Installing

Autoloader

Download .msi by selecting "Windows Installer" download option in release page, and execute it on your computer. Installation will place files in C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ngskintools2 (unless your %ProgramData% environment variable is different).

Download "Installer for Linux" in release page. The zip contains single shell file that will extract plugin contents in:

  • ~/Autodesk/ApplicationPlugins/ngskintools - if choosing single user option;
  • /usr/autodesk/ApplicationPlugins/ngskintools - "all users" option;

Download .pkg by selecting "Installer for macOS" download option in release page. Installation will place files in /Users/Shared/Autodesk/ApplicationAddins/ngskintools2.

Using autoloader system, nothing needs to be configured additionally. Maya scans autoloader locations for plugins at startup, and configures each discovered plugin automatically. Autoloader will create a “ngSkinTools2” shelf with a button to open UI.

Now, restart Maya and a new tab ngSkinTools2 should appear in your shelf.

Manual setup - all platforms

If you really need to manually configure installation, you need three things (assuming you’ve got some experience setting up a Maya plugin):

  • Add ngskintools2\Contents\plug-ins\windows-maya2020-64bit to MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH (use particular plugin path for your OS/Maya version);

  • Add ngskintools2\Contents\scripts to PYTHONPATH;

  • Add ngSkinTools shelf button with python code:

    import ngSkinTools2; ngSkinTools2.open_ui()

Troubleshooting

If something is not working, run this python snippet inside Maya’s script editor. It will verify each installation component and identify what might be the issue.

https://gist.github.com/viktorasm/f85cf7da151d65af498166b2538f1565

To run this:

  • Open script editor in Maya: Windows | General Editors | Script Editor;
  • Inside script editor: Tabs | New Tab ... | Python;
  • Paste contents of the python script from the link above;
  • Execute it via Command | Execute.

You should see an output similar to what’s shown in the gist’s “sample output.txt”. You want to make sure that it finds both ngSkinTools UI and plugin, and their versions match up.

License activation

Proceed to License Activation if you’ve purchased a paid version of ngSkinTools.

Other

Plugin crashing on Intel Core 11th gen processors

If you’re experiencing startup crashes on Intel 11th gen processors on Windows, it might be a known bug in Maya. Unfortunately, this is not something fixable from within ngSkinTools, try this workaround instead:

  1. Define environment variable OPENSSL_ia32cap=~0x200000200000000 in Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables
  2. Restart Maya to make sure that Maya process picks up the changes.

For more info, see: