Laurence Payne's Sibelius FAQ
last updated February 2021

Frequently Asked Questions, incorporating 'Things I Thought Everybody Knew!' arising from questions asked on the Sibelius forum or the Sibelius mail list. Or even the various Sibelius-related Facebook groups. Though I prefer to work in a forum where sib files can be freely attached to queries and replies.

There's a Cubase FAQ page too, though I haven't updated it for some time.

This is fun!

0. Sibelius 7.5 bugs and features including the Bass Clarinet Patch

Sibelius Sounds Updater 7.5.0 installer (Win) 0 MB Sibelius Sounds Updater 7.5.0 installer (Mac) 0 MB Sibelius 7.5.0 installer (Mac) 0 MB Sibelius Sounds 7.5 (Mac) 0 MB. Sibelius 7 System Id Crack Software Rating: 3,8/5 632votes. Mac activation xp activation” “free 2012 “free key” crack Avid Sibelius 7.5 Full. We just finished our crack for Avid Sibelius 7.5, a recent work of Storm =). Its not tested in every system, so we'll be very grateful to receive your. For new copies of Sibelius 7: If you purchased a boxed copy, your System ID and Activation ID will be printed on an activation card in the box. If you purchased a crossgrade or academic version, your System and Activation IDs will be emailed to you upon successful verification of your crossgrade.

1. Sibelius7SystemIdAndActivationIdCrack - DOWNLOAD Sibelius 7 System Id And Activation Id Crack - DOWNLOAD.
2. I have been using Sibelius 7 for about 2 years and yesterday decided to update to Sibelius 7.1.3 – free download. The worst mistake I could have made. After downloading I was instructed to ACTIVATE but in spite of following the instructions and using the system ID and Activation ID’s given, I am blocked.

0. 'Error Message: 'There was a problem initializing the licensing engine'

Unfortunately, for Sibelius 8 users, this now has to go at the top of the list.
Here's what to do. A rather more complete list than is offered in the Avid knowlegebase. They left out the 'binding.dat' bit.
........................................................................................................
'Error Message: 'There was a problem initializing the licensing engine'

WINDOWS:
- Close Sibelius.
- Click Start.
- Type %programdata% then press Enter.
- Go to AvidLicenses.
- Delete entire 'Licenses' folder
- Then go back one folder and go to AvidCommon
- Delete 'binding.dat' file
- Empty the trash.
- Reactivate Sibelius.
MAC:
- Close Sibelius.
- Open up the Finder app, then select the 'Go' menu from the top,
- Then select 'Go to Folder' (or Shift+Command+G) and type '/Library' and hit enter.
- Once you are in the “Library' folder, go to 'Application Support/Avid”
- Delete 'Licenses” folder
- Then go back one folder and go to 'Application Support/Common'
- Delete 'binding.dat' file
- Empty the trash.
- Reactivate Sibelius.

1. Registration and download issues.

You used to need a Serial Number (typically starting with SCEP, SCEE etc.) to register your copy of Sibelius. Current versions of Sibelius 7 have moved to a System ID and Activation ID method.

If you need them because you are installing a second instance of Sibelius 7, go to File/Help in your first installation where they are displayed. Note that System ID is specific to your licence, not to any particular computer. You use the same numbers on both your installations.

If you haven't got an already-installed Sibelius 7 to look at, go to http://www.sibelius.com/helpcenter/upgrades.html and start the procedure to download the latest Sibelius update. Your old Serial Number will get you started. On the next page, you'll be given your System and Activation numbers. This time, make a note of them!

There's another page more specifically aimed at Sibelius users at:
http://www.sibelius.com/documents/contact_form.html
When you type in a question, it attempts to show you a relevant Knowledge Base article. Sibelius have stated that they would prefer you took this route for ' all non-technical support queries i.e. helping people buy/upgrade/register/activate Sibelius.'

Registration support for all Avid products is at:
http://avid.force.com/Support/RegistrationCaseCreation
It's free, no ASC required, and they can sort it out.

