Environment

Variables
Version 6
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 Table of Contents

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1 Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
About Environment variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Setting environment variables using Maya.env . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Setting environment variables using system commands on Windows
and IRIX and Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Standard paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
General variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
File path variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rendering variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Mac OS X specific variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Linux and IRIX specific variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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Table of Contents

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1 Environment
Variables
About Environment variables
Setting environment variables using
Maya.env
Environment variables are a useful way to modify the standard path
locations and behavior used by Maya. For example, you can:
• Set Maya to look in a different directory than the default for custom
scripts using the MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH environment variable.
• Point to an area with more disk space so you have enough room for
temporary render cache files using the TEMPDIR environment
variable.
Many of the variables used by Maya are set automatically when you start
Maya.
There are two ways to set environment variables: using the standard
operating system commands, or editing the Maya.env file. Using the
Maya.env file is recommended so that you don’t clutter the standard
environment settings with Maya-specific variables. You can also set up
Maya.env as a roaming profile to be shared by many machines; this can be
useful, for example, when you are performing distributed rendering
among several Windows machines. See your networking documentation
for details on setting up roaming profiles.

To set environment variables in a Maya.env file

1 Create a text file named Maya.env.
2 Save it to one of the following directories:
• (Windows)
• drive:\Documents and Settings\username\My
Documents\maya\version
• drive:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\maya
• (Mac OS X)
• /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Alias/maya/version
• /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Alias/maya
• (IRIX and Linux)
• ~/maya/version
• ~/maya

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1 | Environment Variables
About > Setting environment variables using Maya.env

Note • Make sure to capitalize the M in Maya.env.

• On Windows, Linux, and IRIX, you can change the location
where Maya looks for Maya.env by setting the
MAYA_APP_DIR environment variable using the operating
system methods described below.

3 Set each variable on a single line in the format:

NAME = value
• You can set any variable, including ones that you define yourself.
The only variables you cannot set in Maya.env are
MAYA_APP_DIR, and HOME (IRIX, Linux and Mac OS X) or
USERPROFILE (Windows).
• If you define your own variable, make sure it does not contain
spaces, tabs, or any of the following characters: / : * " < > |
• You can use variable substitution by typing either $variable
(IRIX, Linux and Mac OS X) or %variable% (Windows). For
example:
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH = $MAYA_APP_DIR/scripts/test (IRIX, Linux and
Mac OS X)
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH = %MAYA_APP_DIR%\scripts\test (Windows)
• For directory paths use backslash (\) on Windows and forward
slash (/) on IRIX, Linux and Mac OS X.
• To separate several paths, use a semicolon (;) on Windows and a
colon (:) on IRIX and Linux.
• Maya ignores blank lines and whitespace around the name, equal
sign, and value. Lines that begin with # are considered comments
and also ignored.

Examples
• This example uses Mac OS X-specific formatting and typical folders.
USER_SCRIPT_PATH = /Volumes/Sapphire/render/scenes/lego pov library/Library;/
Volumes/Sapphire/render/scenes/maya/scripts;
MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH = $USER_SCRIPT_PATH;$MAYA_SCRIPT_BASE/scripts/
test;$MAYA_SCRIPT_BASE/scripts/unsupported;
• The following example shows how you can define your own variable
(SHARED_MAYA_DIR) and use it to set the value of other Maya
variables.
SHARED_MAYA_DIR = HostName:/usr/localhome/public/maya/6.0
MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH = $SHARED_MAYA_DIR/scripts:$MAYA_APP_DIR/scripts/custom
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH = $SHARED_MAYA_DIR/plug-ins

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > Setting environment variables using system commands on Windows and IRIX
and Linux

TMPDIR = /disk2/tempspace
• This example is the same as IRIX and Linux, but with Windows-
specific formatting.
MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH = %MAYA_APP_DIR%\scripts\test
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH = %MAYA_LOCATION%\devkit\plug-ins;%MAYA_LOCATION%\devkit\test
TMPDIR = D:\tempspace

Note Although we show platform-specific formatting for such things

as path separators and variable markers above, Maya will
understand the different formatting styles no matter which
platform you are on.
We still recommend using the formatting conventions specific to
your platform to avoid any possible errors (for example, copying
and pasting paths between Maya.env and a shell).

