I'm slowly working my way through the Finale User's Manual. It's not so much for memorization as it is for knowing where information is and discovering things which can be done that I didn't know of before. The manual has always been comprehensive, but it's written with so many step-by-step instructions that you could use the product for a year without realizing that something is possible.

I've often thought I'd like to write a Finale plug-in, but I've never been able to think of a good task that warrants automation. Most Finale plug-ins fall into two categories: inane music generation tools for the creatively disinclined, and tools that eliminate gruntwork when prettying up a score. If I ever wrote one, it'd be in the latter category, but I probably won't write one anytime soon. Plug-ins must be written in C++, a god-awful programming language at best.

"I know two kinds of audiences only - one coughing, and one not coughing." - Arthur Schnabel