Creating Custom Template
I'm trying to save a Custom Template.
The User Guide says to put the file in a certain directory;
A couple of files have (accidentally?) been put in that directory. (See 1st screenshot)
The files are listed first with a dot in front of the names, and a comma after (!?!)
then they are listed as compressed files (why is this?) Can you explain these two 'phenomena?'
When I open a new file, it's supposed to show me templates, right?
but it's evidently looking in the wrong place, as it is showing a completely different file name (2nd pic)
Comments
Don't see the 2nd screenshot! I'll try to bring it up here:
In reply to Don't see the 2nd screenshot… by gldodge
That file is broken
The files with leading dot and trailing comma are backup files, the other are (Ccompressed) MuseScore score files, see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/file-formats#mscz
In reply to The files with leading dot… by Jojo-Schmitz
Jojo -
Thanks for the info, but you didn't answer my main question:
How do I save a template so that it shows up when 'opening?'
In reply to Jojo - Thanks for the info… by gldodge
Templates don't show when opening existing scores, but rather when creating new ones (File / New). Looks like you've placed in the correct folder, now you just need to go to File / New, and you should see your templates listed in the "Custom" section at the top.
In reply to Templates don't show when… by Marc Sabatella
Hi, Marc -
'opening a New file' is what I meant to say; so I'm still having problems.
1. When I Open>New, and go to Custom Tmplts, there is one file there: "Danny Boy - copy" but I don't know how it got there!
When I select it and complete the 'opening' It brings up a system of empty measures, Untitled - instead of the pic it showed of the file ! (see screenshots)
2. When I save a file to the same directory where that file is (C:\Users\PC User.000\Documents\Music), it does not show as another template.
3. Don't know if this is significant, but - without changing anything, I immediately close the (blank) score,
and I get a message "- - save changes."
My computer has been giving me some problems lately, so it could be at fault somehow - but my main question is still this: How do I Save a Custom Template?
In reply to Hi, Marc - 'opening a New… by gldodge
If the dialog shows Danny Boy as a custom template, then it must be there in the corresponding folder (or a subfolder underneath it. Are you "PC User.000"? Could also be you're looking in the wrong user's folder.
It's completely normal that "File / New" does indeed create a new score, not merely a copy of an old one. The template is used to give the new score a particular list of instruments/staves, style settings, and formatitng of the title frame. Aside from that it's normal to be empty.
If you create a new score, it's also normal that you'd be prompted to save change even if you have not changed anything other than the mere act of creating the score.
In reply to If the dialog shows Danny… by Marc Sabatella
Well, I understand what your last sentence meant regarding the Save prompt, even tho you evidently
left out the word "not." (The 'change' to be saved was the creation of the score.)
But, back to my main question - I suppose I need to re-phrase it:
What procedure do YOU use when saving a Template (including naming it)?
In reply to Well, I understand what your… by gldodge
Oops, sorry, fixed the “not” now ;-)
I have a handful of custom templates, no special technique aside from just saving them to the Templates folder with a name descriptive of the purpose of the template. I have “Worksheet” for educational materials, “Piano Quintet” for a string quartet plus piano, etc.
In reply to Oops, sorry, fixed the “not”… by Marc Sabatella
As you have read in my posts, I have tried saving in the [correct] Templates folder;
You assumed I didn't know what I was doing, but I did.
Wouldn't your folder be basically the same place as mine or anyone else's?
In reply to As you have read in my posts… by gldodge
Did you restart MuseScore, so it can read the listing templates afresh?
In reply to Did you restart MuseScore,… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes
In reply to Yes by gldodge
Yet you don't see these TAGS and TRIALS templates in the new score wizard?
What does Edit > Preferences > General say where to look for templates?
In reply to Yet you don't see these TAGS… by Jojo-Schmitz
Right - and at this point, I can't find a directory with only the one file in it.
Sounds like a lost cause, huh?
In reply to Right - and at this point, I… by gldodge
What file? Above ypu showed a directory with 4 files, 2 of which regular scores, both should show
In reply to What file? Above ypu showed… by Jojo-Schmitz
I know - but that second file, (a .png) "....cannot be displayed because it contains errors" I think it was a shot of the Custom Template directory contents, the one 'Danny Boy' file I know it doesn't make sense. Have you tried this on your end? - I guess you 'Save As' then navigate to the correct directory (?) I just can't figure out why it doesn't work for me.
There Should be an option in the program to "Save As Template."
In reply to I know - but that second… by gldodge
Yes, I've been using custom templates and they do work
In reply to I know - but that second… by gldodge
What does Edit > Preferences > General say where to look for templates?
