted as soon as possible.

How do you suppose Google (Alphabet) became the most valuable company in the world? Hint- it was not by giving away services.

Re Musescore2- no problem leaving it installed as long as it causes no issues. But v.2.3.x is still on the original HDD in this machine. which has two disks and dual boots Mint and Win7. Of course, in this config, Mint accesses the entire 7 disk via the Home folder.

In reply to by Slowpoke

I'm not really sure what you mean about watching the rollout of 10 before the 7 cutoff. I don't know if you are confused about what happened or just mis-speaking, but the rollout of Windows 10 began six years ago, with the official release coming five years ago. So, everything about the rollout was already ancient history long before talk of Windows 7 going out of support ever started. I'm not sure what major bugs you refer to - again, every single version of every single program ever release has bugs, and that includes WIndows 7.

But, it is true that Windows 10, like MuseScore 3 and most other modern software, includes an optional telemetry component so that people who agree to help the manufacturers improve their product can do so. Most such programs - including both WIndows 10 and MuseScore 3 - allow you to decline to participate in the program. So if you'd rather benefit from the improvements that are made possible via telemetry without participating in the program, you can certainly do so. Note that I don't think anyone allows you to choose not to benefit from the improvements - eg, making available special builds that don't incorporate fixes or features that were made possible through telemetry data.

Anyhow, if you feel safer just not using any software that even provides a telemetry option, that is of course your right. And you would indeed need to stick to Linux and monitor the source code of every application you use very carefully to be sure that such features are never enabled. But as I said, Linux system administration and learning all the concepts involved in maintaining your system and monitoring the development of the software you use to be sure they don't implement any telemetry features unannounced is going to require a much more serious investment of time and effort on your part than merely updating to WIndows 10 would, so hopefully you do understand the tradeoff you are making. As I said, I personally use Linux and am happy with it, so I wouldn't want to talk anyone out of it - just to make sure they understand what they are taking on.

And this here seems the most obvious example: you are taking on the need to learn about Flatpak.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Yes, I'm aware of the Win10 timeline. As for telemetry, in 7 it was defeatable, not so, so I'm told, in 10. The aspect of telemetry to which I refer is the "invasion of privacy element" that most seem to shrug and accept.

My other disparaging comments re Win10 stem from the, as you say, years of Win10 deployment characterized by MS shooting itself in the foot with failed updates, failed patches for those failed updates, etc that result in crashes, blue screens, bootup failures, and the like. This is not me talking- it's a steady week-by-week series of problems posted by professionals and techs who have to use it. Check the tales of woe here: www.askwoody.com.

In reply to by Slowpoke

It's defeatable in Windows 10 as well, not sure who told you otherwise?

As for occasional bugs in Windows 10 - yes, once again, every version of every program ever released has bugs. A support forum specifically geared toward reporting issues in Windows updates will of course show you those, leading you to the very misleading sense that the average person actually experiences these problems. The vast majority of people who use Windows 10 experience no significant problems whatsoever.

Same with the vast majority of people who use MuseScore. But of course, virtually who posts to the Support forum here on musescore.org is experiencing a problem, leading to an extremely skewed view of how problematic it actually is. In the real world - as you have seen with years of use of MuseScore 2 - it works extremely well for the vast majority of people even though indeed MuseScore 2 has literally thousands of bugs that have been reported here over the years. If you checked the issue tracker or Support forum two or three years ago, you'd have seen report after report after report of bugs in MuseScore 2 as well - msot of which never even got fixed until MuseScore 3. And yet somehow you manage yo still find MuseScore 2 perfectly usable. It's the same with MuseScore 3. it's the same with Windows 7, the same with Linux Mint, and the same with WIndows 10. All of these have bugs that are reported by the thousands, and yet, they actually still manage to work for the vast majority of people. Imagining there is a significant difference in bug rate in any of these is fooling oneself.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

"It's defeatable in Windows 10 as well, not sure who told you otherwise" Yes, I think recently a workaround has been found by someone- previously, it seems, not so. But a good while back we made the choice to go with Mint, a choice I do not regret. Mint runs circles around Windows, and not being in a business environment, we face few if any compatibility issues.

And yes, all your points about looking at the big picture are true- but from where I sit, here in the last row of the parking lot, it seems- Win7 had many fewer problems over its life than looks to be the case with 10.

In reply to by Slowpoke

Ah, W10.
Yes, I read the "news" articles about the latest problems with some update. They usually state that "some" users report some kind of problem. There are never any hard numbers, or any indication of how wide-spread any particular problem is. There are lots of professionals that don't like Microsoft, so of course they will latch on to some problem and call it a "disaster" or "failed update". Neither of which is remotely true. While there may indeed be some problem with an update, I feel the bigger question is what have these people done to their computers that cause an update to have problems. Granted, I only do video editing and music production on my computers. I don't remember having any problem from an update. I remember always being able to opt out of telemetry and tracking. Google might collect too much data, but they also offer the best product.
I think you are more likely to suffer identity theft by using your credit card anywhere than from using your computer.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

With the v.3.4.2 AppImage downloaded directly from this site, MuseScore finds the network printer no problem, and the su designation no longer appears as in the s/shots posted previously. These errors (and possibly others, not identified) had to be due to Flatpak.

So far I have just perused the new version as a file, to see if those errors were corrected, but with the tutorial here, hope to get it installed.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Marc,
A few years ago, I gave Linux a shot. For almost a year. But I couldn't do some of the things I wanted. It's not as user friendly as I would have liked. I get the impression it's more for folks who enjoy fiddling with the innards of an OS more than I do. Dual boot didn't seem to be worth it. Of course W10 has bugs, but it is not a disaster.

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