File formats

Format overview

A recognized container does not guarantee that its contents are valid or musically accurate.

Import paths

• Add score > Import files… opens the Files picker for one file, several files, a folder, or a ZIP archive. .imslp and .sheetturner bundles are accepted here too.
• Add score > Scan a score captures paper pages with the camera.
• The system share sheet imports a PDF, .musicxml, .mxl, .imslp, or .sheetturner file handed off by another app. .imslp and .sheetturner are Page Turner's own file types, so the app is offered first for them. Page Turner does not appear as a share destination for MEI, MIDI, image, or bare .xml files — save those to Files and bring them in with Import files….
• Files providers (iCloud Drive or another enabled provider) work through the same picker. The provider manages authentication and download state.

What each format unlocks in the reader

Several rows of the reader Toolbox depend on the format of the score version you have open. A row you cannot use yet is either greyed out with a hint naming what it needs, or hidden entirely.

• Rearrange pages and Dewarp & Clean need a PDF version of the score. Without one they stay in the list, greyed out with their hint.
• Crop also needs a PDF version, but the row is removed from the Toolbox when the score has no PDF. On a MusicXML or MEI score there is no greyed-out Crop row to find.
• Convert to Smart Score needs a PDF version. After conversion, it greys out and its counterpart Fix a Wrong Conversion becomes available — the two rows are mutually exclusive.
• Share and Print need a PDF or MusicXML version.

Important Importing a PDF, images, or a ZIP does not create a Smart Score. Run Convert to Smart Score from the Toolbox as a separate step when you need structured notation; conversion uses a network connection.

MusicXML and MEI

• Uncompressed MusicXML (.xml, .musicxml) gets an automatic repair pass at import, so common structural faults — such as a two-clef piano part missing its grand-staff declaration — render correctly instead of collapsing onto one staff. Compressed .mxl is repaired when it is first opened.
• Every MusicXML and MEI file is validated at import. A file that cannot be rendered safely is rejected with an error instead of being added to your library in a broken state.
• MEI files are imported exactly as written: they do not go through the MusicXML repair pass, so a structurally flawed MEI stays flawed, and some notation tools cover MEI less completely than MusicXML.

MIDI

A MIDI file is converted to notation during import; the original MIDI file is kept with the piece.

• Pitches and timing are preserved, so tracking and playback run on the converted score.
• MIDI carries no engraving: enharmonic spelling is a best guess, and slurs, articulations, and written dynamics are absent from the result. Expect a readable but plainer score than an edition.
• An empty or unconvertible MIDI file fails the import with an error; nothing is added to the library.

Before a large import

1. Open representative files outside Page Turner to confirm they are complete and readable.
2. Remove password protection you are authorized to remove.
3. Confirm page order and orientation.
4. Test one item before importing a folder or archive.
5. Keep the sources until you have checked the imported copies.

Limit This table is the maintained compatibility list. Do not infer support for a format, compression variant, embedded media type, or proprietary package that is not listed here.