Setting environment variables using system

commands on Windows and IRIX and Linux
The variables set in the operating system take priority over any settings in
the Maya.env file. However, when Maya verifies the environment
settings, it may add default settings.
• On IRIX and Linux, you can use setenv to set environment variables.
You can add commands to you .cshrc file to make sure the
environment variables are always available.
setenv MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH /remote/scriptDisk/scriptFiles/
• On the Maya command line, you can use the MEL command putenv
to set environment variables.
putenv "MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH" "/remote/scriptDisk/scriptFiles/";
• On Windows, right-click My Computer and choose Properties (or
double-click System in the control panel), then click the Advanced tab,
and click Environment Variables.
• On the Mac OS X you can only set environment variables using
Maya.env.

Standard paths
When Maya loads environment variable settings into its memory, it adds
some standard paths to certain environment variables to ensure that some
things Maya requires to run are always available. This affects the
following variables:
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH
MAYA_MODULE_PATH

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1 | Environment Variables
About > General variables

MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH
XBMLANGPATH
When you set these paths yourself, variables you set using the operating
system methods override all other settings, variables you set in Maya.env
override standard settings, and the standard settings are used if not
overridden by system variables or Maya.env.
Because your path settings take priority over standard Maya paths, it is
possible to override Maya needs to run.
On Windows and IRIX and Linux, you can try starting Maya with only
default settings by typing maya -default at the following at the
command line.

Other path settings

For the system PATH variable, Maya adds $MAYA_LOCATION/bin. On
IRIX and Linux, it also adds /usr/aw/com/bin.
Maya checks whether the directory specified by the HOME variable (IRIX,
Linux, Mac OS X) or USERPROFILE variable (Windows) exists and is
writable. If not, Maya issues a prompt for you to provide a writable home
directory. Note that HOME and USERPROFILE cannot be set in the
Maya.env file.

General variables
MAYA_DEBUG_ENABLE_CRASH_REPORTING (Windows, IRIX, and
Linux)
When Maya encounters a fatal error, this variable writes a crash report
file (.crash) in the current working directory. This file contains a
detailed description of what Maya was doing when the failure
occurred.
To enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the
value to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_DISABLE_BACKSPACE_DELETE (Windows, IRIX, and Linux)
Disables the functionality of the Backspace key. To enable this option,
set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the value to 0 (zero) or leave
it undefined.
MAYA_FUR_LIGHT_CLAMPING
In a scene in which the intensity of the lights exceeded 1.0, rendered
fur would never be brighter than the diffuse and specular color values
defined for the fur. You would expect the rendered fur to become
increasingly brighter as the lighting increased. This is not only logical,
but also consistent with how other renderers, including the Maya

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > General variables

Software renderer, behave with identical lighting and material

assignments. In order to make this fix in Maya 6.0, a change in the
shading calculations for rendering fur was implemented. The effect is
that fur rendered with Maya 6.0 may look different compared with
previous versions. If you want to maintain compatibility, define the
environment variable MAYA_FUR_LIGHT_CLAMPING. 196385 To
enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the value
to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_FUR_OLD_BEHAVIOR
As of Maya 6.0, in a scene in which the transform node of
FurFeedback has transformations applied, interactive or rendered fur
no longer ignores these transformations. This is not only logical, but
also consistent with how other transform nodes behave in Maya. In
order to make this fix, a change was made in the transformation
calculations for displaying or rendering fur. The effect is that fur
displayed or rendered with Maya 6.0 may look different compared
with previous versions if there are transformations on the
FurFeedback node.
Apart from transforming Fur, as described above, if this variable is set
it does a few more things:
• It ignores the Casts Shadows and Primary Visibility attributes in
the Render Stats section of the FurFeedbackShape node.
• You can assign geometry and fur (FurFeedback) separately on
different render layers and the Maya Fur renderer ignores the
render layer of fur (as it did formerly).
• There may be inconsistencies, for example, in a test scene where
fur is assigned to display layer1 and geometry is assigned to
display layer2, if you turn off the visibility of layer2 then fur will
be invisible in the display, but it will show up when rendered
using mental ray.
Essentially there will be behavioral differences between mental ray
Fur and Maya Fur if this environment variable is set.
If you want to maintain compatibility in MayaFur display or render,
define the environment variable MAYA_FUR_OLD_BEHAVIOR. To
enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the value
to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_HELP_URL
This variable is used to override where help files are found. Maya
prepends this value to its help paths to create a URL which is passes
to the browser.

