No way to export and import Character Set animations!

[grendizerus]

Hello!

I did many tests to try to export an animation on a character having a character set, and import it in another scene, to the same, updated character having the same character set. This should be simple! Here are my attempts : 

- Trax : it is built around Character Sets. One can export an animation clip but one CANNOT import it in another scene! There is a "apply pose" option, but NO "apply animation clip"!! Incredible. When trying to extract the animation curves from the animation clip, the  source clip channels are getting assigned to the wrong target character set channels, so the character gets horribly deformed.

- Time Editor: it's a new version of Trax but STILL the documentation says it's NOT compatible with character sets!! WHY?

- Animation layer : when a character set is selected, the function "Extract non-layered animation for selected objects" will NOT work, as the animation will remain on the base layer and not on the "extract" layer. So there is no way to export this layer.

- animImportExport plug-in: one can export and import a character set animation an *.anim file BUT while importing, same problem as above : source clip channels are getting assigned to the wrong target character set channels.

- Atom format : if a character set is selected, it will export showing an error message and the resulting file will be corrupt, will be 1kb.

- If I try to delete the character set, then export its objects ' animations using one of the above methods, then import, then recreate a character set, the scene will become unstable, will freeze, will take forever to respond.

- The ONLY way to this this right is to use an old script that was written in the year 2000 : dkAnim , https://www.highend3d.com/maya/script/dkanim-for-maya . The guy explains he wrote the script because he was frustrated with Maya's Animation Import/Export functions! So 21 years after this script, the problem remains the same despite all these new export / import tools!!

So WHY are character sets so neglected by Maya's developpers, and why are these tools not updated to deal with character sets??

Thanks

GZ

[Anonymous]

The only way that works right away is:
Create animation clip in Trax Editor
Then export it (File -> Export Animation Clip)
Then open another scene with the reference of the character loaded, select the char set node and
File -> "Import Animation clip to Character"

I had a bunch of values to use straight from deformers not wanting to create a bunch of nurbs for the rig as it's just over complicated. So I added them in char set. Tried to use Atoms, StudioLibrary and some other stuff to export animation from charset - nothing works except this clips in Trax Editor which is ridiculous as in fact I just want to take the bunch of curves from one set of channels and apply it to the same bunch of channels on another object.

So Trax is the only option I assume...

[grendizerus]

Using Trax there is no way to "apply" an animation clip. You can apply a pose but not an animation clip. I mean at the end the animation curves should be directly applied on the rig control object and not inside a Trax clip.

[grendizerus]

Ok I finally found a way using Trax:

* Put an animation clip into Trax :
¤ No need to use the Visor.
¤ Go to Trax > menu > file > import animation clip

* Apply an animation clip to a character so that its keys are directly on the rig and not into a clip:
The clip must appear as a clip in a Trax track.
On this clip > RMB > activate keys
Then one can delete the clip

The keys are visible in the timeline!