.mxl Files

Forum for all users to discuss the implementation and operation of the ChoralWiki at CPDL
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Nikolaus Hold
Posts: 53
Joined: 13 Jul 2016 10:47

.mxl Files

Post by Nikolaus Hold »

For some of my Edition Notes the template 'mxl' was added by the administrator. Now the text looks quite overloaded. Should the type of the file not be apparent from the second parameter in the 'Media:' term?

In the past, many Finale and Sibelius versions were supported. Why not create a new entry that means MXL file. Unfortunately, the MXL template is currently not supported as a parameter behind 'Media:', only the XML template.
choralia
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Re: .mxl Files

Post by choralia »

Hi Nikolaus, first of all thank you for your numerous (100+) contributions to CPDL!

Your suggestions will combined with others that we received from other users, or that were highlighted by administrators. They will be implemented after upgrading the MediaWiki software to a newer version, as support for the current version will be soon discontinued, so we are prioritizing this MediaWiki upgrade at the moment.

I have a specific question for you: you are one of the few users that still use the "old" add score process, that requires to manually copy-and-paste file names, wiki code, etc., and that has been superseded (although not completely replaced) by the new "automatic" process, where most manual actions are replaced by automatic scripts. Some of the suggestions received so far are incompatible or very hard to implement if the old process is maintained, so I'm considering to completely discontinue the old process. Are there any specific reasons why you still prefer the old process? I can try to maintain them available in the automatic process, too.

Max
Nikolaus Hold
Posts: 53
Joined: 13 Jul 2016 10:47

Re: .mxl Files

Post by Nikolaus Hold »

I accidentally tried to upload an uncompressed MusicXML file (.xml), and got an error message saying that this format is not accepted.

Now I wonder what other MusicXML files there are in the CPDL that require to distinguish them from the .mxl files by decorating the Edition Notes of the latter with a {{MXL}} template.
Richard Mix
Posts: 182
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 04:51

Re: .mxl Files

Post by Richard Mix »

Yes, I too got what looked like an error message when uploading, which seemed odd since there exists a Template:XML for the icon. A bit of staring revealed an "ignore warning and upload anyway" button.
Claude_T
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Re: .mxl Files

Post by Claude_T »

Music XML can be provided under two different formats: uncompressed (.xml) and compressed (.mxl).
What I was told during 2015 here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6931&p=20365&hilit=MXL#p20363
CHGiffen wrote:I imported Claude's File:Franck Offertoire.xml in Finale 2014 and exported it as an .mxl file - and guess what? The file size dropped from 1.49MB to 54KB. The moral of this is: When Exporting to MusicXML from Finale 2014, always select "Compressed 3.0 .mxl" format, instead of the first option, which is (uncompressed) "MusicXML .xml" format.
Also, from Sibelius, choose "Compressed XML format" (*.mxl).
And, to warn users that could be worried by the compressed format, like Richard, ever add the {{MXL}} template that is made just for that: warning them that this is a compressed format.
choralia
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Joined: 05 Mar 2006 19:57
Location: Rome, Italy
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Re: .mxl Files

Post by choralia »

In theory a .mxl file should be just a zipped .xml:

http://www.musicxml.com/tutorial/compressed-mxl-files/

In practice, music notation programs react differently when they import a .mxl file created by another music notation program, because MIME type declarations, META information, and other elements embedded in the .mxl file may not be identical to those that the target music notation program expects. The above reference provides details. Some programs may be tolerant with respect to such differences, and accept the .mxl file created using another music notation program. Other programs may not be tolerant, and refuse to open a .mxl file that is not identical to what they expect.

Conclusion: while .xml is quite reliable to import/export files between different music notation programs, .mxl is less reliable. I think that we'd better use zipped .xml files (either renaming the extension to .xml or leaving the native .zip extension) than using .mxl files produced by music notation programs. Anyway, when a music notation program does not accept a .mxl file produced by another music notation program, unzipping the .mxl file first and then importing the resulting .xml file into the target music notation program will probably solve the problem. We have to consider that this operation might not be obvious for all users, though.

Max
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