Scripting In MG-Picker Studio

Scripting helps to build more powerful picker.

MG-Picker Studio enables you to design powerful picker even you know nothing about programming. Yet if you know MEL / Python scripting in Maya, you picker will become way more powerful.

These are several places that your programming skills may helps

Programmable properties of picker item

All these script properties support both mel/python.

Picker Document Level callbacks

  • A load command and a enter command can be set for each picker file/node. The load command will be executed once the picker file / node is loaded. It is a good practice to put all the support mel procedures / python functions, class, or some other script importing statement within it, since they will be sourced once after the picker loaded, then for each picker item, you can just invoke these procudure / functions. This will probably make the scripting in picker more confortable.

  • An enter command will be executed everytime the mouse hover enter the picker view. Only input light code for enter command, since it will executed frequently. The enter command is for syncing the picker items states with the state of Maya scene. Check out the Sync Value With Maya section at the left.

  • An namespace changed command will be executed whenever the picker namespace is changed either by user or by api.

💡 You don’t need to manually sync the value of slider / attribute button, since it is done automatically whenever the mouse hover into the view.

Three ways to edit the load / enter / Namespace Changed command

  1. Go to Picker menu and select Edit Picker Load & Enter Command..;

  2. Activate the edit tool, right click on empty area, select Edit Picker Load & Enter Command..

  3. Go to Picker panel.

Command-Button’s command

The command will be executed when you LMB click and release within the command-button in animator mode. To edit the command-button’s command, activate the edit tool, select the command-button, go to attribute editor and MMB scroll to bottom, there is a code editor for editing the command property.

Attr-Button’s change command

Pre-Change Command: The command will be executed right before the maya attribute’s value change. It is a good chance to record some states before the attribute change. Usually use it before a ik/fk switch, to record the states of controls.

Post-Change Command: The command will be executed right after the maya attribute’s value actually changes. If the actual maya attribute not changed, this command won’t be invoked.

Warning

Be careful avoid dead-loop of change command, say: attrButton1 edits attrButton2’s attribute value in its change command. attrButton2 also edits attrButton1’s attribute value in its change command. This will be a dead-loop and will crash maya probably.

Slider’s change command

The command will be executed right after the slider attribute values actually change. If the actually maya attributes not changed, this command won’t be invoked.

Left/Right clicking menu of each picker item

Each picker item can be attached a maya menu / marking menu. To edit its menu, select the picker button, and create/edit the menu in menu editor.

Other Scriptings

  • The converter to read and covert other type of picker node/file into MG-Picker node/file. Currently MG-Picker Studio comes with converter for abxPicker nodes and nickPicker nodes. Maya scene with these picker nodes will auto-loaded by default.

  • The command button preset scripts, in future you could use them to create command buttons without coding.

  • The code snippets to be used in future to speed up the coding.

  • The auto-sourcing script, put them into maya/version/scripts/MG-PickerStudio/MGPicker_UserConfig/AutoSourced/ to be auto-source while MG-Picker Studio loads.
    This mechanism enables you auto-source some scripts to support your picker functionality.

Command References

Other Scriping