They also seem sympathetic to users who have upgraded from Sibelius 6 to Sibelius 7 but want to install both versions on a new computer - maybe for access to the Sibelius 6 Sounds, both as an alternative set of samples and as a much less demanding device than Sibelius 7 Sounds. But you must have BEEN a Sibelius 6 owner, if you bought in at Sibelius 7, the answer's no!

If you bought Sibelius 7 online, you can download the installation files again from your account at:
http://account.avid.com

Or you should be able to. Things seem to be changing... (8 Feb 2014) Watch this space!

2. Make a duplicate Part in another transposition.

Someone wanted to print a Bb Treble Clef Euphonium Part as well as a concert pitch Bass Clef Euphonium one.

Update. This is good for Sibelius 6. But Erik Hagner reminds us that this procedure is automated in Sibelius 7. Just open a Part then use 'Parts/Copy and change instrument'

Go to Parts/ New Part.

On the left is the list of instruments in your score. Click Euphonium across to the right hand column.

Look in the Parts list. You now have two identical Euphonium parts.

Open one of them. Click an Instrument Change to 'Euphonium, Treble Clef' (from Home/ Instruments/ Change) into the space just before the first stave.

.

3. Gap before bar - global removal

Sometimes an imported file has those annoying Gaps Before Bar at the end of each line. When the music reflows (first thing to do to an imported file is generally Select All then Unlock Format) you get a split stave and extra clef in the middle of a line. You can go through the score selecting the bar after each unwanted gap and, in the Inspector, set its Gap Before Bar to zero. Even better, there's a downloadable plugin (by Bob Zawalich) 'Gap before bar' that will remove them wholesale. Or, for a quick trick, Select All, then R (for Repeat). The appended copy of your score won't have the gaps. Delete the unwanted first half, and you're done.
Update: The latest version of 'Gap before bar'also deals with Gap AFTER bar. Sometimes the right-hand end of a stave gets stuck off-screen. We can now pull it back without having to temporarily increase the page width in order to be able to grab it. Nice one!
The Gaps can also be caused by you having tried to adjust margins by dragging the ends of staves around. All very well until the music re-flows for some reason and what was an end-of-stave is now middle-of-stave. So don't do that then!
Gaps Before Bar have their uses, but try not to introduce them by mistake.

4. Expand or contract spacing

A selected passage (or whole score selected with Ctrl-A) can have its spacing expanded or contracted by pressing Shift-Alt-RightArrow or Shift-Alt-LeftArrow. If you're doing this to get fewer or more bars on a line, don't forget to Unlock Format (Shift-Ctrl-U) first.

5. 4 bars to a line and Proportional Spacing

4 bars to a line. Frequently asked for. Not always a good idea. But easy to achieve - it's the first option in Layout/Auto Breaks. It's the default setting for Parts in some of the supplied Manuscript Paper templates. A questionable decision.

4 bars to a line with the bars aligned is a bit harder. Bob Zawalich's plugin 'Proportional Spacing' sets Appearance/House Style/Note Spacing Rule to appropriate figures. Here is an example of some slightly more aggressive settings. If your notation includes accidentals, key signatures etc. you may have to reduce the staff size quite a bit (and/or reconsider how many bars to a line are practical) before Sibelius stops insisting on allocating extra space for these items.

And there's always the trick of adding a hidden voice and filling it with semiquavers. But don't try to do it by dragging the barlines around. That never ends well.

If uniform layout is of paramount importance and if playback doesn't matter you could add additional instruments until one system fills the whole page. Bar lines will then be perfectly aligned. You'll probably want to remove the initial barline.

6. Repeat Text

There is often confusion over how to create functioning D.C, D.S, Coda etc. notation, and which Text Styles to use.

Tempo Text and Repeats text are both System Text styles, and both work for DC, DS, al Coda, Coda and Fine. The difference is: Tempo Text left-aligns to its attachment point, Repeats Text right-aligns. Attach “Allegro” to the beginning of a score and switch it between Tempo Text and Repeats Text – you’ll see what I mean.

