Building Visual Max Scripts

[Anonymous]

So I am embarking down the path of building a dialogue box that controls the maxscripts I am writing to configure our render settings. Think of it as the 3dsmax batch renderer dialogue on steroids.

The idea is that it will have encoded vray settings based on preview, draft, and production(hi-res) images that some of our end users won't have to configure themselves.

It will allow you to select any or all the cameras in your scene, set an output folder and it will automatically create the file names for output based on selection of what you want to send to render..... diffuse, Z-depth channel, and an AO for starters. For the AO it will be able to override the current render settings to send an AO render as well as the diffuse, basically a built in version of the angstraum script only I'm adding in a few more parameters. All of this tied into backburner directly.

I've been playing around with all of the scripting, and I've figured out all of the parts and pieces and syntax for controlling the parts i need, I just need to start putting it all together.

The one part that I'm not sure of at the moment is how to interact back and forth between the building the interface and adding the scripting. The tutorials I've gone through have you build an interface, save it out to a .MS file, and then you do an open script and start adding in all the background scripting to the interface. No problem so far..... but what happens when I get halfway done with the project and want to add another button into the interface? Do you open up the .VMS file create your new object, save it out to a new .MS file look at the .MS file to see the new change, and then copy that code into the originally started .MS file? that just seems wrong to me.

I'm thinking there's a way to code in all the backend scripts from within the visual MaxScript Editor.... but I haven't figured it out yet.

can anyone shed somelight on the workflow if you've been through itbefore?

thanks - bk
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[Anonymous]

You don't need to use VMS files... if your cursor is somewhere within a rollout, you can choose Edit Rollout from the editor's Tool menu. If you opened Visual MAXScript from the editor, Save will save back into the script you were editing.

Beware, though, that VMS will sometimes mess with your formatting. I usually make a copy of my rollout stuff, edit that, then paste it back in, just in case.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, you are right Stokes.. I got that exp too.. But not only formatting, it has tendency for evaluating variables and return them... Save and save often 😉 when you save do save of your save..