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Page 1 of 16http://methodj.com/how-to-fix-maya/
Now we know where to find our crash save files. But chances are
good that whatever caused that
file to crash once, will make Maya crash again. What causes
these problems, and how do we deal
with them? Read on to learn how to fix Maya when it breaks.
Like all hugely complicated software programs, Maya has lots of
problems! The first step in learn-
ing to fix Maya is to start understanding how Maya thinks.
As I lay out each technique, I will explain the thinking behind
it as well. When the next new problem
pops up, youll be better equipped to try to diagnose and fix
it!
Fixing the magical disappearing objectWhen a magician makes
something disappear, its fun! When Maya makes something disappear,
its
infuriating.
This technique will deal with any problem specific to an object
not just disappearances. If your
TUTORIALS
HOW TO FIX MAYAGALLERY | DECEMBER 31, 2013 | JAMES TAYLOR | 13
COMMENTS
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object is behaving strangely, follow these steps!
Mesh Combine technique
1. We start with our object. This guy is angry at Maya.
2. Create an ordinary polygonal cube (or any polygon object) and
move it off to the side, some-
where that you can see it.
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3. Select the cube first, then shift-click the broken model. The
order you choose the models in is im-
portant! The cube must be selected first.
Both are now selected, so go to the Mesh menu and Combine
them.
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4. Now our two meshes are one, with a new name like
PolySurface60.
5.Go to Face mode, and delete the faces of the cube!
6. Your original mesh is the only thing left standing.
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7. Last, do a Delete by Type > History.
How does it work?
What weve done here is tried to make Maya forget whatever was
causing the problem.
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We create a brand new poly object, which we know works fine.
Then we combine the objects. We are trying to trick Maya into
forgetting whatever was causing
the problem with our original object, and instead replace that
with the good history of the new
polygon object.
Then we get rid of the poly faces and delete our history.
Hopefully Maya has forgotten the issue!
If it didnt, then try the next step!
Exporting to FBX
The FBX file format is a pretty robust one. It is the shared
file format that lets us move objects and
scenes from one Autodesk package to another. Used to be, getting
something from Maya to Max
was near impossible!
1. Select the object in question and in the File menu, choose
Export Selection.
2. This window will pop up. At the very bottom, switch the file
format to FBX export. Then save it
where ever.
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3. Create a new file, and then do a File > Import. Our object
should pop up, and hopefully our prob-
lems are fixed!
How does it work?
Again, were trying to make Maya forget whatever issue it has
with our object. The FBX format car-
ries a lot of data, but hopefully whatever glitch is stopping
Maya isnt transferred.
But what if that doesnt fix it? Time to go caveman.
Exporting to OBJ
Were going to try exporting again, but this time with a
different file format The old
Wavefront OBJ format.
1. Same as before File menu, choose Export Selection.
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2. However, in this window, where we switched to FBX format,
well see that there is no OBJ format.
By default it isnt enabled!
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3. We need to open the Window menu, then go to
Settings/Preferences. Then, go to the very bot-
tom of the Settings/Prefs menu and open the Plug-in Manager.
This window will pop up. Find objExport.mll and check the box
next to Loaded. You can also
check Auto load, if you want to load the OBJ plug-in every time
Maya starts.
4. Repeat step 2, but this time choose OBJ and export.
5. Create a new Maya file, and import the OBJ file. Hopefully
the problem is fixed!
How does it work?
Whereas FBX is a robust modern format, OBJ is an old format that
doesnt support many features.
Thats why its our last resort OBJ will save our mesh and our
UVs, and usually our materials, but
thats it. Complex shaders or skin nodes will be left behind.
What if that doesnt do it? Time for the big guns.
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Nuke the site from orbit: Reset MayaWe are going to reset Maya
back to factory specs. It will be exactly like the first time we
ever
opened the package!
1. CLOSE MAYA! Maya must be shut down for this to work!
2. YOU CLOSED MAYA, RIGHT? Are you sure? There should be no
instances of Maya running.
When Maya closes, it saves the pref files, so if you delete the
prefs before closing Maya, youre
wasting time.
3. Go to the Maya prefs folder.
For Windows, its in \Documents\Maya\[version number, like
2013-x64]\prefs
For Mac, its in
/users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/en_US/[version
number, like
2013-x64]/prefs
4. Select all the files in that folder and delete them.
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5. Restart Maya. If it worked, well see the welcome screen, the
annoying movies pop-up, etc.
We will see that Maya is back to its default user interface. Any
custom menus, shelves, marking
menus, or hotkeys are gone! If you want to keep those, copy the
appropriate files from that prefs
folder before you delete. You can reinstate them afterwards.
How does it work?
At this point, Maya has been reset to its default state. And
weird glitches it picked up should be
gone. The thinking is that somewhere in one of our preference
files, something was causing Maya
to act flaky. By getting rid of those preferences outside of
Maya, we remove the detrimental be-
havior.
