Maya Menu layout

uk_resistant

Im just starting to use Maya 2009 (im a max user) for a new job. Im just wondering if there is a way to save the positions of the menus that you tear off as a default UI?

I like to tear off the select, mesh and edit mesh menus and place them at either side of the viewport and switch (ironically :P) to expert mode, but im having to do this everytime i start a new file, which is quite tedious.

I wouold really appreciate if anyone knows how to save the positions of said menus. Below is a image of what i mean incase it isnt clear.

Also whilst im here is there a way to change the position of the verts/edges/faces/etc information (and save that as well)?


cheers

Toast

Don't use it like that, try marking menus instead.

They take a bit to set up / getting used to...but once you get used to it, you'll be flying. You're wasting a lot of UI space with those torn of menus.

Firebert

yes, yes, yes... hotbox/marking menus are the way to go. a slight learning curve to become comfortable and familiar with where you place your toolsets, but it makes a world of difference in speed. also remember just by hitting the function keys and then going to the hotbox (hold down SPACEbar) you can switch between modeling(F3), animation(F2), surfaces(F4), etc. very quickly and still get to those menus that you have spread out everywhere. I use marking menus (floating space North,East,South,West) around the hotbox for commonly used toolsets. There's a bunch of stuff in those menus that you may rarely use and don't need in a marking menu. This way you can get to a tool with a quick flick as opposed to menu>menu>menu>menu>menu>menu

If you are switching from max, or will still be using max regularly, I would try to find some ways to make Maya similar in keyboard shortcuts if you use shortcuts a lot in Max. You can always modify that stuff and it may help you get around quckly.



EDIT: I don't think there is a way to change the position of the HUD. Never really wanted to or needed to, so I don't know. I think you may not need to once you get situated with the marking menu hotbox configuration.

uk_resistant

Im really not a huge fan of the mark menu, i find it too fiddle, though I appreciate the suggestions. I worked out that i dont use the "mesh" menu often so I dont tear that off anymore, leaving only the select and Edit mesh tabs up, on the left side. Still gives me plenty of room, whilst i get used to how maya behaves. If anyone can answer my original question still, it would be appreciated!

cheers

uk_resistant

Im really not a huge fan of the mark menu, i find it too fiddle, though I appreciate the suggestions. I worked out that i dont use the "mesh" menu often so I dont tear that off anymore, leaving only the select and Edit mesh tabs up, on the left side. Still gives me plenty of room, whilst i get used to how maya behaves. If anyone can answer my original question still, it would be appreciated!

cheers

pior

Hi UK
Unfortuntely most maya users will tell you "no no you dont want that".
But yeah unfortunately, menus that you tear off ... have to be teared off every session, otherwise they just disappear.

I do use marking menus to access a variety of editing windows (outliner, hyershade...) or some 'one time only' modelling stuff. But for '10 times per minute' stuff yeah marking menus are waaaaaaaaaaay to slow. Keyboard shortcuts are sadly the only was to go by default.

At work the tech guys wrote me a floating shelf, that way you can keep it on the side when working fullscreen and it rocks. I cannot upload it here, but maybe someone here or on techartists can code something similar for you. As for tearoffs, rumor has it you might be able to save their position in the next coming Maya release thanks to a full UI rewrite, but I doubt it.

Good luck!

Firebert

I was messing around with it in the system prefs, and it is strange because it has an option for remembering window placement, but it seems this only applies to windows like graph editor, hypershade, etc. and not tear offs. Sorry bud. Pior is right about the coding thing, which was going to be my next suggestion. Either find someone internally to write something for you, or checkout highend3d maybe... there's lots of codes and scripts on that site that may have what you are looking for.

A good keyboard shortcut that I use EVERYTIME is "G". Extruding something five times with different rotations? Extrude it one time, make your adjustments, and without deselecting the component, hit "G" to repeat the standard extrude operation. Saves a lot of wrist flicks with the mouse just to hit a button.

Jeff Parrott

Just place all the operations on a shelf. That's what I do. It's faster and easier to move computers, etc. Plus it's there everytime.

malcolm

Hi there, I recommend holding down shift and holding right mouse button to do any polygon modelling in maya. Once you get used to the context sensitive menus it is the fastest way to model in maya.

pior

Hey Malcolm! Is there a setting to make these menus appear instantly? I know that I mostly stayed away from them in the past because it seems like one has to 'hold' the key/mouse combo for a while to make them appear (same thing on the little circle thing to get to submenus). And sometimes the marking menus just freeze for a second and let me with a weird black mouse trail.

