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Be sure you have the necessary scanner drivers installed before attempting to scan from inside SmartScore. Most scanners come with software that enable programs such as SmartScore to control them. TWAIN and Windows (WIA) scanning drivers are normally installed from the CDs packaged with scanners. It may be necessary for some users to install TWAIN or WIA drivers separately. This is usually done by selecting a "Custom Install" option from the install menu of the CD packaged with the scanner.
Some scanners work better with SmartScore than others. For an updated list of recommended scanners, visit:
http://www.musitek.com/ScannerComp.htmlNOTE: Scanner drivers are often updated by scanner manufacturers and posted on their web sites. If problems occur during scanning, it is always a good idea to check the Internet for updated scanner drivers before calling Musitek Technical Support.
b. Go to File > Scan Music > Select Scanner. With your mouse, click on the driver that corresponds to your scanner.
c. Windows HP / Visioneer Users: Select "WIA xxxx xxxx" (the Windows scanning utility) if it's available and try scanning with that first. Do not select "PrecisionScan"®, etc. if a WIA driver is available.
d. Other scanners (Epson, Canon, etc.): Whenever possible, always install and use a TWAIN driver. TWAIN is often more reliable than third-party WIA drivers.
Always reboot your computer after installing drivers. If you do not see your scanner listed in the Select Scanner window, the driver is probably not installed. Install or replace TWAIN or WIA drivers from your scanner's CD or from Download Drivers area of the scanner manufacturer's website. If your scanner still does not operate properly with SmartScore scanning interface, turn to "Scanning Outside of SmartScore".
Your scanner will begin to operate with Scan or File > Scan Music > Acquire. A low-resolution pre-scan will appear in the Preview window along with a black bounding box surrounding the music. The bounding box should encompass the entire image area that you wish to scan. Edges of the box should be about 1/4" away from the printed image.
f. If necessary, select a scanning region, drag your mouse to create a box around the music leaving at least 1/4" of white space between the bounding box and the music which you are scanning.
g. Push the Scan button to create a final high-resolution scan of first page. You will be prompted to scan additional pages or finish scanning. Make sure "Multiple" is checked if you have more than one page to scan.
h. Push Next Page and continue to preview, deskew and scan until you have finished scanning in your song, project, section or movement. Select Finish when done.
NOTE: Selecting Next Page activates your scanner. Before selecting it, position your next page onto the scanner and wait until the scanner bar resets. If you push too soon, you may get an error message that "Scanner is not ready."
NOTE: If the piece you are processing exceeds 24 pages, divide it into smaller, discrete sections, e.g. Intro, Part1, Part2, etc.
The following section lists image-enhancement and scanner settings which you can control within the SmartScore scanning interface. If you understand and/or accept the default settings in the Scan window, turn to "Recognition Sequence" to complete scanning and to begin the recognition process.
The SmartScore interface has 4 automatic image-enhancement functions all designed to assist you in creating the best possible image for recognition.
This feature takes the guesswork out of choosing the correct resolution (dpi) setting for each scan. When selected, the image is analyzed and sized in order to obtain an optimum image resolution, thus achieving the highest possible recognition accuracy. Use this whenever possible.
The cropping region can be automatically selected by checking this box. The cropping region can be resized by dragging any edge with your mouse. The cropping rectangle should not intersect or interfere with any part of the music. Leave at least 1/4" of white space between the cropping region and your music. After the preview scan is completed on each page, check that the image in the preview window is straight and properly cropped.
After an image is previewed, toggle this button on and off and choose the setting that gives you the straightest possible image. If you are unable to make the image appear straight in the Preview window, auto deskew failed. Reposition your music in the scanner and preview again.
The default darkness setting is -15%. For typical printed music, this setting should be fine. If beams smear together and whole and half notes appear closed or "blobbed", then brighten the scan. If the original music is faded, if it is a weak copy or if it has become degraded, you may want to scan even darker than the default setting. SmartScore wants to see solid, well-defined lines that are neither razor-thin nor smeared together.
NOTE: If recognition accuracy is poorer than expected, examine the file in the Image Editor. Zoom in close and determine the following:
If stems and stafflines are thick and continuous but objects appear small and lack detail, re-scan with increased resolution.
If note stems and staff lines are broken, thin or appear to be only one pixel wide, re-scan with -20% to -30% increased darkness.
