MuseScore cannot find the "Scores" file folder

• Feb 26, 2025 - 23:36

In the technical info, I read that "On Windows, the default location is in My Documents\MuseScore3\Scores." As things are currently set up on my computer, MuseScore is looking for a folder titled "Scans". How do I change this pathway so MuseScore finds the correct file folder?


Comments

Wherever you read that it was referring to Musescore version 3. In version 4 the default location is Documents\Musescore4\Scores.

Whichever version you are using the default location for scores can be specified in Edit>Preferences>Folders

Unless you have a good reason not to, I recommend that you update to the latest version from here https://musescore.org/en/download

Version 3 and Version 4 can coexist on your PC without interfering with each other. Version 4 can open files created in version 3 but not the other way round.

In reply to by HildeK

The music I want to play on MuseScore 3 came to me in a zip file. I put the zip file in my "scores" folder and I think I unzipped it. When I go to the "Scores" folder I get a message "No items match your search." But if I click on the screen and select "open in new window" all the scores from the zip file are there.
But when I re-open the ScanScore program, nothing is shown in the library.

Maybe I should contact Microsoft for their technical support in file folder management?

In reply to by tommedsker

This is the first time you have mentioned a ScanScore program. What is that?

To find your files. Try this

Open File Explorer. You should see a search box at the top. If you know the name of one of the score files put that in the search box. If not, make sure you have "Show>file extensions" selected in the File Explorer View menu and then search for ".mscz" (without the quotes). If you find a file that you are looking for, right click on it in the File Explorer search results and select Open File Location. That will take you to whichever location your file has gone to. You probably will see more of them in that folder. Then move it or them to wherever you want. Probably Documents/Musescore3/Scores.

In reply to by tommedsker

This "free MSCZ converter" is almost certainly a bad idea.

So, let's figure out what you are trying to do. You received a .ZIP file containing some files. What is the extension on the file (one of them) that you want to open? Is it .MID? .MSCZ? .MP4? Or what?

If it's .MSCZ, why are you trying to open it in ScanScore? Open it in MuseScore Studio. If you don't have MuseScore Studio installed, get it from the Download / Software link near the top left of this page.

If you want to open it in ScanScore and need help with that, you'll need to find a forum about ScanScore. This forum is about MuseScore Studio.

In reply to by TheHutch

Hello Hutch,
I agree, I'm always leery of downloading "free" software. (Nothing is free.) Before I did the download, I looked around and saw that MuseScore has a file conversion feature. I did the conversion using MuseScore, everything seemed to be good but when I tried to open the file, I got a message saying the file was converted by a newer version of MuseScore. There are instructions for fixing this and I'm reading them now.

In reply to by tommedsker

Okay, my problem might be resolved. The upgrade to MuseScore4.0 seems to have been free.
My problem from weeks ago was with the file extensions. MuseScore could not find the files because they were Firefox files. I'm learning how to convert them with MuseScore 4.0. When the files are converted to .mscz they appear in the "Scores" folder and I can open them.

In reply to by tommedsker

What is the file extension on these files? (There's no such thing as a "Firefox file".) I suspect that they are (were?) probably .PDF files and you have set your computer to open files with that extension in your web browser. (Not a BAD idea, but not the best choice.)

If so, it might be worth your time to contact the person who gave you the files and see if they have the original .MSCZ files to open directly. The conversion from .PDF to .musicxml is usually poor quality.

However, if you're opening the files successfully in MuseScore Studio, it's probably not worth worrying about it. *shrug*

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