ToolClip directories

By default, ToolClips shipped with Maya are located in the builtin.toolclips directory. Any custom ToolClip content must be added to the user.toolclips directory.

builtin.toolclips

You can access the builtin.toolclips directory in the following locations:
  • Windows: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya<version>\resources\builtin.toolclips
  • Mac OS X: /Applications/Autodesk/maya<version>/Maya.app/Contents/Resources/builtin.toolclips
  • Linux: /usr/autodesk/maya<version>-x64/resources/builtin.toolclips
You can access the builtin.toolclips directory for localized versions of Maya in the following locations:
  • Windows: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya<version>\resources\l10n\<language>\builtin.toolclips
  • Mac OS X: /Applications/Autodesk/maya<version>/Maya.app/Contents/Resources/<language>/builtin.toolclips
The following sub-directories contain the ToolClip content that is shipped with Maya:
Sub-directory Description

Control

Contains the default ToolClips.xml file. This file specifies the content that appears in the ToolClip window including tool titles, tool summaries, keyboard shortcuts, movies, images, and help links.

Resources

Contains the movie and image files specified in the ToolClips.xml file. Movies must be in WebM format and images must be in PNG or JPEG format.

ui

Contains resources that are used in the ToolClip window including icons. This subdirectory also contains files that define the formatting and layout of the window in a QML format.

Note: Do not modify XML files and subdirectories within builtin.toolclips. This may adversely affect the operation of ToolClips.

user.toolclips

You can access the user.toolclips directory in the following locations:
  • Windows: \Users\<username>\Documents\maya\<version>-x64\en_US\user.toolclips
  • Mac OS X: /Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/<version>-x64/user.toolclips
  • Linux: /home/mayadev/maya/<version>-x64/user.toolclips
The following sub-directories are automatically created at installation:
Sub-directory Description

Control

Place the ToolClips.xml file in this directory.

Resources

Place custom ToolClip content (movies, images) in this directory.

Note: ToolClip content that is placed in the user.toolclips directory is not automatically copied to new versions of Maya. You can copy your custom content to the new version, or use the MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH variable to point to the path that has your custom content. SeeMAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH.

Custom directory

You can create a custom directory for your ToolClip content and share it with other users. If you create a custom directory, note the following:
  • The custom directory name must use the .toolclips extension.
  • The custom directory must contain the Control and Resources subdirectories.
  • To view the ToolClip(s) in Maya, set the MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH variable to point to the custom directory path(s).

Related topics

Parent topic: Customize ToolClips