Troubleshoot import and conversion

First, separate import from conversion

Import and Smart Score conversion fail in different places and are fixed in different places.

• Import — Import files… or Scan a score in the library — copies a file onto the device and creates a piece. If the piece never appears, or its pages are unreadable, the problem is the source file or the scan.
• Smart Score conversion — Convert this PDF in the reader top bar, or Toolbox (wrench) > Convert to Smart Score — reads an existing PDF piece and builds a structured notation version from it. It runs on the conversion server, so it can fail for account or network reasons even when the import was fine.

Fix import first: conversion can only read the page images that import produced.

A file is missing from the picker

Import files… opens the system Files picker. Page Turner shows what the Files app shows; it does not keep its own connection to any storage provider.

1. Open the file in the iOS Files app first. If it is not there, enable and sign in to its storage provider inside Files, and let the file finish downloading.
2. Reopen Import files… in the library.

If the file is visible in Files but cannot be selected in the picker, its type is not importable. The picker accepts:

• PDF
• Images (a photo or screenshot of a score)
• MusicXML — .musicxml, .xml, and compressed .mxl
• MEI (.mei)
• MIDI
• .sheetturner packages shared from Page Turner
• .imslp bundles (IMSLP downloads; the title and composer inside are applied automatically)

Limit A generic ZIP archive cannot be imported. The only zip-based containers the picker accepts are .mxl, .sheetturner, and .imslp. LilyPond .ly source files are not supported.

Import fails or produces an unreadable score

A failed import reports the source system's wording — for example Import failed: … or Couldn't import the scan: …. Page Turner does not diagnose the file beyond that message, so check the source directly:

1. Import one file instead of repeating the whole batch, to find which file fails.
2. Open that file outside Page Turner — in Files or in the app that produced it — and confirm it opens, has content, and shows its pages in order.
3. For a cloud file, confirm it is fully downloaded to the device. A placeholder that has not finished downloading has no usable content to import.
4. For a PDF that asks for a password elsewhere, remove the password before importing. The import error will not name password protection as the cause.
5. For a scan, retake blurred, cropped, rotated, or shadowed pages with Scan a score, and confirm no page is missing.

If the import completes but the title or composer is wrong, do not import the file again — a re-import creates nothing better. Long-press the piece in the library, choose Properties, and correct the metadata there. See Metadata.

Smart Score conversion does not finish

Conversion needs a network connection and a signed-in account. Start it with Convert this PDF in the reader top bar, Toolbox (wrench) > Convert to Smart Score, or the Create Smart Score Layer step in the Trainer — each submits the same kind of server job for the open piece.

While the job runs, the Trainer's Create Smart Score Layer step shows a progress card with a Stop conversion button:

• Stop conversion stops waiting for the job and clears the card. The server pass may still settle on its own.
• Closing the Trainer panel does not stop the job. It keeps running, and the Trainer button shows a dot when it is done.

If the job ends with a message instead of a Smart Score, read it before resubmitting — two of them are account states that resubmitting cannot clear:

• Sign in required — the free tier allows 10 conversions per account. — sign in with your Apple Account in Settings, then retry.
• Conversion quota reached on this account. — this account has used its conversions; retrying the same job gives the same answer.

Important A long score is parked before it runs: a Large score alert shows the page count and the estimated cost, and the job starts only when you choose Convert anyway. Choosing Cancel parks the job again — nothing has failed, and nothing is running.

If the source is a skewed or photographed scan, improve the pages before retrying: Toolbox (wrench) > Edit This Score > Dewarp & Clean, or rescan with Scan a score.

Note Dewarp & Clean works only on a scanned or photographed PDF page. On an engraved score it declines with a message instead of altering the page.

The result contains wrong notation

A finished conversion can still contain a wrong note, a missed trill, or a missing octave line. Correct the passage instead of reconverting the whole score:

1. Open the converted piece and tap the wrench to open the Toolbox.
2. Tap Fix a Wrong Conversion.
3. Draw a box over the smallest complete wrong passage. Pinch with two fingers to zoom.
4. Tag what is wrong — wrong note, missing trill, missing 8va — then re-scan the passage or send it for revision.
5. Compare the proposed replacement against the PDF before accepting it.

Full procedure: Fix a wrong conversion.

Limit A successful conversion status confirms that a notation file was generated, not that it is musically accurate. Review the result before relying on analysis, fingering, or Follow.