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1 | Environment Variables
About > File path variables

You can use this to point Maya to a central help server, or set it to a
file: URL to have Maya get its help files directly from the filesystem
instead of a help server (make sure to unzip the help directories
before you try to use a file: URL).
Incorrect use of this flag will prevent online help from working within
Maya.
MAYA_OVERRIDE_UI
If this environment variable is set, Maya won’t load the file
initialLayout.mel, which creates the interface. You must specify an
alternate file to run (for example, MAYA_OVERRIDE_UI = test.mel).
This variable should only be specified if you want to completely
replace Maya’s UI for your own, custom-programmed interface.
MAYA_PAINT_EFFECTS_THREADS
Paint Effects uses the multiple processors on your machine when
painting and rendering. You can set this variable to control the
number of processors used by Maya. The minimum is one (1) and the
maximum is three (3).
WINEDITOR (Windows, IRIX and Linux)
Allows you to override the Expression Editor and use your own
editor. The editor must be set to run in the foreground.

File path variables

MAYA_APP_DIR (Windows, IRIX, and Linux)
This variable defines your personal Maya application directory. This
directory contains your projects and other important items:
• the prefs directory
• the projects directory
• mayaRenderLog.txt
• mayaLog
• mayaJournal
• the scripts directory
• (Maya.env, if you choose to create it, can also reside in this
directory)
You can only set MAYA_APP_DIR from the operating system; you
cannot use Maya.env. If you do not set it, the default values are:
~username/maya (IRIX and Linux) or drive:\Documents and
Settings\username\My Documents\maya (Windows).

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > File path variables

For Mac OS X, you cannot set an environment variables from the

operating system.
MAYA_FILE_ICON_PATH
This variable has become obsolete since Maya 3.0. See
”XBMLANGPATH” on page 14 as this variable should be used
instead.
MAYA_MODULE_PATH (Windows, IRIX, and Linux)
Defines the search paths for Maya module files. A module file
describes the install location for certain Maya components, such as
subdivision surfaces. Generally, you don’t need to set this variable.
But, keep in mind that for each path extracted from the modules files,
Maya appends the suffixes “plug-ins”, “scripts” and “icons” and
“icons,” and then adds the appended path to
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH, MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH, and
XBMLANGPATH, respectively.
The following table lists the default paths, which will always follow
any path that you specify.

Default for Windows Default for IRIX and Linux

%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\6.0\modules $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/6.0/modules
%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\modules $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/modules
C:\AW\Modules\maya\6.0 /usr/aw/modules/maya/6.0
C:\AW\Modules\maya /usr/aw/modules/maya

MAYA_MOVIE_DIR
This variable is used to override the directory where movie files are
found. The default is $MAYA_LOCATION/extras/Movies/en_US/.
e.g. MAYA_MOVIE_DIR=$MAYA_LOCATION/extras/Movies/
ja_JP.EUC/
MAYA_LOCATION
The path for the Maya installation directory. If it is not set, it defaults
to /usr/aw/mayaVersionNumber (IRIX and Linux) or C:\Program
Files\Alias \MayaVersionNumber (Windows).
On Mac OS X, Maya is installed as /Applications/Maya 6.0/
Maya.app. Since OS X architecture makes it difficult to access the
contents of the Maya application package, we strongly discourage the
use of MAYA_LOCATION on Mac OS X. Instead, use the following
alternate locations:

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > File path variables

• /Users/Shared/Alias/maya/6.0
• /Users/Shared/Alias/maya
• under your Home folder, in Library/Preferences/Alias/maya/6.0
• under your Home folder, in Library/Preferences/Alias/maya.
MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH
Search path for plug-ins. When a plug-in is specified by relative path
name, the directories in this path will be searched for the given plug-
in name. This path also determines which directories will be listed in
the Plug-in Manager.

Default for Windows Default for IRIX and Linux Default for Mac OS X

%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\6. $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/6.0/ In your Home folder, under

0\plug-ins plug-ins Library/Preferences/Alias/
%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\pl $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/plug- maya/6.0
ug-ins ins In your Home folder, under
%MAYA_LOCATION%\bin\pl /usr/aw/userconfig/maya/ Library/Preferences/Alias/
ug-ins 6.0/plug-ins maya
/usr/aw/userconfig/maya/ /Users/Shared/Alias/maya/
plug-ins 6.0
$MAYA_LOCATION/bin/plug- /Users/Shared/Alias/maya
ins Inside the Maya package in /
Applications/Maya 6.0/
Maya.app

MAYA_PRESET_PATH
Defines the location for Maya presets. Each entry in the path points to
the directory above the attrPresets directory.
MAYA_PROJECT
Defines the default location of your project. You can change the
location at any time by choosing File > Project. This variable simply
defines the default.