It is recommended that you use Auto-Resolution whenever possible. If you choose to set resolution manually, check Auto-Resolution off. For most printed music, the recommended resolution is around 350 dpi.
If the original music is printed in smaller type, you can increase resolution to 400 or 500 dpi. For miniature scores, try 600 dpi. Scanning at too high or too low a resolution may actually reduce recognition accuracy. It is not recommended to scan music below 250 dpi or higher than 600 dpi.
Normally, you will preview and scan one page at a time. Some scanners have automatic document feeders. If you choose Automatic option, you will be able to scan multiple pages at once. However, you will only be able to preview the first page. If you select Automatic, make sure when you preview the first page that the entire page is selected and not cropped. Remaining pages will be scanned and fed without preview checking.
If your scanner fails to respond properly to the Scan command in the SmartScore interface or your scanned image is unacceptable (partially scanned, distorted, color, etc.) your alternative is to scan using the software provided with your scanner. See "Scanning Outside of SmartScore" for details.
Some Mac scanners are not fully TWAIN-compatible. In order for SmartScore to control a scanning device, it must be TWAIN-compatible. Otherwise scanning will have to be done outside of SmartScore using the software provided with your scanner. See "Scanning Outside of SmartScore" and "Selecting Pre-scanned Files for Processing" below for details.
When scanning pages is done, choose Save As and Begin Recognition to initiate the recognition process or choose Open Pages in Image Editor to view scanned pages and to make alterations such as cropping, deskew, line drawing, cutting and pasting, etc. Cancel will exit.
To save your scanned image file and begin recognition sequence,
b. Browse to a location for saving your SmartScore working files. You may wish to add a unique directory at this time.
c. Give the image file a name. If you are using Windows, the extension ".TIF" will be added automatically.
d. Push OK to begin the recognition process.
The image file you have just saved contains all pages you scanned. The default filetype is "Compressed TIFF" (CCITT Type 4), a multi-page, single-file TIFF compression format. This type of TIFF file is approximately 10 times smaller than an uncompressed TIFF image file.
NOTE: If you are going to open the scanned image in Adobe Photoshop, you may want to save in the larger, uncompressed TIFF format; Photoshop does not currently support CCITT Type 4 files.
TIP:
When you Save a file, SmartScore will continue to save to that directory until you change it. The same is true when you Open a file. Remember that SmartScore will look in one directory when opening a file and may default in a different one when saving a file. Once changed, the new path becomes the default.
The following section describes options you can choose for recognition. When satisfied with your choices, push Begin Recognition.
Check this box if you wish to recognize lyrics and text in the music.
TIP:
If you are scanning in single-line parts for the purpose of joining them into a conductor's score, it is recommended not to recognize text. Otherwise, text from every score-part will be overlaid on the pages of the conductor's score.
Check this box if your score has chord symbols written as text instead of guitar fret symbols. Chord names will be linked to guitar fret library.
Check this box if you are recognizing a choral or orchestral score that has dissimilar lines of lyrics written under every staff line, including the last staff line of each system. Otherwise, leave unchecked.
Check this box if the score contains triplets that are indicated with the number "3" along with an arc or bracket.
Check this box if the score has many repeated groups of three beamed notes with the first group being marked with a triplet. This is a common convention used to simplify reading of repeated triplet beam groupings without marking them. They are "implied". The exception will be scores with "tripled time" signatures: 3/x, 6/x, etc.
Check this box if you want to automatically recognize multiple endings marked 1_, 2_, etc.
If pedal markings are written into the music, check this box.
If up/down bowing marks are written into the music, check this box.
Some printed music is written with especially thick note beams. If single beams are recognized as double or triple, re-recognize the music again with this option selected.
If you are scanning in music from a hymnal (with stubby flags and short stems), check this box. NOTE: "Shaped notes" do not apply.
Often you will see notes belonging to different voices appear horizontally offset, even though they sound at the same time. It is necessary for the recognizer to decide which notes to join and which notes not to join to a "vertical event" (See "Correcting Vertical Alignment"). Normally, offset notes belonging to different voices have no more than 1/4 of a notehead's space between them.
If your music has offset voices which regularly exceed this distance, choose another distance. Distance is determined by the white space between note heads.
If your music has dense polyphonic texture, like that found in solo guitar music or tightly-spaced orchestral passages, it may be necessary to "tighten up" the allowable distance between offset voices. In these case, choose a distance less than 1/4 of a notehead.
