C++ API Reference

Function set for querying information about file references. More...

#include <MFnReference.h>

+ Inheritance diagram for MFnReference:

Public Member Functions

virtual MFn::Type type () const
 Function set type. More...
 
virtual ~MFnReference ()
 Destructor.
 
 MFnReference ()
 Default constructor.
 
 MFnReference (MObject &object, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Constructor. More...
 
bool isValidReference (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Introduced in 2023.0 More...
 
MString fileName (bool resolvedName, bool includePath, bool includeCopyNumber, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the name of file associated with this reference. More...
 
MString associatedNamespace (bool shortName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the namespace associated with this reference. More...
 
MString parentFileName (bool resolvedName, bool includePath, bool includeCopyNumber, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the name of parent file associated with this reference. More...
 
MObject parentReference (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the reference node associated with the parent reference. More...
 
MObject parentAssembly (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the parent assembly node that contains this reference. More...
 
bool containsNode (const MObject &node, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the specified node is from this reference or one of its child references. More...
 
bool containsNodeExactly (const MObject &node, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the specified node is from this reference. More...
 
void nodes (MObjectArray &nodes, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns an array of the nodes associated with this reference. More...
 
bool isLoaded (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the reference is loaded. More...
 
bool isLocked (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the reference is locked or if the referenced file was saved as locked. More...
 
bool isExportEditsFile (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the reference is an export edits file. More...
 
 MFnReference (const MObject &object, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Constructor. More...
 
- Public Member Functions inherited from MFnDependencyNode
virtual ~MFnDependencyNode ()
 Destructor.
 
 MFnDependencyNode ()
 Default constructor.
 
 MFnDependencyNode (MObject &object, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Constructor. More...
 
MObject create (const MTypeId &typeId, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Creates a new dependency node with the given type tag. More...
 
MObject create (const MTypeId &typeId, const MString &name, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Creates a new dependency node with the given type tag. More...
 
MObject create (const MString &type, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Creates a new dependency node with the given type. More...
 
MObject create (const MString &type, const MString &name, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Creates a new dependency node with the given type. More...
 
MTypeId typeId (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the type id of this node. More...
 
MString typeName (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the type name of this node. More...
 
MString name (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the name of this node. More...
 
MString absoluteName (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the absolute name of this node. More...
 
MString uniqueName (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Introduced in 2023.0 More...
 
MString pluginName (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the name of the plug-in this MFnDependendencyNode was defined in. More...
 
MString setName (const MString &name, bool createNamespace=false, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Sets the name of this node. More...
 
MUuid uuid (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the node's UUID. More...
 
void setUuid (const MUuid &uuid, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Sets the node's UUID. More...
 
MStatus getConnections (MPlugArray &array) const
 Get all of the current connections to this node as an array of plugs. More...
 
unsigned int attributeCount (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the number of attributes that this node has. More...
 
MObject attribute (unsigned int index, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Finds the attribute of this node at the given index. More...
 
MObject reorderedAttribute (unsigned int index, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Some nodes, such as the various animCurve nodes, require that their attributes be set in a specific order for proper operation. More...
 
MObject attribute (const MString &attrName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Finds the attribute of this node that has the given name. More...
 
MAttrClass attributeClass (const MObject &attr, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the class (normal, dynamic, extension) of the specified attribute. More...
 
MStatus getAffectedAttributes (const MObject &attr, MObjectArray &affectedAttributes) const
 Returns an array of attributes that are affected by the attribute passed in. More...
 
MStatus getAffectedByAttributes (const MObject &attr, MObjectArray &affectedByAttributes) const
 Returns an array of attributes that affect the attribute passed in, attr. More...
 
MPlug findPlug (const MObject &attr, bool wantNetworkedPlug, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Attempt to find a plug for the given attribute. More...
 
MPlug findPlug (const MString &attrName, bool wantNetworkedPlug, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Attempt to find a plug for the given attribute. More...
 
MPlug findPlug (const MObject &attr, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Deprecated in 2019.0 More...
 
MPlug findPlug (const MString &attrName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Deprecated in 2019.0 More...
 
MStatus addAttribute (const MObject &attr)
 Add a new dynamic attibute to this node. More...
 
MStatus removeAttribute (const MObject &attr)
 Remove a dynamic attribute from a node. More...
 
