maya saving menu info (frame range)

Question

enter image description hereI have a menu that has multiple frame ranges for different objects being animated. I need that menu to save that frame range everytime its closed and reopened. Is it possible to save out data to an external file.

Answer 1

There are many ways to save out data externally. Probably one of the easiest ways is using the json module:

import os
import json


path = "PATH/TO/YOUR/FILE/data.json"


def save_data(frame_range):
    with open(path, "w") as f:
        f.write(json.dumps(frame_range))


def load_data():
    if os.path.exists(path):
        with open(path, "r") as f:
            return json.loads(f.read())


save_data([1, 100])

stored_range = load_data()

print stored_range
# Output: [1, 100]

In this case it's dumping a list, but it supports much more (dictionaries, nested data structures)

Another alternative is saving data with the pickle module:

import pickle


path = "PATH/TO/YOUR/FILE/data.p"


def save_data(frame_range):
    with open(path, "w") as f:
        f.write(pickle.dumps(frame_range))


save_data([1, 100])

You can also use cpickle to export as a binary format.

In Maya itself, you can save settings directly to the user's preferences:

cmds.optionVar(iv=("frameStart", 1))
cmds.optionVar(iv=("frameEnd", 100))

You can also simply store a json string directly in cmds.optionVar for more complex data structures.