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Synopsis

attachSurface [-blendBias float] [-blendKnotInsertion boolean] [-caching boolean] [-constructionHistory boolean] [-directionU boolean] [-keepMultipleKnots boolean] [-method int] [-name string] [-nodeState int] [-object boolean] [-parameter float] [-replaceOriginal boolean] [-reverse1 boolean] [-reverse2 boolean] [-swap1 boolean] [-swap2 boolean] [-twist boolean] [surface] [surface]

attachSurface is undoable, queryable, and editable.

This attach command is used to attach surfaces. Once the surfaces are attached, there will be multiple knots at the joined point(s). These can be kept or removed if the user wishes.

The end of the first surface is attached to the start of the second surface in the specified direction.

Note: if the command is done with Keep Original off there will be an extra surface in the model (the second surface). The command does not delete it. The first surface is replaced by the attached surface.

Return value

string[]Object name and node name

In query mode, return type is based on queried flag.

Flags

blendBias, blendKnotInsertion, caching, constructionHistory, directionU, keepMultipleKnots, method, name, nodeState, object, parameter, replaceOriginal, reverse1, reverse2, swap1, swap2, twist
Long name (short name) Argument types Properties
-blendBias(-bb) float createqueryedit
Skew the result toward the first or the second curve depending on the blend factory being smaller or larger than 0.5.
Default: 0.5
-blendKnotInsertion(-bki) boolean createqueryedit
If set to true, insert a knot in one of the original curves (relative position given by the parameter attribute below) in order to produce a slightly different effect.
Default: false
-caching(-cch) boolean createqueryedit
Toggle caching for all attributes so that no recomputation is needed
-directionU(-du) boolean createqueryedit
If true attach in U direction of surface and V direction otherwise.
Default: true
-keepMultipleKnots(-kmk) boolean createqueryedit
If true, keep multiple knots at the join parameter. Otherwise remove them.
Default: true
-method(-m) int createqueryedit
Attach method (connect-0, blend-1)
Default: 0
-nodeState(-nds) int createqueryedit

Maya dependency nodes have 6 possible states. The Normal (0), HasNoEffect (1), and Blocking (2) states can be used to alter how the graph is evaluated.

The Waiting-Normal (3), Waiting-HasNoEffect (4), Waiting-Blocking (5) are for internal use only. They temporarily shut off parts of the graph during interaction (e.g., manipulation). The understanding is that once the operation is done, the state will be reset appropriately, e.g. Waiting-Blocking will reset back to Blocking.

The Normal and Blocking cases apply to all nodes, while HasNoEffect is node specific; many nodes do not support this option. Plug-ins store state in the MPxNode::state attribute. Anyone can set it or check this attribute. Additional details about each of these 3 states follow.

State Description
Normal The normal node state. This is the default.
HasNoEffect

The HasNoEffect option (a.k.a. pass-through), is used in cases where there is an operation on an input producing an output of the same data type. Nearly all deformers support this state, as do a few other nodes. As stated earlier, it is not supported by all nodes.

It’s typical to implement support for the HasNoEffect state in the node’s compute method and to perform appropriate operations. Plug-ins can also support HasNoEffect.

The usual implementation of this state is to copy the input directly to the matching output without applying the algorithm in the node. For deformers, applying this state leaves the input geometry undeformed on the output.

Blocking

This is implemented in the depend node base class and applies to all nodes. Blocking is applied during the evaluation phase to connections. An evaluation request to a blocked connection will return as failures, causing the destination plug to retain its current value. Dirty propagation is indirectly affected by this state since blocked connections are never cleaned.

When a node is set to Blocking the behavior is supposed to be the same as if all outgoing connections were broken. As long as nobody requests evaluation of the blocked node directly it won’t evaluate after that. Note that a blocked node will still respond to getAttr requests but a getAttr on a downstream node will not reevaluate the blocked node.

Setting the root transform of a hierarchy to Blocking won’t automatically influence child transforms in the hierarchy. To do this, you’d need to explicitly set all child nodes to the Blocking state.

For example, to set all child transforms to Blocking, you could use the following script. 


import maya.cmds as cmds
def blockTree(root):
nodesToBlock = []
for node in {child:1 for child in cmds.listRelatives( root, path=True, allDescendents=True )}.keys():
nodesToBlock += cmds.listConnections(node, source=True, destination=True )
for node in {source:1 for source in nodesToBlock}.keys():
cmds.setAttr( '%s.nodeState' % node, 2 )

Applying this script would continue to draw objects but things would not be animated.


Default: kdnNormal
-parameter(-p) float createqueryedit
The parameter value for the positioning of the newly inserted knot.
Default: 0.1
-reverse1(-rv1) boolean createqueryedit
If true, reverse the direction (specified by directionU) of the first input surface before doing attach. Otherwise, do nothing to the first input surface before attaching. NOTE: setting this attribute to random values will cause unpredictable results and is not supported.
Default: false
-reverse2(-rv2) boolean createqueryedit
If true, reverse the direction (specified by directionU) of the second input surface before doing attach. Otherwise, do nothing to the second input surface before attaching. NOTE: setting this attribute to random values will cause unpredictable results and is not supported.
Default: false
-swap1(-sw1) boolean createqueryedit
If true, swap the UV directions of the first input surface before doing attach. Otherwise, do nothing to the first input surface before attaching. NOTE: setting this attribute to random values will cause unpredictable results and is not supported.
Default: false
-swap2(-sw2) boolean createqueryedit
If true, swap the UV directions of the second input surface before doing attach. Otherwise, do nothing to the second input surface before attaching. NOTE: setting this attribute to random values will cause unpredictable results and is not supported.
Default: false
-twist(-tw) boolean createqueryedit
If true, reverse the second surface in the opposite direction (specified by directionU) before doing attach. This will avoid twists in the attached surfaces. Otherwise, do nothing to the second input surface before attaching. NOTE: setting this attribute to random values will cause unpredictable results and is not supported.
Default: false
Common flags
-constructionHistory(-ch) boolean create
Turn the construction history on or off.
-name(-n) string create
Sets the name of the newly-created node. If it contains namespace path, the new node will be created under the specified namespace; if the namespace does not exist, it will be created.
-object(-o) boolean create
Create the result, or just the dependency node.
-replaceOriginal(-rpo) boolean create
Create "in place" (i.e., replace).
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 be used more than once in a command.

MEL examples

// Attach the nurbs planes (in the default U direction) and remove the
// multiple knots:
attachSurface -kmk no nurbsPlane1 nurbsPlane2;

// Attach the two active surfaces along the v direction (keeps multiple
// knots by default):
attachSurface -du no;