When a score is "optimized", parts appear (as staves in a system) only when played. Otherwise, parts are not visible. Optimized systems can be referred to as either "collapsed" or "expanded". Sometimes parts are added to the top, e.g. after a piano introduction, the vocal line will appear above the piano part. Other scores may have parts are added to systems in a "bottom-up" fashion, e.g. existing staves are bumped upwards. If your score is structured in this way, change default to "Add Parts to Bottom". Orchestral scores, being grouped by instruments, may have no pattern. For details on re-linking, see "Re-linking parts"
The default fretboard for recognition is the six-string guitar. If your music has ukulele fretboards (4 strings) or some other configuration, change the selection to the correct number of strings.
The scanned file will be saved prior to recognition. Following the recognition process, a System Report will be displayed indicating the number of systems found and on how many pages. The System Report reports the largest and smallest systems including the number of parts found in each. If any of these do not agree with the original music, investigate the cause before spending a lot of time editing the score... it could be difficult to restructure parts and systems later on.
If you select either Open ENF or Open Super System, the first thing to be saved is the image file (scanned pages). Type a name in the Save As > Image window.
Following that, another Save As window will open. This is for the ENF file (the SmartScore file). It acquires the same name as was given the image file. It may be changed in the name field. Select a destination directory and press Save to save your new ENF file.
If you select Open Super System, you will be able to scroll from system to system and locate any systems containing an incorrect number of parts. See "System Manager" for details.
If you select Open Image Editor, you will be taken to the image editor where you are able to correct certain flaws in the scanned image. See "Image Editor" for more details.
You can choose to permanently view or not view System Report and Save As dialog following recognition. To reset these options, go to Edit > Program Preferences > User Interface > Recognition. When recognition is complete, the screen will split between an image pane and the ENF pane which displays a representation of what was recognized. As you scroll down and page, the image and ENF panes remain synchronized. An alternative to the "split screen" view is the "Zoom Window" view. See "Split-screen and Scan View reference views"
An alternative to operating your scanner when TWAIN or WIA drivers don't work properly with SmartScore is to scan in another application. You can use your scanner's software or a third-party imaging program like Photoshop® to scan and save images. Then, inside SmartScore, you will be able to Recognize the saved images.
a. Check that your scanner is on and that the proper driver is installed (File > Scan Music > Select Scanner). If a compatible driver is not present, you will have to reinstall your scanner's software either from the original CD or by downloading the most recent scanner driver from your scanner manufacturer's web site. If the above is true and pushing the Scan button in the Navigator still causes problems, your driver is probably incompatible with SmartScore's scanning interface.
b. Switch to the scanning software that was installed with your scanner. To do this, go to File > Scan Music > Choose Interface > Your Scanner's. When you push the Scan button, you will then be handed off to the software that came with your scanner.
If you are using your scanner's interface, follow the following guides:
Place your music in the scanner as squarely as possible.
Look for Scan type or Output option. Set scanning to Grey (Greyscale). Do not scan in "Color" or in "Black and White" (Line Art, 1 bit or OCR). NOTE: This is new in Version 5.
Set Resolution to 300-400 dpi for average printed music.
Set Darkness to -10 or -15% for average printed music.
Crop around but not on the music to be scanned in preview pane.
Scan between 300-400 dpi (for average-sized printed music). Scan at higher resolutions for music printed in smaller-than-average print size. Do not exceed 600 dpi.
Save as TIFF (Uncompressed) or BMP file. Each page will be about 1 MB per page. Use a unique filename for each page... e.g. Page1.tif, Page2.tif, etc.
TIP:
Optimum resolution is achieved when the distance between staff lines is about 20 pixels. Zoom into the image. Referring to the mouse position readout in the status bar, measure the distance between two lines in a stave (measure white space only).
Pre-scanned images must be properly prepared. For detailed information on basic music scanning procedures, see "Scanner settings".
a.
Push one of the Recognition buttons (in the toolbar or Navigator) or select Recognize under the File menu.
b. A file-selection window Begin Recognition will open. This is where you list your pre-scanned files for recognition by selecting them, rearranging them, removing or reordering them.
c. In the Begin Recognition window, push Add Files to List.
d. Browse to where your images are stored. Click on an image file to select. If more than one page was scanned in the SmartScore scanning interface, the file will appear as a multi-page list.
NOTE: SmartScore can recognize BMP or PDF files provided they are a minimum of 200 dpi and not RGB or CMYK color.
