Hello. I have Finale v. 26, so I believe I’m eligible for crossgrade to Dorico 4 Pro. However, Elements may suffice for me. Can I try Elements at $99, and the pick up Pro within say a month for $200 more if I decide I need Pro? Thanks.
This isn’t an answer to your question, but what do you use Finale for? We may be able to tell you whether Elements or Pro would be a better fit for your workflow.
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@CedarTree72
You can also download the trial version of Dorico Pro 4. By holding down the ALT (I think) key while you start the program, you can run Dorico as Elements to compare them.
@Lillie_Harris , where is this documented in the Help files? I can never be sure of the modifier key.
Thanks everyone. Mostly I do sacred music composition. Nothing super fancy. I just want to make sure I don’t need that “one” feature that Pro has that Elements doesn’t… AND I don’t want to miss a window to get Pro at almost half off. I did download the trial but it can’t handle more complicated pieces e.g., SATB + Piano.
P.S. Hoping someone can “officially” bless my idea to start with Elements but still retain the crossgrade option at least for some reasonable time.
I’m not ‘official’, but Elements will handle this with ease (are sure you didn’t trial Dorico SE?)
I think they just have one Trial and it has limited features.
Do official Dorico people view these forums?
Yes, they read every post (but I guess they don’t suffer my insomnia, so you’ll have to wait a few hours!)
Have you followed these instructions?
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When you download a trial, you choose which version to download, which is why I suggest downloading the trial for Dorico Pro. Realize that the “free” version (Dorico SE) is not the same as the trial/demo 30-day version.
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It depends on what the scope of your sacred music is. If you do anything with chant, you’ll want pro, as elements does not contain partial and tick barlines which are so very common. There are also no ossias in elements, which may or may not impede you with certain choral octavos.
You can compare editions here: Compare the Versions of Dorico: Elements & Pro | Steinberg
FWIW, I’m not aware of anyone who has ever regretted getting the full version. Also, engrave mode is limited in elements. If you’re the type of person who just plops notes in and sticks with what the program gives you by default, you might be OK, but if you prefer to tweak things, you’ll definitely want the full engraving suite.
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So I did a chat with Dorico. They said I could get elements for $100, and then pay $480 to get to Pro. When, as we all know, I can upgrade from Finale to Pro at any time for $300. (I was only hoping to pay $300 in total, even if I use Elements in the interim to test things out.) This pricing model doesn’t make much sense to me.
Thanks to your suggestions, I see now I can trial Dorico Pro which I’ll do.
Any Finale users out there? Did you prefer one over the other now that you’ve used both?
I don’t understand what you’re writing here. There’s a crossgrade price for Finale users (with a valid licence) that offers you Dorico pro at half price. Why on earth would you pay 480$ for an update from Elements to Pro, when you can have Dorico pro with your crossgrade price at 300$? Or is this crossgrade not possible any more?
Scenario 1:
Elements = $100
Pro = $580
If you get Elements first, you’d have to pay $480 to get Pro.
Scenario 2:
You have Finale. Which means you can get Pro for $300
But let’s say you want to try out Elements first and pay $100. You’d think they’d let you upgrade to Pro for $200 more ($300 usual crossgrade less $100 already invested). Instead, Support told me I’d have to spend $480 ($580 Pro price less $100 already invested). And yes, why would I do that if I can just crossgrade for $300.
The crossgrade is absolutely still available, and it would be available for somebody even if you have already purchased Dorico Elements: having a license for Dorico Elements would not preclude you also buying a crossgrade for Dorico Pro, and that would indeed save you some money.
@CedarTree72, you can try both Elements and Pro for 30 days each, and then make your decision.
THANK YOU. So to be clear… if I spend $100 on Elements now, I can spend $200 later to go to Pro (with Finale license).
Also, Finale gave me 2 licenses (theological license). Can we do 2 crossgrade updates if my musical partner wants to work in Dorico?
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No, sorry, I was perhaps not clear enough: you would not receive a discount on buying the Dorico Pro crossgrade if you have already bought Dorico Elements. But we do run sales promotions from time to time, so it is sometimes possible to buy either the Dorico Pro crossgrade or indeed the upgrade from Dorico Elements to Dorico Pro at a lower price than the standard list price.
Although in principle the idea is that “one Finale license = one crossgrade”, in practice we do not store all of the past proofs of purchase we have seen for previous crossgrades, so there is nothing to stop you from buying two crossgrades at two different times using the same Finale serial number.
Okay thanks. That’ll be our secret then. 
Appreciate the help.
I have used Finale since it first appeared, and I still sometimes do; but more and more I have shifted to Dorico Pro, which I also bought when it first came out (with a Finale crossgrade, of course).
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