As alignment is a property of the Text Style, this explains why Sibelius requires you to choose “Coda” from a different menu to the rest.

Tempo Text is therefore suitable for “Coda”- it needs to appear after the jump point. Repeats Text is better for “To Coda”, “D.S.” etc. - which normally appear before the jump point. But you could use the same Style for each, taking care to position the text WITHOUT changing its attachment point by Alt-dragging.

The S sign can be a Zymbol (set as System) or a text character from any System Text Style. The Zymbol can only be small or very small. The character is fully resizable. Seems a bit of a no-brainer to use the text character then! Whichever you choose, be aware of its attachment point, and of the Alt-drag technique for positioning it without messing up the attachment point.

The Coda symbol is, by default, purely cosmetic. The convention where just the sign is used for both “To Coda” and “Coda” could be achieved by including but hiding functional text. It would be difficult to define the Coda sign as meaning both!

7. Missing bar lines

All the bar lines have disappeared! It's quite easy to inadvertently multi-select every bar line throughout an instrument's part by clicking on the 'handle' at the intersection of any bar line and the top or bottom line of a stave - then press Delete! If you catch it straight away, press Ctrl-Z of course. Otherwise, you can get them back by borrowing from the instrument below or above. Turn on View: Handles (not essential, but it helps you see where the handles ARE). Drag the handle at the bottom of a barline down (or up) across the stave without any.
If there isn't another instrument, or we're in a Part, add one. Any instrument will do. (Thanks Terry Dwyer for reminding us a short ossia will do nicely, and only takes one click.) Once you've borrowed its bar lines, delete it.

More information here:

http://www.sibelius.com/helpcenter/article.php?id=424&languageid=1&searchid=1238284
http://www.rpmseattle.com/of_note/how-to-restore-missing-barlines-in-one-staff-of-a-score-in-sibelius/

8. ...and Missing bar numbers

This happens when the repeat structure of your score is broken. If playback won't get to a section of the score, because you've confused Sibelius with illogical notation, bar numbers stop being shown.

The most common reason is using the wrong sort of Line for 1st time, 2nd time etc. brackets. The last one - the one that 'carries on' - needs an open-ended line. The ones that 'go back' need a hooked-end one. The next most common reason is a Start Repeat barline that doesn't have a matching End Repeat one.

If playback doesn't matter, you can cop out by going to Play/Repeats and clicking 'Don't play repeats'. Bar numbers will reappear. There's also an option there to set up a manual playback map, which can occasionally be necessary for complex repeat structures. (But make sure a human player would understand the notation. Generally, if Sibelius finds it confusing, so would a live musician.)

9. Do I have to install an older version before an update?

You've got a new computer, or you're re-installing after a crash. You originally bought (say) Sibelius 5, and have bought the updates to Sibelius 6 and Sibelius 7. Do you need to install 5, update to 6, then update to 7?

No. You need to obtain the latest version of Sibelius 7 and install it straight away. Incremental updates (5.0 to 5.1 etc.) may be patches - a small downloaded program modifies the existing program code. But full-version updates (5 to 6, 6 to 7) are the full program. You get discount pricing for being an existing owner. That's the only difference between a new purchase and an upgrade one.

10. Mac-specific issues

Noteheads missing, or displaying strangely? Try THIS advice from Sibelius.

Another possibility: Malfunctioning Sibelius 7 Sounds and crashing when saving a sib file may be caused by a Mac program called Audio Hijack Pro. This solution has been offered - thanks to whoever originally posted it.

1) In Audio Hijack Pro, go to the menu item Audio Hijack Pro:Install Extras...
2) In the Instant On portion of the window that will open, click on the Settings button (lower right hand corner) and choose Uninstall.
3) Restart the computer.

Update: The real solution seems to be to update the program.
http://www.sibeliusblog.com/news/rogue-amoeba-release-audio-hijack-pro-and-airfoil-updates-to-fix-sibelius-conflict/

11. Keypad, Navigator, Mixer or Playback windows are stuck at the top of the screen or missing

Here's the official set of solutions for all Sibelius versions up to 7.
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/troubleshooting/en361889

On Windows, there's a quick fix if you can see ANY part of the window.
Click on the part of it you CAN see. Press Alt-Space to open its position control window. Press M to select Move. Use the Arrow keys to move it back on screen.

