playblast

Go to: Synopsis. Return value. Flags. Python examples.

Synopsis

playblast( filename , [activeEditor=boolean], [cameraSetup=[string, string]], [clearCache=boolean], [codecOptions=boolean], [combineSound=boolean], [completeFilename=string], [compression=string], [editorPanelName=string], [endTime=time], [filename=string], [forceOverwrite=boolean], [format=string], [frame=time], [framePadding=int], [height=int], [indexFromZero=boolean], [offScreen=boolean], [offScreenViewportUpdate=boolean], [options=boolean], [percent=int], [quality=int], [rawFrameNumbers=boolean], [replaceAudioOnly=boolean], [replaceEndTime=time], [replaceFilename=string], [replaceStartTime=time], [sequenceTime=boolean], [showOrnaments=boolean], [sound=string], [startTime=time], [throwOnError=boolean], [useTraxSounds=boolean], [viewer=boolean], [width=int], [widthHeight=[int, int]])

Note: Strings representing object names and arguments must be separated by commas. This is not depicted in the synopsis.

playblast is undoable, NOT queryable, and NOT editable.

Note that the playblast command registers a condition called "playblasting" so that users can monitor whether playblasting is occurring. You may monitor the condition using the API (MConditionMessage) or a script (scriptJob and condition commands).

