teach Maya to remember windows/scrolls positions and state

[black.abbath]

i'm really-really tired every time, when Maya 2019 launch (especially after crashes),

• to restore sizes of the scrolls (for example, Render settings which is appears narrow),
• to anchor UV toolkit scroll into UV window,
• to show "Modeling only" menu sets in pie-menu,
• to set desired camera position under the grid,
• to get Render settings with Arnold desired tabs collapsed.

what i've tried to solve this issues:

[concerning Maya layout]

1. File - Save Preferences -- does not helped

2. Windows - Workspaces - Save Current Workspace As... -- does not helped

3. Preferences - UI Elements - Save panel layouts with file -- does not helped

[concerning Arnold layout]

4. Presets - Export Render Settings. then Presets - Set Preferred Render Settings - User (my settings) -- does not helped

is there any way to get rid of this god damned routine???! how to force Maya to REMEMBER this layout for subsequent launches?

p.s. dear Autodesk, can you make this software MORE FRIENDLY to users at last, or you want as much users as possible to uninstall this "P.o.Sh." and migrate to free Blender, which develops in giant steps???! i don't understand...

[hamsterHamster]

 I suspect the settings just are not being saved. They are saved on closing the programm, but not on crashing.

Have you tried to rename userPrefs.mel to smth else, before launchning Maya? The window states are held in windowPrefs.mel, yet since the pref saving fails, then this file is not being written.

Try and tell the progress.

[black.abbath]

hamster, thanks for response

unfortunately your solution to rename script doesn't helped either - it reset Maya settings, but doesn't solve the problem. on my attached screenshots you can see pie menu still with additional menus, arnold's scrolls expanded and UV editor toolkit undocked - it doesn't remember the states i've set.

[hamsterHamster]

Well, the screenshots are default Maya behavior, no reason for cursing.

I just tried to dock uvToolkit to uvEditorWindow, and what worked was saving the Workspace. After restarting Maya I got it docked.

As for renderSettings, if you need direct access to the Arnold settings, type in any text field:

select defaultArnoldRenderOptions

and MMB-drag to any shelf - a new button will be created, just edit it's appearance to make it more distinct. By clicking it you will get direct access to the Arnold settings. With appropriate MEL/Python knowledge you can rewrite all the existing MayaUI, for production needs you would hire a programmer.

[black.abbath]

thanks for an advice, but if you say "With appropriate MEL/Python knowledge you can rewrite all the existing MayaUI, for production needs you would hire a programmer" - it's useless :))))

for example, everything can be changed/created with appropriate programming skills, but people love MacOS because they don't have to know anything about programming! ask yourself, how many computers would Apple sell if users had to, for example, delete all application settings in order to be able to use it normally? 0_0 i bet it will be ZERO )))

so i just want to work with program and not to waste my/your/their time to look for workarounds.

in any case, the main motive of my post is not to find a way to solve the problem, but so that the user does not have to look for a workaround at all; so that he doesn't even know about such a problem. Maya is really good with it features, but same time Autodesk is really bad because they can offer only workarounds instead of remove the problem so that it doesn't exist.

renaming script name or deleting Maya preferences doesn't help to solve the issues.

so, i considering described issues in my 1st post as a bug.

[hamsterHamster]

Dear @black.abbath, I am really sorry to waste time of yours.

The deletion of userPrefs.mel was a common cure for so vaguely described voes, hovewer, on the second look, the actual problem is elsewhere, and settings had to be changed in the userExpectations.mel. Your complaint could be just if it was about something NOT working, yet you complain about the surface UI not fitting your (MacOS) habits, however there's a wide variety of Maya users who have no problems with Maya UI. Anyway, with your noble intent, you should have posted in Maya Ideas or contacted Support.

GL there.

[black.abbath]

wow, chill, @hamsterHamster! if my words somehow seemed harsh to you, then you were mistaken and i would like to apologize for that. in addition, it was not so much about my time, but also about the time of other people (like you) who are worthy of respect for helping people like me with their advice.

i'm not working on MacOS - is just a vivid example, which quickly came to mind, that programs should be done efficiently, quality and quickly react not only to emerging bugs, but also to the requests of its users. so that people could spend their time working with Maya in comfort, and not looking for solutions to emerging problems in the work of these programs, instead of working on their own projects.

Autodesk does not do that, transferring old bugs from version to version and taking into account the wishes of ordinary users a little, but only only studios. 

As for the correct placement of my post,i thought it was the target forum. especially given the tag of the topic. If i was wrong, i asking moderator to replace it to correct sub-forum.

PEACE!

[hamsterHamster]

Well, I am fine, thanks.

Basically, what I read, is your dissatisfaction with Autodesk's service (reaction times, seeming UX negligence nstuff). However, it is incorrect to draw analogy between mass-oriented rigid OS core and flexible professional 3D package - the requirements, means and aims for both are diverse. The customer service would be similar in both cases only in that perfect world with unlimited resouces, which is not ours. Autodesk once acquired Alias (Maya, Studio) and now-suspended Softimage to control the market share, and they have their own 3D Studio MAX - all concurrent packages that each require maintenence resources and fight for more or less the same customer segment, where we also have, to name some, Houdini, Modo, Adobe Fuse and free Blender. We can only speculate what are Autodesk's plans and orders regarding the Maya future.

Stepping back to your 1st post, most of your requests are already existing and functioning features, you can customize it all without scripting from Maya UI, Windows menu, consult Help - those are not bugs. As for your implicit request for the UI feature that would "allow the user to choose the default active tab in opening any editor", besides it is already scriptable and somebody even have had it written, is soooo cosmetic that, in the grand scheme of Maya dev, it would be scheduled under the number #584054, right after those other 584053 more important/trendy features, newly acquired modules and bugfixes. My thought before was, that you could have proven me being wrong at this in the aforementioned Maya Ideas forum or by adressing the issue directly to the Support.

From the insiders I know that Autodesk would rather listen to requests from large [paying] film/game studios Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks/Sony etc, who are powerengines of the industry, than a random subscriber.... unless one has a game-changing concept.

[black.abbath]

sorry, i'm not agreed with you @hamsterHamster . Blender (free), Modo, Cinema has resources to implement features that community demand, and possible to fix bugs, but Autodesk hasn't? ridiculous.

well, don't think this forum is the right place for my thoughts and arguments with you. i considered it my duty to leave another report about the bug (yes, I still think that this is a bug), and it is up to the Autodesk to repair it or not. it is in their best interest to attract more people to the paid base or remain just a tool for studios. meanwhile Blender's base grows in leaps and bounds. with this approach (taking into account the wishes only from studios), the studios will migrate to those developers, who pays enough attention to even such an insignificant opinion as mine. it's just a matter of time.
if you want to continue discussion, you can PM.

personally i don't want Maya to die, that's why i give these reports. that's all.