If Maya crashes, allow the crash to finish so that Maya can create a recovery version and offer you the option to view it the next time you launch the software. If a crash recovery file can be salvaged, Maya also saves the file to a temporary directory on your computer in the following locations:
- Windows: \Users\[user name]\AppData\Local\Temp/[user name]
- Macintosh: ~/Documents/tmp
- Linux: /tmp
Note: By default, on Windows, the
AppData folder is a hidden folder. Locate File Explorer Options, open the View Tab, and activate
Show hidden files, folders, and drives to access this folder. (You can also right-click the AppData folder and selecting Properties. In the AppData Properties window, disable the
Hidden option in the General tab.)
The recovery file is saved with your username, a series of numbers identifying the version and date and then the file extension .ma. For example, "smith.20160118.1202.ma"
Environment variables and saved scene files
Maya saves scene files using the value of the TEMPDIR environment variable.
This variable specifies the directory location Maya uses for various temporary files, such as temporary render cache files during a render and/or crash files if Maya crashes. See
Environment Variables for more information about using them to modify the standard path locations.
- If you're using
Windows: set both TEMP and TMPDIR.
- If you're using
Mac OS X: set TMPDIR. The value can be checked by running the following in a Terminal window: echo $TMPDIR
- If you're running
Linux: set TMPDIR. The value can be checked by running the following in a Terminal window: echo $TMPDIR
If you use the TEMP (Windows/Mac OS X) or TEMPDIR (Linux) variables, Maya saves the recovery file to the path stated in the variable instead.