Unable to recompile .nll.dll because the file is open in Maya

[toby.charlton]

I'm trying to develop a plugin using Visual Studio, but am unable to rebuild the .nll.dll once loaded into Maya 2023.

I have tried the Mel command

unload "pluginname";
flushUndo;

but when I attempt to delete the plugin, I get the error "File In Use. The action can't be completed because the file is open in Maya"

What is the normal, iterative process for developing a plugin?

[jmreinhart]

You should flushUndo before unloading. But other than that I'm not sure what could be causing your issue. Is the plugin still present in the plugin manager even if it's unloaded?

[toby.charlton]

Thanks for replying...
The plugin does not appear in the plugin-manager after it has been unloaded, but Windows says that it is still being used by Maya.exe.

I have tried flushUndo both before and after to no avail.

ProcessExplorer (by Microsoft) also indicates that the .nll is being used by maya.exe 

What is the usual method for developing a plugin (in terms of recompiling in order to debug)?

Edit: I also forgot to mention that I'm using the .Net framework

[jmreinhart · Accepted solution]

Hmm. That's interesting. Have you tried testing with a simple Maya devkit plugin? That could help determine if it is something about your plugin specifically or something related to your maya/machine setup that affects all plugins.

The only other method of iterative testing is if you close, recompile, reopen maya. Which is really annoying.

[toby.charlton]

In the end I abandoned using .NET and instead used the c++ api which enabled me to easily recompile the plugin without having to reload Maya.

Thanks for your help though.