Checking what attributes are in a cache


On the Read tab of the Cache Manager there’s a Dump Header button:
CacheManager_DumpHeader

Dump Header dumps the cache header and attribute list to XML and pops up NetView:
DumpHeader_XML

If you want to dump the XML and parse it yourself, you can do it with this scripting command:

Application.DumpCacheHeader("[project path]\\Simulation\\scene_root\\pointcloud\\pointcloud_AnimTake1_[1..100].icecache", False)

Fun with PPG shortcut keys


You can use the PageUp and PageDown keys to move back and forward through the history of recently inspected nodes.
PPG_Back_PageUp
PPG_Forward_PageDown

If you right-click one of those arrows, you can see the history list of inspected nodes, and select a specific node to inspect:
PPG_History

If there’s no property page open at the moment, pressing PageUp (or PageDown) will open a property page and load the most recently inspected node.

Here’s a related TD Survival video on PageUp (and some other handy shortcut keys):

Re-downloading Autodesk software


Here’s a quick tip if you need to re-download the original release version (for example, Mudbox 2013) instead of a service pack: use the Autodesk Virtual Agent.

  1. Go to autodesk.com/customer-service.
  2. Click ASK to use the virtual agent.
    Ask
  3. Click Downloading and Installation
  4. Click Software Download links
  5. Click I need to redownload my product

Subscription customers can always download the release versions from the Sub center, but on the public autodesk.com site, only service packs and upgrades are available. For a product like Softimage, that isn’t usually a problem: you can just download the latest service pack. But that isn’t true for every product (for example, sometimes a SP is a patch that requires the original release version).

Fit Subcomponent UVs To Image


When you click Fit Subcomponent UVs to Image in the Texture Projection property editor, you’ll get these ERRORs in the script history:

' ERROR : Object doesn't support this property or method: 'in_uvprops.IsClassOf' - [line 1842 in C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2014\Application\DSScripts\Texture.vbs]
' ERROR :  - [line 25]
' ERROR : Property Page Script Logic Error
' ERROR :    [23] 		end if
' ERROR :    [24] (null)
' ERROR :   >[25] 		FitSubcomponentUVsToImage Pset.InspectedObjects, filtered
' ERROR :    [26] 	End Sub

The fix for this requires that you edit $XSI_HOME\Application\DSScripts\Texture.vbs. You’ll probably need to edit the Permissions on Texture.vbs so that you have Full Control or Modify permissions.

Find line 1842 in Texture.vbs, and then replace the if..else..endif with this:

set coll = CreateObject("XSI.Collection")
if in_uvprops.Type = "XSICollection" then
	set coll = in_uvprops
elseif in_uvprops.IsClassOf( siUVPropertyID ) = True then
	coll.Add in_uvprops
end if

The fix I posted on the Softimage mailing list awhile ago was a one-liner that would enable you to use Fit Subcomponent UVs to Image on a single texture projection. This fix will work if you have multiple texture projections in the property editor.

Subscription Extra: CrowdFX Plotting Plugin


I see there is an Extra for Softimage Subscription customers. It’s a plugin that adds two commands for exporting CrowdFX:
Export Crowd as FBX (Null Rig) – Exports a null rig for each actor including the animations created by the crowd simulation
Export Crowd as FBX (Null Rig and Geometry) – In addition to the null rig, it exports one geometry per actor enveloped to the null rig
There’s some docs on the Documentation tab in the Sub center.
CrowdFXPlottingPlugin