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.
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\Maya2011\presets\fluids\initialStates
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/Maya2011/Maya/Contents/presets/
fluids/initialStates
(Linux)
/usr/autodesk/maya2011/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\Maya2011\presets\fluids\.mayaData
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/Maya2011/Maya/Contents/presets/
fluids/.mayaData
(Linux)
/usr/autodesk/maya2011/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\Maya2011\presets\fluids\initialStates\Miscellaneous\2D\mayaSwatches
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/Maya2011/Maya.app/Contents/presets/
fluids/initialStates/Miscellaneous/2D/.mayaSwatches
(Linux)
/usr/autodesk/maya2011/presets/fluids/initialStates/
Miscellaneous/2D/.mayaSwatches