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Welcome to ScorBox! ScorBox.com is a support site for music print-publishing professionals. It is not intended as a support site for music publishing in any other form, be it through sound media (“recordings”) or digital publishing of any other kind.

ScorBox refers to the integration of different pieces of software into one work environment. These are primarily:

1) the SCORE music publishing system, as conceived for MS-DOS;

2) DosBox, an open-source Windows platform enabling the execution of MS-DOS programs in a Windows environment; and

3) Macro Express, a Windows automation tool.

The impetus for ScorBox arose from the desire to enable music typographers to continue working with all components of the Score music publishing system, as originally conceived for MS-DOS. On newer-generation 64-bit computers, this presents an obstacle, as all modules of the Score system are 16-bit applications that cannot be executed natively on a 64-bit platform. The most efficient solution to this problem has been to launch Score modules through DosBox. Once an effective strategy for doing so was devised, the MS-DOS version of Score, by dint of running in DosBox, becomes more integrated into a Windows environment. This in turn enables the creation of new tools, a new interface, and a new command structure for working with Score modules, providing more flexibility and increased functionality through the integration of various programs and procedures into one new working environment: ScorBox.

ScorBox is a work environment, not a stand-alone application.

ScorBox now allows users to work with the Score music publishing system in unprecedented ways. As a result, Score, "the concept," far from losing relevance in the field of music typography, continues to show its resilience.

The creator of the Score program, Leland Smith, has worked on an implementation of his DOS concept of Score for Windows; the result is WinScore, which he initially made available as "Beta" upgrades to registered users of Score. Despite this welcome development, many DOS Score users are reluctant to make the switch and prefer working with the DOS implementation. Since the release of WinScore, Leland Smith has withdrawn all DOS implementations of Score (essentially, versions 3 and 4) from availability for sale. For "new entrants" into the "ScorBox way" of doing things, this creates a dilemma, as they are barred from obtaining a legal copy of the DOS Score-suite, a core component of working within ScorBox. To work within ScorBox legally, users will already have to own a copy of the DOS versions of Score. New entrants, in effect, are therefore constrained to purchase WinScore and are prevented from working within ScorBox.

Despite many requests from different sides to re-release DOS Score (either versions 3 or 4), Leland Smith appears reluctant to consider doing so. In a way, that is understandable, as he now wishes to establish the Score concept on the Windows platform. Yet it is doubtful that the continuing release of the DOS Score versions would undermine that endeavor. If you share this view and are interested in purchasing a copy of DOS Score (in whatever version), consider contacting the developer Leland Smith directly, either through lcs@scoremus.com or through SCORE@SCOREMUS.COM.

Please note that ScorBox.com does not sell any versions of the Score system (either for DOS, or as "WinScore"). ScorBox is intended to be open and free, as an interactive concept to which anyone is invited to contribute and to share ideas and components. To learn more, please browse the site.

To get started working in ScorBox, please review the "DosBox" and "Macro Express" pages for further information.

DISCLAIMER: Note that all tools available on this site are free to download and share. However, there is no guarantee for any of the tools to perform as described, and we are not liable for any damages that might result from the use of any of these tools.