CgFX shader

Note: The use of the CgFx shader is no longer recommended as it is based on legacy technology. Use the GLSL shader instead.

The compiled CgFX plug-in in Maya lets you create hardware shaders. Previously, you may have downloaded the Cg / CgFx libraries from nVidia®. For more information, see Create and render hardware shaders.

CgFX shaders are only supported in the OpenGL - Legacy and OpenGL - Core Profile (Compatibility) display modes. See Viewport 2.0 Rendering engine.

For information on how to create a CgFX shader, see Create a CgFX shader.

Note:

This plug-in uses Cg 3.0.015. The cg compiler (cgc) and all dlls are included in the bin directory of Maya.

Older effects support a different syntax .fx (MS) files than the current ones: .cgfx. Because Cg is a superset of HLSL, CgFX 3.0.015 exposes all the capabilities of Cg (Interfaces and unsized arrays). Therefore, CgFX 3.0.015 has a format called .cgfx that allows developers to program in the Cg language.

If you've installed an older version of CgFX, you must uninstall it or disable the environment variables that are set with the install.

On macOS, the nVidia Cg library is no longer supported. Plugins relying on this library need to be ported (e.g. CgFX shaders).

Related topics

• Create a CgFX shader
• Writing a CgFX shader
• Limitations of CgFX shaders
• Orientation of the texture co-ordinate system for CgFX shaders
• Troubleshoot working with CgFX shaders