Recordare completed our September product launches yesterday. In the past two weeks we have released:
- Dolet 4 for Sibelius, our plug-in for saving MusicXML files from Sibelius. This version works with Sibelius 5, saves MusicXML 2.0 files, and has a whole lot of new features.
- A W3C XML Schema Definition (XSD) version of our MusicXML 2.0 format. Up until now, MusicXML has been defined using a Document Type Definition (DTD). People have been asking us for a schema for years, but we have been waiting for the software support to mature. Having an XSD will help MusicXML software become even more reliable, because catching problems will be easier for developers. It also opens the way to full-fledged use of newer XML technologies like XQuery, XML databases, XML data binding, and XML code generation tools.
- Dolet 4.5 for Finale, the latest version of our plug for reading and writing MusicXML files to and from Finale. This version adds the ability to validate against the MusicXML 2.0 XSD as well as the MusicXML 2.0 DTD. It also imports chord symbols a lot better than before.
Two other companies have also done important MusicXML product releases and announcements:
- Myriad Software has also released version 1.1 of their amazing PDFtoMusic Pro application. This program converts PDF files created from music notation programs into MusicXML files that programs like Finale and Sibelius. Version 1.1 adds support for writing MusicXML 2.0 files, and makes big improvements to chord symbol recognition.
- MakeMusic has announced that the next version of Finale NotePad will read and write MusicXML files. Finale NotePad will now cost US $9.95, but the new free Finale Reader will also read MusicXML files. I think that this will take the quality of free and under $10 MusicXML software to a whole new level.
Initial response to these new products has been very gratifying. I think that they will help lay the groundwork for a whole new generation of MusicXML products and services. It will be fun to see what happens!