If you having trouble syncing and need to make a offline backup of your My Effects collection or your Finale Inventory products, you can save your effects locally on your hard drive in an FDB effects file or using an Excel XLSX spreadsheet. Both methods are quick, you will not lose any data, and you can easily restore later one the sync issue is resolved.

Please note: if you are having trouble syncing with the network (e.g. due to an internet connection issue or some other error), it’s critical that you make a backup before closing Finale 3D. If you don’t backup your effects before closing Finale 3D, any unsaved changes will be permanently lost.

 

Steps to save effects list as an FDB file (Hobbyist, Pro)

1. In the effects window, view the collection you would like to backup.
2. Press Ctrl+A to select all (your entire effects collection should now be highlighted yellow).
3. Press Ctrl+C to copy the effect collection.
4. Go to File > Effects files > New effects file, to add a new ‘Unnamed effects file’ to the effects window.
5. While viewing the empty/new effects file in the effects window, press Ctrl+V to paste.
6. Go to File > Effects files > Save (fdb format), to save the effects file on your computer. The effects file will remain loaded in the effects window unless you move the (.fdb) file to another location on your computer.

To retore your effects later on:

1. View the (.fdb) file in the effects window.
2. Press Ctrl+A to select all.
3. Press Ctrl+C to copy.
4. Switch to the effects collection you want to restore.
5. One the main menu bar, go to Effects > Paste clipboard into effects window, add or update.
   

 

Steps to save effects list as Excel XLSX file (Lite, Hobbyist, Pro)

1. In the effects window, view the collection you would like to backup.
2. Press Ctrl+A to select all (your entire effects collection should now be highlighted yellow).
3. Press Ctrl+C to copy the effect collection.
4. Open a blank Excel spreadsheet and press Ctrl+V to paste.
5. Save the spreadsheet.

To restore your effects later on:

1. Open the Excel spreadsheet with your effects, press Ctrl+A to select all, then Ctrl+C to copy.
2. Go back to the effects window in Finale 3D, press Ctrl+A to select all, then press Delete on your keyboard to delete everything.
3. Finally, press Ctrl+V to paste the backup you copied from Excel into the effects window.
4. If you are restoring My Effects or another online effect collection, be sure to do File > Sync with network to save.