Developers / File Types
File Types
Direct Formats
With forScore, users primarily work with standard PDF files stored in the app’s Documents directory, but this is not the only file type forScore is compatible with. Users can also add audio files, images, and CSV indexes to their forScore library for use in a number of different ways. Support for these direct file types may either be full (publicly declared support and compatibility with iOS and iPadOS’ sharing protocols), or partial (the file can be added to forScore’s Documents directory and is usable within the app, but is not publicly declared or importable).
| Name | Identifier | Support | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portable Document Format |
com.adobe.pdf | Full | The primary content type; sheet music |
| forScore Backup or Archive 4SB |
com.forScore.4sb | Backups contain a snapshot of forScore’s metadata, settings, and non-file content such as setlists; Archives also contain a copy of all files in forScore’s Documents directory (learn more here) | |
| Comma-Separated Values CSV |
public.comma-separated-values-text | CSV/TSV indexes can be used to create bookmarks within scores or to import/export library metadata in the Backups panel; values are imported and not used directly | |
| Tab-Separated Values TSV |
public.tab-separated-values-text | ||
| Audio | public.audio* | Tracks may be linked to specific scores for automatic queueing and easier playback control, and WAV-format samples may be used instead of the default metronome sounds | |
| Images | public.image* | Partial | May be used in the Stamps panel to create custom annotation stamps or in Scan to create PDF files |
*These generic types are defined by Apple and may change over time to include additional formats. Check Apple’s documentation for the most current list of supported file types.
Transport Formats
Additional file types are used to move data but are not stored or displayed as-is. This includes custom file types, used to bundle forScore-specific information along with a user’s content, as well as formats that can be automatically converted to a supported format as a convenience.
| Name | Identifier | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| forScore Container 4SC |
com.forScore.4sc | Automatically unpacked as a PDF file upon import; may include forScore-specific metadata, annotations, versions, and more |
| forScore Setlist 4SS |
com.forScore.4ss | Automatically unpacked as a forScore setlist upon import; includes setlist information and may include scores as generic PDFs or as 4SC files with embedded metadata, annotations, and more |
| Plain Text TXT |
public.plain-text | Automatically converted to PDF files upon import |
| Rich Text RTF |
public.rtf | |
| Microsoft Word Document DOC |
com.microsoft.word.doc | |
| Microsoft Word Document DOCX |
org.openxmlformats. wordprocessingml.document |
Open Setlist (4SS) FormatforScore 12.0
With forScore 12 you can create your own setlists from XML data saved to a filename ending in forScore’s custom 4SS file extension. Note that although this format uses the 4SS extension, it is not similar to the files forScore exports when sharing setlists and it cannot contain PDF files or any other assets. These files are not compatible with earlier versions of forScore.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<forScore kind="setlist" version="1.0" title="My New Setlist">
<score title="Score Title" path="filename.pdf" data="..." />
<bookmark title="Bookmark Title" path="another_filename.pdf" />
<placeholder title="A New Placeholder" />
</forScore>The document’s root element must be forScore with the attributes and values shown above for kind and version. You must supply a setlist name using the title attribute.
Child elements within the forScore element can be one of three kinds: score, bookmark, and placeholder. When building a setlist, forScore uses PDF data when supplied (requires forScore 14.3 or later), otherwise it attempts match score and bookmark entries to existing items in the user’s library (using path to identify scores, and both path and title to identify bookmarks). It first looks for an exact match, then falls back to a case-insensitive match, and finally a diacritics- and case-insensitive match. If no matches are found for a score entry and a title has been supplied, a placeholder is inserted in its place. If not, the entry is omitted.
| Element | Attribute | Value | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| score | path | The filename of the score in the user’s library | Yes |
| title | The placeholder name to be used if the file cannot be found | No | |
| data | Base64-encoded PDF data, written to path (adjusted to avoid existing filenames and to ensure that the “.pdf” extension is used). Requires forScore 14.3 or later. | No | |
| bookmark | path | The filename of the score in the user’s library that contains the bookmark | Yes |
| title | The name of the bookmark in the user’s library, used as the placeholder title if the bookmark cannot be found | Yes | |
| placeholder | title | The title of your placeholder | Yes |
Drag & Drop Formats
Most compatible file types can be dropped into forScore from other apps, but the drop target and behavior varies based on the content type. Generally, files can be dropped where they’re used; CSV files can be dropped into the Indexes browser, 4SB files can be dropped into the Backups panel, and 4SS files can be dropped into the Setlists menu. Additional examples can be found in the user guide.