[deadalvs]

hi !

I checked the docs, maybe I missed a spot ..

is it possible to create mxm materials with python in Cinema4d ? I'd like to create a reference material and then point to a specific mxm on the harddrive (linking it).

any input welcome !



thanks in advance !

m.

[JDHill]

You can do it this way:

Code: Select all

import c4d

ID_MXMATERIAL = 1021237;
ID_MXMFILENAME = 1002;

def main():
    material = c4d.BaseMaterial(ID_MXMATERIAL);
    material[ID_MXMFILENAME] = "C:\\carpaint_cherry.mxm";
    doc.InsertMaterial(material);
    doc.SetActiveMaterial(material); 
    c4d.EventAdd();

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

There is a slight problem with this, though, since it sets the path through the material's description; what will happen is that the plugin will pop up a dialog asking you if you really want to overwrite the material with the specified MXM. This is because switching from embedded mode to linked mode is a destructive action, even if the material in question was just created a half-second ago. To get around that, you can pre-set the MXM path to a different, valid path first, directly through the material's BaseContainer, then set the path you actually want, like this:

Code: Select all

import c4d

ID_MXMATERIAL = 1021237;
ID_MXMFILENAME = 1002;

def main():
    material = c4d.BaseMaterial(ID_MXMATERIAL);
    data = material.GetDataInstance();
    data.SetFilename(ID_MXMFILENAME, "C:\\dummy.mxm"); 
    material[ID_MXMFILENAME] = "C:\\carpaint_cherry.mxm";
    doc.InsertMaterial(material);
    doc.SetActiveMaterial(material); 
    c4d.EventAdd();

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

In this case, the plugin will not warn you about damaging an existing embedded material, since the material already links to a different MXM file.

[deadalvs]

hey !

thanks a lot so far. importing mxms works so far !

as you may imagine, I am doing this for multiple objects, where each object's name is the same as the referenced material (+ ".mxm"). so to actually assign the material to the mesh, does it have to be selected ? or how would I exchange the material tag to the newly imported material ?

[JDHill]

If you have a TextureTag, you can set its material using TextureTag::SetMaterial. If your object has no TextureTag, you can create one using BaseObject::MakeTag(Ttexture), then call SetMaterial on the created tag:

Code: Select all

import c4d

ID_MXMATERIAL = 1021237;
ID_MXMFILENAME = 1002;

def main():
    material = c4d.BaseMaterial(ID_MXMATERIAL);
    data = material.GetDataInstance();
    data.SetFilename(ID_MXMFILENAME, "C:\\dummy.mxm"); 
    material[ID_MXMFILENAME] = "C:\\carpaint_cherry.mxm";
    doc.InsertMaterial(material);
    doc.SetActiveMaterial(material); 
    obj = doc.GetFirstObject();
    if not obj is None:
        tag = obj.GetTag(c4d.Ttexture);
        if tag is None:
            tag = obj.MakeTag(c4d.Ttexture);
        tag.SetMaterial(material);
    c4d.EventAdd();

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

[deadalvs]

YESS !

got it working !

amazing help, thanks a TON !


the code is quite messy due to my naming convention, but it's working and that's what counts !