Use color management policies (external preference files)

Policies are external files containing color management preferences. When you use a policy to configure color management, the settings in the file get applied automatically every time you launch Maya, start a new scene, or open a saved scene. This allows for a common color management policy to be enforced across a team, either per project or per shot.

If you modify the color management preferences and click Save while a policy is specified, you are prompted to update the current policy or export a new one. Click the × button to cancel and return to the Preferences window.

Important: Be careful when using policies. If you open a scene that was saved with different settings, those settings are changed to the current policy. If you then resave the scene, the original scene settings are lost.
Note: The policy file overrides the effect of the OCIO environment variable.

Export your current color management preferences to a policy

  1. Make sure that your Color Management preferences are configured as desired.
  2. Click Export CM Pref, and then specify a directory and file name.
Important: Do not overwrite synColorConfig.xml in your Maya prefs/ folder.

Load color management preferences from a policy

  1. Click the folder icon under Export or Load Color Management Preferences from External File in your Color Management preferences.
  2. Specify the path and file name of a policy that you or somebody else has already exported.

    If the specified file cannot be found, the path is displayed in italics.

To stop using a policy, clear this field.

Load and lock a policy using environment variables

You can set the MAYA_COLOR_MANAGEMENT_POLICY_FILE environment variable to the full path and file name of a policy to load it automatically when you launch Maya. When you do this, you can still modify color management preferences and update or export the settings. You can also load a different policy, or even clear the path to unload the policy. The new settings are used for the current session, but the policy specified by the environment variable will be applied again when you relaunch Maya.

If you also set the MAYA_COLOR_MANAGEMENT_POLICY_LOCK environment variable to 1, then you cannot modify the color management preferences, except to toggle the display of color-managed pots or to disable color management in the current scene. The original settings in the policy are reapplied when you start a new scene or open a saved scene.

For more information about environment variables in general, see Environment Variables.

Parent topic: Configure color management