Parts of an asset template

Related topics

• Asset templates
• Create an asset template

Main elements

The main body of the template is defined by a single <template> element. Within the template, a series of <attribute> properties describe the published attribute interface of the asset.

The following table describes the main elements of a template file.

.../templatePackages/pkg1/template1.template
.../templatePackages/pkg1/template2.template
.../templatePackages/pkg2/template3.template
.../templatePackages/pkg2/template4.template

<templates package=pkg1></templates>

<templates><using package='pkg1'>....</templates>

Template elements

The following table describes the elements allowed within the template definition of a template file.

Attribute elements

Each published attribute is described by an attribute element. The following table describes the elements allowed within an attribute definition.

Example code:

<attribute name='attribute1' type='maya.float3'>
<label>Display Name</label>
<description>Your description here.</description>
</attribute>

View elements

A template can have one or more views associated with it. A view describes a particular display layout for the asset and can be used to tailor the interface for different purposes (for example different users or workflows).

Views are defined using <view> elements. The attributes in a view are referenced from the template using <property> elements. Attributes can be grouped using <group> elements. View-specific overrides can optionally be supplied for certain template information. In particular, the attribute’s label and description text that is displayed in the interface can be customized on a per-view basis if desired.

A view element defines a customized user interface layout for the contents of the template. When the view is active, only those attribute properties included in the view definition are shown in the user interface, and the other template attributes are suppressed. The view properties can be organized into groups.

Some information (labels, descriptions) can be provided on both the template and the view. View-specific definitions take precedence over template-level information when they are provided.

Example code:

<view name='ShadingArtist' template='fountain'>
	<label>Shading Artist</label>
	<description>This view is for the shading team. 	</description>
	<group name='Water_Shader'>
		<property name='water_diffuse'/>
		<property name='water_color'/>
	</group>
</view>

Group elements

Views can contain group elements. Groups organize the attributes in the windows and editors of Maya. In the Attribute Editor and Asset Editor for example, groups are used for creating collapsible layouts. In some cases, the use of groups is not supported (such as in the Channel Box) and the view properties are laid out in an ordered list instead.

The following table describes all elements that are allowed within a group definition.

Example code:

<group name='Brick_Shader'>
	<label>Brick Shading Properties</label>
	<description>Control main brick shader.<description>
	<property name='brick_diffuse'/>
	<property name='brick_color'/>
	<property name='brick_transparency'>
</group>

Property elements

The following table lists the elements allowed within a property definition.

Example code:

<property name=’brick_glowIntensity’>
	<label>Brick Glow Intensity<label>
	<description>Controls glow intensity of brick shader.<description>
</property>

Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions

Most of the text values in the template file are object identifiers or similar values that cannot contain spaces or other special characters. The exception to this are the <label> and <description> tags, which are used on various elements to set display-only label and annotation text for the user interface. The data values for these fields support localized data (UTF-8 encoded), spaces, special characters, and punctuation.

Interface information fields (<label> and <description>) can be provided on both the template and the view. View-specific definitions (when provided) take precedence over those defined in the template. For example, if an attribute has a label defined in the template and a different label defined in the view, the view label takes precedence.

The <label> and <description> elements define display-only strings for the user interface and apply to many elements in the XML format. Since these values are display-only, they can contain spaces and other special characters that are not allowed in the object name fields. They also provide the ability to localize the template interface into other languages. All text values defined in the XML file are to be encoded in UTF-8.

See also Localize the asset user interface.

Binding Set elements

A template can have one or more binding sets associated with it. A binding set is a mapping of published names (binding properties) mapped to node attributes (conditions). This mapping is used by the Autobind feature to quickly publish and bind attributes in any asset that uses this template.

Related topics

• Template Binding Sets
• Create a binding set
• Customize a template binding set