Microsoft Knowledge Base

• Softimage 3D for IRIX, versions 3.5, 3.51
• Softimage 3D for Windows NT, version 3.51

SUMMARY

The SDK represents our ongoing commitment to re-engineer and revolutionize our internal development, therefore putting control into your hands. Plugins, harness the Softimage 3D functionality and furnish you with the tools to expand on it. The following information is designed to get you started:

Plugin Components

A plugin consists of two or three files, for example:

  - The plugin interface:  <The_Effect>.cus
  - The plugin binary:     <The_Effect>.so (SGI IRIX) or
                           <The_Effect>.dll (Windows NT)
  - The plugin icon:       <The_Effect>.hrc (in the case of Persistent
                            effects)

Only persistent custom effects have an icon (effects that 'stay alive' within the scene). They also have a total of three files. An example of a persistent effect is 'Explode'.

Immediate Effects:

Immediate custom effects do not have an icon. Immediate custom effects only have two files. An example of an immediate effect would be 'BreakUp.'

Plugins must be specifically built for each platform. You cannot run an SGI plugin on Windows NT, or vice versa. As well, plugins must be specifically built for each Windows NT architecture. You cannot run a Windows NT-Intel plugin on Windows NT-Alpha, or vice versa.

Environment Variables

Softimage 3D finds custom effects according to a number of environment variables. To install a custom effect, you will need to either:

A. Place the new plugin in the same directories as your other custom

   effects,

   - or -

   plugins.

   IRIX:

   All environment variables for Softimage 3D are defined in the
   '.softimage' file in your home directory. To see the current values of
   your environment variables, in a shell type the command 'env'.

   Windows NT:

   All environment variables for Softimage 3D are defined in the
   'setenv.bat' file that is located in the %SI_LOCATION%/3D/bin directory.
   (If you installed Softimage 3D in the default location, this is:
   C:/SOFTIMAGE3D-v3.51/3D/bin/setenv.bat). To see the current values of
   your environment variables, double-click the "Edit SETENV.BAT" icon
   (located in the Softimage 3D program group in the Windows NT Program
   Manager).

Installation Steps

1. Install The Plugin Interface (and persistent effect icon).

   Effects are grouped together by Softimage 3D module; all Model effects are together, all Motion effects are together, etc. Each module has an associated environment variable that points to the directory(ies) where the effects interfaces (*.cus files) and optional icons are located. You must determine the value of the SI_CUSTOM_<MODULE> environment variable that corresponds to your effect. For example, if the plugin is a modeling effect, the variable associated with this is the SI_CUSTOM_MODEL variable. The list of possible variables is:

   SI_CUSTOM_MODEL SI_CUSTOM_MOTION SI_CUSTOM_ACTOR SI_CUSTOM_MATTER SI_CUSTOM_TOOLS

      OPTION A   If you want to keep your new plugin(s) in the same location
                 as your old effects:
   
                 Place the new plugin's *.cus file (and the icon *.hrc file in
                 the case of persistent effects) in the directory specified in
                 the appropriate SI_CUSTOM_<MODULE> variable.
   
      OPTION B   If you want to keep your new plugin(s) in a separate
                 location:
   
                 You must modify the value of the SI_CUSTOM_<MODULE> variable
                 by adding the path to the new plugins. Simply add the path of
                 the new plugin to your existing variable.
   
               IRIX: Use a colon (':') to separate multiple directories
   
               Example: setenv SI_CUSTOM_MODEL
               "/usr/softimage/3D/custom/model:/myeffects/model"
   
               Windows NT: Use a semicolon (';') to separate multiple
               directories.
   
               Example:
               SI_CUSTOM_MODEL=C:\Soft3D\3D\custom\model;C:\myeffect\model
   
   
   

2. Install the Plugin Binary.

   The plugin binary (the actual 'brain' of the effect) is stored in another file. The file extension for IRIX is '.so', and '.dll' for Windows NT.

   IRIX: The plugin binary must reside in one of the directories listed in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.

   Windows NT: The plugin binary must reside in one of the directories in the PATH environment variable.

      OPTION A   You want to keep your new plugin(s) in the same location as
                 your old effects:
   
            IRIX: Place the new plugin's *.so file in one of the directories
            specified in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
   
            Windows NT: Place the new plugin's *.dll file in one of the
            directories specified in the PATH environment variable.
   
      OPTION B - Keep your new plugin(s) in a separate location:
   
            IRIX: You must modify the value of the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment
            variable by adding the path to the new plugins' .so files. Use a
            colon (':') to separate multiple directories:
   
            Example:  setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH
                           "/usr/softimage/3D/dso:/myeffects/dso"
   
            Windows NT: You must modify the PATH environment variable by
            adding the path to the new plugins' .dll files. Use a semicolon
            (';') to separate multiple directories:
   
            Example:  PATH=%PATH%;C:\Soft3D\3D\bin;C:\MyEffects\bin
   
   
   

3. Restart Softimage 3D.

   - On IRIX, enter the command: 'source ~/.softimage' to reinitialize the

        environment variables.
   

   - On both IRIX and Windows NT, you must restart Softimage 3D for your

        changes to take effect.
   

REFERENCES

If you have any questions concerning the information contained in this article, contact support@softimage.com by e-mail.