MPxNodeuserNode (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 If the function set's node is a plug-in node, then this method will extract the MPxNode pointer from it. More...
 
bool isFromReferencedFile (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Indicates whether or not this node came from a referenced file. More...
 
bool isShared (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Indicates whether or not this node is shared. More...
 
bool isTrackingEdits (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns whether or not edits on the given node are being tracked by the generalized edit system. More...
 
bool hasUniqueName (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Indicates whether or not this node's name is unique within the scene. More...
 
MString parentNamespace (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the name of the namespace in which this node resides. More...
 
bool isLocked (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Indicates whether or not this node is locked. More...
 
MStatus setLocked (bool locked)
 Locks or unlocks this node. More...
 
bool isNewAttribute (const MObject &attr, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Indicates whether or not the specified attribute was added to this node within the current scene. More...
 
MStatus setFlag (unsigned int flag, bool state)
 Sets the state of the specified flag for the node. More...
 
bool isFlagSet (unsigned int flag, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Retrieves the current state of the specified flag for a node. More...
 
bool isDefaultNode (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the node is a default node. More...
 
MStatus setDoNotWrite (bool flag)
 Use this method to mark the "do not write" state of this node. More...
 
bool canBeWritten (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the do not write state of the node. More...
 
bool hasAttribute (const MString &name, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns true if the node already has an attribute with the given name. More...
 
MObject getAliasAttr (bool force, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Returns the node's alias attribute, which is a special attribute used to store information about the node's attribute aliases. More...
 
bool setAlias (const MString &alias, const MString &name, const MPlug &plug, bool add=true, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Sets or removes an alias (i.e. More...
 
bool findAlias (const MString &alias, MObject &attrObj, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Retrieves the attribute with the given alias. More...
 
bool getAliasList (MStringArray &strArray, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Returns a list of all attribute aliases for this node. More...
 
MString plugsAlias (const MPlug &plug, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Returns the alias for the plug's attribute or the empty string if that attribute has no alias. More...
 
MStatus setIcon (const MString &filename)
 Associates a custom icon with the node for display in the Maya UI. More...
 
MString icon (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the custom icon filename associated with the node. More...
 
MStatus getExternalContent (MExternalContentInfoTable &table) const
 Returns the external content (files) that this node depends on. More...
 
MStatus addExternalContentForFileAttr (MExternalContentInfoTable &table, const MObject &attr) const
 Adds content info to the specified table from a file path attribute. More...
 
MStatus setExternalContentForFileAttr (const MObject &attr, const MExternalContentLocationTable &table)
 Sets content info in the specified attribute from the table. More...
 
MStatus setExternalContent (const MExternalContentLocationTable &table)
 Changes the location of external content. More...
 
bool affectsAnimation (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Introduced in 2019.0 More...
 
MStatus setAffectsAnimation ()
 Introduced in 2019.0 More...
 
MString setName (const MString &name, MStatus *ReturnStatus)
 Deprecated in 2019.0 More...
 
 MFnDependencyNode (const MObject &object, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Not available in Python. More...
 
bool getPlugsAlias (const MPlug &plug, MString &aliasName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Not available in Python. More...
 
virtual const adsk::Data::Associationsmetadata (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Not available in Python. More...
 
virtual MStatus setMetadata (const adsk::Data::Associations &)
 Not available in Python. More...
 
virtual MStatus deleteMetadata ()
 Not available in Python. More...
 
virtual MStatus validateMetadata (MString &errors) const
 Not available in Python. More...
 
MStatus dgTimerOn ()
 Indicates that this node should collect DG timing data whenever DG timing is enabled. More...
 
MStatus dgTimerOff ()
 Indicates that this node should no longer collect DG timing data when DG timing is enabled. More...
 
MdgTimerState dgTimerQueryState (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 The function returns the current on/off state of the node's timer. More...
 
MStatus dgTimerReset ()
 The function resets the dependency graph timers and counters for this node to zero. More...
 
double dgTimer (const MdgTimerMetric timerMetric, const MdgTimerType timerType, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 The function returns the specified timer value for the current node. More...
 
MStatus dgCallbacks (const MdgTimerType type, MStringArray &callbackName, MDoubleArray &value)
 Node callbacks that occur when timing is enabled get logged with the node and can be queried via this method. More...
 