NOTE: You may click on and drag image icon(s) to the selected files list of the Begin Recognition window. Some older Windows operating systems may not support drag-and-drop.
e. Preview pages prior to recognition to check that pages were scanned completely and that no page is severely skewed. Any of these issues will affect recognition results. Select the Preview tab and click on each page to view your pre-scanned pages.
f. Click on the Options tab to return to the File Selection and Options window. Options assists the recognizer to "hone in" on specific symbols and helps to remove any "false positives".
g. Refer to "Recognition Options" for details on how recognition options operate.
If you scan more than 9 pages, you may notice "Page10" is listed before "Page2". This is because most operating systems list files according to the first character of the filename. Click on any page and hit Move Up or Move Down to reposition. Hitting Remove Files from List will cause that page to be skipped during Recognition.
If one page of a scanned group is incorrectly scanned or is missing altogether from a multi-page image file (Page group), you may reselect individual pages to form a new page group.
a. Select (or drag) the original multi-page file inside the selected files list of the Begin Recognition window.
b. Highlight a page to remove and push Remove Files from List.
c. To add a replacement or additional page to the original page group, select or drag the page(s) to the selected files list.
d. Reorder pages as necessary.
NOTE: If pages were reordered, added to or deleted from the original image file, you will be able to re-save the newly listed pages.
Select all pages so they are highlighted and push Save As.
Select the existing name to over-write or type in a new name.
SmartScore allows you to process and combine scanned pages of solo parts, duets, trios or quartets and play them back simultaneously. They may also be recombined into a conductor's score.TIP:
If you are scanning in Score-parts for the purpose of joining solo parts into a conductor's score, it is recommended not to recognize text.
a. Scan in all pages for each part. For easiest identification, give a unique name or number for pages belonging to one part, e.g. FluteP1, FluteP2, GuitarP1, GuitarP2, etc.
b. In the Begin Recognition window, arrange files in order of parts then pages: e.g. Part1/Page1, Part1/Page2, Part2/Page1, etc.
c. Highlight the first set of pages that make up the first Score-Part.
d. Push Group to Score-Part. In the Part Name window, give the selected pages belonging to a score-part a unique name.
e. When all pages are properly grouped to score-parts, push the Begin Recognition button.
SmartScore will internally organize score-parts following recognition. The ENF window will display pages for the first part followed by pages of the next part. Parts will play back simultaneously. For more information on creating conductor's scores, refer to "Creating a Conductor's Score from Part Scores".
TIP:
Following recognition, guitar chord fret symbols may overlay chord names recognized as text: "Dumb" text chord names will not transpose.
To remove "dumb" text fields, use Nudge mode (Shift) and drag the control handles of each text field upwards. Use the Select tool and "group delete" all selected text fields.
If recognition accuracy is not as good as what you expected, examine the image up close by zooming into the image pane of your ENF view. You may also view Image Editor (FIle > Open > Image filetype).
Determine the following by zooming close up:
If objects lack detail, re-scan with Auto-Resolution = On or increase scanning resolution manually. Optimum distance between horizontal stafflines is 20 pixels. Use the cursor and readout in the Status Bar (pixel coordinates) to measure distance.
If objects such as note stems and staff lines are broken or lack thickness, re-scan with increased darkness to fill in gaps.
If the source document is poorly printed or is faded and weak, try locating a better print copy of the music.
NOTE: Recognition accuracy is directly related to the quality of the source document as well as the quality of the scanned image. Cheaper scanners, including Fax-Scan-Copy combos, are known to create poor images. Remember the old saw: "Garbage in / Garbage out". You may want to contact Musitek Tech Support for scanner recommendations.
If after examining the image and consulting the Troubleshooting chart, you are still unable to achieve good recognition results, we invite you to send us your TIFF file(s) for detailed analysis by our technicians.
You can attach your image (TIFF) files to e-mail along with a short description of the problem you experienced to the following address:
tech@musitek.comWe will as reply soon as possible. Most likely, we will be able to locate the problem and offer a solution or recommendation.
Following the final scan of music pages, you may choose to "Begin Recognition" or "Open Image Editor". This choice will stop the Recognition process and open the scanned images in the Image Editor.
a.
Press the Open button on the Navigator or choose Open (Ctrl + O) (Cmnd + O for Mac) from the File menu.
b. Change Files of Type pull-down menu to Image Files.
c. Browse and highlight an image file from the listed saved files. Press Open.
