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Delete the initial state of a fluid
Playing fluids
Create fluids cache files
Save the current state of a fluid
You can save the grid
property values for a fluid at any frame in a simulation and then
add the saved state to another fluid container.
For example, you could create your company logo
in a dynamic grid with Density values
and save the current state to Visor. Any
time you want to create a different fluid effect with your logo,
you can add the values for the saved logo to a new container and
modify the container attributes.
Grid properties saved in 2D containers can only
be added to 2D containers. Similarly, grid properties defined in
3D containers can only be added to 3D containers.
To
save the current state of a fluid
- Add
the property values to the fluid container. See
Add properties to fluid containers.
- Play
and stop the simulation at the frame with the fluid property values you
want to save, if necessary.
- Select
the fluid container.
- Select
Fluid Effects > Save State As.
The Save window
opens to:
(Windows)
drive:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2009\presets\fluids\initialStates
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/Maya2009/Maya/Contents/presets/ fluids/initialStates
(Linux)
/usr/autodesk/maya2009/presets/fluids/initialStates
- Expand
the folder where you want to save the fluid state in Visor and
then select a subfolder:
- If
the fluid is a 2D fluid, select the 2D folder.
- If
the fluid is a 3D fluid, select the 3D folder.
NoteYou can save to any directory with write
permissions accessible in Visor.
- Type
the name of the current state file in the File name box
and click Save.
Maya does the following:
- Creates
a cache file (.mfci extension)
in the following location:
(Windows)
<drive>:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2009\presets\fluids\.mayaData
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/Maya2009/Maya/Contents/presets/ fluids/.mayaData
(Linux)
/usr/autodesk/maya2009/presets/fluids/.mayaData
(If, in step 5, you browsed to a location not
under the Maya installation directory, Maya creates a .mayaData directory in that location
and creates the cache there.)
- Creates
a MEL file in the Visor location you selected. The MEL file simply packages
the current state cache file so you can access it from Visor.
- Assigns
the default Maya logo swatch to the current state icon in the Fluid Initial
States tab in Visor.
You can now add this current state to any fluid
container that has the same dimension (2D or 3D) as the container
the current state was created from. For details, see
Add predefined initial states to fluid containers.
NoteThe default tabs in Visor are
saved in your preferences. The Visor tabs point
to directory structures in the Maya installed location but if you
run Maya from two different install locations, the preferences from
the first run dictate the locations for the Visor tabs
displayed in the second run. Visor suggests
a location in the running cut's install location, so it's possible
you could think you're saving it in the right place, only to have Visor completely
ignore the just-saved preset. Selecting Tabs > Revert to
Default Tabs in Visor will fix this.
To
create a custom swatch in Visor for a saved current state
- Render
the example in Render View.
- In Render
View, select View > Grab Swatch
to Hypershade/Visor.
- Drag
a square to select the part of the image you want as your swatch.
- Open Visor and
on the Fluid Initial States tab, open
the folder where you saved the current state.
- With
the middle mouse button, drag the selection onto the current state swatch.
The swatch is saved in the .mayaSwatches subfolder
of the folder where you saved the state. For example:
(Windows)
<drive>:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2009\presets\fluids\initialStates\Miscellaneous\2D\mayaSwatches
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/Maya2009/Maya.app/Contents/presets/ fluids/initialStates/Miscellaneous/2D/.mayaSwatches
(Linux)
/usr/autodesk/maya2009/presets/fluids/initialStates/ Miscellaneous/2D/.mayaSwatches