MStatus dgCallbackIds (const MdgTimerType type, const MString &callbackName, MCallbackIdArray &callbackId, MDoubleArray &value)
 This method provides a further breakdown of the per-callback time returned via dgCallbacks() by returning the data on a per-callbackId basis. More...
 
MStatus addAttribute (const MObject &attr, MAttrClass type)
 Deprecated in 2019.0 More...
 
MStatus removeAttribute (const MObject &attr, MAttrClass type)
 Deprecated in 2019.0 More...
 
- Public Member Functions inherited from MFnBase
virtual ~MFnBase ()
 Class Destructor. More...
 
bool hasObj (MFn::Type) const
 Determines whether or not the Function Set is compatible with the specified Maya Object within the API RTTI system. More...
 
bool hasObj (const MObject &) const
 Determines whether or not the Function Set is compatible with the specified Maya Object within the API RTTI system. More...
 
MObject object (MStatus *ReturnStatus=nullptr) const
 Returns the MObject that is attached to the Function Set. More...
 
virtual MStatus setObject (MObject &object)
 Attaches the Function Set to the specified Maya Object. More...
 
virtual MStatus setObject (const MObject &object)
 NO SCRIPT SUPPORT. More...
 

Static Public Member Functions

static const char * className ()
 Returns the name of this class. More...
 
static bool ignoreReferenceEdits ()
 Indicates whether reference edits will be tracked and logged or not. More...
 
static void setIgnoreReferenceEdits (bool ignoreEdits)
 Specify whether reference edits should be tracked and logged or not. More...
 
- Static Public Member Functions inherited from MFnDependencyNode
static const char * className ()
 Returns the name of this class. More...
 
static MString classification (const MString &nodeTypeName)
 Retrieves the classification string for a node type. More...
 
static unsigned int allocateFlag (const MString pluginName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Allocates a node flag for sole use by the caller. More...
 
static MStatus deallocateFlag (const MString pluginName, unsigned int flag)
 Deallocates a node flag which was previously allocated by a call to allocateFlag. More...
 
static MStatus deallocateAllFlags (const MString pluginName)
 Deallocates all of the node flags which are currently allocated to the specified plugin. More...
 
static void enableDGTiming (bool enable)
 Globally enables or disables the DG node timing mechanism. More...
 
- Static Public Member Functions inherited from MFnBase
static const char * className ()
 Returns the name of this class. More...
 
static const char * typeString (MFn::Type)
 Introduced in 2020.0 More...
 
static bool isValid (MFn::Type)
 Introduced in 2020.0 More...
 

Additional Inherited Members

- Public Types inherited from MFnDependencyNode
enum  MAttrClass { kLocalDynamicAttr = 1, kNormalAttr, kExtensionAttr, kInvalidAttr }
 Specifies the scope of the attribute. More...
 
enum  MdgTimerState { kTimerOff, kTimerOn, kTimerUninitialized, kTimerInvalidState }
 Possible states for the node's timer. More...
 
enum  MdgTimerMetric {
  kTimerMetric_callback, kTimerMetric_compute, kTimerMetric_dirty, kTimerMetric_draw,
  kTimerMetric_fetch, kTimerMetric_callbackViaAPI, kTimerMetric_callbackNotViaAPI, kTimerMetric_computeDuringCallback,
  kTimerMetric_computeNotDuringCallback, kTimerMetrics
}
 The different timer metrics which can be queried. More...
 
enum  MdgTimerType { kTimerType_self, kTimerType_inclusive, kTimerType_count, kTimerTypes }
 The types of timers which can be queried. More...
 

Detailed Description

Function set for querying information about file references.

Reference nodes are used to track data about file references. Referenced files may be loaded and unloaded. They also store data about changes made to objects in the referenced file. The class MItEdits may be used to retrieve information about such changes.

The class MFileIO may be used to perform actual operations on references such as loading, unloading, adding and removing references.

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

MFnReference ( MObject object,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
)

Constructor.

Class constructor that initializes the function set to the given MObject.

Parameters
[in]objectThe MObject to attach the function set to
[out]ReturnStatusthe return status
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the function set is successfully attached
  • MS::kInvalidParameter if the MObject does not represent a valid Maya object or if the function set is not allowed to attach to this MObject
MFnReference ( const MObject object,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
)

Constructor.

Class constructor that initializes the function set to the given MObject.