12. When Sibelius is 'broken'

Sometimes things go wrong. Sibelius runs very slowly, or won't run at all. You can un-install and re-install all you like, or delete the visible User Preferences, but nothing helps. But if you create a new User Account, everything works again.

Robin Walker has posted invaluable instructions in the Sibelius Help Centre on how to clear out the hidden settings that are causing the problem.

Here's a link to the thread for PC:

http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=658457&groupid=3&

And for Mac:

http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=658598&groupid=3&
Robin has also recently offered this, for Windows users:
'Please do the following to reset the state of Sibelius:
- ensure Sibelius is fully quit and not even running in the background: if unsure, restart Windows;
- click Start -> Avid -> 'Sibelius User Data';
- from inside the folder that opens, delete the sub-folders 'PlogueEngine' and 'Playback Configurations';
- right-click Start -> 'Windows PowerShell'; at the resulting command prompt, type precisely:
reg delete HKCUSoftwareAvidSibelius
then press the Enter key. This will delete all Sibelius user preferences.
The next time you launch Sibelius, Sibelius will re-create the two folders that you deleted, and all its Preferences, reset to defaults as if it had just been newly installed.'

13. Instruments not playing in a large score using Sibelius 7 Sounds

There have been a few queries of this type recently.

We check that Sounds are fully installed, recommend the Bass Clarinet patch... all good and useful advice.

But very often the simple fact is that Sibelius 7 Sounds offers a lot of instruments with a lot of articulations for each - even alternative samples for multiple instances of the same instrument - and the Sibelius playback engine has a finite number of 'slots' (however much RAM and however powerful your computer).

The engine is not clever enough to realise 'It's more important to cut down on violin articulations and HAVE a double bass'. So we must make the decision ourselves by choosing a Lite soundset. Fewer articulations are available. A staccato note will be played as a normal one only shorter, rather than as a separate sample. Bummer. But we'll GET a double bass!

14. Long stems to indicate block chords

Want this?

Do this:

And for this:

No need for a custom notehead. Cross-stave the Voice 2 notes, Drag the tip of their stems up. Hide any beams/flags.
(It LOOKS like you're selecting stem AND beam/flag for hiding, but only the beam/flag actually disappears.)

15. Hiding bar numbers in a passage.

Here's a neat way, using a Bar Number Change. Remember what a tilde character does to following text? We normally use it to hide things like mm markings. But it works on bar numbers too.

16. Ossia staves.

Ossia staves (rather like Extracted Parts) are only occasionally the right solution.

Be aware of what an ossia stave actually is. It's an 'Extra staff above' (or below) set to small size and assigned the instrument 'No instrument (hidden)'. It exists throughout the whole score, but is only revealed by a temporary Instrument Change to the actual instrument. Every time you create an ossia, the score gets a new empty stave. The downloadable 'Consolidate Ossias' plugin can tidy this up.

If you MUST have an extra stave that cuts in and out mid-line, an ossia can be useful. Otherwise adding a stave in the usual way and using 'Hide Empty Staves' is generally better.

17. Key signatures and barlines.

HERE is the full article on Music Engraving Tips. It mainly addresses the issue 'getting the key signature associated with an instrument change to display correctly in the score and part, and not break a mulitrest in the process.'

18. Windows 10 issues
There have been some reports of Sibelius showing 'No audio devices' after a Windows 10 update.

A Windows computer may have 'Realtek High Definition Audio'. The driver as supplied in Windows 10 can be problematic. See http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=684731&groupid=3&

That's the right solution. But I'll leave this earlier suggestion up for the sale of completeness.

