MEL scripting for maya animators help

# 1 10-08-2004 , 12:32 PM

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hey i've been doing the book's crowd system
got to page 393 trying to creat the dialogue box i used this code:

//Interface

global proc crowdSystem()
{

window
-title "Crowd System"
-widthHeight 300 200
crowdWin;

//Create button
string $button1 = `button -label "Create"`;

//Place button in window
formLayout -edit
-attachForm $button1 "bottom" 10
-attachForm $button1 "right" 10
formLayout;

//Add command to button to call createCrowd function and
//then kill window after script has been executed

button -edit -command ("createCrowd; deleteUI crowdWin;") $button1;

showWindow crowdWin;

}
(copyright user added image

)
but it doesn't show the window? ? ?
i using maya 5 did they change anything ?

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# 2 10-08-2004 , 03:37 PM

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no copy of maya in front of me but as far as I know the window stuff is the same.

Try it outside of the function and see if that works, maybe it needs this stuff to be global (but that's unlikely). Just to check, you are calling the function once you've written right? (Sorry i just want to check every possibility! user added image

)

Alan

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# 3 10-08-2004 , 10:18 PM

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I don't own this book so I can only guess.... To me it looks like this procedure isn't going work alone. Looks like there's more to this script than just this procedure.

Kari
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Do a lot, Fail a lot and Learn a lot!

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# 4 15-08-2004 , 05:34 AM

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ok ive been playing round with it and i now got thie error:
"objects name not unique"
i couldn't find anything on it maya doesn't have an error list like delphi does it?
anyone know what the error means??
thanks
mumbo

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# 5 15-08-2004 , 12:55 PM

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if you run it more than once and you dont delete the window prefs it will keep it in memory. You need to delete the window prefs but I can't remember the syntax at them moment. I will post it tomorrow when I am at work

Alan

Technical Director - Framestore

Currently working on: Your Highness

IMDB

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# 6 15-08-2004 , 11:06 PM

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try inserting this statement at start of proc :

if (`window -exists crowdWin` == true)
deleteUI crowdWin;

BEFORE you define crowdWin in this statement:

window
-title "Crowd System"
-widthHeight 300 200
crowdWin;

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# 7 16-08-2004 , 12:15 PM

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ok thanks
you two ill work on it
much appreciated

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# 8 16-08-2004 , 01:17 PM

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if ( `window -exists myWindow` )
deleteUI -window myWindow;

if(`windowPref -ex myWindow`)
windowPref -remove myWindow;

Try these these are what I used when I had a similar problem

Alan

Technical Director - Framestore

Currently working on: Your Highness

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# 9 16-08-2004 , 04:50 PM

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what book are you referring to?

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# 10 17-08-2004 , 01:11 AM

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Hey Dann,

I wasn't the original poster here ... but I'm pretty sure the book is "MEL Scripting for Maya Animators" by Mark R. Wilkins & Chris Kazmier ... Morgan Kaufmann publisher

mumbojumbo_13 was referring to example in CH 18

I believe one of the authors posted a resonse to my UI question and I forgot to thank him (Thanks !)

... the book is really good and I only know of 1 other that covers Mel in any depth. That is Complete Maya Programming by David Gould also Morgan Kaufman ... includes both Mel and Maya API.

Cheers

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# 11 18-08-2004 , 11:39 AM

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thanks pure, suzanne
got it all working with window and all user added image

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# 12 30-08-2004 , 08:13 PM

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Hi, sorry about missing this thread! Thanks for the kind words, suzanne!

Yes, that script has problems if you already have the window open. Page 431, later in the example, recommends adding a test for the window already existing.

However, what that code should be doing, ideally, is checking the return value from the window command and storing the actual name of the created window rather than just assuming that a window named crowdWin gets created. I'll make a note of it for any future revisions.

Meanwhile, if you run into problems while working through the book, please feel free to post on the melscripting.com forums at

https://forums.melscripting.com/

I check those boards daily and can jump in and help if someone else doesn't get to it first. user added image