relaxing uv's with constraints?

Japhir

hey guys,

In 3ds max 9 I always use a script MoP posted a long time ago for relaxing my uv's:

macroScript Macro1
    category:"DragAndDrop"
    toolTip:""
(
    $.modifiers[#unwrap_uvw].unwrap5.relaxByFaceAngle 200 0.0 1.0 false
)

it works like a charm, but there is one thing that would make it even better.
is it there a script that constrains certain edges (which you select yourself) so that they remain straight and still relax? that would be usefull so that the seems are kept straight, but also relaxed to the maximum.

i saw it done in a tool i tried out, but i didn't understand the tool and i don't really like standalone applications. i like having everything in one program (i.e. max).

If somebody knows of a script that could do that i would be eternally thankfull . I myself don't understand a thing about scripts and plugins, not so much a techy guy, and therefore i ask here.

thanks in advance!

Eric Chadwick

Use the built-in Relax instead, there are a couple checkboxes in the dialog that might help. Also, Relax does work on selections, not distorting the unselected bits.

MoP

Eric: I think he wants to actually relax the seams, but keep them so they're aligned at the borders (so it will only relax horizontally rather than vertically, if you know what I mean).
I was trying to write something like this recently, but some issues in Maxscript (or my poor understanding of it) meant it didn't always work. I might take another look at it soon and try to fix it.

Japhir: Eric is right though, in Max you can pop open the Relax dialog and click the "Keep Boundary Points Fixed" checkbox - although this means that the seams won't move at all, and everything else will be relaxed inside them.

Japhir

ok thanks for the help!
what you said is indeed what i wanted, headus uv layout has the function, but the demo seemed very unpractical to me. (tried it out again today).
I sure hope you can find a way to do it! would be great!