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The File menu

New music file. Create a new music file. These are in the "Songworks" format used by Ars Nova products.

Open music stored locally... Open a music file stored on your computer or on a connected disk.

Open music at Ars Nova online library... Open a music file from the online library at Ars Nova (requires unblocked internet connection).

Close. Close the frontmost music window.

Save. Save the frontmost music window.

Save as... Save the frontmost music window under a different name (creates a new file under the new name).

Import MIDI file... Use this to open a MIDI file exported from any notation program that exports music as a MIDI file. Some caveats: files that work well are those exported from notation programs, especially if they are of the type that puts the music of each staff into a separate MIDI "track." Counterpointer will create a separate staff for each MIDI track in the file. MIDI files created by recording a "live" performance will not work well for input because they will not have an even tempo. This is a good shortcut for entering the notes of something like a Bach chorale harmonization.

Remember also that MIDI files do not specify flats or sharps as accidentals (accidentals are sharped or flatted notes that are not in the key signature). In a MIDI file there are simply 12 pitches in an octave. Eb, for example, is the same pitch number as D#. Counterpointer will try to guess whether a pitch should be spelled as Eb instead of D#, but if the piece has many accidentals you will want to check them and correct any misspellings because the spelling will affect the counterpoint analysis.

Export MIDI file... This will create a "standard MIDI file" of the current music window's contents. A MIDI file is not a substitute for a notation file - MIDI files contain only lists of note numbers and note times, and do not contain your specific notation choices, beaming, etc. But many programs can read a MIDI file and interpret the notes to create a version of the notation.

Print current music... Prints the current music. You should first use the page preview command to see what the layout will be, and then adjust the music as necessary. In particular you might want to use the Score Height Control to adjust spacing of staff systems.

Show page view window of current music... See what your music will look like in printed form. You can leave a preview window open while making changes in the edit window.

Page setup... Needed before any print or print preview.

Check for updates via the internet. Checks to see if a free update is available and lets you download it if so.

Quit. Does just what you think.

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