Overview

Houdini Engine for 3ds Max provides a method for defining shelf tools either for your own use or for other artists. A shelf tool is defined using a json file with the following schema:

{
    "name" : "HDA Name",
    "toolType" : ["GENERATOR", "OPERATOR_SINGLE", "OPERATOR_MULTI", "BATCH"],
    "toolTip" : "Tooltip description",
    "iconPath" : "Absolute or relative path to the icon",
    "assetPath" : "Absolute or relative path to the HDA",
    "helpURL" : "URL to help page",
    "target" : ["all", "ue4", "unity", "maya", "max"],
    "tags" : [ ]
}

Field Descriptions

Field	Description	Required
name	The name of the HDA that will be displayed in the shelf interface	Yes
toolType	This is currently ignored by the 3ds Max plug-in	No
toolTip	This is a tool tip description that will appear when hovering over the shelf tool	No
iconPath	This is the absolute or relative path to the icon image. If this field is missing, the plug-in will automatically look in the same directory as the json definition file for a .png file of the same name. For example, if the tool is defined in helpful_tool.json, the plug-in will look for helpful_tool.png in the same directory. A path can also be prefixed with <HFS> or <HOUDINI_TOOL_PATH>. <HOUDINI_TOOL_PATH> will look for an environment variable with the name of HOUDINI_TOOL_PATH and prefix the path with its value.	No
assetPath	This is the absolute or relative path to the hda. If this field is missing, the plug-in will automatically look in the same directory as the json definition file for a .hda file of the same name. For example, if the tool is defined in helpful_tool.json, the plug-in will look for helpful_tool.hda in the same directory. A path can also be prefixed with <HFS> or <HOUDINI_TOOL_PATH>. <HOUDINI_TOOL_PATH> will look for an environment variable with the name of HOUDINI_TOOL_PATH and prefix the path with its value.	No
helpURL	This allows a URL to more detailed documentation to be specified	No
target	Because this shelf system is available in all of the Houdini Engine plug-ins, it is possible to create tools that work for all of the plug-ins or for a subset of the plug-ins. The target field is an array where all of the intended plug-in targets can be specified.	Yes
tags	This field is an array of arbitrary strings. It is used for plug-in specific details. As of right now, the 3ds Max plug-in does not make use of these tags	No

Adding or Removing Shelves

One shelf is represented by a single directory. In the shelf tab of the plug-in's user interface, there are buttons for adding and removing shelf directories. When a shelf directory is added, the plug-in will parse all json files in that directory, and if it is a valid shelf tool, it will add that shelf tool to the shelf. Using the remove button allows you to select a directory that you want to remove.

All of the currently loaded shelves will get saved to a file when 3ds Max is shutdown, and any time the plug-in is reloaded, it will reload the saved shelves. To see more about how the shelves are saved, you can visit the configuration page.

Table of Contents

Overview

Field Descriptions

Adding or Removing Shelves