However I have heard in the past that this issue does not appear on the mac. Maybe that's what you're using?

Like, the edge selection conversion tools ... don't they take a while to reach?

Jeffro, yeah but I ran out of space quick hehe

Illusions

pior wrote: »

Hey Malcolm! Is there a setting to make these menus appear instantly? I know that I mostly stayed away from them in the past because it seems like one has to 'hold' the key/mouse combo for a while to make them appear (same thing on the little circle thing to get to submenus).

This is also the reason that I haven't really bothered to use them except for things that I couldn't fit in my shelf. I know that it probably takes a similar amount of time to click an icon in the shelf as it does to select something in the marking menus, but I'd rather be actively involved than waiting for something. If there is anyway to get this to appear faster, that would be excellent.

malcolm

Hey guys I've been using these since maya 7 when they first came without lag, I think the default load time for the context sensitive menu is about half a second. It would be great if there was no load time at all but I think all the menus in maya take half a second to load. If you're seeing a black mouse trail it's probably a driver issue and I have seen lag in these menus on really low end machines back in 2005 but there was also lag just holding down a right click to switch to component mode. As for the mac the problem is really bad in 2008 but has been fixed in 2009, I do not recommend using mac maya at all those it is completely fucked tones of usability bugs and runs at about half the speed of the pc maya 2009.

PixelMasher

yea I hve a flaoting shelf plugin for maya somwhere, its handy but mostly I jsut use shortcut keys, I cant understand how some people can constantly be navigating through drop downs and menus.

Ill see If I can find the plugin tomorrow and upload it, its great to use it with expert mode, even if it is just to snootily comment to co-workers "yea I work in expert mode all the time" hahaahha, make sure you extend the pinky off the wacom pen while saying said line.*TING*

rooster

i feel your pain pior, it's all the more infuriating since the hotbox appears instantly, so they clearly *can pop things up quickly, the marking menus just dont..

ivars

With the marking menus, you don't have to wait for the actual menu to appear, it uses directions, so just make a quick gesture in the right direction and you'll get that command.
The mouse trail is for accessing sub menus, for instance to convert a selection to contained faces: hold Ctrl, rightklick and do a quick up > down gesture with the mouse. It's really fast once you memorize where all the command are located :P But it takes a little getting used to...

EDIT: rooster: I think the main reason why it takes a bit longer for the marking menus to appear is because Maya has to figure out what object you are clicking on. (the hotbox is just predefined menus) This becomes apparent when working with big scenes where the delay is even bigger.

rooster

hmm, I'm not so sure ivars. if you make a marking menu that only has 'create object' commands in it, maya doesnt need to know what you're over, but it still takes that half second to think about it. or maybe its doing the calculation whether it needs to or not?
I dunno, seems like the speed of computers these days, a menu popup shouldnt have any kind of delay

solar

Ivars, how about for example selecting "to edge loop" through the marking menu? You have to wait for the first menu to appear and then select from the second menu. Takes far too long compared with a shortcut key, unless there's a quicker technique im missing.

Cheesestraws

You do not have to wait for marking menus to appear ever, even for submenus. They are completely done by gestures, if the items you want to access is under a submenu then you just have to move in the direction of that submenu then in the direction of the item you wish to use, it may take a few attempts to get used to how it works but it is possible to access items many menus deep with just a gesture.

ivars

solar: No you don't have to wait for it, just ctrl + right click, diagonal right, pause (for a millisec, just so that the "trail" adds another point) diagonal right again. voila Edge loop

Then again for edge loop select just use the arrow keys on the keyboard (loop, ring, step) or if you're in 2k9 double click an edge.

malcolm

Yeah this looks kind of neat it's like casting a spell in black and white. I do it sometimes as a joke you can do a 360 circle before you go to edge mode.

Michael Knubben

On another note: Voila.

Say it with me now: Voila.

A viola is an instrument.

ivars

Sorry for the typo

rooster

mange tout, mange tout

pior

"Voil