Note: Wing can interact with Maya in three different ways. This is one of the three. See an overview here on the whole system:
Interaction between Wing and MayaNote: The below code worked up until Maya 2013: At that point, it looks like Maya did something with it's
commandPort interactions, and everything quit working. I have a new solution using a completely different method using threads and server\client code in Python, but have yet to update the below tutorials :-S
I using
Wing IDE for authoring Python and mel code for Maya, and have come up with a solution (presuming you have the 'Professional' version of Wing) to have the code you
highlight in Wing execute in Maya (aka 'evaluate selection'). This lets me completely replace the Script Editor when authoring Python
or mel, which we all know doesn't have the best Python integration... :-S
I've added some updated code below that now allows you to publish mel code from Wing to Maya as well.
Note that you can also have Wing recognize .mel files, with some (not full) context sensitive highlighting, correct indentation, scope hilighting, etc: Under Wing 'Prefs -> Files -> File Types', 'insert' a new file type as mel and set its 'Mime Type' to be C++ Source.
There are a few steps involved to get this working. I should point out again this only works with the 'Professional' version of Wing, and you'll need Maya v8.5 or
newer: when Maya started supporting Python (below this section I list some old code, for version of Maya8.5 and earlier.)
Important Starting Notes
The biggest hangup with this system is getting Maya to properly open a
commandPort, getting a proper
socket.socket() connection, and getting Maya to properly connect via
maya.connect(). Based on the network settings of your machine, the below code may not work for you as-provided in all instances. Whenever I change machines I seem to have to modify one or more of these areas.
I've left code-examples (commented out) for other alternatives that I've used on various machines to get these working, so if something fails, you can try using those examples. Otherwise you'll need to strap on your networking programmer hat and dig into the docs a bit.
Also, when it comes to opening
commandPorts, the port number is fairly arbitrary. In the below examples I use
6000, but you can use another number if you wish. Just make sure to update it in both locations: userSetup.mel
and the function
send_to_maya() in
wingHotkeys.py.
#1 - userSetup.mel
In Maya's
userSetup.mel file, add this line to open a network socket. This will later let Wing talk with Maya.
// userSetup.mel
commandPort -name ":6000" -echoOutput;
It appears, if you're running Maya on Vista \ 64bit, or maybe it's a Maya2010 thing, you need to call to
commandPort twice to get this working, otherwise your socket will later be refused:
// userSetup.mel
commandPort -name "127.0.0.1:6000" -echoOutput;
commandPort -name ":6000" -echoOutput;
For whatever reason, having your
userSetup.py execute these commands instead won't let the below process work. This really confuses me, since Maya claims the port is open. But Wing says the port is refused....
#2 - wingHotkeys.py
The Wing Python module (
wingHotkeys.py) and functions inside are authored to do a few things:
- Save the text selected in Wing as a temp file on disk.
- Ping Maya through the opened command port, and tell Maya to execute the contents of that file. Depending on the type of data sent, either Python or mel, the tool will tell Maya how to intercept it, and execute it.
Again, this code is tailored to
Wing IDE's API, and saved as part of that program's own "scripts" directory.
Default location (on winXP) of that dir is here:
C:\Documents and Settings\<userName>\Application Data\Wing IDE 3\scripts\wingHotkeys.py
On Windows 7:
C:\Users\<userName>\AppData\Roaming\Wing IDE 4\scripts\wingHotkeys.py
Functions:
send_to_maya() : Function that does the heavy lifting, and calls to executeWingCode.main() (discussed below).python_to_maya() : Wrapper to send the code as Python to Maya. I have this mapped to ctrl+p. (Wing hotkeys don't allow args, so you need to author wrapper functions)mel_to_maya() : Wrapper to send the code as mel to Maya. I have this mapped to ctrl+m.
If you already have a
wingHotkeys.py module for Wing, you can just add the below code to it:
# wingHotkeys.py
# Author: Eric Pavey - warpcat@sbcglobal.net
import wingapi
import socket
import os
def getWingText():
"""
Based on the Wing API, get the selected text, and return it
"""
editor = wingapi.gApplication.GetActiveEditor()
if editor is None:
return
doc = editor.GetDocument()
start, end = editor.GetSelection()
txt = doc.GetCharRange(start, end)
return txt
def send_to_maya(language):
"""
Send the selected code to be executed in Maya
language : string : either 'mel' or 'python'
"""
