The BCS is installed as a Maya module. This makes installing, uninstalling,
and updating the BCS very convenient.
For steps to upgrade from a BCS version before it became a Maya module,
please see the Readme.txt.
The installation consists of the following steps:
Install the BCS Maya module.
Set up Maya to load the BCS plug-in.
Optionally set up and configure hotkeys.
Optionally create shelf buttons to conveniently open
the main and/or other user interfaces of the BCS and its tools.
Simply copy the module definition (.mod) file and the module folder into a
directory of the MAYA_MODULE_PATH.
By default, the possible locations are:
Windows: C:\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\modules
Linux: ~/maya/modules
Mac: ~/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/modules
The modules folder might not exist in these locations. In this case,
simply create it and copy the files there. The resulting file structure
should be similar to:
maya/modules/DPK_bcs/
maya/modules/DPK_bcs.mod
If you’re not familiar with installing and loading plugins into Maya, here are
the steps in detail:
Start Maya.
Open the Plug-in Manager
(“Window->Settings/Preferences->Plug-in Manager…”).
You should find the DPK_bcs plug-in in the list.
If not, the module might not contain a compiled plug-in for your Maya
version and/or platform. In this case, please email
support@stargrav.com.
Select both loaded and auto load.
The BCS package contains a few tools that benefit and/or require certain
hotkeys to be present. For easier installation of the hotkey commands, there
is a MEL script that makes them known to Maya.
To “register” all of these hotkeys at once, simply execute the MEL
statement: DPK_registerHotkeys;
This will not alter any hotkeys you have assigned. It will just add new hotkey
commands to the Hotkey Editor, so that you can assign an actual key
or key-combination of your choice.
The commands that are registered are:
The following are just small helpers that might come in handy sometimes:
DPK_toggleManipMode
This will toggle the Move Tool between “World” and
“Normal” mode when the selection is in component mode.
DPK_toggleWireframeOnShaded
This will toggle the wireframe display on and off when in shaded mode.
DPK_isolateToggle
This switches the Isolate Select state on and off.
DPK_isolateAdd
Use this to quickly add the selected objects or components to the
set of objects to be displayed in the view when in Isolate Select
mode.
DPK_isolateRemove
Use this to quickly remove the selected objects or components from the
set of objects to be displayed.
When working on a BCS setup, you will often need the main BCS UI.
For easily opening this UI, you can create a shelf button with the following
MEL command:
Apart from the main UI, the BCS package contains several additional tools.
Here is a list of commands you might consider for further shelf buttons:
DPK_mirrorGeoUI;
This opens the UI for Mirror Geometry. For more information, see
Chapter 7. Mirror Geometry.
DPK_paintDeform;
Opens the Paint Deform UI. See Chapter 8. Paint Deform for more information.
DPK_rotateDeltasUI;
This will open the UI for Rotate Deltas. See Chapter 9. Rotate Deltas for more
information.
DPK_toggleViewSetup;
Use this command to open the setup window for creating Toggle
View and Toggle Smoothing setups. For more information, see
Chapter 10. Toggle View.
Note
The above commands should be executed as MEL commands. You will
get errors if you try to execute them in Python mode.
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To uninstall the BCS, close Maya and delete the module definition
(DPK_bcs.mod) and module folder (DPK_bcs) from the location in
the module path they were copied to. See Installing the BCS Maya Module for the typical
locations.
To update the BCS, close Maya and replace the module definition
(DPK_bcs.mod) and module folder (DPK_bcs) with the updated
versions.
See Installing the BCS Maya Module for the typical locations these are installed to.