Packaging and deploying Finale 2014

In your package do you have this file?:

/Library/Application Support/makeMusic/.regdata18.txt

It's a hidden file, but it contains licensing info.

Paul

Yes I have it! But when I deploy the package to other machines Finale ask to register again. In registration forms there is a required field "computer name". Maybe it's why it's not deploying on other machines? It should be possible..

Hey @joe.farage! Did you ever get this working? I will also be packaging and deploying Finale soon and wanted some pointers before starting.

Hi @Poseiden951!
Unfortunately no. It looks like .regdata18.txt is tighten to the computer it was installed or packaged. When you deploy to other machines it will not work. Or I am missing something? We had to manually enter the license key on each machine.
Regards

This is one of the few softwares that I have run into that REQUIRE calling home activation per machine. Lame of them. No way to easily deploy activated.

I'm dealing with this at the moment and it's not looking good. Their solution listed on the site was too "Include Finale on a master image. If you install Finale on one computer, then image that computer, the computers you copy that image to will include Finale as well. This is the preferred method for installing Finale in large distributions."

Yeah... I like having a clean base OS. Contacted their support just incase they might have changed their mind. Crosses Fingers

The other product they have, Smart Music, installed and worked like a charm. Why couldn't they do that for Finale 2014?

If you have a site license for Finale, you can use their Site License Monitor. Similar to other network based licensing options, but they have to give you the download for the install. Will install on Windows or MAC servers, and then as long as the clients can connect to the server, they can get the license that way. The only thing the client needs at that point is a text file configured to tell it the correct server/port to look for the license.

@jstasik

Well, this is a late response (didn't get a notification).

How do you deploy it? Just capture/package it with Composer/Packages and hope the license server does it job?

Edit:

Found a link with some info:

I'll probably mount the disk image remotely, and try some command line stuff. This would require a license server, I'll see if it can be added to our existing sever

cp -R /Volumes/Finale 2011/.InstallFinale.app/Contents/InstallFinale.mpkg ~/Desktop/InstallFinale.mpkg

http://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=6&m=377816

Created a snapshot using Casper, not the best method but it gets the job done. You'll need to use FEU & FUT.

Now, time to setup a licensing monitoring

I'm finally done with Finale. Everything is now automated.

My setup

On the server:

1. Setup Finale Site License Monitor on OS X or Windows Server ( I used Windows Server).

On the client:

1. Download and open Finale installer. Do not start the installation yet.
2. Start a normal snapshot using Composer.
3. Go through the setup normally.
4. Place license file in /Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 2014.5/Data
5. Create a dmg and upload it to Casper with FEU & FUT checked. Make sure nothing extra is attached to the dmg.

Contact Make Music for the config.dat and other software needed for the Site License Monitor.

I was able to setup an automated install that works with our network license monitor (Windows server). This method is currently a DeployStudio workflow, but I assume it could easily be repeated in your tool of choice.

This assumes the license monitor server is already configured and working. This process also avoids having to build or package anything special. So in the end not all that different from other methods, just thought I'd include it for reference.

I install these items, in this order. The order only matters for the last two items as the directories won't exist yet, although with DeployStudio you have the option to create them if needed.

1. Install Finale 2014.5.pkg -- This is the main Finale application, obviously
2. Garritan_ARIA_Player_v1.872.pkg -- This is the Garritan ARIA Player, obviously
3. Garritan_Instruments_for_Finale.pkg -- This installs a small app that works with the ARIA Player to access the sampled instruments
4. GIFF_Samples (in /Applications/Garritan Instruments for Finale/) -- This installs the actual instrument sample files in their final location
5. fin_slm.txt (in /Library/Application Support/MakeMusic/Finale 2014.5/Data/) -- This installs the file that points the application to the network license monitor

bump

mumbles expletives under breathe about Finale

@janthenat Thank you for the post, I appreciate it.

One question the GIFF_Samples (in /Applications/Garritan Instruments for Finale/), Are you copying those into their final location or allowing the Garritan_Instruments_for_Finale.pkg to install them? What is your process for this one thing?

Thank you again for the awesome information. Have a very great day today!

@skinford First off, I captured the folder "GIFF_Samples" and it's contents from a system where the install was done manually, using the installers and whatnot, without any automation. Second, during my automated install this folder and its files are copied directly, and here's why...

The installer Garritan_Instruments_for_Finale.pkg does not install the files into the GIFF_Samples folder but instead kicks off a scripted process which expands all the ".data" files in /Finale2014.5/External/SamplesData/ on the install media turning them into the ".audio" files in the "GIFF_Samples" folder. Automating the install of Garritan_Instruments_for_Finale.pkg using DeployStudio, for whatever reason, does not kick off this other process so I have to copy the files directly.

Make any sense at all?

@janthenat Makes sense. I created an install using Casper Composer before talking with you because I thought that might have been what you did. So I will test it out now with the steps that you have given.

Thank you so much for all of the assistance. Have a great day today!