Select View > Image Information to display characteristics about the current scanned image including resolution, file type and page size.
To Zoom in and out click the Zoom Tool in the Main toolbar (Ctrl + Q). Click inside the image will increase the scale of your view (Zoom In), while right-click (alt / option + click for Mac) will decrease the scale of your view (Zoom Out).
To view pages of an image file, use the paging buttons in the Main Toolbar or select Next Page/ Previous Page from the View menu.
Used for selecting a region for cropping, deleting, cutting or copying.
b. With your mouse, drag a box around the area you wish to keep. If you want to extend the cropping region outside of the display, keep dragging; the page will scroll as you drag up or down.
c. To adjust the marked bounded area, move your cursor over a boundary line, click and drag the boundary to a new position.
d. Select Crop from the Edit menu OR press the Crop button in the Image Toolbar. The resulting image will be reduced to the area inside the bounded frame. Remember to Save when done.
Page through each scanned image and check for relative straightness of each image page. If a page appears tilted or skewed, recognition accuracy will be compromised. The Deskew tool rotates the image slightly to correct skewed pages and will optimize recognition accuracy.
b. Position the cursor over a staffline. Starting from the left side, click and drag the mouse along the length of the staffline. A red "skew angle" line will display as you drag the mouse. When you are certain the red "skew angle" line parallels the staffline, let go. The page will automatically straighten. Repeat for each page. Remember to Save when done.
NOTE: If the page becomes incorrectly rotated, undo with Ctrl + z / Cmnd + z for Mac (or select Edit > Undo).
If the image you open in SmartScore is white-on-black (instead of the normal black-on-white), then you should reverse the image output in your scanning software. SmartScore defaults to 0=white polarity.
If your scanned image appears white on black, choose Edit > Invert or choose the Invert button from the toolbar.
If there is more than one scanned page in the image file, the Delete Page function is active. Use it to remove poorly scanned or duplicated pages. To re-scan and restore deleted pages, see "Removing, replacing and re-saving scanned pages".
To draw free hand lines in your image file, select Brush from the Edit menu OR press the Brush button in the Image Toolbar. Choose a line width then click and drag to paint.
Some printed scores have weak or missing stafflines and/or brackets that can create problems during recognition and may result in missing or incorrectly bracketed systems. Sometimes, by accident, brackets and/or barlines are cut off during scanning. If this is the case, you can manually draw in staffline and brackets or enhance their thicknesses.
To restore cut-off or missing system brackets,
b. Push the Pen Color push button in the Image Toolbar, if necessary, to choose Black Color.
c. In the Width pull-down selector, choose a fairly wide thickness (10-20 pixels).
d. Click and drag the mouse to draw a line along the missing or broken bracket along the left margin of the music.
e. When finished modifying the image. Select File > Save As and give it a name. You may then Recognize the file with corrections.
To change the width of brush or line tool, select a new size from the Width menu in the Image Toolbar. Select from 1 to 50 pixels.
Push the "Eraser" button to activate white color. Push again to deactivate it for black color. Or choose Pen Color > Black or White from the Edit menu.
To rotate an image file (for landscape formatted scores or upside down scans), go to the Edit menu and highlight Rotate OR press one of the Rotate buttons in the Image Toolbar.
Rotate the image Left (90 degree rotation).
Rotate the image Right (90 degree rotation).
Select Edit > Rotate > Any to rotate at angles other than 90 degrees.
NOTE: Be careful that none of the music is clipped with this option. If so, choose Edit > Undo (Ctrl + z / Cmnd + z for Mac).
Choose Expand Image mode to increase the page size, if necessary, to include the entire image.
Remember to Save when done.
To cut an area from the scanned image, hit Delete button. Or use the Select tool and drag a box. Cut with Ctrl + "X".
To copy an area without removing it from the image, use the Select tool and drag a box with the mouse. Select Edit > Copy (Ctrl + C (Win) / Cmnd + C (Mac)).
To Paste the cut or copied region into an image file, select Edit > Paste (Ctrl + V / Cmnd + V (Mac)). The cut or copied section will drop into the image. With the mouse, drag the fragment anywhere within the image and release the left mouse button. To fix the fragment in place, click outside the pasted fragment.
This tool manually converts greyscale images to black and white for SmartScore recognition processing. It is helpful if the original scan was created in greyscale (recommended when scanning outside of SmartScore). See "Scanning Outside of SmartScore" for details.
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