MayaMan Output Directories

The "output directories" panel in the MayaMan Globals dialog controls where MayaMan will store its output

Output Directories

Rib Output Dir

This is where MayaMan will put all RIB files. Various sub directories will be created for shaders, alfred scripts, etc.

Image Output Dir

This is where MayaMan will put all rendered images. The radio buttons above the textfield allows you to either store the images in the "Rib Output Dir" (see above), or in the current Maya Project images directory, or any other user specified location.

Texture Cache

This is where MayaMan will store all "cooked" textures. Cooking textures can take some time, so if several people are using the same textures, it may be useful to set the "Texture Cache" path to a common location. See "Reuse Textures" in MayaMan Texture Options

External Texture Caching

This chooses how MayaMan will handle textures that are not part of the current maya project. Previously MayaMan copied every texture into the Texture Cache which, for a large production, can result in a large amount of duplication if many projects reference textures from libraries or other projects. To combat this duplication two new modes for the texture cache are provided. The Copy into local cache option selects the previous behaviour and is the default so that no surprises occur during the transition stage but this mode is not recommended... however if the MAYAMAN_TEX_CACHE environment variable is set to point to some directory then the default is Make .tex files in a mirror file system mode. If MAYAMAN_TEX_CACHE environment variable is defined but not set to a value the default is Make .tex files in subdir of source location mode.

The Make .tex files in subdir of source location option causes a 'tex_cache' subdirectory to be created in any directory that contains a source image. This is the a simple way to reduce waste but does require that MayaMan be able to create subdirs in the directory that contains the images and this may not be the case with asset management systems.

The Make .tex files in a mirror file system option causes a directory tree to be created underneath the Mirror Texture Cache Root that mirrors the file system(s) that the source images reside in. This avoids the problems associated with asset management systems that denying write permission to the asset tree. It also provides a way to keep all textures on a different file server which can help with server load issues when users are trying to interact with the assets at the same time as a farm is pulling textures. The default for this variable is the value of the MAYAMAN_TEX_CACHE environment variable and using an env var will probably be the easiest way to ensure that all users have the same setting. Note, this environment variable's value should not end with a slash.

Reference File Rib Caching

This chooses how MayaMan will handle reference files, these new modes only apply if the main RibStyle is ReadArchive, DelayedReadArchive or InlineArchive.

Previously MayaMan created rib in the Rib Output Dir for all the geometry in the scene even if it comes from a reference file. For a large production this can result in a large amount of duplication if many projects reference common model libraries. To combat this duplication two new sub modes for the main Rib Style are provided. The Make all ribs in RIB Output Dir option selects the classic behaviour and is the default so that no surprises occur during the transition stage but transition to new modes is encouraged. If the MAYAMAN_RIB_CACHE environment variable is set to point to some directory (no trailing slash) then the default mode changes to Make rib files in a mirror file system. If MAYAMAN_RIB_CACHE environment variable is defined but not set to a value the default is Make rib files in subdir of source location.

Caching can be enabled/disabled on a per-reference basis. Referenced models that are to have their shape changed by the importing scene should not be cached, see caveats. The default is to not cache. The cache flags are stored as extra attributes on the maya reference node.

While shape modification is not allowed it is permissable to change translate/scale/rotate values on the transform nodes of the referenced scene as this information is not cached.

Use of either of the two new modes will cause the geometry from reference files will be handled as Delayed-Read-Archives.

Materials and textures will not be burned into the archives so that reference users can substitute them freely.

Caveats

The intent is to only store unmodified references in the cache, if you load a reference and then change the shape of the objects before the cache is written then subsequent uses of the cache will have that change... a potentially frustrating and confusing situation.

Use of variables in the directory paths

Clear MayaMan Cache

MayaMan will store various files in its temporary directories under the current "RIB Output Directory" and "Texture Cache" directory. If you need to clean up these temporary files, then enable the checkbox for the type of cached files and click "Clear Selected".

After clicking "Clear Selected", MayaMan will show you the paths to the selected cache directories. Make sure that there are no important files/folders under these directories!.MayaMan will delete these directories and anything contained in them!

All cache directories, except for "Textures", are stored as subdirectories to the current "RIB Output Directory". This means that these cache directories should have been created by MayaMan, and should not contain any important files or subdirectories.

However, care has to be taken with the "Textures" cache directory. The location of this directory is specified using "Texture Cache" in the Output Directories section above. So, don't set your "Texture Cache" directory to be any existing folder that already contains/will contain important files, as everything in this directory will get deleted if you clear the "Textures" cache.

Also, part of the reason for keeping the path to the "Texture Cache" separate from the other directories is to allow users to share the same texture directory (since texture cooking can take a long time). Make sure that you don't accidently delete textures that other people need!

MayaMan Help Contents