Empty Cue Import

bozie8823 2022-09-27 14:37:51

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Joined:	Oct 2019
Posts:	3
Location:	Dayton, Ohio, United States

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2022-09-27 14:37:51

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If I have timing data handy (where I want cues in my script) before I ever set foot in finale (Min:Sec data formatted in the standard X:X.XXX format), what would be the best way to import that data into Finale and have finale generate nothing but empty cues at those specified times?

I’ve played around with the “Do-it-yourself” CSV importer, but Finale seems to be wanting to do a lot more lifting than the simple task I really want it to do. I’ve also tried simply copying and pasting the data from external sources (spreadsheets) into the script window with no success.

Only “roundabout” way I’ve found so far is to create a number of empty cues in the script (equaling the number of individual values I’d like to import), Import the CSV time values in to a Finale3D Generic table, and then copy/paste them from that table into the event times of my prior created cues.

Wondering if there’s an easier more streamlined way to do this.

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	557
Location:	United States

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2022-09-27 17:49:58

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Hi bozie8823, you can bring in empty cues by making a spreadsheet with just two columns – see example below. This format will allow you to add as many empty cues as you like simply using copy/paste, you don’t need to seed the script window with anything in advance. You can actually bring in empty cues with just the eventTime column, but the ##scriptHeader column is nice to have because it is needed in order for the blank cues to be added to the script window when the design window is selected.

If you do ‘Edit > Paste’, the first empty cue will be added at the play head time and the remaining cues will be added based on their relative time offsets from the first cue. To create the empty cues using the times exactly as they appear in your spreadsheet (regardless of where the play head is positioned on the timeline), do ‘Edit > Paste special > Paste events at original times*’. Wondering how I came up with this format? I just created a few empty cues in Finale 3D, then copied the rows and pasted them in Excel. Once in Excel, I used trial and error to get rid of as many columns as possible and this is what remained.

bozie8823, you mentioned that you already tried copy/paste but you didn’t get a good result, can you tell me what you did differently?