ChoralWiki:Downloadable tools

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You don't need any special software to browse or search the CPDL site itself. If you can read this, you can use CPDL. However, to view and download individual scores, you'll need to install some other software on your computer. Almost all scores on CPDL are available in Portable Document Format (PDF) ( Icon_pdf.gif ), which means you can open and print them using a free program called Adobe Reader (see below).

MIDI files are computer-generated audio files, not scores. Most Windows and Mac computers can play MIDI files without any additional software, using a built-in sound card and speakers. Simply click on any MIDI link ( Icon_snd.gif ) to open and playback the MIDI file. Some composers and editors provide MP3 files ( Icon_mp3.gif ) which are larger than MIDI files but which usually provide a much better representation of what a score should sound like. Occasionally, performances of works by choirs are available, though these may not be uploaded to CPDL server. MP3 files can usually be opened with the same software that opens MIDI files, such as Windows Media Player.

Products

Below are free downloadable tools for viewing sheet music and notation files.

Name

File Ext.

Description

Acrobat Reader

Getacror.gif

.PDF

Most sheet music files are in this format, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X and for Linux.

Finale Reader

FinaleReader.png

.MUS

Finale Reader is a free program that enables one to view, play and print music files created by Finale, Finale Allegro, Finale PrintMusic, Finale SongWriter and Finale NotePad.

FinaleViewer

FinaleViewer.gif

.MUS

FinaleViewer was originally designed by Coda Music to make Finale scores viewable within a web browser, and was previously called "SmartMusic Viewer"; however development on the web browser plug-in was abandoned by Finale. The free version of Finale Reader (above) is sufficient to open Finale scores and play them back. However some web sites affiliated with CPDL do not offer the Finale files directly, requiring the FinaleViewer plug-in.

Note: There are two software items which have been named "FinaleViewer".

  • The earlier one was the browser plug-in with this name in 2003, which replaced a previous similar plug-in called "SmartMusic Viewer", both of which were deprecated in 2004 in favor of Finale Notepad (now replaced by Finale Reader). It is this plug-in that some websites affiliated with CPDL require.
  • More recently, beginning in late 2006 or early 2007, the name "Finale Viewer" was given to a user side component to a suite of server software developed by MakeMusic! for use in selling sheet music through e-commerce. The current version probably will not work as a substitute for the earlier one.

Encore (demo version)

Encorelogo.png

.ENC

The free Encore (demo version) is a software program that enables one to view music files created by Encore notation software. Available for Windows and Macintosh. Note: Save and Print are disabled in all demo versions.

NoteWorthy Composer

Noteworthy_viewer.gif

.NWC

The NoteWorthy Composer viewer enables one to view music files created by NoteWorthy Composer notation software. Only available for Windows.

Sibelius Scorch

Get_scorch_94x42.png

.SIB
.SCO

The Scorch viewer enables one to view files created with Sibelius notation software.

Ghostscript

GhostView.png

.PS
.PDF

Ghostscript enables one to open files created with PostScript software. After installing it, one will need a previewer based on Ghostscript. For Windows platform this might be GSview; for Linux platform, ggv (gnome) or kghostview (KDE).

Capella Reader

Capella_logo.gif

.CAP

The Capella Reader allows one to view, play and print Capella files. Only available for Windows.

7-Zip Unzipper

7ziplogo.png

.ZIP
.7Z
.RAR
.ARJ

Some source and MIDI files are "zipped", that is, archived into a zip file to reduce the file size, or to combine many files (eg. multiple MIDI files) into a single file for convenience. 7-Zip is open source software for archiving and expanding zipped files. Only available for Windows, though users of Windows XP and above already have the ability to unzip such files - simply double click on the file and follow the instruction. Mac users should use the Archive Utility.app that comes with OSX.