This may help. A file, portaudio_x64.dll (64 bit version) or portaudio_x86.dll (32 bit version) in the Sibelius program folder can be replaced.
Maybe connected with having ASIO4ALL installed. Tests with and without it (and to see if a laptop's onboard audio performs acceptably in Sibelius without ASIO4ALL under Windows 10) are pending. But the portaudio_x64.dl swap was a quick fix.
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Troubleshooting/en417515

19. Sibelius 7.5 bugs and features

'Swing' can now be applied, in Technique Text, to individual staves. But the global Swing setting, in Tempo Text may be broken. Reset it by going to the Playback dictionary, change Swing's effect from 'Rhythmic feel', to another option, then change it back.

Reported as fixed in Sibelius 7.5.1

The comma symbol can have a playback effect in Sibelius 7.5. Nice - but there's a bug. Put a comma in your score, brass sounds may start playing staccato. Select the comma, look in the Inspector and you'll find a new option called 'Breath mark'. Apply this.

Also fixed in 7.5.1

************************************************

There's a fault with the supplied Bass Clarinet instrument. It can prevent some instruments from playing in your score. Do THIS. Even if there isn't a Bass Clarinet in your score, still do it.

You'll need this patch even after applying the 7.5 Sounds update, it isn't included.
Update. January 2017. Sibelius 8 owners will now find Sibelius 7.5.1 Sounds, both a full version (the BIG upload) and a small updater in their Avid Account. Those who have stuck with Sibelius 7.5 will apparently still have to grab the BCP.

If your formatting has become infested with Gaps Before Bar, maybe by misguided dragging around of staves, there's now a plugin to download, 'Gap Before Bar', which can detect and remove them. Thanks to Bob Zawalich, who was enabled by the fact that in Sibelius 7.5 these gaps are now accessible to the plugin language.

20. Copying user-defined instruments (and other things) between scores)

You've created a new Instrument -'Siberian Nose Flute in G' - in one score. In another score you've defined 'Chromatic Icicles'. In your new work - 'Arctic Winter' - you'd obviously like to use both of them. But Saving and Importing a House Style from each doesn't work - the imported Instruments don't both get added. A second imported House Style knocks out the changes made by the first. And House Styles are a blunt instrument, you are often forced to copy settings that you don't WANT to copy as well as the ones you do.
So open two scores in adjacent windows. The score including 'Siberian Nose Flute in G' and the one you want to copy it to. Insert a mid-stave Instrument Change to 'Siberian Nose Flute in G' in the first score. See the grey upright rectangle that denotes the Instrument Change? That can be Copy/Pasted into the second score! It's now safely in the new score's Instruments list, and will stay there even after you delete the copied Instrument Change marker. Now open another score, containing another user-defined Instrument (or two, or three...) and do the same.
The same trick works for user-defined Lines, Symbols etc.

21. Metric Modulations - how to roll your own

Ben Elliott offers us this key for how to construct Metric Modulations using the Opus Metronome Std Text Style. It's the first time I've seen it documented. Nice one, Ben!
Here's a demonstration Sibelius file Metro Mod Translation version 6.sib
P.S. Please think twice before using this to indicate 'Swing'. Swing is not triplets. Musicians (and Sibelius playback) understand the text instruction 'Swing' perfectly well.
Also: I find on my Windows systems that too much editing of an existing text string is a reliable method of crashing Sibelius. Your mileage may vary. But if you're going to do trial-and-error editing of a Metric Modulation, Save first!
If you want anything beyond triplets, tough luck.
But here's METRICO

https://github.com/fkretlow/metrico
A freely-available font from @floriankretlow.
Click CODE on the github page and Download ZIP to get everything youi need.

