I’m at the point where I will be passing tools to my team.
I’m used to Maya/Python where scripts can modify the default UI.
When I Google this for Max script I keep finding the “Manual” installation method:
Open the script in the editor, select all, drag and drop to make a button.
Is there a way to make a less cumbersome installation process for a scripted button?
the automatic installing macro buttons to a toolbar and adding this toolbar to the main UI is one of the worst UI solutions that I know.
You can have them run a macroscript, and it will create a menu item in the global bank of scripts run at startup. The user will then be able to assign a hotkey to that script or drag it to a toolbar (including the main toolbar) from the customize UI dialog.
There are ways (e.g. hacking INI files) to force a button onto the main toolbar, someone here wrote a framework for doing this once… can’t seem to remember who though…
Denis,
What’s your preferred solution?
provide all necessary macroscripts and icons, put them all into unique category, give a little readme file about the installation and the tool content, and let user make toolbars, macro-buttons, and hotkeys himself.
one more reason to miss Maya/Python tools…
I while ago I installed OGRE tools for max ( http://www.ogremax.com/ )
it added a new menu to my max menus on restart.
Menus, not buttons… but that has lead me to this thread about menuman
Easiest solution is to make a Ribbon Extension and have the user reset the Ribbon after install. Or save the current configuration and reset it through Maxscript. Advantage of the Ribbon Extension is it portable (forwards, backwards, etc), survives Ribbon Reset, and easy to Create and Export.
I know a lot of users may dislike the Ribbon, but it’s customization through Extensions is one of the best solutions I have seen yet for 3ds max.
-Eric
@ DenisT:
Installing a button was my first choice
But really I just want something totally simple to install and use for end users.
@PiXeL_MoNKeY: Ribbon Extension? never heard of it…
but I gather the Ribbon is the GUI doodad that holds Graphite Tools etc.
what does a ribbon extension look like, and how do you make one?
is it max script? is it a cuix file?
do you manually create it using the customize ribbon option in Max?
[edit]Sorry wrong thread.[/edit]