Maya Custom Smart Shelf – MCSS V 1.00

The MCSS project introduce a new way to manage a shelf object into the Maya environment. The purpose of this custom element is to give to the IT – TD a more flexible way to insert and distribute new Scripts/Tools into the pipeline.

Setup Local Machine: In your userSetup.py

import maya.cmds as cmds import runpy

cmds.evalDeferred("runpy.run_path('/path_to_root_folder/MCSS_Root/MCSS_Project/execute.py')")

Pipeline: ( . . . )

General Overview

The shelf object is divided in 4 areas:

Reload Button: Fetch and reload the shelf with the last version of the script/tool files. Pop ups: Set of procedures collected and organized by its type of function. Can be Skin operation, Toggle operations, Create operations. Buttons: Call and execute single script files non related to each other Tools: Every Tool created that comes with a user interface Way to go

Step One >> User develops a new Script or Tool Step Two >> Categorization. User goes to the project tree and stores the new piece of code or Tool Structure inside of its own category. Each developed project will have a different purpose in the shelf and have to meet some requirements to work with it.

If is a function and is related with a pop up menu: The code have to be wrapped inside of a function with its name in camel case and setting “*args, **kwargs” parameters by default. Eg:

def MyNewFunction(*args, **kwargs):

This function have to be inserted into its own pop up category file, after the last function. If the script is a single file and have nothing related with the pop up menus: The file have to be named in camel case and inserted into scripts module folder

RootProject
	- scripts
		MyScriptFile.py

If is a Tool: The tool root folder have to be stored into the “tools” module folder

RootProject
	- tools
		-MyNewTool
			execute.py (This is important, must have this file in it)

Each tool have to have a file called “execute.py” , this file is the responsible for launching the tool and the shelf will look for it to make the tool init. Icons

To set and icon with it respectively button: Icon must be inserted into the icon folder format .PNG with the name exactly as has been setup in the Function, script file or tool root folder.

Stage Three >> Reload shelf.