Parameters
[in]objectThe MObject to attach the function set to
[out]ReturnStatusthe return status
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the function set is successfully attached
  • MS::kInvalidParameter if the MObject does not represent a valid Maya object or if the function set is not allowed to attach to this MObject

Member Function Documentation

MFn::Type type ( ) const
virtual

Function set type.

Return the class type : MFn::kReference.

Returns
the class type.

Reimplemented from MFnDependencyNode.

static const char* className ( )
static

Returns the name of this class.

Returns
Name of this class.
bool isValidReference ( MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Introduced in 2023.0

Returns true if the reference is a valid file reference.

2023.0:
Introduced in this version.
Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
Whether or not the reference is a file reference
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
MString fileName ( bool  resolvedName,
bool  includePath,
bool  includeCopyNumber,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) const

Returns the name of file associated with this reference.

Parameters
[in]resolvedNameIf true, return the resolved name rather than the original file name. The unresolved name is the string originally specified when the file was loaded into Maya; this may contain environment variables, may be a relative path, and may otherwise not precisely indicate where the file can be located on disk. The resolved name is the actual path name that Maya is using to locate the file after relative paths and environment variables have been expanded, and any other necessary steps have been used to resolve its physical location.
[in]includePathIf true, include the file path in the return string.
[in]includeCopyNumberIf true, include the copy number (if there is one) in the return string.
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
The name of the referenced file
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
MString associatedNamespace ( bool  baseName,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) const

Returns the namespace associated with this reference.

Parameters
[in]baseNameIf true, return the base name of the reference
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
The namespace of this reference
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
MString parentFileName ( bool  resolveName,
bool  includePath,
bool  includeCopyNumber,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) const

Returns the name of parent file associated with this reference.

Parameters
[in]resolveNameIf true, return the resolved name rather than the original file name. The unresolved name is the string originally specified when the file was loaded into Maya; this may contain environment variables, may be a relative path, and may otherwise not precisely indicate where the file can be located on disk. The resolved name is the actual path name that Maya is using to locate the file after relative paths and environment variables have been expanded, and any other necessary steps have been used to resolve its physical location.
[in]includePathIf true, include the file path in the return string.
[in]includeCopyNumberIf true, include the copy number (if there is one) in the return string.
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
The name of the parent file to the reference. Returns an empty string if there is no parent file.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
MObject parentReference ( MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the reference node associated with the parent reference.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
The parent reference of this reference or MObject::kNullObj if there is no associated reference.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
MObject parentAssembly ( MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the parent assembly node that contains this reference.

See MFnAssembly documentation for more details.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
The parent assembly node that contains this reference or MObject::kNullObj if there is no parent assembly node.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
bool containsNode ( const MObject node,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) const

Returns true if the specified node is from this reference or one of its child references.

The containsNodeExactly method can be used to test membership without including the child references.

Parameters
[in]nodeThe node to be checked
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
Whether or not the node is from the reference or one of its child references.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
bool containsNodeExactly ( const MObject node,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) const

Returns true if the specified node is from this reference.

Membership in child references is not checked. The containsNode method may be used to test membership in a reference and its child references.

Parameters
[in]nodeThe node to be checked
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
Whether or not the node is from the reference.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
void nodes ( MObjectArray nodeList,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) const

Returns an array of the nodes associated with this reference.

Parameters
[out]nodeListthe nodes from this reference
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
bool isLoaded ( MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns true if the reference is loaded.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
Whether or not the reference is loaded
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
bool isLocked ( MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns true if the reference is locked or if the referenced file was saved as locked.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
Returns true if the reference is locked or if the referenced file was saved as locked
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
bool isExportEditsFile ( MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns true if the reference is an export edits file.

An export edits file is a file of type ".editMA" or ".editMB" which was created using Maya's offline file functionality.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusreturn status
Returns
Whether or not the reference is an export edits file
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess operation successful
  • MS::kFailure function set does not have a valid node
bool ignoreReferenceEdits ( )
static

Indicates whether reference edits will be tracked and logged or not.

Returns
True if reference edits are ignored, otherwise false.
void setIgnoreReferenceEdits ( bool  ignoreEdits)
static

Specify whether reference edits should be tracked and logged or not.

This should be treated as a temporary state and should be enabled around a batch of operations where reference edits should be ignored. Restore the previous value when the batch of operations is complete.

Parameters
[in]ignoreEditsIf true reference edits will not be logged.

The documentation for this class was generated from the following files: