Use a high resolution custom icon for a shelf item

When you run Maya on a high resolution display device, like Ultra HD or 4K monitors, Maya's interface automatically uses high resolution images for icons, cursors, and other images. The supported resolutions are 100%, 150%, and 200%.

By default, Maya uses the 100% image, but if you are running Maya on a display with a higher resolution, Maya automatically uses a higher resolution image (150% or 200%). For custom images, you can also take advantage of this feature by providing your own custom images used in Maya.

1. Name your images using the naming convention as follows:
   • name_100.png: This is the resolution used by default, for example, 32x32 for the Shelf.
   • name_150.png: This file is at 150% of the default resolution; that is 48x48 in this example.
   • name_200.png: This file is at 200% of the default resolution; that is 64x64 in this example.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Save your image files (for icons and other images) in the ..\prefs\icons folder of your Maya installation directory.
     Note: If you select this option, use name.png for the file name of your default image (instead of name_100.png).
   • Create a .qrc file to specify all three image files, and use the alias tag to remove the _100 suffix from the file name of the default image.; for example, as follows:

     <!DOCTYPE RCC><RCC version="1.0">
     	<qresource>
     		<file alias="cone.png">cone_100.png</file>
     		<file>cone_150.png</file>
     		<file>cone_200.png</file>
     	</qresource>
     </RCC>

     Note: Cursors must be compiled into the .qrc file to be loaded.
3. Specify the file name of the default image (100% resolution) when you add your command or script to the Maya interface.

   The following examples demonstrate how to add a command or a script to the shelf using the shelfButton command and specify the default image using the image1 flag:

   shelfButton
   -label “Cone”
   -command "CreateNURBSCone"
   -image1 "cone.png";

   shelfButton
   -label “Resource Browser”
   -sourceType "python" 
   -command "import maya.app.general.resourceBrowser as resourceBrowser\nresBrowser = resourceBrowser.resourceBrowser()\npath = resBrowser.run\n"
   -image1 "commandButton.png";

Related topic

• Use a custom icon for a shelf item