22. Bypassing the Ribbon galleries

The new Galleries omit several useful functions. Like, for instance, creating a System version of a Symbol, or choosing the 'Allow Cautionary' option for a Time Signature. And (sorry, Daniel) it's just so much easier to find something in the old Symbols menu than in that great, bloated multi-screen Gallery.
They're still available however, by clicking the More Options button at the bottom of a Gallery. And if you'd like Z (for Symbols), L (for Lines), Q (for Clefs), K (for Key Signatures) and T (for Time Signatures) to lead directly to the old, compact but full-featured menus, just re-define those Shortcut Keys. The magic words are 'Show.... dialog'.
The quick route to a Text Style (and lots of other stuff) is still via a Right-click on any empty part of the score page. See #23

23. Best-kept secrets of Sibelius

Shift-Alt-Left or RightArrow. This key combination stretches or compresses the horizontal spacing of a selection. Do Shift-Ctrl-N first to Reset Note Spacing. Then, if a bar is a little cramped, and you're tempted to start dragging notes or barlines around, select the passage and expand it with Shift-Alt-RightArrow. This won't help if the real problem is a forced layout with too many bars on a line though! If you MUST have all those bars on one line, perhaps the answer is a smaller staff size.
Shift-Alt-Left or RightArrow. This combination does something else as well. If you select the dot of a dotted note, it lets you move it horizontally. Maybe to underneath an adjacent black note? This can be useful...
The Bass Clarinet Patch. Never really announced, never offered as an update. But if some instruments in your score inexplicably refuse to play when using Sibelius 7 Sounds, it's the first thing to try. Even if your score doesn't incluse a Bass Clarinet. HERE it is. Read the instructions.

The R-click menus. We can still R-click on an empty part of the Score page to bring up the old menus for - well, all sorts of things. Try it.

24. Auto Save
A much misunderstood function. Are you sure you're expecting Auto-Save to do what it actually does? There's two safety systems. The Backup Scores folder, which keeps a version (not to be confused with Versions within Sibelius) every time you Save. And the Auto-Save folder, which MAY have saved your score when Sibelius crashes. A copy is saved at the user-defined interval. It is deleted when Sibelius exits normally. The idea is that it survives a crash.

Autosave has a reputation for unreliability. But it may not be as unreliable as we think. The Autosave folder may not be where you think it is, and this can be confused by old Autosave folders left behind by previous Sibelius versions.

Current Sibelius, on current Windows, keeps Autosave in C:Users{your_username}AppDataRoamingAvidSibeliusAutoSave. Which might be a hidden location, but is accessible by clicking Avid/Sibelius User Data in the 'All Apps' list. Look there before you panic. But, if on re-starting Sibelius you aren't automatically offered an AutoSaved score, I'm afraid there almost certainly isn't one.

The main message is that is YOUR job to press Ctrl-S at frequent intervals when working on a score. You're driving this program. Take responsibility.

25. Transferring the Sounds from another computer

Downloading and installing the Sibelius 7 Sounds (also used by Sibelius 8) is a long job. If you have them already installed on another PC, Joe@Sibelius tells us:

'You can transfer the files. You'll also need to transfer a registry key that tells Sibelius where to find the library
The registry key is at this path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAvidSibelius SoundsSibelius 7 SoundsContentPath
Export that key to a file, which you can then transfer to and import into the registry on your new machine.
You don't even need to update the content of the registry key itself - if Sibelius doesn't find the library when it starts, it will automatically prompt you to manually locate it.'

26. Add a graphic to Score and Parts
Just to page 1. But it automatically copies to all Parts. A neat trick from Badger Music. It won't suit every occasion. But it's worth trying.

27. Problems with Avid Link

Oh, don't get me started! But here's a dodge that sorted out a problem for me recently. From the Tech. Support forum

'One of my PC computers has been refusing to let me log in through Avid Link, though I could do so on the Avid Account web page.
I had tried R-clicking the system tray icon then Preferences/Clear cache files, though nothing seemed to happen. So I thought I'd try quitting Avid Link and re-starting it As Administrator. That seems to have worked.'

