How to transfer from 2018 to 2017 and back

[Anonymous]

My university has 2017 version installed and I have been working on my project at home in 2018.  I am using ARNOLD rendering for my final texture applications.  None of the textures are transferring to the 2017 on campus.  It was suggested I try an FBX file and I am getting errors that the file is unkown.  Can anyone suggest some detailed steps to secure my project through easy transfer from 2017 to 2018 and back.

HI @Anonymous your title 'MAYA 2018 to MAYA 2017 and back' was edited for clarity by @sean.heasley

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous and welcome to the community!

One way is to save in ASCII format and that should allow you to open in 2017 normally.

I'm not sure why the textures are having issues but you could always reimport them into 2017 and that should be fine.

Lastly, you could export everything from your scene as fbx files and import them into 2017. You shouldn't see any errors like the one you mentioned but if you do feel free to post a screenshot or the scene file her and I'd be happy to take a look at it!

Please let me know if this information is helpful or if you need any more assistance!

If one or more of these posts helped answer your question, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

Kudos are greatly appreciated. Everyone likes a thumbs up!

[mspeer]

Hi!

1. If textures are not transferred, then it's a problem of filepaths (they have to be the same on both systems or it will  not work)

2. If materials are not working, then there may different versions of Arnold on the systems (they both have to use Arnold 5 or it will not work.)

3. Try saving your scenes as .ma

4. When exporting as .fbx change FBX Version to 2017 or 2016 in export options

It is not recommended to switch Maya version during a project, this will lead to problems and may break your scene.

[Anonymous]

Can you explain how to see what version of ARNOLD is on each version of MAYA?  Also I did not see anywhere to choose an FBX version.  Can you help?  When I import the ASCII File, Here is reading of the script errors.

setAttr hardwareRenderingGlobals.customUVBorderColorR 1; setAttr hardwareRenderingGlobals.customUVBorderColorG 1; setAttr hardwareRenderingGlobals.customUVBorderColorB 1;
polyOptions -displayMapBorder 0;
polyOptions -displayMapBorder 1;
// Warning: int $state = !($state); //
// Warning: "/Users/Shared/Autodesk/ApplicationAddins/MayaBonusTools/Contents/scripts-2016/bonusToolsMenu.mel" line 1836.24 : Redeclaration of variable "$state" shadows previous declaration at line 1835. Previous value will be overwritten by explicit initializer. //
file -f -new;
// untitled //
commandPort -securityWarning -name commandportDefault;
onSetCurrentLayout "Maya Classic";
// mental ray for Maya 2017
// mental ray for Maya: using startup file /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017//maya.rayrc.
// mental ray for Maya: setup
// mental ray for Maya: initialize
// mental ray for Maya: register extensions
// mental ray Node Factory: loaded
evalDeferred "shaderBallRendererMenuUpdate";
// mental ray for Maya: successfully registered
// mental ray for Maya: loading startup file: /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017//maya.rayrc
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/AdskShaderSDKWrappers.mi
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/architectural.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/architectural.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/base.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/base.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/basehair.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/basehair.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/bifrostMR.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/bifrostMR.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/bifrostphenMR.mi
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/builtin_bsdf.mi
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/builtin_object_light.mi
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/contour.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/contour.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/coreutil.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/coreutil.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/layering.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/layering.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/layering_phen.mi
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/lookdevKitMR.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/lookdevKitMR.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/object_light_phen.mi
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/paint.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/paint.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/physics.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/physics.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/production.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/production.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/subsurface.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/subsurface.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/surfaceSampler.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/surfaceSampler.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/userdata.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/userdata.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/useribl.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/useribl.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
// parsing /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/include/xgenMR.mi
// loading /Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/xgenMR.dylib
// generating Maya nodes...
get_mdl_modules('/Applications/NVIDIA Corporation/mentalray-3.14-for-Maya-2017/shaders/mdl')
# ['maya_default'] #
get_mdl_modules('/Library/Application Support/NVIDIA Corporation/mdl')
# ['adobe::annotations', 'adobe::convert', 'adobe::mtl', 'adobe::util', 'alg::base::annotations', 'alg::base::core', 'alg::base::normalmapping', 'alg::materials::blinn', 'alg::materials::lambert', 'alg::materials::lights', 'alg::materials::physically_metallic_roughness', 'alg::materials::physically_specular_glossiness', 'ifm', 'iray_for_rhino::rhino_5_material', 'Lw', 'LwBase', 'LwConversion', 'LwEmission', 'LwFinish', 'LwFunctions', 'LwGeometry', 'LwMeasuredBase', 'LwTooltips', 'nvidia::axf_importer::axf_importer', 'nvidia::core_definitions'] #
get_mdl_modules('~/Documents/mdl')
# [] #
// Register mental ray VP2Override plugin
updateRenderOverride;
evalDeferred "shaderBallRendererMenuUpdate";
# pymel.core : Updating pymel with pre-loaded plugins: invertShape, mayaHIK, GamePipeline, CloudImportExport, curveWarp, tiffFloatReader, MASH, poseInterpolator, bifrostvisplugin, ATFPlugin, hairPhysicalShader, Mayatomr, ikSpringSolver, deformerEvaluator, ik2Bsolver, xgenToolkit, retargeterNodes, OneClick, renderSetup, GPUBuiltInDeformer, mtoa, modelingToolkit
import arnold
// Successfully imported python module 'arnold'
import mtoa
// Successfully imported python module 'mtoa'
import mtoa.cmds.registerArnoldRenderer;mtoa.cmds.registerArnoldRenderer.registerArnoldRenderer()
Maya 2017 importing module pymel 1.0.9 (/Applications/Autodesk/maya2017/Maya.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/Current/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pymel/__init__.pyc)
// Successfully registered renderer 'arnold'
// Warning: file: /Applications/Autodesk/maya2017/Maya.app/Contents/scripts/startup/autoLoadPlugin.mel line 32: Loading plug-in "mtoa" has resulted in changes to the scene that may need to be saved. //
updateRendererUI;
updateRendererUI;
file -f -options "v=0;p=17;f=0" -ignoreVersion -typ "mayaAscii" -o "/Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma";addRecentFile("/Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma", "mayaAscii");
closeAllNodeEditors;
closeHypershade;
updateRenderOverride;
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66007: The aiOptions 'defaultArnoldRenderOptions' has no '.GI_specular_samples' attribute. //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66007: setAttr: No object matches name: .GI_specular_samples //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66008: The aiOptions 'defaultArnoldRenderOptions' has no '.GI_transmission_samples' attribute. //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66008: setAttr: No object matches name: .GI_transmission_samples //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66010: The aiOptions 'defaultArnoldRenderOptions' has no '.GI_specular_depth' attribute. //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66010: setAttr: No object matches name: .GI_specular_depth //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66011: The aiOptions 'defaultArnoldRenderOptions' has no '.GI_transmission_depth' attribute. //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66011: setAttr: No object matches name: .GI_transmission_depth //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66021: The aiAOVDriver 'defaultArnoldDriver' has no '.color_management' attribute. //
// Error: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 66021: setAttr: No object matches name: .color_management //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 67877: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68469: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68477: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68491: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68510: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68523: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68538: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68557: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68580: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 68590: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69127: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69161: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69475: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69495: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69514: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69533: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69552: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 69571: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Warning: file: /Users/Home/Desktop/1107/scenes/1106_2103.ma line 70955: Unrecognized node type 'aiStandardSurface'; preserving node information during this session. //
// Error: line 124: Invalid flag '-controllers' //
// Warning: line 0: Errors have occurred while reading this scene that may result in data loss.

