Semantics and annotations supported by the dx11Shader and glslShader plug-ins in Viewport 2.0

Allows reordering of parameters in the Attribute Editor, especially useful since the parameter order returned by the compiler does not always follow the order of declaration in the FX file. The parameter with the smallest UIOrder is laid out at the top of the AE, and the other parameters are added following increasing UIOrder.

If not set, the parameter is placed in the same order as it appears in the shader file, but after the parameters with a specified UIOrder.

All parameters with the same UIGroup attribute are laid out in a separate collapsible panel, the label of which is the UIGroup value. The panels are inserted at the position of the group parameter with the lowest UIOrder.

If not set (or empty), the parameter is not placed in any named group.

SasUiMin

UIMin

uimin

float/int

(same as Parameter)

Minimum range value.

Corresponds to MUniformParameter::setRangeMin().

UISoftMin

uisoftmin

float/int

(same as Parameter)

Minimum slider value for a range. Values smaller than UISoftMin (but larger than UIMin if specified) can be entered in the numeric input of the parameter.

Corresponds to MUniformParameter::setSoftRangeMin().

Creates a drop-down menu for the int parameter using the strings found in the attribute value.

The format is the same as the MEL command `attributeQuery -listEnum`, which is a string of colon ":" delimited field names which can specify an index value separated by an equal sign "=". The indexing starts at zero, and the index value of an item, when it is not explicitly specified, is the index of the previous item (if any) incremented by one.

Example: "Shaded:Wireframe=8:Bounding Box" defines 3 items with values 0, 8, and 9.

TextureType

ResourceType

If the variable is described as an under-specified texture instead of a texture[1D|2D|3D|Cube], then this annotation allows you to specify the texture type. Valid values are “1D”, “2D”, “3D”, and “Cube”.

The dx11Shader allows for you to control the number of mip-map levels that should be loaded or generated, either at the technique or texture description level.

Use this annotation with your texture description. The following values are valid.

• <val> = 0: generates all mip map levels for affected textures. If there are any existing mip maps in the textures, then they will be loaded. This allows, for example, the loading of pre-calculated mip maps for DDS textures.

• <val> = 1-10 : only generates mipmaps up to the specified level.

To reduce texture memory, the default value for the dx11Shader plug-in is set to 1, so that only the first mip map level (<val>=1) is loaded / computed.

It is also possible to enforce this on a per texture basis to explicitly reduce memory usage.

Sample implementation as follows:

Texture2D DiffuseTexture
<
    string UIName = "Diffuse Map";
    string ResourceType = "2D";
    int mipmaplevels = <val>; 
>; 

This value takes precedence over the value set for the technique annotation (texture_mipmaplevels). See Supported technique annotations.

See AutodeskUberShader.fx in the presets\HLSL11\examples folder of your Maya installation for example use of this annotation.

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

Texture used by the Depth Peeling and Weighted Average transparency algorithms.

LightColor, Color,

LightDiffuseColor, Diffuse,

LightAmbientColor, Ambient,

LightSpecularColor, Specular

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

Color parameter: use Color Chooser widget in the Attribute Editor.

Values are not premultiplied by the light intensity.

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

For area lights, the Position is the center of the area light.

Reference space can be specified with an annotation.

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

Position for the four corners of an area light.

LightFalloff

Falloff

ShadowMapMatrix

ShadowMapXForm

float4x4 (dx11Shader)

mat4 (glslShader)

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

Instructs Maya to bind this attribute to the vertex buffer that contains the positions

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

Instructs Maya to bind this attribute to the tangent vertex buffer.

float3/4 (dx11Shader)

vec3/4 (glslShader)

Instructs Maya to bind this attribute to the color set vertex buffer.

HWS_PrimitiveBase

Integer used to generate the color of the object, or the first component, or the first geometry instance. (GPU Instancing must be enabled in the Viewport 2.0 options window.)

Corresponds to: MUniformParameter::kSemanticHWSPrimitiveBase.

HWS_ObjectLevel

Corresponds to: MUniformParameter::kSemanticHWSObjectLevel.

HWS_EdgeLevel

Corresponds to: MUniformParameter::kSemanticHWSEdgeLevel.

HWS_FrontCCW

Corresponds to: MUniformParameter::kSemanticHWSFrontCCW.

Allows specifying of custom primitive types via index buffer generator and mutator plug-ins. Usually used for tessellation, in order to provide the shader with an index buffer that contains extra data.

The dx11Shader/glslShader project contains a mutator that can generate Point-Normal Triangles using Adjacent Edge Normals (PN-AEN) index buffers. See Customizing Geometric Data for Shaders in the Maya Developer Help.

For dx11Shader / glslShader, use these values:

no-value : default index buffer (default)

"PNAEN9” / "GLSL_PNAEN9" : triangle and adjacent edges

“PNAEN18” / "GLSL_PNAEN18": triangle, adjacent edges, dominant edges, and dominant vertices

Any other value is acceptable as long as it matches the registered name of an index mutator.

Corresponds to MHWRender::MPxPrimitiveGenerator.

(dx11Shader)

0: Technique is always opaque

1: Technique is always transparent

2: Opacity of the technique is tied to the float parameter that uses the "Opacity" semantic, and is transparent if the opacity value is lower than 1.0.

Specifies if this technique supports advanced transparency algorithms (such as depth peeling).

If true, the technique must define passes for draw context "transparentPeel", "transparentPeelAndAvg" and "transparentWeightedAvg".

"false" : no advanced transparency support (default value)

"true" : supports advanced transparency

Corresponds to: MPxShaderOverride::supportsAdvancedTransparency() .

OverridesNonMaterialItems

Specifies if this technique should be used to render non-material items such as the wireframe and the selected edges/vertices components.

This is particularly useful for shading effects that compute displacement for which the object geometry will not match the rendered material, making selection difficult.

"false" : does not override non-material items (default)

"true" : used to render non-material items, so that the shader can display UI primitives

See DrawContext in Supported pass annotations.

Corresponds to: MPxShaderOverride::overridesNonMaterialItems() .

Tells Maya to use the uniform variable name as the Maya attribute name (instead of the UIName, when present).

"false" : use UIName as attribute name (default)

"true" : use variable name as attribute name

Can be used to maintain backward compatibility with a saved Maya scene, when the UI names defined in the shader file have been modified.

Specifies that this pass should be enabled only for this draw context.

Multiple passes can have the same DrawContext value.

This can be any string value that matches a pass semantic in MHWRender::MPassContext. For example, the following contexts are supported: "colorPass", "shadowPass", "depthPass", and "normalDepthPass".

An empty value (or if DrawContext is not set) is equivalent to setting this annotation to "colorPass".

Set to "nonMaterialItemsPass" for passes used to render non-material items. Set to “selectionPass” for passes used to select non-material items See OverridesNonMaterialItems in Supported technique annotations above.

Identifies when the current rendering process is used to draw the swatch.

Allows the user to handle a specific path when drawing the swatch.