Ok finally a new release of TexTools with its own new thread. The former thread has really grown and I wanted to devote this release its own thread. This is now already the first anniversary of TexTools as its close to exactly 1 year ago since I started this project.

What?
A maxScript package shaped into a Photoshop alike toolbar that covers a lot of things for texture artists. One of the key benefits is that you can install it anywhere and almost at any max packages (9+) without the need of administrative rights or script installation knowledge.
Oh and its free!, free to use and free to modify, improve or copy into your own scripting stuff.

Homepage:
http://renderhjs.net/textools/

Youtube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...7878B0B79B344E

download link:
TexTools_3.00.mzp



3.0 Changes:
Most noticeable is the new interface and setup that it comes with. These are my attempts on making it even easier to use for first time users. But under the hood there have been many smal improvements.
Some of them:

• Options: new settings to change/ store
  • completely rewritten ini settings storage engine, rethrieves and sets default values to fall back on
  • new and minimalistic GUI for the settings fits better with the overal design decission I took for this project (pixel minimalistic space).
  • setting for snap TexTools to UV editor
  • setting for force TexTools Colors for UV editor
  • save / load values for the Texel inputs
  
• Setup: Uninstall and Install TexTools
  • to install(including Win7 + Vista fixes) with very detailed error stops should something go wrong. In that case you will then know why (i.e no write access to folder/file XYZ)
  • uninstall with detailed scanned list of files to be deleted before deleting the files. Swipes all previuous former TexTools files including windows temp directories, macroscript directories, ini file,...
  The setup will start as soon as you either run the MZP file or drag it in the viewport. From there on you can install, uninstall get help or abort the setup.
  • max8 or older not getting error message regarding reloading icons. So experimental users can try it with Max8 though certainly a few things wont work at all.
  
• GUI: New Main Toolbar GUI
  • uses imgTags instead of outdated buttons which support rollover states and more icon pixel space
  • re-arranged Buttons based on typical workflow order and compressed layout
  • color codings are now presented using colors in the symbols themselves
  • the rollout is created dynamicly so that possible errors and future update times can be decreased dramatically
  • removed tools in this release are: stack shells, compress shell orientation (can be done using the sort method)
  • new help panel with a overview of all tools and a starting guide plus lots of links to discover and read through.
  
• Simplified Architecture: MZP archive, Macroscripts, functions,..
  • very simple and clean package (easy to install manually as well)
  • changed also quite a few filenames and function names to make things more easy for me to update in the future.
  • simplified some of the Macroscript descritions so its easier to spot which Macroscript triggers which Functionality. In most cases its just shorter and easier to read.
  • cleaned up some macroscripts as their were targeting wrong variable paths, also disabled each macroscripts if TexTools was not loaded in the RAM (to avoid errrors) + added clean Button Labels should you drag Macroscripts into toolbars.
  
• UV editor: Edit Multiple Objects (max 2008+)
  • will open / close the editor also with multiple objects selected
  • many functions also ported or made compatible with the new Max2008+ multi object UV edit mode.
  • added Open/Close Editor to the macroscripts
  • open UV editor keeps UV modifiers now cleaner and consistent. Before if you were not in the modify mode (but instead create, motion,...) it would add additional UV modifiers on top because max returns undefined regarding modifier stack info, so I made it jump everytime you open the UV editor to the Modify panel if you are not in it.
  • kill the transform floater if you switch the object, go to a different tab (i.e create, animation,...). Opens each time you open the UV editor though
  • new rotate bounding box 90 degree snap in the Pixel Transform Floater (great for Layouting UV sets)
  
• Texture Maps:
  • added again Render UV Mask. Now also works on multple Objects also works on Objects that don't have yet a UV modifier. It will delete it afterwards. Such a nice and simple button now.
  • rewrote the "Transfer UV channel Maps" in the render Texture Maps panel. It still only works with just 1 object (because of numMapChannels command missing in the UV_unwrapModifier object). But it should be more flexible as it also not forces a editAble class object anymore.
  • fixed issue (I think so) with RTT not working anymore after you used either the AO or some of the map render types from TexTools. (I think the issue was that I set the ...bakeEnabled = false; after the bake, and that option is not availbel in the default 3dsmax RTT window).
  
• Multi Object: (Max2008+)
  currently supported and or made compatible (about 30% of the tools):
  • open/close UV editor
  • Render: Wire
  • Render: Mask
  • Explode UV faces
  • Split by smoothing groups
  • pack UV space
  • Relax Faces or edges
  • Stitch edges
  • Crop
  • Iron
  
• Texel:
  • Pick and Set texel density have been merged in 1 button. Left click = pick texel density, right click applies a texel density on one or more objects.
  • applying texel Density now does not select UV faces and get stuck in the modify panel. That way selecting multiple objects or just one single behaves the same.

Multi Object Unwrap
As you might heard or read before I started on porting many of the functions towards the max2008 multi object UV editing compatibility but because I still want to keep functions compatible with max9 and that new setup requires a different architecture things aren't that easy to translate.
The following features are for example not yet supported in this mode:

• Missing on this:
  • Align edge shell
  • Mirror
  • Pelt
  • Peel mapping
  • Rectify
  • Lineup/Linear
  • Normalize
  • Checker Map
  • Sort in row
  
• Not intended for the future at all:
  • Get / Set Texel
  • Swap UV/3D space
  • Bake Blockout map
  • Bake AO map
  • Bake Light Tracer Map
  • Bake Cavity map
  • Bake hard Edges
  • Bake Transfer Texture

quite a big post, I will try to update my website (renderhjs.net/textools) this weekend to match the new icons and tools to the ones already available here.

Hello Renderhjs,

Was waitting your new realease. Thanks a lot.

