PDF files

Distributing Mozart files

This article discusses the pro's and con's of distributing your pieces in native Mozart format (.mz) or as PDF files.

The Mozart Reader

Mozart's .mz files may be viewed directly using the Mozart Reader.   One doesn't need to buy Mozart in order to view, print, and play files written with it.   And the Mozart Reader is free.   So if you have received a Mozart file, just download the reader from the Mozart Reader page, install it, and use it to read the file.   If you wish to send Mozart files to a friend who does not have Mozart, then please just show them where the Reader may be found.

If you are sending .mz files to friends who don't have Mozart, then do please encourage them to download the free Mozart Reader: it is by far the best way of viewing and printing Mozart files.

PDF files

PDF (Portable Document Format) is well known. It is readable by most computer systems (not just Windows) and PDF files are found everywhere on the internet.

In Windows 10 onwards the Print command offers an option to "print to PDF" - sending an image of the music to a PDF file of your choosing, instead of to a printer.

Image files

Another way of producing a file showing music created in Mozart is to export a page image from Mozart, and paste it into a word processor document (see below).

Comparison of FORMATS

Creating a file:
.mz	Save from Mozart.
.pdf	Write with Windows' own 'pseudo-printer' (an option on the Print command).

Reading a file:
.mz	with Mozart or the Mozart Reader.
.pdf	with any PDF reader, including Microsoft Edge.

Printed output:
.mz	Good
.pdf	Good

View on screen:
.mz	Good. The Mozart Viewer ensures that parallel stave lines are always equally separated and coincide with screen pixels for an optimaly sharp image.
.pdf	Can be poor. Closely spaced horizontal stave lines are not guaranteed to match screen pixel spacing, and the result can look uneven.

Other possibilities

If you export a page image with Mozart's CopyImage or SaveImage commands, you can paste the image into a word processor such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. These days word processors are very good at scaling bitmap images and you can easily adjust the image to fill a page of your document. Printing on a high resolution printer can give results close to Mozart's own carefully controlled print quality. You can also save PDF files from most word processors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This article owes much to a number of people's contributions to the Mozart Discussion Group. Thanks to all those who have contributed to the discussion there.