In reply to What does Edit > Preferences… by jeetee
Ah yes, it's true that you can configure MuseScore to look somewhere other than the default location for templates. Maybe you did that at some point, so check that option and see if it's pointing where you expect.
In reply to As you have read in my posts… by gldodge
It's not that we assume you don't know what you're doing, but we do know this normally works - I use this feature almost daily. So we're trying to figure out where things could possibly have gone wrong for you. And since around 3.1 (?), you shouldn't even need to restart MuseScore to see the newly-added templates (that did used to be a problem).
So, do check Edit / Preferences / General as mentioned elsewhere. Also, those two scores in that show up in the templates folder now - what are they?
In reply to It's not that we assume you… by Marc Sabatella
That was a good question by jeetee - but - it doesn't really help; it shows " C:/Users/PC User/Documents /MuseScore3/Templates " but the only item in the PC USER directory is "AppData." Substituting PC user.000 for PC USER in the path shows two files (TAGS and TRIALS) in the templates dir, but in the Scores dir there is "Danny Boy -Copy" (without the 0). Another strange occurrence is that the file in question ("Danny Boy -Copy 0" ) was found in a folder on the desktop! ( Desktop>ToXferUSB>MuseScore>Danny_Boy_-Copy_0.mscz ) Now - even though all of this is pretty convoluted, I Can think of a possible workaround, which I'll try when I get a chance, which is: A. to create the directory specified in MuseScore Pref's or B. Change the path in Preferences to one that actually exists! Is there anything else you can think of? Oh, btw, another Strange thing that has happened is - while I was sitting here figuring all this out and deciding how to relate it to you, other files (backups) have been added to the ones mentioned above. Maybe this is normal, but the dates don't seem to make sense. In the Scores folder (2 extra files), the Danny Boy file was modified yesterday; the other backup was for a file not even mentioned before ("Danny Boy long ver.mscz"). Then in the Templates folder, the backup for the TRIALS file is dated 2 days earlier than 'TRIALS' and the Date Modified for TAGS backup is Dec. 25! Anyway, I'll see if I can work something out. Thanks for your time, trouble and Patience, Marc & Jojo.
Please attach an image of the 'General' tab in MuseScore Preferences...
Use menu item: Edit -> Preferences, then in the 'General' tab you will see a section labeled 'Folders'.
Here's an image of the General tab from the handbook:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/preferences#general
It is the 'Folders' section that we need to see - i.e., where your Templates are stored. This is where you (should) put the templates you create.
In reply to Please attach an image of… by Jm6stringer
Thanks for the post, Jm - I think my last post above would answer that. After tweaking, moving stuff, and setting different options, the program is finally, for now, doing as it should: it's showing my template in the Custom Templates, I changed the setting on what to open at Start, it balked once or twice on that, but it's now observing my option to show last session ------Now - Good news & Bad news (for those of you who are still able and willing to indulge me) : What happened was- I created the directory indicated by the path shown in MuseScore Preferences -- Templates, but a message said I can't save here - would I like to use PC User.000 instead. I immediately tho't maybe this is for System Templates - but Not the case, since the path didn't exist before this. So I ran the program as Admin. saved to the subject dir, And it showed up under Custom Templates (along w/ the phantom D-boy file). So I selected it here, proceded to open, but, alas, what it brought up was the System's original Barbershop Template (without a title {?}) while under Custom Templates, it even showed the image of the 'saved' file I was trying to open (titled "B-Shop_Temp." It's also showing in the Start Center window with several others, as well as the phantom "Danny Boy -Copy 0" - Isn't there a way to delete any of these (in Start Center)?? If it doesn't act up any more, I think I'll be all right; otherwise I'll try to un- / re-install.
In reply to Thanks for the post, Jm - I… by gldodge
Still, a snapshot of the General tab would improve the clarity of the situation. Also, a snapshot of the contents of your current templates folder.
![templates.png]( "templates.png")
Similar to what you posted earlier:
Anyway...
To delete undesired templates like "B-Shop_Temp" and "Danny Boy -Copy 0", you can open your Templates folder using Windows file explorer to locate and delete them. MuseScore does not have to be opened at all.
Looking at your very first post, the image there (and my image above) shows your templates folder containing a "TAGS.mscz" and a "TRIALS.mscz" file, along with their backup copies.
It also looks like you are "PC User.000".
If this is true, then you should be able to navigate to your Templates folder using the file explorer built into Windows. Just follow the path: Local Disk (C) -> Users -> PC User.000 -> Documents -> MuseScore3 -> Templates where you can delete any templates you no longer need.
Alternatively, you can do a search for the undesired file(s) and delete those that reside in the Templates folder.
