1. Download the demo file to a place where you can easily find it.

2. Run the file that you downloaded.

3. Follow the installation instructions, until the software is installed.

Some example pages have already been scanned into the PhotoScore demo for you to try out.

1. Run PhotoScore by selecting All Programs>Neuratron>PhotoScore & NotateMe Ultimate Demo from the Start menu at the bottom left of the screen.

2. You should see the Scans & NotateMe Scores pane at the left of the screen. If not, you can view it by selecting View>Toggle Pages Pane.

3. Ensure Read Scans as Printed is checked at the top of the pages pane.

4. Hover over one of the image names so that Read is displayed at its right and then click on this.

5. PhotoScore will read the image, and after a short while its interpretation will pop up.

6. Try moving the mouse around the output score. You will find that objects under the mouse are highlighted in blue (which means they can be selected by clicking on them). At the top of the screen the relevant section of the original scanned page is displayed for comparison.

• To do this you must have a scanner attached to your computer, with suitable drivers installed.

• Click the Scan pages button at the top of the PhotoScore window to display the scanning dialog.

• Scanning should commence automatically.

• When the scan is completed, PhotoScore will automatically commence reading it if Read pages after scanning/opening is selected in the preferences.

• Remember PhotoScore will also open and convert music PDF files to notation so they can be played back, edited and saved.

Here is a quick editing guide:

• To select an object click on it so that it turns a different color. To change the selected note within a chord hold down Alt whilst using the up/down cursor keys. To select a whole chord double-click in the centre of one of its notes.

• Notes can be dragged up and down with the mouse or up/down cursor keys.

• To add a note click a note-value on the ‘keypad’ at the bottom right of the window, then click on a staff to input the note at the pitch where you click. The keypad button stays pressed down so you can click more notes onto the staff. Input several notes, one above the other, to make a chord. To stop creating notes, press Esc to deselect all the keypad buttons. A note can quickly be added to an existing chord by selecting the chord and double-clicking in the desired position.

• To edit notes: You can select a note and edit its articulations, accidental, etc. just by choosing the relevant keypad button. To edit a note’s length, choose a note-value on the keypad. Type the left/right arrows to move between notes.

• To add/edit rests: To add rests, do the same as for adding a note, but also click on the bottom left rest button in the keypad to convert the note to a rest. Rests can be edited in the same way as notes

• To see more exotic sets of symbols click the five buttons at the top of the keypad.

• To change the voice of a note or rest, click one of the buttons marked 1 2 3 4 at the bottom of the keypad (only voices 1 and 2 in Lite version). Individual notes within a chord may be split into different voices, and chords in different voices may be joined into single chords in this way.

• The keypad on the screen corresponds to the numeric keypad at the right of your computer keyboard. Type these keys in preference to using the mouse, as it’s much quicker. You can choose several keys together (but type the note-value first), e.g. type 4 . – / to get a dotted quarter-note (crotchet) with a tenuto and accent.

• To copy and paste you can use Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V respectively (clicking where you want to paste), but it’s quicker to duplicate an object in a single action by selecting it, pointing somewhere else and clicking with the Alt key held down. Try this with a note or some text.

• To delete objects type Delete.

• To edit guitar tablature notes: The fret number of a note can be entered using the number keys.

• To edit other objects: Most objects such as clefs, time signatures and barlines can be changed by double- or right-clicking over them to bring up an appropriate dialog box or menu

• To create other objects: You can create other objects (e.g. clefs, time signatures) from the Create menu, which you can also get by right-clicking. Choose an object from the menu, then click on the score to create it.

• To reposition/resize objects: Most objects can be moved around the page by clicking and dragging. Some objects such as slurs and hairpins can be resized in a similar manner by clicking and dragging their left or right edges.

Why do I get poor results from a clear piece of music?

The following may help to improve the accuracy:

1) If scanning printed music ensure that Read as Printed music is selected in the pages pane. For handwritten music ensure that Read as Handwritten music is selected.

2) Check that Make scans level is selected in the Scanning tab of the PhotoScore preferences.

2) Line the page up in the scanner as straight as possible.

3) When scanning from books, try to keep the page being scanned as flat as possible. This will help prevent dark shadows (from where the page curves) interfering with music on the page, which can cause recognition problems.

4) Try switching Tuplets (includes advanced rhythm detection) off in the Reading tab of the PhotoScore preferences. This feature occasionally removes rests, and dots and flags from notes when it should not.

If using the TWAIN scanning interface:

5) In general, ensure you are scanning in 256 shades of gray - also called 'b/w photo', 'grayscale' or '8-bit gray'. However, with some scanners you may achieve better results by scanning in 2 colors - also called 'b/w drawing', or '1-bit gray' - and manually adjusting the brightness setting so that there are no broken lines or smudged objects.

6) If you are scanning in grayscale, but find that the image is ending up too light (e.g. lines are broken) or too dark (e.g. objects are merging together), try scanning in black & white (also called 'b/w drawing', '2 colors', or '1-bit') and adjusting the brightness of the image.

Staff-height	Resolution
6mm/0.25” or more	200dpi
4-6mm/0.15-0.25”	300dpi
3-4mm/0.12-0.15”	400dpi

7) Make sure you are scanning at an appropriate resolution (between 200 and 400dpi) - see right for details of resolutions for different staff sizes. Scanning at resolutions both too low and too high can dramatically affect results.

8) Ensure that the Scaling feature is not turned on (if it exists), or is set to 100%. Otherwise the image could be scanned into PhotoScore at an inappropriate resolution.

When I save the output, why are some notes missing from the ends of bars?

When saving MIDI, MusicXML, NIFF or Wave files, or exporting music to Sibelius, you must ensure that the timing in each bar adds up to the current time signature. This is because any excess notes are clipped, and any missing ones are replaced with rests.

During editing, first place any missing time signatures and edit any incorrect ones. Bars highlighted with horizontal red dashed lines indicate bad timing. You should adjust the duration of any notes or rests which are wrong, and add or remove any notes or rests which are missing or in excess. Finally, ensure that notes and rests are in the correct voice, and that any tuplets/triplets are in place (not Lite version). When there are no more bars highlighted, the timing is correct.

A red dashed line drawn at the end of a staff means the end barline is missing (whether intentionally or not). Unless a bar is split over staves, barlines must be added to mark the end of the bar. If a bar is split over staves, any rhythm warnings are only displayed on the latter staff.

Not Lite versions: I am using PhotoScore with Sibelius, and find that transposing scores and triplets/tuplets are not transferred properly. Am I doing something wrong?

You need to be using at least version 3.0 (7.0 recommended) of Sibelius to import transposing scores from PhotoScore. You need to be using at least version 3.0 of Sibelius in order to import triplets/tuplets. Contact Sibelius Software for upgrade details.

Further help is available by emailing help@neuratron.com.