# The commandPort you opened in userSetup.mel. Make sure this matches!
commandPort = 6000
if language != "mel" and language != "python":
raise ValueError("Expecting either 'mel' or 'python'")
# Save the text to a temp file. If we're dealing with mel, make sure it
# ends with a semicolon, or Maya could become angered!
txt = getWingText()
if language == 'mel':
if not txt.endswith(';'):
txt += ';'
# This saves a temp file on Window. Mac\Linux will probably need to
# change this to support their OS.
tempFile = os.path.join(os.environ['TMP'], 'wingData.txt')
f = open(tempFile, "w")
f.write(txt)
f.close()
# Create the socket that will connect to Maya, Opening a socket can vary from
# machine to machine, so if one way doesn't work, try another... :-S
#mSocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
#mSocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET6, socket.SOCK_STREAM) # Works!
# More generic code for socket creation thanks to Derek Crosby:
res = socket.getaddrinfo("localhost", commandPort, socket.AF_UNSPEC, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
af, socktype, proto, canonname, sa = res[0]
mSocket = socket.socket(af, socktype, proto)
# Now ping Maya over the command-port
try:
# Make our socket-> Maya connection: There are different connection ways
# which vary between machines, so sometimes you need to try different
# solutions to get it to work... :-S
#mSocket.connect(("127.0.0.1", commandPort))
#mSocket.connect(("::1",commandPort)) #works!
mSocket.connect(("localhost", commandPort))
# Send our code to Maya:
mSocket.send('python("import executeWingCode; executeWingCode.main(\'%s\')")'%language)
except Exception, e:
print "Send to Maya fail:", e
mSocket.close()
def python_to_maya():
"""Send the selected Python code to Maya"""
send_to_maya('python')
def mel_to_maya():
"""Send the selected code to Maya as mel"""
send_to_maya('mel')
#3 - executeWingCode.py
3. The Python module
execPythonCode.py is the one Wing's
send_to_maya() function (above, step 2) triggers. It is what physically evaluates the code executed in Wing, in Maya.
Be sure to save this in a location seen by
Maya's Python path.
"""
executeWingCode.py
Eric Pavey - 2011-03-23
Module that Maya calls to when Wing pings it through a socket, telling Maya
to execute the commands in the temp file as either Python or mel code.
"""
import __main__
import os
import maya.OpenMaya as om
def main(codeType):
"""
Evaluate the temp file on disk, made by Wing, in Maya.
codeType : string : Supports either 'python' or 'mel'
"""
tempFile = os.path.join(os.environ['TEMP'], 'wingData.txt').replace("\\", "/")
if os.access(tempFile , os.F_OK):
# open and print the file in Maya:
f = open(tempFile , "r")
lines = f.readlines()
for line in lines:
print line.rstrip()
f.close()
print "\n",
if codeType == "python":
# execute the file contents in Maya:
f = open(tempFile , "r")
exec(f, __main__.__dict__, __main__.__dict__)
f.close()
elif codeType == "mel":
melCmd = 'source "%s"'%tempFile
# This causes the "// Result: " line to show up in the Script Editor:
om.MGlobal.executeCommand(melCmd, True, True)
else:
print "No temp file exists: " + tempFile
The key here for the
Python execution, is the
exec command updating the
__main__.__dict__ dictionary with any defined variable names passed in from Wing. It is effectively adding them to the 'main', or 'builtin' scope of Python. If this
doesn't happen, after the code is executed, you won't be able to access any variables created\changed from within Maya.
For
mel, calling to
OpenMaya.MGlobal.executeCommand allows for the result of the execution to be printed to the Script Editor, just like you had originally executed it there.
#4 - Finish
That's it: You can now highlight code in Wing (either Python or mel), and via a wing hotkey, have it execute directly in Maya. I use it
every day...
Older methods:
- For Maya versions 8 and earlier (Maya 8.5 has Python embedded, yah!)
- Thanks to Hamish McKenzie "macaroniKazoo" on highend3d.com
- First, in Maya, create an INET domain on the local host at the command port:
- Win2000 syntax is "
computerName:portNumber", I've wondered why you don't have to specify the computerName here?
commandPort -n ":5055";
import socket
maya = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
maya.connect(("127.0.0.1", 5055))
- Then, to actually have Python talk to Maya:
maya.send('print "I am typing in Python, but I see it in Maya!\\n";')
- Of course, you have to embed your mel commands in the Python syntax.
- Python library docs on 'socket' HERE
- What's so special about '127.0.0.1'? Check Wikipedia HERE