Please check the Script Editor for details. //
// File read in 0.77 seconds.
// Error: line 0: Error reading file. //
// Warning: file: /Applications/Autodesk/maya2017/Maya.app/Contents/scripts/startup/findStartUpCamera.mel line 116: Could not find an appropriate startup camera: side. A substitute will be used. //
// Error: line 0: Error reading file. //

[mspeer]

Hi!

1. Arnold -> About

You are using different Versions of Arnold (Maya 2018 Arnold 5 vs Maya 2017 Arnold 4). This cannot work.

It's the same for Maya. If you use new features that are not available in previous versions you can't exchange files.

2. FBX: Advanced Options -> FBX File Format

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Maya/fil...

Please read the Maya Online Help / Documentation for more details.

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

I'm just checking in to see if you need more help with this. @mspeer made a good point that changing between versions mid project isn't recommended. That said it is possible to work between them with the steps he and I provided. Did these steps and information help solve your issue?

If so, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

[Anonymous]

I am currently rendering on my personal MAC at home with the 2018 version.  It is just inconvenient and time consuming to use only one computer.  I have tried all the suggested responses and I have had no success.  We have contacted tech administrators at the University of Utah to see if they can update a few MACS on campus with 2018 and Arnold 5.0.

Do you have any suggestions for faster rendering times other than using lower numbers in the ARNOLD settings and just waiting.

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

I understand how frustrating that can be. I had the same issue when I was in college and it's never fun having to switch versions based on what machine you are on.

I'm a bit surprised you're having issues with the fbx import though, when you get a chance, can you please zip and attach the scene file here or via dropbox/google drive or another file sharing program so I can take a look at it?

I can make a video showing how to properly navigate between both scenes that may help you out!

As for you question on Arnold, it depends how complex the scene is and what you are trying to render. Your machines hardware also plays a factor into how long a render can take. Tweaking the settings like you mentioned is your best bet but like I said depending on what you're trying to render there's always going to be a bit of a waiting time.

Let me know if anything changes!

[Anonymous]

Remind me how to zip up the file and where to place it and I will send you the entire project.  I would appreciate any tutorial or advice you can give for my project.  Do you want the entire project?

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

No problem!

To zip your project folder:

1. Right click the folder
2. Under 'Send to' you should see 'Compressed (zipped) folder'
3. Select that and it will create a zipped folder of your project
4. Either attach the project in your response via the Attachments tab
5. Or create a shareable link via dropbox/google driver

Let me know if this helps or if you need more assistance with zipping your project folder!

[mspeer]

Hi!

Rendering needs time. The time it needs is based on quality requirements and the hardware used for rendering.

So no, there is nothing more you can do then waiting if you can't lower quality more or get a better hardware for rendering.

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

I'm just checking in to see if you need more help with this. Did the suggestions that @mspeer and I provided work for you? When you get a chance, please post the file here so I can take a look at it and make a video for you!

If your issue is resolved, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.