Guide
Importing several scores into forScore at once
How a complete part from a music book travels into forScore in a single pass: straight from the Notenarchiv app, or via forScore's own import window.
A complete part – every piece in a music book for one instrument – travels into forScore in a single pass. Straight from the Notenarchiv app, with no detour through folders. And if you prefer working from the other side, you can pull the same batch into forScore via the Files app.
The direct route: share a part
- In the Notenarchiv app, go to Books and open your music book.
- Tap Share voice and pick your instrument.
- The app downloads every part in the book – you can follow the progress – and then opens the share menu. Choose forScore there.
forScore imports the whole batch in one pass. The file names start with the code and number from your music book, so the pieces line up in forScore in the order of the book. Composer, category and book assignment are embedded in the PDFs as metadata and land in forScore’s fields automatically; forScore takes the title from the file name.
If a piece has no part for your instrument, the app tells you afterwards which ones were missing – everything that does exist is shared regardless.
If only one file used to arrive
iOS offers forScore in two places in the share menu, and the two behave completely differently:
- forScore’s share extension receives the whole batch and imports all of it.
- “Copy to forScore” – the destination that opens a file directly in the app – always receives exactly one file from the system. The rest are dropped silently, without any error message.
Anyone who happened to tap the second destination found a single score in their library afterwards. That is why the Notenarchiv app hides this destination as soon as more than one file is shared – you can no longer pick the wrong one. For a single part it stays available, because there it is the fastest route.
Alternative: import from within forScore
Sometimes the other direction is handier – when you only need individual pieces, want to import across books, or want the titles to come along as a separate field.
On iPhone and iPad, Notenarchiv registers as its own location in the Files app – and forScore’s import window is exactly that Files view, multiple selection included.
- In forScore, open the menu and tap + → Import.
- Under Browse, choose Notenarchiv in the left-hand column. If the entry is missing, briefly open the Notenarchiv app and sign in; afterwards you can show it under “Locations” in the Files app.
- Choose a format:
- 4SC (ForScore) – also brings the title along as its own field
- PDF – the plain PDF files
- Continue via Nach Buch (by book) → your music book → your part. Alternatively use Nach Instrument (by instrument) if you want to import across books.
- Tap Select in the top right, mark every file you want – or use Select All – and confirm with Open.
Here, too, forScore imports the whole batch in a single pass.
Alternative: save first, import afterwards
If you are already at Share voice in the Notenarchiv app but also want to keep the music outside forScore:
- Choose Save to Files in the share menu and create a folder, for instance “forScore import” under “On My iPad”.
- In forScore, go to + → Import and into that folder.
Alternative: drag and drop on the iPad
On the iPad it is quicker still if you are working with two apps anyway: open the Files app and forScore side by side in Split View, mark several scores in the Files app, pick them up with one finger and drop them onto the page in forScore or straight into a setlist. Here, too, any number of files moves across at once.
A single part from one piece
If you only need one piece, go straight from the detail view: open the score, tap Share and choose the format – PDF or forScore (.4sc). The 4sc file brings title, composer and category with it, along with annotations if you want them.
In short
| What you want to do | Best route |
|---|---|
| A complete part from a music book | Notenarchiv app → book → Share voice → instrument → forScore |
| A specific selection, or across books | forScore → + → Import → Notenarchiv → multiple selection |
| On the iPad, both apps open | Files app and forScore in Split View, drag and drop |
| A single piece | Open the score → Share → forScore (.4sc) |
| Just save the music, import later | Share menu → Save to Files |
forScore and the Files app integration exist on iOS and iPadOS only. On Android, the Notenarchiv app shares parts directly as PDFs with the sheet music apps available there.
How to get your library into clean digital shape in the first place is covered in the guide Digitising sheet music: a guide for bands and orchestras.