Hey all,
I’m working on integrating Max into our pipeline, and am new to Max and MaxScript. I have a couple questions related to the way that Max handles script paths…I’m guessing these are common questions but I had trouble finding the info I was looking for, so apologies if this has been answered elsewhere.
Here’s the scenario: We want the most flexible integration possible – with the least amount of local script installation possible (actually, with NO local script installation if possible). So far I’ve found that Max looks at the PATH var for a script called startup.ms – so that’s great, I can keep that script in a repository on the server use it to fire off anything else we need to run on startup (such as other scripts that customize menus, etc). I just have to set PATH so that it includes the location on the server for that file.
However, I’m running into trouble running other scripts that I want on the server from that file. Let’s say I’m storing my maxscript files like this:
\myServer\max\scripts\startup.ms
\myServer\max\scripts\customMenu1.ms
and my PATH looks like this:
PATH = …\myServer\max\scripts;…
here is what I want the contents of my startup.ms to look like:
--Here is what I DO want:
fileIn "customMenu1.ms"
--Here is waht I DON'T want:
fileIn "\\myServer\max\scripts\customMenu1.ms"
How can I set up Max so that it’s looking to the server when I give it a script to fileIn? I need to support the ability for artists to load their personal maxScripts they might want and also force ours to load from our repository on the server.
Many thanks for anyone who can shed some light on this for me!
Forgot to mention, I’m coming from a Python/MEL background if that helps clarify my question
Have you looked at ‘system directories’ in the MXS help?
I’m not a pro so there may very well be a better solution. I would have a script in the startup folder make one call to a server side script that does all your updating or whatever. It could contain all your functions and structs etc as well as set one of the system directories to your server location. #scripts or #userScripts. I’m sure there are issues with this as well as better solutions. Plus you would still have to distribute the startup script at least once.
Wish I could help more.
Set your plugins folder to the server and run your scripts from there. Any script in that folder will be executed on Max start up. You can also change the location of your scripts folder as well and the startup scripts folder. You can do this through Customize/Configure System Paths/System Tab. This is saved to an INI file so you can set one up and then propagate it to the rest of the machines when they start. Since you already know Py then this isn’t a problem for you. I used to do it with just a .bat file with DOS.
There are a number of folders where scripts and plugins load from in Max. They load in a specific order…
stdPlugs (Should only be used for plugins that ship with Max)
Plugins (Use for any 3rd Party plugins and .ms and .mse files that you want to load first. Also loads all folders down stream)
UI/userMacros (Used for loading .mcr files)
scripts/startupScripts (Used for .ms and.mse files that are to load last)
Once these folders are set in Max you can access them via Max script with getDir. For instance this would get the scripts folder getDir #scripts or the root of Max getDir #maxRoot.
Welcome to the Max world, there are a number of us here that have used MEL and Py so I’m sure that you will get lots of help to get you over the transition from one to the other. Just don’t try and use Max like Maya, although the end results are the same the way you get there isn’t.
Another quick thought is that you you could also just create your own global function that does the filein for the file you want, by searching your specific set of directories for you… ie: myFileIn “custommenuscript.ms”
Also, what we’ve done in the past is had a ‘dev’ mode and ‘production’ mode for our scripts/tools so that if you were in dev mode, you could easily (and safely) work/test stuff locally before committing changes to the global repository… so something like filein (getCodePath() + “customfile.ms”) getcodepath would look either locally or on the live production library depending on an environment variable.
Thanks Paul! Very useful info… so far the community here in the MaxScript world has been very patient with me, so much appreciated.
Speaking of not using MaxScript like MEL, I have a couple Qs regarding terminology related to scripts being “loaded”/“sourced”/“compiled”/“imported”.
In Maya, if I have a mel script called “myCoolScript.mel” which is located in a directory on the script path, it isn’t actually “sourced”[mel] or “imported”[py]. In other words, if I have a print statement in the script, I won’t see it printed when I start Maya. However, if there is a proc called “myCoolScript()”, I can use that directly in other scripts.
In the max documentation, sometimes it refers to scripts as being “compiled” or “loaded.” For instance, in the Startup Scripts section of the MaxScript docs:
…MAXScript next searches for .ms, .mse, and .mzp files in the plug-in path directories (defined on the Configure System Paths dialog and Configure User Paths dialog) and their subdirectories, and compiles these files…
then:
…MAXScript then recursively scans the Startup Scripts directory (defined on the Configure System Paths dialog) and any nested directories for .ms, .mse, and .mzp script files and loads them. …
So, err…what is “loaded” exactly? What is “compiled?”
Another thing I’m confused by is the base “Scripts” directory. When I place a script in it with a print statement, and a function with another print statement in it, I neither see the print statement nor can I run the function once Max has started up. So is this folder actually useful or is it just a convention to store scripts here?
Last thing (for now ;)): Another MEL/Python thing is that I can have a bunch of paths that define the locations of my scripts…for example, MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH[mel] and sys.path[Py]. In MEL, I can then source() anything on the script path, or in Python I can import anything on that path, and I don’t need to specify the full path to the script on disk. So far, it seems to me that fileIn() is a similar thing to import – however, I’m having trouble understanding what controls my ability to do fileIn “myScript.ms” instead of fileIn “C:…\myScript.ms”. Can any light be shed on that subject?
