Importing Newer Object Files Into Maya 7 Unlimited

[Anonymous]

I am still using Maya 7 Unlimited (because I can't afford the new monthly subscriptions at the moment).

There are a lot of object downloads that I would like to make use of, but Maya 7 doesn't successfully import them.

The object files have the ".ma" and ".mb" extensions, which Maya 7 is supposed to be able to use.

Has the format of those ma and mb file types changed over time?

And are there any utility programs that I can use to make the files usable by Maya 7?

[mspeer]

Hi!

You can't import a file that uses a feature of a later version.

A few changes have been made to the file format, but for simple geometry and Maya materials it should work.

The best way to import files would be an other file-format like OBJ (or FBX when exported with an old FBX version).

[jill.ramsay]

You're out of luck with .mb files, but you may be able to open .ma files by edited the version number in a text editor:

https://www.methodj.com/convert-maya-files-to-open-in-older-versions-of-maya/

Given how old the version of Maya is that you are using, I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth a try.

Jill