That user.000 name had me triggered and it seems you've been a victim of an unsuccessful windows update. See https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/updated-to-1903-b…
Short version: during the update, windows created the .000 user as a temporary user to ensure your data doesn't get lost. For some reason though, the update failed to then copy everything back into the updated user account (without the .000) leaving you with a system where your programs (such as MuseScore/Dropbox) are still configured to work with the "real" user profile; whilst your documents folders remain linked to the "temporary" profile.
It may be worth getting help from someone more computer savvy to rectify your user account folders and merge everything back to the current real user profile (without the 000).
In reply to That user.000 name had me… by jeetee
Wow! That microsoft link explains a lot!
I was wondering why gldodge was so verbose in his replies - re: tweaking, moving stuff, setting different options, mentioning "AppData", etc. My head was spinning trying to understand the 'whats' and 'whys' of his actions.
I could not understand how everything should be such an ordeal - especially for a newcomer.
Apparently, a Microsoft update has created a 'parallel' (to the normal user) directory, which is part of a temporary profile. The scary part is this warning:
NOTE VERY IMPORTANT: Do Not copy your files into the Temporary profile you are currently in, when the situation is corrected, your files will be deleted with the Temporary Profile and will not be recoverable !!
In reply to Wow! That microsoft link… by Jm6stringer
I'm thinking (and hoping) that one way to rectify the '000' problem is to copy everything from that directory back to the PC User directory.
In reply to I'm thinking (and hoping)… by gldodge
( I am PC User per Windows>Start )
In reply to ( I am PC User per Windows… by gldodge
If it makes it easier, please bear in mind that although I'm a newcomer to MuseScore, I am Not a newcomer to computers ( Windows, DOS :- )
In reply to I'm thinking (and hoping)… by gldodge
Yes, better the PC User directory than the temporary one - in case of a Microsoft 'fix' being pushed - to delete the temp.
BTW:
Have you performed the following (to verify your computer user account?
Click your Start Button, then type cmd and hit Enter
In the resulting Command Prompt window, type whoami and hit Enter:
What exactly is returned from that command?
Also mentioned in that Microsoft link is to create an entirely new Windows user account and transfer everything to it. :-(
(In any event, I do hope you keep backups of important files.)
In reply to Yes. better the PC User… by Jm6stringer
It shows C:\>whoami
pcuser-pc\pc user but, like I said, the Start Menu shows me as PC User (on left side)
In reply to It shows C:\>whoami pcuser… by gldodge
OK...
So, today, when you navigate to your current user templates folder, there should be no mention of PC User.000 in the path, and said folder should be the default location for your Custom Templates, as shown in the Folders section of MuseScore Preferences. It should successfully display all your 'Custom Templates' in the New Score Wizard when you:
!. Create a new score by clicking on the 'Create new score' toolbar icon (keyboard shotcut is Ctrl+N), or File -> New.
2. Enter Title, etc. in the Wizard then press Next.
3. Click on Custom Templates to see your user templates listed.
The prior path (in your image) shows Local Disk (C:) > Users > PC User.000 > Documents > MuseScore3 > Templates. This should no longer be the case.
In reply to OK... So, today, when you… by Jm6stringer
Ok, jm6 - What Should be and what Should work do not apply here for some reason. Now, for your clarification, here are the screenshots you wanted to see: In the first one, even tho I had changed the .000 back to [original], it's showing the 000 again - but my Template is in that folder! (2nd shot)- The dilemma currently is that the one file (Danny Boy -Copy 0) keeps showing up in Custom Tmplts, even though I've deleted all occurrences of the file (according to Search Function). This is why I mentioned earlier my tentative decision to re-install the program. (I hope you can open .odt files - it's the only way it would let me attach them)
In reply to Ok, jm6 - What Should be and… by gldodge
You wrote:
The dilemma currently is that the one file (Danny Boy -Copy 0) keeps showing up in Custom Tmplts...
It looks like you still have PC User.000 listed in the Folders section of General Preferences. Have you tried 'Reset All Preferences to Default'? How about reverting to factory settings?
![PC Users.png]( "PC Users.png")
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/revert-factory-settings
Also, if you expand PC User (not PC User.000) can you navigate to a templates folder? Does Danny Boy -Copy 0 reside there? See image:
Are you running Windows 10 ver. 1903? Have you checked for current updates via Windows update?
I am running 1903 and don't have that .000 user.
In reply to You wrote: The dilemma… by Jm6stringer
I'll probably try resetting (& reverting). I've looked for the 'phantom' file; you'll recall that in my last post I mentioned "...even though I've deleted all occurrences of the file (according to Search Function). " You don't have the '000' file b/c you're lucky enough Not to have the latest Windows Update (ver 1909)!