Note If you set the environment variable MAYA_PROJECT either in

your Maya.env file or in the environment, its value overrides the
current project saved in your preferences and Maya starts with
the current project set to the value of MAYA_PROJECT.

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > File path variables

MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH
Colon-separated search path for Mel scripts. If an unresolved Mel
procedure is called, then this path will be searched for a script that
implements it. Also, if a Mel file is sourced without giving the full
path, then this path will be searched.
The following table lists the default paths, which will always follow
any path that you specify.

Default for Windows Default for IRIX and Linux Default for Mac OS X

%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\ $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/6.0/ In your Home folder, under

6.0\scripts scripts Library/Preferences/Alias/
%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\s $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/ maya/6.0
cripts scripts In your Home folder, under
%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\ /usr/aw/userconfig/maya/ Library/Preferences/Alias/
6.0\prefs\shelves 6.0/scripts maya
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip /usr/aw/userconfig/maya/ /Users/Shared/Alias/maya/
ts\startup scripts 6.0
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/6.0/ /Users/Shared/Alias/maya
ts\others prefs/shelves Inside the Maya package in /
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip $MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/ Applications/Maya 6.0/
ts\AETemplates startup Maya.app
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip $MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/
ts\paintEffects others
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip $MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/
ts\cloth AETemplates
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip $MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/
ts\live paintEffects
%MAYA_LOCATION%\scrip $MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/
ts\fur cloth
$MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/
live
$MAYA_LOCATION/scripts/
fur

TEMP or TMPDIR
This variable specifies the directory location Maya uses for various
temporary files, such as:
• temporary render cache files during a render
• crash files if Maya crashes

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1 | Environment Variables
About > Rendering variables

On IRIX and Linux, set TMPDIR only. On Windows, set both TEMP
and TMPDIR. If not set, the temporary directory is /tmp (IRIX and
Linux), or C:/temp (Windows), or under your Home folder in
Documents/temp.
XBMLANGPATH
For both all, this variable specifies the location of icon files, such as
icons used for Shelf buttons. On IRIX and Linux, the syntax is slightly
different then other paths. For example:
XBMLANGPATH = "./icons/%B:$HOME/dev/icons/%B"
In this example, %B is acts as a placeholder that will be replaced by
Maya with the bitmap filename.
The following table lists the default paths, which will always follow
any path that you specify.

Default for Windows Default for IRIX and Default for Mac OS X
Linux

%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\6.0 $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/ Under your Home folder, in

\prefs\icons 6.0/prefs/icons/%B Library/Preferences/Alias/
%MAYA_APP_DIR%\maya\pre $MAYA_APP_DIR/maya/ maya/6.0/prefs/icons
fs\icons prefs/icons/%B Under your Home folder, in
%MAYA_LOCATION%\icons /usr/aw/userconfig/maya/ Library/Preferences/Alias/
%MAYA_LOCATION%\icons\ 6.0/icons/%B maya/prefs/icons
paintEffects /usr/aw/userconfig/maya/ /Users/Shared/Alias/
%MAYA_LOCATION%\icons\c icons/%B maya/6.0/icons
loth $MAYA_LOCATION/ /Users/Shared/Alias/
%MAYA_LOCATION%\icons\l icons/%B maya/icons
ive $MAYA_LOCATION/ Inside the Maya package in /
%MAYA_LOCATION%\icons\f icons/paintEffects/%B Applications/Maya 6.0/
ur $MAYA_LOCATION/ Maya.app
icons/cloth/%B
$MAYA_LOCATION/
icons/live/%B
$MAYA_LOCATION/
icons/fur/%B

Rendering variables
AW_JPEG_Q_FACTOR
This variable can be used to specify the quality of JPEG files that Maya
renders out. The valid values are 1 through 100, with 100 being the
highest quality.

