Like Softimage, Maya has a lot of preferences!
User Preferences
You can set general user preferences in the Preferences window (choose ), which is similar to the Preferences Editor in Softimage.
When you save preferences in this window, the changes are saved in the userPrefs.mel file in the Maya \prefs folder . This folder is in different locations depending on your operating system - see Preferences for more information. Then these updated preferences are used each time you open Maya, and not the default settings.
You can find many other types of Prefs files and subfolders in the \prefs folder, such as for hotkeys, shelves, and marking menus. For example, you can set the default colors for many scene elements in the Color Settings window (choose ). These settings are saved in the userColors.mel file in the \prefs folder.
You could also create specific Prefs files and share them with your team so that everyone's version of Maya is set up in the same way.
When you choose , you can save all the user preferences at once, and more - see Types of preferences saved.
You can return to the default settings in the Preferences window by choosing in it.
If you want to return to all of Maya's default settings, you can rename (recommended) or delete specific Prefs files, or even the whole \prefs folder. Then the next time you open Maya, it will prompt you to create default preferences or copy from your previous preferences. This is a common remedy for when you're getting unexpected behavior or errors in Maya. See Reset your Maya preferences for details.
For information on setting Maya preferences, watch this video: Softimage to Maya Bridge: Projects, Scenes and Preferences in Maya.
Command and Tool Options
You can also set preferences for specific commands or tools in their Options boxes, which are denoted in menus with the
icon. For example, you can set the default size of a polygon sphere upon creation by choosing
>
.
When you choose , the new settings are saved in various files in the \prefs folder, including userPrefs.mel.
To return to the default settings at any time, choose .
When you choose
File > New Scene >
you can set options for creating a new scene. The New Scene options share some settings that are found in the Preferences window (such as Working Units), but the New Scene options will not overwrite those defaults.
Customizing Maya
You can customize Maya in many different ways, from the user interface to environment variables and files that are run at startup - see Customization for details.
Maya.env for sharing environment variables
In a similar way to Softimage workgroups, you can create customizations to share among members of a team working on the same project in Maya.
One way is to set environment variables and add them to a Maya.env file that you share. All the environment variables contained within this file are then executed when each team member starts up Maya. For example, you can share a Maya.env file that defines which plug-ins are to be installed in a custom shelf.
See Environment Variables and Setting environment variables using Maya.env for more information, including where this file is located.
userSetup.mel for a custom startup
Another way of customizing Maya and sharing working environment setups with a team is to create a file called userSetup.mel and fill it with the commands that you want Maya to run upon startup. For example, you could create a custom heads-up display or custom shelves to share. See Run MEL commands whenever Maya starts up for more information, including where to save this file.
You can also start Maya from the command line, or run it in a batch file, and specify different flags to be executed at startup. For example, if a plug-in is not installing properly, you can start Maya from the command line with the -noAutoloadPlugins flag which disables plug-ins from loading automatically. See Start Maya from the command line for information.
Plug-ins
As an alternative to the Maya.env file, you can use modules for distributing plug-ins - see Plug-ins and Plug-in Manager for more information.
For information on how to set up and distribute modules, see the following topics under the Distributing Maya Plug-ins section in the Maya Developer Help:
- Distributing Multi-File Modules
- Maya module paths, folders, and versions
- Recommended workflow for creating a plug-in module