Hi maxers …
i wud like to get some help in understanding the XREF concept in max. This is very helpful, but suddenly its sooo limiting when used.
questions :
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when i use “xref objects” option to xref (base_rig.max) file into a new anim file (anim1.max)… is it only that i can do T, R and S operations ?
like if i have, morpher applied on the head mesh, how do it access it ? b’se the modifier tab shows me only the Xref properties… but doesnt allow access to the morpher or other stack,
which are there in the base file ? -
when the above anim1.max file is opened, i can select and ” DELETE ” any object ??? can i lock items being deleted or avoid even renaming of objects ? I was expecting that XREF will
take care of this… since there is always a chance of things being deleted, hirarchy changed… to break my rig !! -
i am developing a script which will provide an interface to the facial morphers and bones… to ease facial animation. but to do it, i have to use wiring and script controllers to link them up. Since the rig when XREFed , doesnt show the objects to be in the current file space… how do i access them , to be driven by my UI controls.
in the help, i found “XREF Scene” and some help on persistent global variables… but is there a way to get access to the individual object and its modifiers ? some example of code will help alot.
from the help file :
aXref=xrefs.getXRefFile 1 -- returns first XRef Scene object
aXref.tree.children -- objects in the XRef Scene object,
-- for example, may return:
-- #children($Box01, $Box02)
aXref.tree.children[1].width -- returns width value of $Box01
the above code works, when the “XREF SCENE” is being used. whats the work flow with XREF objects ? the “XRefObject : Node” allows me only to assign and manage the proxy options for objects. how do i get access and modifier stack in “XREF objects” mode ? any code example will be a boon !
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in the base rig , i have a dummy which is driving (through wiring) the spine bones. say the translate Z is driving the spine rotations. when this file is XREFed, the wiring is available. But when i update the rig file or change the wiring parameters, and when i reopen the animation file… the wiring doesnt update, what so ever…i do ??? sometimes it does when i try using “merge animation” ?? i thought this is to merge keys information , but it does the wiring … strange… but this works only randomly. is there a method to keep the rig updates, to update in other files… properly ?
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how do i impliment the use of “persistant global” variables if my scene whcih contains 25 animation controls ? what are the DOs and DONTs of this method ?
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what can be the ideal workflow and possible pit-falls using XREF ? any links or tutorials on how one can “USE” XREF in max ?
phew ! sooo many doubts… any TD or gurus, pls drop me a line…any help, is much awaited…
rgds,