Execute external MEL script files

You can run MEL scripts as separate files. They have the extension .mel by default.

You can execute external script files in two ways:

• In the Script Editor, select File > Source Script.
  Note: Before executing scripts, make sure you save any data you were working on.

  When you source a MEL script, MEL does not allow you to forward reference locally scoped procedures. Locally scoped procedure definitions must appear before they are called. For example, in a file called noForwardRef.mel, define the local procedures before they are referenced.

  proc myLocalProc() {
      print "In myLocalProc()\n";
  }
  
  proc anotherLocalProc() {
      print "In anotherLocalProc()\n";
      myLocalProc; 
  }
  
  global proc noForwardRef() {
      print "Calling anotherLocalProc()\n";
      anotherLocalProc;
  }

  If you change a script after sourcing it, the change is not automatically picked up by Maya. You need to re-run the script with File > Source Script.

• Place the script in one of Maya’s standard script directories.

  When you type the name of the file, Maya sources the contents of the file, and if a procedure with the same name exists in the file, Maya executes it. This lets you create scripts that work like built-in commands.

  Note: MEL scripts and mayaAscii files are different things. If you rename a .ma file to a .mel file and source it, you may get errors. Alternatively, if you rename a .mel script to be a .ma file and open it, you may get errors or even crash Maya. Maya does special things while reading files to improve performance and not all commands are compatible with this.