Thanks again to everyone for the help. It’s been a little bit of a weird transition for me so far but I’d be completely lost if not for folks like you and Ian!
Pretty sure loaded and compiled mean the same thing. Basically the \scripts\ directory is not loaded on startup, but the scripts in the scripts/startup folder IS.
Afaik, there’s only GetDir with a predefined list (not sure if you can append custom names with this) of foldernames it will return the value for. Even still, what I suggested earlier is probably the better way of doing it (imho) (…or something similar), by creating your own global functions or variables for your custom paths, and referencing those instead.
I sounds like the main thing you probably need to do is put a script in the scripts\startup folder on everybody’s computer, and have that script then load your own library of functions from the server… that library will create any global variables, structs (max’s wannabe class), or functions for you to use in all of your other tools… .such as a script directory… the cool thing about this is you can change one script instead of everybody’s max folder to change anything.
So, probably make your own filein if you want it to search through a list of folders for your script, though it’d prob be slower than giving it a more direct path.
Cool, thanks again Ian. I think you’re right about just rolling our own utility to search our script paths.
The cool thing is that I don’t even think we need to install a startup script on everyone’s machine – it looks like Max searches through every directory defined in the PATH environment for a file called startup.ms, so we can just append the location on the server where startup.ms is stored, and we’re off!
Is it just me, or is some of the terminology in the docs a little confusing? I’ve noticed a couple instances where there’s overlapping or redundant terms without clarification (the word “object” comes to mind). Anyways, great to be able to reach out here for clarification.
I’m slowly getting it… :wip: Just gotta get over these initial humps and then hopefully I’ll be off and running!
Ah, sweet, didn’t know that about the startup.ms …also, the plugin.ini can use an [Include] section, where you can point it to a network path as well, and it will load .ms files from there as well.
Yeah, but I think it’s hard for any 3d package not to confuse the term ‘object’ up when talking programming and actual 3d.
In Max this all depends on where you have placed the script. The scripts directory is not loaded when Max starts but the scripts/startupScripts is. Again you can use several methods to get around this like the systemDirectories. I tend to add a plugins path and load everything from it and it’s sub-directories.
In the max documentation, sometimes it refers to scripts as being “compiled” or “loaded.” For instance, in the Startup Scripts section of the MaxScript docs:
then:
So, err…what is “loaded” exactly? What is “compiled?”
Another thing I’m confused by is the base “Scripts” directory. When I place a script in it with a print statement, and a function with another print statement in it, I neither see the print statement nor can I run the function once Max has started up. So is this folder actually useful or is it just a convention to store scripts here?
Again this doesn’t work like Maya. The scripts directory is a place just to store scripts. You can use it to place scripts that you don’t want loaded at start up but want to source the scripts from using fileIn or include when needed.
Not sure what area of the docs you are refering to, loaded is when the script is loaded into Max and all scripts need to be compiled at run time to code the machine can understand.
Both of these pages are getting a little old but both worth the read. The first is a simple break down of like tools in Max and Maya that I created for people that we would hire that came from one to the other.
http://www.penproductions.ca/tutorials/MaxMaya/maxMaya.htm
This is has been created by Master Bobo. Bobo, if you have not found a million perfectly worded and accurate posts from him yet is the true Master of Max script. Infact, as a side line he keeps up the help docs for Max scripts so much of what you are reading he has had a hand in. The page below does a good job of matching up terminologys for Max script and MEL
http://www.scriptspot.com/bobo/mel2mxs/mel2mxs.htm
Last thing (for now ;)): Another MEL/Python thing is that I can have a bunch of paths that define the locations of my scripts…for example, MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH[mel] and sys.path[Py]. In MEL, I can then source() anything on the script path, or in Python I can import anything on that path, and I don’t need to specify the full path to the script on disk. So far, it seems to me that fileIn() is a similar thing to import – however, I’m having trouble understanding what controls my ability to do fileIn “myScript.ms” instead of fileIn “C:…\myScript.ms”. Can any light be shed on that subject?
I’m not a 100% sure that you can. I would have to have a poke at this and see what I could get working. Once you have added paths you should be able to get to them via functions like getDir. Also look up pathConfig Struct and pluginPaths struct.[font=Verdana][/font]
Hey guys,
Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to reply and thank you for helping me out in my transition. I think we have a solution worked out based upon Ian and Paul’s suggestions. Thanks to both of you for helping me wrap my head around Max’s initialization sequence!
The first step was realizing that startup.ms is searched for in all directories on PATH. That was our entry point to tapping into Max without requiring the users to have any local scripts installed (which we wanted to avoid for various reasons). My main goal was to avoid touching the local Max installation as much as possible, and to manage as much as I can though environment variables. So in the startup.ms, I defined a custom fileIn function which appends server directory to the file we were trying to find, and that custom fileIn function is used by all other scripts that are sourcing scripts from our server.
Anyhow, just wanted to report back and thank you guys again. Onward and upward!