28. Flexitime and Latency
Flexitime Input. A big selling point when Sibelius first appeared. Play from a MIDI keyboard in free tempo, Sibelius will detect the beats and deliver useful notation. Well, the 'Flexi' part never really worked. But if you set flexibility to 'none', choose sensible quantisation settings and play 'dead on the click' rather than expecting it to follow you it can be a useful input method.
But - latency. You choose a stave assigned to a Virtual Instrument (like Sibelius 7 Sounds) and play a note on your MIDI keyboard. Half-a-second later the sound arrives. This isn't caused - as you might imagine - by the MIDI connection - that's pretty well instantaneous. It's about the time Sibelius takes to process the MIDI instruction and output the sound. The 'Audio Latency' of the system. And that's about your 'sound card' and its driver.
If your 'soundcard' is the onboard audio chip of a PC computer, you've got a problem. That chip is probably very competent at entertainment media playback, it might even support 'Home Cinema' 5.1 stereo. But, no matter how expensive and powerful the computer may be, it isn't designed for low-latency response. Realtime MIDI input will be responded to sluggishly. And score playback in Sibelius - particularly where there are more than a couple of instruments - may be rhythmically unstable and glitchy (but see note * at the bottom of this section).
Music producers who deal with multi-track recording including VST Instruments in DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) programs such as Cubase or ProTools will generally install a specialist audio interface. These days it's likely to be an external USB-connected box. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a popular choice. Install it, along with the provided VST driver - CHOOSE that driver in Sibelius (Play/Setup/Audio Engine Options) and you're good to go.
But suppose your only computer-music interest is score production with Sibelius? Playback is useful for reference, but not your main preoccupation. But you WOULD like to be able to use real-time 'Flexitime' input. Try ASIO4ALL. http://www.asio4all.org/ It won't quite turm your onboard Realtek audio chip into a high-performance interface. But it should allow you to set latency low enough for Flexitime, and it's free!
*Note that even if your computer is incapable of faultlessly playing back a Sibelius score, the result of Export Audio will be OK. It may take longer than realtime playback to Export the file, but it won't be limited by the soundcard's performance.
Here's a good article on the subject from Daniel Spreadbury. A bit old, but the principles stand
https://www.scoringnotes.com/tips/taming-the-flexi-time-latency-beast

More Sibelius resources

Of Note Finale & Sibelius tips and tutorials by Robert Puff

Avid's Sibelius FAQ page Informative about features, comparisom with Finale etc.

Making Notes What Daniel did next....

If you deploy Sibelius in your environment, you may or may not have a Sibelius Licence Server to manage the checking in and out of your licenses. From personal experience, it’s immensely helpful in terms of license management – only having licenses in use when machines are actively running the software-, managing license upgrades, as well as managing deployments. While not every environment is the same, if you happen to have standalone Sibelius licenses instead of a multi-seat network license, I would highly recommend it.

This post covers the process of setting up a Sibelius License Server and deploying Sibelius to your Macs. I obviously don’t know your network, so there may be some “gotchas” on that side of things that will require working with your Network Admin to get this working.

The component of this deployment that I found recently some folks were missing (and we missed initially as well) was the local LicenceServerInfo file. This is what tells Sibelius where to communicate in order to check out licenses, and for whatever reason isn’t well documented.

See more below the jump.

LicenCe vs. LicenSe: a Disclaimer

If you live in the US, this disclaimer is for you!

When we’re talking about the word license as a noun, the spelling is different in the US than the rest of the world. It’s because we like being different?

If you do a quick search online, you’ll find articles like this one that show in the US it’s a license with an “s”, while elsewhere it’s spelled licence with a “c”.

While you might be thinking “potatoe potatoe”, the spelling actually matters in the case of Sibelius when configuring your Macs as the local file that points to your license server does spell it with a “c”. Since I am from the US, I will use the license spelling wherever I can … except when it matters.

You’ve been disclaimed!

Multi-Seat Network License

In order to take advantage of the Sibelius Licence Server, you need to get yourself a multi-seat network license. You can get this license with as many seats as you need. Being in the New York area, our nearest and long-time stellar Audio/Video company and Avid license vendor has been Sweetwater. So if you’re thinking about making a purchase and you happen to be in NY, definitely reach out to them.

You can see more details about the license and how it works here.

For a detailed Sibelius Licence Server install & upgrade guide, see this Avid KB article for the complete Sibelius Licence Server Guide.