BONUS: HELP why is my object green???If your object turns this
particular shade of green:
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That means that the material that was assigned to that object
has been deleted. Assign a new ma-
terial to the object!
Like a soap operaYou may have picked up on the theme of making
Maya forget things. Thats how I think about it. If
there was a way to induce permanent amnesia in Maya I am
convinced it would work better.
Working as an instructor, Ive seen more than my fair share of
Maya problems. If you run across
any problems that you cant solve this way, just drop me a
comment!
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13 THOUGHTS ON HOW TO FIX MAYA
JUNE 27, 2014 AT 7:23 PM
James,
Id like to thank you for helping me NOT throw my computer (Maya)
out the window!
Disappearing objects luckily since Im still learning I havent
had to deal with this too much.
But the info I could find about it was: If the object is showing
up in the Outliner but the vert
count is zero Guess what, toots? Youre outta luck!
Magically, I found your How To Fix Maya tutorial and it works
like a charm! Instead of re-doing
all of todays work at 5pm on a Friday, now I can call it a day
and have a margarita instead. The
first ones dedicated to YOU!
Cheers,
Shannon
P.S. Your artwork is amazing! Wow. Intimidating. It makes me
feel like I should keep working
through the weekend.
JUNE 28, 2014 AT 11:42 AM
Where does Maya save crash files?
In "Tutorials"
Maya Character Modeling Tutorial
In "Tutorials"
Maya UV Unwrapping tutorial
In "Tutorials"
FEATURED MAYA PROBLEM MAYA TUTORIAL TROUBLESHOOTING
Shannon Stevenson
James Taylor
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Ha ha, glad I could help!
AUGUST 7, 2014 AT 4:19 PM
None of that worked! Thats the best character Ive ever
modeled.
AUGUST 7, 2014 AT 6:42 PM
What is the exact problem you are having with your file?
AUGUST 8, 2014 AT 12:55 AM
Uh oh The admin chopped my comment and now it looks meaningless
because it didntconvey the mood I posted with Arrrggghh!
Anyway, I made a mistake and was undoing for several times (I
guess I overworked maya,
plus my laptop is not a good device for 3D anim) all of a sudden
the mesh just disappeared.
It shows in the outliner but when I selected it, it shows (on
the viewport) as if I selected an
empty group and then I stupidly saved the file on the one I was
working on thinking if I
restarted maya the problem would be fixed. Obviously not.
Anyway, Ive spent another painful 3-4hrs to model another
character but, you could pro-
vide a solution, incase of next time.
Thank you
AUGUST 8, 2014 AT 10:29 AM
In the outliner, select the character node and try assigning a
new material to it. Some-
times the material disappears, but the object is ok.
If that doesnt work, and you saved on top of your file, there
isnt much you can do with-
out a backup. Turn on Incremental Save in the Save option box,
it automatically creates
backups for cases like this.
lucifer
James Taylor
lucifer
James Taylor
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Without seeing the file Im guessing, but I suspect you had a
history node that broke
when you did an undo. In the future, regularly delete history on
your object and Maya
should have less issues.
AUGUST 8, 2014 AT 10:50 AM
Assigning new material was the second thing I tried but, thank
you so much for your
time, I really appreciate. Ill turn on the incemental save and
probably just create an
icon on the shelf for delete history
Cheers
AUGUST 8, 2014 AT 11:45 AM
Sorry! I know how frustrating it is to lose work. Thats how Ive
discovered these
tricks over the years. The only thing I can say is that redoing
your work means it is
usually much better than the first time through!
AUGUST 8, 2014 AT 12:27 PM
Yeah, its true. I get better with every new thing I model, even
if it is an eye ball. The
new model was better than the old one for sure I cant wait to
animate.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 AT 6:10 PM
Hi James,
I have its not too late to ask for help/suggestion for a problem
I am trying to solve.
So I am on a Mac OSX using Maya 13 (Student version) My problem
is Batch Render. I am try-
ing to do a Batch Render using MR, the Script Editor says,
Rendering with Mental RayDoesnt do anything for a while, and give a
dialog box saying there was an error. Later the
Script Editor also says Rendering Completed. Se console of more
information. But nothing is
rendered.
lucifer
James Taylor
lucifer
jyaasa
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I can perform a render in the viewport using MR. And Batch
Render works when Im using
Maya Software. I have tried batch rendering a very simple scene
as well, nothing is rendered.
Please let me know what I need to do go move forward. I am stuck
because of this issue.
Thanks.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 AT 6:45 PM
jyaasa can you email/dropbox the file to me take a look at it?
Assuming it isnt too huge, or
contains proprietary info. I started going down a checklist of
things to check, it seemed easi-
er this way. My email is at the top of the page, or you could
share it via google plus
(https://plus.google.com/+MethodJTV)
JANUARY 5, 2015 AT 7:22 PM
delete prefs
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 AT 6:11 PM
I also want to add that I tried deleting the files you mentioned
above. That didnt work either.
James Taylor
computergraphmuseum
jyaasa