MEL getAttr and setAttr help - Extreme Newby

# 1 17-06-2016 , 03:00 PM

Registered User
Join Date: May 2012

Posts: 3

MEL getAttr and setAttr help - Extreme Newby

Hey guys,
I'm a new user to maya and extremely new to MEL. I have a nurbs curve and a gravitational field affecting a particle system. I want to link the direction of graviational field to the roration attributes of nurbs curve. I tried the following in the create new expression tab for "direction" attribute of the gravitational field:
{
float $X = 'getAttr nurbsCircle1.rotateX';
float $Z = 'getAttr nurbsCircle1.rotateZ';

gravityField1.directionX = -1*sind($Z);
gravityField1.directionY = cosd($X)+cosd($Z);
gravityField1.directionZ = sind($X);
}

I get tons of errors:
// Error: float $X = 'getAttr nurbsCircle1.rotateX'; //
// Error: Line 1.12: Syntax error //
// Error: float $Z = 'getAttr nurbsCircle1.rotateZ'; //
// Error: Line 2.12: Syntax error //

Please help user added image

Quote

# 2 17-06-2016 , 06:18 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

You need to use the back tick symbol (above the tab) instead of the single quote. ` instead of '.

Also note that that's not tons of errors, it's just two (well, one really). The first line shows you what line of code has the error, and the second tells you where exactly (line 1, position 12) and what kind of error it is. So you know there is a syntax error around the 12th character which turns out to be the ' character.

-stwert

Website - Blog - YouTube - Vimeo - Facebook - Twitter

-->How to Effectively Ask Questions on Forums<--

Last edited by stwert; 17-06-2016 at 06:25 PM.

Quote

# 3 18-06-2016 , 08:00 AM

Registered User
Join Date: May 2012

Posts: 3

You need to use the back tick symbol (above the tab) instead of the single quote. ` instead of '.

Also note that that's not tons of errors, it's just two (well, one really). The first line shows you what line of code has the error, and the second tells you where exactly (line 1, position 12) and what kind of error it is. So you know there is a syntax error around the 12th character which turns out to be the ' character.

Originally Posted by stwert

Thanks a lot mate. As I told you, I'm really really new to this. Solved my problem. I owe you one...