Toolbox

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Welcome to the official site for our App for Autodesk Maya!

The Toolbox is an Android app that extends the use of Maya to your own cellphone or tablet. It is very simple to use, you can find the steps to get it working in no time here.

Step 1.

Download the app from Playstore for free: Toolbox

Step 2.

Download the tool that will act as a server in Maya. You can find it here: Toolbox for Maya. It is free too.

Step 3.

Unzip the files and copy the Toolbox folder to your ../user/documents/maya/scripts/ folder.

Step 4.

Open Maya, open the Script Editor and run this in a python tab:

import Toolbox
reload(Toolbox)
Toolbox.run()

If you want to run it in Dock mode, run this command instead:

import Toolbox
reload(Toolbox)
Toolbox.runDock()

You will see a small widget appear on screen:

Step 5 .

Click on the left button to open the menu. Feel free to customize your toolbox by choosing the Settings option.

You can change the Icon and color of your Toolbox. Move it around by dragging it with the mouse and place it anywhere you want. You can use the small area (marked with a /// ) on the bottom-right side to scale it too.

After you are happy with the settings, let’s connect it to your App!

Step 6.

Click on the Settings button again, and select the last option “Connect to mobile”. A window will open for you to input your local IP. Hopefully it will auto detect your IP and you will not have to worry about finding it.

Just to double check that you do not have multiple IP (Like ethernet, 4G, VPN connection, etc), go to Windows -> Command Prompt. If you are not using windows, please find the equivalent command to find the Wireless LAN IPv4 address.

Then type ipconfig in the command prompt window. It will display your ip addresses, look for the Wireless LAN adapter. Remember Maya and the application need to be using the same Wifi to be able to connect. Once you have located the Wireless LAN section, look for the IPv4 address. This is the correct address to use. Double check that this is the address that the Toolbox is displaying. If it is displaying a different one, please remove it and type the correct one.

Please keep open the command prompt window, write down or remember this IP number, as you will need it to connect from your tablet or phone! Once the IP is set, Maya and the App will remember it so you do not need to open the Command Prompt window again for future connections.

Important! The Toolbox App only works with local Wifi IP. You will not be able to connect from IP not belonging to the same Network.

Step 7.

If there is no error message, you are ready to connect your App! Simply launch the App in your tablet or cellphone and click on this button:

A small window will open asking you to input the exact same IP that you set in Maya. Once you set it, it will remember it for next time you open the App.

If the IP matches the one you input in Maya, you are ready to go! Click on the Outliner icon on top of the app bar, and the Outliner will open in Maya!

Step 8.

It is time to add your first script, this will allow you to gain Exp points in the app and climb up in the ladder. Being a top 10 in the ladder makes you a featured artist in the leaderboard, and your profile will be available for anyone to check.

Open the Script Editor in Maya by using the shortcut in the Toolbox top bar, or by opening it manually in Maya. The Toolbox Script Editor’s button look like this and you may need to scroll right to see it depending on your device’s resolution.

Once the Script Editor is open, create a Python tab and type this:

import maya.cmds as cmds
cmds.polySphere()

Important note: Please always include the cmds imports if your script is in python. If your script is in mel, nothing to worry about! Because cmds is not a standard, not including the imports in python may result in other artists not being able to use your script due to importing it with a different namespace like “import maya.cmds as cm”, “import maya.cmds as mc”, etc

Select all of the text, and drag it with the middle mouse button into the Toolbox. Drop it anywhere inside the Toolbox and a window will open.

Give it a name like “Create a sphere”, and select an icon by clicking on the Browse button. You can select any image below 256 x 256 resolution. This icon is important, it will be the image of your script in your App and if you choose to share it with other artists, it will be visible to them as well.

Select Python as the Mode, and click the Test Script button at the bottom of the Window. A sphere will be created in Maya.

Click the Save button and you will see a button appear in your Toolbox. Click on this new button and another sphere will be created.

It is time to send this script to the App! Right click on the button and select the last option: Send to Toolbox App

Another small window will open, asking you to type a short description of what the script does.

Before clicking Ok, make sure the App is active in your tablet/phone, and that you connected it through Step 7.

Once you click Ok, you App will receive the information from Maya like this:

You can modify the description of the Script here. If you want to make this script available to anyone who visits your profile, leave the Public checked. If you have a website with documentation or a video demo of how to use the script, you can share it here as well. Other artists will be able to check this information.

Choose a category if you have one already, or leave the Default one and click the Ok button. Click on the Default category (or the category you chose) to refresh the scripts. Click on it, and yet another sphere will be created in Maya. Congrats! You have created your first script!

You can always edit your script by clicking on the 3 dots at the right side of the script. If at some point you want to stop sharing it, simply uncheck the Public option and no one will have access to it anymore.

FAQ

  1. The Microphone button is not working!
    – When clicking the Microphone button, a message asking to allow Record should pop up. However, if this does not happens, please close the App, go to your phone’s main screen, keep the Toolbox icon pressed until a menu pops out. Click on the App Info option, and navigate to the Permissions section. Activate the Microphone and launch the app again!


2. My script is not working for other artists!
– The Toolbox will copy only what is visible in your script to execute, it will not upload external libraries if your script is using them. This means, if other artists do not have those libraries installed, they will be unable to run your script. This is by design to protect studios and 3rd party developers from distributing their libraries.

For example, if your code has:
import numpy
import myLibrary

The Toolbox will not automatically detect where these libraries are and upload them as well. You can specify this in the description for users to install the required libraries to run your script.


This is all for now, have fun creating and sharing your wisdom and tips with other fellow artists!

Please remember, this is a very experimental tool and it took countless hours of work to develop after regular job hours. We do not know how successful it will be, and it all depends on how many people uses it. Please share it in your social media as much as you can, giving reviews and encouraging people to use it once the Beta testing is over.

Most importantly, have fun using it! It is free after all!

Found a bug or want to request a new feature?

Everyone hate bugs, report it here!

If you are familiar with Jira and prefer to create a ticket there, please send us a message asking to join here.