Noticed two small problems :

-I can install the script but after restarting max if i try to launche textools got a maxscript error :

filein ((pathConfig.GetDir #scripts)+"\\TexTools\\TexTools_3.00.ms");--launch the script.

-Second problem if i switch checker while pressing the "check" button everything work fine untill you want to be back to the original shader. It will be replaced by a basic grey material.

I get the same error :/

Edit; Ah, it's because our script directories are elsewhere so Textools gets installed there, but Max tells it that the script directory is still the default one, so it ends up looking for the file in the wrong place. Moving it over fixes that.

However elsewhere in the script, it looks for the #userScripts dir to get the images (as opposed to the #scripts dir that it looks for the textools main .ms file). So it ends up looking in two different places throughout the script.

Edit edit; Yep, fixed now. Nice one

ah thanks that was a stupid error, fixed it
http://renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/t...Tools_3.00.mzp
so download and install again and then it should work after you quit max

edit: @Talon yes it was just because of that as the installation has moved from the 3dsmax program folder to the local user data folder which doesn't require admin rights and works with win vista and win7 versions.

Wow, still at it I see!
This is a great contribution to the 3d community. Thanks a lot man, your awesome!

thanks a ton. this tool made my life easier.

Nice work man! Thanks for sharing this, these are a HUGE time saver for me.

That seam fixing thing is pure witchery!

WITCHERY!

I lightly tested it out at work on max2010 vista 32bit. I'll test it at home later tonight on more systems a bit more thoroughly.

I love the look of the new layout!
Nice and simplified but with all the same functionality, awesome.

The documentation is really good.
Thanks for putting in all the time on that its one thing that really helps new users and is almost always over looked by the author.

I really like the new type in floater.
Some great options in there like the quick pivot align, its great, as are the Align Shells, those are going to be super handy in the future.

- Is there a way to center the quick pivot align again without re-selecting?
Maybe right clicking the button resets it or click in the center?

- Also no undo functionality for the align shells?
MoP has an easy hack fix for that (might have come from Perna), I think you move the selection by 0 0 0 and it gives it a function to undo. You probably know what I'm talking about and there's probably a reason it won't work but undo would be great if you can swing it.

- The main toolbar doesn't follow along by default?
I have to go into setup and toggle the "Dock to UV Editor" check box for it to attach.

- Is the normalize script the most recent version?
MoP, recently updated it with some great improvements mostly speed, and he might be working on a few more upgrades?

Originally Posted by Vig

I lightly tested it out at work on max2010 vista 32bit.

- The main toolbar doesn't follow along by default?
I have to go into setup and toggle the "Dock to UV Editor" check box for it to attach.

I think this is because renderhjs doesn´t like the attach behaviour

@renderhjs:

I know i´ve said that before, but i love you for this tools, great job

Sweet. Thanks again, and as always Render. You rock.

Thanks for this, renderhjs! Giving it a whirl right now.

Yes, I use your tools for Uv'ing, love the feature that renders the uvmaps to the clipboard, so simple and quick.

Downloading.

Thanks!

Thanks Renderhjs for the fix.

-What about the problem with the "check" button exposed into my first post. Actually if i use the check button i must re assign the original shader after wich is not really friendly.

-An other problems found : if you call textools with a macro script without selecting any object. maxscript will enter into an infinite loop --> Must kill 3dsmax task and restart.

beautiful.
Getting now. Thanks.

*hugs*

Works flawlessly on Vistax64 w/max2010 - thanks renderhjs! You da man

hey renderjs, hope you had fun in syd on aus day ,
just a question - the 'website' link points to version 2.9 - and says that is compatible with max 2008..
is it the same requirements for version 3> (i.e. will it work on max 2008 aswell?)

Thanks a lot Renderhjs! This is a must have for every max user.

this is awesome man! I was playing with the camera mapping, and it went smoothly up until I tried pasting the texture into photoshop, what I had painted was correctly there but it had tons and tons of weird purple square artifacts on it. I have a feeling it just might be the computers in my schools lab... I havent tested it on my desktop yet.

here's a pic:

Originally Posted by BlackulaDZ

...I tried pasting the texture into photoshop, what I had painted was correctly there but it had tons and tons of weird purple square artifacts on it.

thats the masking color, its the area that is not visible to the camera. It should be a magenta color (RGB: 255,0,255). Because clipboard bitmaps don't support transparency this is the easiest way to select unneeded parts with the magic wand tool in Photoshop with a tolerance of 0 and not anti-alias.
Also make sure you always copy merged from Photoshop (copy to clipboard what you see, no transparency stuff, usually [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [C])

Originally Posted by Cathodeus

Thanks Renderhjs for the fix.

1. What about the problem with the "check" button exposed into my first post. Actually if i use the check button i must re assign the original shader after wich is not really friendly.
2. An other problems found : if you call textools with a macro script without selecting any object. maxscript will enter into an infinite loop --> Must kill 3dsmax task and restart.

1. But where to store it?, sure I could drop it somewhere in the material editor but materials are actually applied and stored with objects. Maybe in a future version, right now maybe think of it as just a UV mapping or texturing stage where shaders and materials are done after that.
2. can't reproduce this, even restarted max and run a few macro scripts. Though i updated the script to only execute any macroscript if the textools stuff is actually loaded.

updated and fixed some smal undo stuff:
http://renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/t...Tools_3.00.mzp

I see... I have only one layer though, with no transparency, I flattened all my layers before exporting.

or just hit ctrl+shift+c, thats a very essential PS shortcut anyway.

great job on this BTW. I have n' t had chance to try all the features, but love the mirror uv's function. real time saver. I like watching as it cycles through the uv's.
I should get out more

Its mucks it up occasionally, but that's probably where the uv's are not totally identical either side.
not sure if it identifies symmetrical uv islands though

thanks for share. great work! you rock