Sibelius 7.5 System Id And Activation Id Free

Install Sibelius Licence Server

You’ll need to login to your Avid account and download the installer. We’ve opted to run our various license servers on a single Mac mini, but whatever makes sense for you and your environment. You’ll also need your System ID – listed next to your Sibelius entry under your Avid products – and your Activation ID – listed within the list of Sibelius downloads.

Just a quick note: starting in 2018, Avid updated its versioning from its older scheme (ex. 8.4.2) to a new one which indicates the year and month of the software release. More details here. This new versioning hasn’t yet made its way to the Sibelius Licence Server (the latest version as of this writing is 8.4.2), so don’t worry about this discrepancy when you see it.

Run the PKG installer.

Configure Sibelius Licence Server with Your License

If you’re on a Mac, the Avid Application Manager icon will be available in the menu bar. Authenticate with your Avid account credentials.

Depending on your network, you may or may not be able to authenticate your multi-seat network license over the Internet. The good news is there’s an offline activation option, so if you’re like us this may be your best (or only) option. A link will be available in the app to the applicable webpage if you need to go this route.

Enter your System ID, Activation ID, and for offline activation also the activation file you produce. Once successfully activated, open your Sibelius License Control Panel and verify you see the number available seats listed.

Prepare Your Sibelius Deployment

If you haven’t already, make sure you have the latest Sibelius installer downloaded. Extract the PKG from the DMG and load / import it wherever your environment’s software installations (munki_repo, Jamf Distribution Point, etc.).

A couple of important points about the Sibelius installer …

The installer itself contains several items that won’t get installed by default when deployed remotely. One many being the various Sibelius scores in different languages. As such, if you happen to be using munki to deploy Sibelius, you have a couple of things to do after importing into your repo:

1) Add an installer_choices_xml array to your pkginfo file for each of the package IDs contained in the Sibelius installer. In our environment we only install the application, fonts, rewire, and applicable scores.

We notably exclude the Avid Application Manager (com.avid.tmp.AppMan.pkg) from our installation because our users won’t ever sign in or update the software. A year or two ago we also isolated an issue where while the Avid App Manager was running any wireless AirPlay streams from the Mac would be incredibly poor and choppy.

If you do want to install the manager, you can opt to simply remove the app manager LaunchAgent (/Library/LaunchAgents/com.avid.ApplicationManager.plist) so it won’t launch automatically when a user logs in. You can do this in munki, Jamf, and other tools via a postinstall script.

2) Make any package IDs in your receipts array that you don’t install optional. Otherwise, when munki does its automated run it will continually reinstall the software. Even if you don’t opt to go the installer_choices_xml array route, you will still have to mark a number of these package receipts as optional.

Sibelius Licence Server File

The last piece to your deployment will be the Licence Server file (spelling matters here). Sibelius looks for this on launch, and if found will attempt to communicate and check out a license.

The full path to the file is below:

/Library/Application Support/Avid/Sibelius/_manuscript/LicenceServerInfo

Sibelius 7.5 System Id And Activation Id Free Download

The file itself is nothing special. It should contain a single line with the IP address or hostname of your Sibelius Licence Server. It should have an owner and group of root:admin with 755 permissions, just like all of its parent folders.

You can choose to either script the creation of the file, it’s contents, and parent folders, or just make an installer with the file and folders. We opt for the latter.

Test Deployment

Once you have everything setup, test your deployment. If all is configured correctly, launching Sibelius for the first time will indicate it’s using a network license with small text at the bottom left corner of the launch window.

Future Sibelius Deployments

As mentioned in the beginning, the great thing about using Avid’s multi-seat network license is that it makes upgrading the software and your license much easier.

So long as your license is up-to-date, you can remotely push Sibelius PKG installers to your deployed Macs and they will still refer to your Sibelius Licence Server for checking out licenses.

And whenever you purchase your annual license support renewal, you can deactivate your current license in the Avid Application Manager on your server and add the new one. Any of your already deployed Macs, regardless of the version they’re on, will continue to check out licenses from the server.