Effect File Exporter (Maya Preview Pipeline)
Microsoft DirectX 9.0 SDK Update (October 2004)

Effect File Exporter (Maya Preview Pipeline)


Requirements

Minimum Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 2000
Required Applications
  • Alias' Maya World Wide Web link, versions 5.0 or 6.0
  • Microsoft DirectX 9.0 SDK Update (October 2004)

Installation

Complete the following steps to build the Maya preview pipeline on your computer.

  1. Close existing Maya application processes and then install the DirectX 9.0 SDK Update (October 2004).
  2. Launch Maya.
  3. From the Maya Window menu, select Settings/Preferences, then select Plugin Manager...
  4. In the selection list below the list of standard Maya paths, locate D3DMayaExportX.mll and check the boxes next to loaded and auto load.
  5. Click Close. You should now see a DirectX menu, indicating that the plug-in was successfully installed.

User's Guide

The preview pipeline defines a new material type that encapsulates a D3DX effect (.fx) file. This "DirectX Shader" material can be applied to objects in Maya. Shaders render within the preview pipeline viewer window using the associated effect. To apply an effect to an object, follow the steps below.

Create a DirectX Shader Material

First create a DirectX shader "material" in Maya with the following procedure.

  1. Launch Maya, and open or import your scene from Maya's File menu.
  2. In the Maya Window menu, select Rendering Editors, then Hypershade...
  3. In the Hypershade window that appears, verify that Create Materials is selected within the creation dropdown pane.
  4. In the Surface dropdown list, click DirectX Shader, which will create an empty material object. At this point, no effect file is associated yet with the material.

Adjust Effect Parameters

Adjust parameters in the effect to be applied to your object, then use the following procedure to preview the appearance of your object with the updated effect parameters.

  1. Open the Maya Attribute Editor. To do this, right-click on the DirectX Shader material in the lower Work Area pane, select Attribute Editor, and then minimize the Hypershade window. Alternately, minimize the Hypershade window and select Attribute Editor from Maya's Window menu.
  2. From within the Maya Attribute Editor, select the tab for the new material (the default name is "DirectXShader1"). Click the Select and Customize FX-File button.
  3. In the FX Editor window that appears, click the Open button.
  4. Browse to and select an annotated effect (.fx) file you will apply to your object. When you have selected an effect file, the effect will automatically be applied to the object in the Direct3D Preview Pipeline window.
  5. Double-click on the User Interface button to expand or collapse a drop-down list of available effect parameters that you can change. (Parameters in the Non-Interface list cannot be changed.)

    Effect editor window

  6. Click any parameter in the User Interface list that you want to change. For each parameter, you can click on the up and down arrows to change its state, or type in a new value.
  7. Click the Click to Choose button to apply the new parameter state to your object. When you click this button, the rendered view of the object in the Direct3D Preview Pipeline window will be updated with the new effect parameter state.
  8. Click the Done button at the bottom of the FX Editor window when you are done editing effect parameters.

Apply the Effect

Apply your final effect to your object with the following procedure.

  1. Return to the Hypershade window. If necessary, move this window so that your object in the main Maya view pane is also visible.
  2. Click the Work Area tab in the lower portion of the window and locate the effect material that you have been modifying.
  3. Hover the cursor over this effect material, then click the middle mouse button (or the mouse scroll wheel) and drag the mouse until the cursor is over your object in the main Maya view pane.
  4. Release the middle mouse button. The edited effect will be applied to your object. (Alternately, you can select your object in Maya and then, in the Hypershade window, select the desired effect material to apply, right-click, and select Assign Material to Selection.)
  5. To adjust the view of your object, you can select an option from Viewers... in the Maya DirectX menu. The camera for the viewer window is automatically tied to Maya's perspective view.
  6. Save your object with the newly-applied effect by using Save or Export in the Maya File menu.
Note  The exporter does not currently support skinning, non-uniform rational b-splines (NURBS), subdivided surfaces, or graphics cards that do not run vertex or pixel shaders.


© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Feedback? Please provide us with your comments on this topic.
For more help, visit the DirectX Developer Center.