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > Rendering variables

MAYA_NO_JITTER_FINAL_COLOR
If you are quantizing to 8-bit color, we apply some randomness, or
jitter, to the color. To enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To
disable it, set the value to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_RENDERER_RT_BACKGROUND_COLOR
If you set this variable to 1, Maya includes the camera background in
the calculation of reflection and refraction rays. If you set this variable
to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined, Maya ignores the background color
for these rays.
MAYA_USE_V1_CAMERA
Allows you to revert to the old (Maya 1.0/1.5) camera model
behavior. Starting with Maya 2.0, we have fixed how the camera
behaves when lens squeeze is not 1.0, or when the resolution’s aspect
ratio is not the same as the x-resolution divided by the y-resolution. If
you are in the middle of a job started with Maya 1.0/1.5, you may
need the old (incorrect) behavior for continuity.
To enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the
value to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_USE_VERSION1_DISPLACEMENT
Allows you to revert to the old (Maya 1.0) displacement mapping
behavior. Starting with Maya 1.5/2.0, we significantly improved
displacement mapping. If you are in the middle of a job started using
Maya 1.0, you may need the old behavior for continuity.
To enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the
value to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_USE_VERSION1_POLY_TANGENT
Allows you to revert to the old (Maya 1.0) polygon tangent calculation
behavior. For Maya 1.5/2.0 we significantly improved the way we
calculate tangents on polygon objects. This primarily affects bump-
mapping. If you are in the middle of a job started using Maya 1.0, you
may need the old behavior for continuity.
To enable this option, set the value equal to 1. To disable it, set the
value to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined.
MAYA_HW_FILE_TEXTURE_RESOLUTION_OVERRIDE
Enable this flag to force baked file textures to be the maximum of the
texture resolution attribute on the file texture or the actual file texture
dimensions.

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1 | Environment Variables
About > Mac OS X specific variables

Mac OS X specific variables

MAYA_MAC_BUTTON_MAP
Set to 1 to use a one-button mouse with Maya, 2 for a two-button
mouse, leave undefined or set to 3 for a three-button mouse.
:The documentation assumes a three-button mouse. The following
table shows the keystroke and button combinations for mice with
fewer than three buttons.
For model views, the mouse works in standard 3-button mode.
For view manipulation, editors do not recognize the middle mouse
button. Instead, the mouse buttons are mapped as follows:

Three button mouse Two button mouse One button mouse

the left mouse button the left mouse button the left mouse button

the middle mouse button command + the left mouse command + the left mouse
button button

the right mouse button the right mouse button control + the left mouse
button

option + the right mouse option + the right mouse control + option + the left
button button mouse button
or
command + the right mouse
button

MAYA_MAC_MENUS_ARE_OPAQUE
This environment variable lets you change the opacity of pane menus.
If you set the variable to 1, then the pane menus appear opaque. If
you set the variable to 0 (zero) or leave it undefined, then the pane
menus appear with Mac OS X default transparency. This variable does
not affect the opacity of the main menus.

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 1 | Environment Variables
About > Linux and IRIX specific variables

MAYA_MAC_MENUS_ARE_OPAQUE MAYA_MAC_MENUS_ARE_OPAQUE
=0 =1

MAYA_MAC_SET_UMASK (Mac OS X Only)

This environment variable lets you set file sharing permissions. The
following example sets the permissions of any file created by Maya to
be readible/writeable by any user:
MAYA_MAC_SET_UMASK = 0
MAYA_MAC_WINDOW_OPACITY
This environment variable lets you set the opacity of editor windows.
Set this variable to an integer number between 0 and 100, where 100 is
full opacity. The following is an example of setting the editor window
opacity to 80%:
MAYA_MAC_WINDOW_OPACITY = 80

Linux and IRIX specific variables

MAYA_MMSET_DEFAULT_XCURSOR (Linux only)
Creates a left pointer cursor to use when resetting the cursor on use of
the Marking Menus. Useful when using GNOME window managers
that otherwise revert back to the default "X" cursor.
MAYA_SOUND_SCRUB (Linux only)
Disables the ability to scrub sound.
MAYA_WEBBROWSER (IRIX and Linux only)
WEBBROWSER
Overrides the web browser used by the 'browseURL' command (used
by help). This is especially useful if Netscape is not in your path. First
MAYA_WEBBROWSER is checked, then WEBBROWSER.

Basics
17
1 | Environment Variables
About > Linux and IRIX specific variables

Basics
18