Return value

Flags

Long name (short name)	Argument types	Properties
activeEditor(ae)	boolean
This flag will return the current model editor that would be used for playblast. It does not invoke playblast itself.
cameraSetup(cs)	[string, string]
Information about camera setup. The first string defines a camera setup MEL procedure. The camera setup procedure will be invoked before executing a playblast. The second string argument which is used as a camera identifier and is appended to the root file name to specify the final output file name(s). The command will fail there is not a pair of strings supplied to the argument.
clearCache(cc)	boolean
When true, all previous temporary playblast files will be deleted before the new playblast files are created and the remaining temporary playblast files will be deleted when the application quits. Any playblast files that were explicitly given a name by the user will not be deleted.
codecOptions(co)	boolean
Brings up the OS specific dialog for setting playblast codec options, and does not run the playblast.
combineSound(csd)	boolean
Combine the trax sounds into a single track. This might force a resampling of the sound if the sound paramters don't match up.
completeFilename(cf)	string
When set, this string specifies the exact name of the output image. In contrast with the -f/filename flag, -cf/completeFilename does not append any frame number or extension string at the end of the filename. Additionally, playblast will not delete the image from disk after it is displayed. This flag should not be used in conjunction with -f/filename.
compression(c)	string
Specify the compression to use for the movie file. To determine which settings are available on your system, use the `playblast -options` command. This will display a system-specific dialog with supported compression formats. When the 'format' flag is 'image', this flag is used to pass in the desired image format. If the format is 'image' and the compression flag is ommitted, the output format specified via the Render Globals preference (see -format) will be used. If compression is set to 'none', the iff image format will be used.
editorPanelName(epn)	string
This optional flag specifies the name of the model editor or panel, which is to be used for playblast. The current model editor or panel won't be used for playblast unless its name is specified. Flag usage is specific to invoking playblast.
endTime(et)	time
Specify the end time of the playblast. Default is the end time of the playback range displayed in the Time Slider. Overridden by -frame.
filename(f)	string
The filename to use for the output of this playblast. If the file already exists, a confirmation box will be displayed if playblast is performed interactively. If playblast is executed from the command line and the file already exists, it will abort.
forceOverwrite(fo)	boolean
Overwrite existing playblast files which may have the the same name as the one specified with the "-f" flag
format(fmt)	string
The format for the playblast output. Value Description "movie" This option selects a platform-specific default movie format. On Linux and Mac OSX the default movie format is Quicktime. On Windows the default movie format is Audio Video Interleave. "avi" Set the format to Audio Video Interleave (Windows only) "qt" Set the format to QuickTime (all platforms). "avfoundation" Write movie by AVFoundation (Mac only). "image" Outputs a sequence of image files. The image format will be the Output Format specified using Window > RenderEditors > RenderSettings > CommonTab. The resulting files use the value of the "-f" flag as a prefix, with an appended frame number, as in "myFile.0007.iff" "iff" Same as "image" The default value of the -fmt/format flag is "movie". Depending on the selected format, a platform-specific default application will be used to view results. For image sequences, the default application is "fcheck". For movies, the default application is Windows Media Player (on Windows), Quicktime Player (on Mac OSX), and Lqtplay (on Linux). Users can specify different applications via Maya's application preferences.
frame(fr)	time
List of frames to blast. One frame specified per flag. The frames can be specified in any order but will be output in an ordered sequence. When specified this flag will override any start/end range
framePadding(fp)	int
Number of zeros used to pad file name. Typically set to 4 to support fcheck.
height(h)	int
Height of the final image. This value will be clamped if larger than the width of the active window. Windows: If not using fcheck, the width and height must each be divisible by 4.
indexFromZero(ifz)	boolean
Output frames starting with file.0000.ext and incrementing by one. Typically frames use the Maya time as their frame number. This option can only be used for frame based output formats.
offScreen(os)	boolean
When set, this toggle allow playblast to use an offscreen buffer to render the view. This allows playblast to work when the application is iconified, or obscured.
offScreenViewportUpdate(osv)	boolean
When set, this toggle allows playblast to update the viewport while rendering with the offscreen buffer.
options(o)	boolean
Brings up a dialog for setting playblast options, and does not run the playblast.
percent(p)	int
Percentage of current view size to use during blasting. Accepted values are integers between 10 and 100. All other values are clamped to be within this range. A value of 25 means 1/4 of the current view size; a value of 50 means half the current view size; a value of 100 means full size. (Default is 50.)
quality(qlt)	int
Specify the compression quality factor to use for the movie file. Value should be in the 0-100 range
rawFrameNumbers(rfn)	boolean
Playblast typically numbers its frames sequentially, starting at zero. This flag will override the default action and frames will be numbered using the actual frames specified by the -frame or -startFrame/-endFrame flags.
replaceAudioOnly(rao)	boolean
When set, this string dictates that only the audio will be replaced when the scene is re-playblasted.
replaceEndTime(ret)	time
Specify the end time of a replayblast of an existing playblast. Default is the start time of the playback range displayed in the Time Slider. Overridden by -frame.
replaceFilename(rf)	string
When set, this string specifies the name of an input playblast file which will have frames replaced according to the replace start and end times.
replaceStartTime(rst)	time
Specify the start time of a replayblast of an existing playblast. Default is the start time of the playback range displayed in the Time Slider. Overridden by -frame.
sequenceTime(sqt)	boolean
Use sequence time
showOrnaments(orn)	boolean
Sets whether or not model view ornaments (e.g. the axis icon) should be displayed
sound(s)	string
Specify the sound node to be used during playblast
startTime(st)	time
Specify the start time of the playblast. Default is the start time of the playback range displayed in the Time Slider. Overridden by -frame.
throwOnError(toe)	boolean
Playblast is tolerant of failures in most situations. When set, this toggle allows playblast to throw an error on these failures.
useTraxSounds(uts)	boolean
Use sounds from TRAX.
viewer(v)	boolean
Specify whether a viewer should be launched for the playblast. Default is "true". Runs "fcheck" when -fmt is "image". The player for movie files depends on the OS: Windows uses Microsoft Media Player, Irix uses movieplayer, OSX uses QuickTime.
width(w)	int
Width of the final image. This value will be clamped if larger than the width of the active window. Windows: If not using fcheck, the width and height must each be divisible by 4.
widthHeight(wh)	[int, int]
Final image's width and height. Values larger than the dimensions of the active window are clamped. A width and height of 0 means to use the window's current size. Windows: If not using fcheck, the width and height must each be divisible by 4.

Flag can appear in Create mode of command	Flag can appear in Edit mode of command
Flag can appear in Query mode of command	Flag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.

Python examples

import maya.cmds as cmds

# Run movieplayer on the currently playblasted range
# (including sound) and save the movie to a file.
#
cmds.playblast( s="ohNo", f="myMovie.mv" )

# Run movieplayer on the currently playblasted range
# (at 60% of the size of the current view), and
# save the movie to file "myMovie.mv" and don't
# launch any viewing program.
#
cmds.playblast( p=60, s="ohNo", f="myMovie.mv", v=False )

# Output frames 2, 3, 8 as images and launch the viewer;
#
cmds.playblast( frame=[8,3,2], format="image", viewer=True )

# Output an image sequence in 'gif' format
#
cmds.playblast( format="image", compression="gif" )

# Output depth with image in 'iff' format
#
cmds.playblast( format="image", compression="maya", saveDepth=True )