Shelf Window - UI Overview |
The Shelf Window looks slightly different depending on which context it was launched from |
Tabs |
Tabs are the visual representations of Folders on your hard disc.You can add as many tabs as you wish to organize your presets.
By default The Mask Shelfs have two Tabs
- Smart Masks
Smart Masks are presets for creating procedural edge wear and weathering effects using Ambinet Occlusion and Curvature
- Proedurals
Procedurals are non-destructive nodes and generators for patterns, grunges etc.
The tabs 'Smart Masks' and 'Procedurals' are locked by default but can be unlocked via the Preferences |
Tab Controls |
Buttons in the upper right corner of the Window interact with the Tabs - adding, renaming, thumbnail size and display mode
Create a new Tab
Allows you to add a new Tab to the Mask Shelf
A dialog will appear asking you to specify a Tab Name and a Save Location on Disc:
- Tab Names need to be unique
- The Destination Path can be a path from an existing tab in which case you get a duplicate
- The Destination Path can be shared by multiple people, allowing you to have a shared folder where added content updates for all team members
Tabs can be added for all members of team globally using an Environment Variable |
Create new Tab from Filter
Allows you to add a new Tab from the currently active Tab Filter.
A new dialog will appear asking to specify a Tab Name.
- Tab Names need to be unique
Delete current Tab
Removes the current Tab. Only the Tab is removed, not the presets on disc in the Save Location of the Tab.
This way you can at any time restore the Tab.
Rename current Tab
Renames the current Tab
Switch Preset View Mode
Presets in a Tab can be grouped together.
The Preset View Mode determines if items are shown grouped or 'exploded'
Icon Size
Determines the Icon Size of Presets
Tiny: |
35x35 px |
Small: |
58x58 px |
Medium: |
90x90 px |
Big: |
125x125 px |
Large: |
200x200 px |
Huge: |
400x400 px |
Filtering |
The Filter Bar allows to filter the current preset tab.
- Clear Filter
Removes the Filtering from the Filtering Field
- Filter Field
Filter the current Tab. Filtering is done by:
- Preset Name
- Preset Tags
Tags can be defined in the
|
Filtering Operators are
- Comma (,)____________
Separate multiple search terms or search term operators via a comma. If any of the terms in found the preset is displayed
e.g.: Scratches,2d,cracks will display any preset that has 'Scratches', '2d' or 'cracks' in its name or tags
- Plus (+)_____________
The Plus (+) operators stipulates a combination of terms that are required to be a filter match
e.g.: Scratches+2d will display any preset that has both 'Scratches' and '2d' in its name or tags
You can combine operators e.g. Scratches+2d,cracks+3d will display any preset that has
- 'Scratches' and '2d' in its name or tags
- 'cracks' and '3d' in its name or tags
You can easily create a new tab from the result of the filtering using the Create new Tab from Filter Button |
Preset Group Contents |
The Group Section of the Mask Shelf shows presets under the currently selected Group in the Main Preset Section.
Presets are only shown grouped if the Preset View Mode is set to 'Show Presets Grouped'
Groups, Presets belong to can be set in the
- Create Preset Dialog(s)
- Rename Preset Dialog
The Main Preset Section houses Presets. Right Mouse Clicking on Presets opens a context menu
Shelf Location |
The Shelf Location displays
- the current Tab's Save Location on Disc
- allows the reloading of the current Shelf
Preset Interaction |
The Preset Interaction Section of the Mask provides options to create new presets, import presets into Mari and launch Preset Specific
Bake Options.
For more information refer to the Working with Presets Page of this Documentation
Tags |
Tags allow you to define search terms for Presets that the Filtering Mechanism can discover.
Tags can be defined in the
- Create Preset Dialog(s)
- Rename Preset Dialog
Tags are displayed in the Tooltip of a Preset when the Mouse is above the Preset
Certain Tags trigger a change to the Preset Icon:
- Tag 'UV' or 'uv' adds a '2D' Indicator in the corner of the Preset Icon
- Tag '2d' or '2D' adds a '2D' Indicator in the corner of the Preset Icon
- Tag '3d' or '3D' adds a '3D' Indicator in the corner of the Preset Icon
- Tag 'random' or 'Random' adds a 'Randomness' Indicator in the corner of the Preset icon
Shelf Preferences to Unlock Default Tabs |
By default the two default tabs 'Smart Masks' and 'Procedurals' are locked meaning that you can't add, delete or change presets saved there.
The two locked Tabs and one unlocked, custom tab
A Preference is available to unlock these Tabs.
- Go to the Edit Menu in the Mari Main Window
- Open Preferences
- Go to the Misc Tab
- Scroll to the Shelf Group
- Tick Unlock Mask Shelf Tabs on
Making changes in the default Tabs cannot be undone without reinstalling Extension Pack ! |
Reset Shelf Size and Position |
The Size and Position of the Shelf Window is saved between sessions. If you ever need to reset its size and position to the default
go to
- Scripts Menu in Mari Main Window
- Choose either
- Nodegraph / Masks / Reset Mask Shelf Size and Position
- Layers / Reset Mask Shelf Size and Position
Shelf Environment Variables to add Tabs for all Team Members |
While adding Tabs manually is easy enough to do, maybe you want to set up a shared shelf for all your team members.
The easiest way to do this is by setting a global environment variable that will automatically add a Tab to all your team's shelves.
The Environment Variable to set is called MARI_EP_SMART_MASK_FOLDER and supports multiple paths separated with a semi-colon
Example
MARI_EP_SMART_MASK_FOLDER = \server\library\generalPresets;\server\ourProject\projectPresets
will create two Tabs:
- a tab called 'generalPresets' pointing to \server\library\generalPresets
- a tab called 'projectPresets' pointing to \server\ourProject\projectPresets
Preset Context Menu |
If you right click on any preset you get a context menu with a number of options and information.
Default Tabs have many options disabled by default unless you unlock them |
The right mouse click context menu for a preset and a preset group
Preset Name and Last Modified |
- Preset Name
Displays the current selection's preset name, or if a group is selected, the group name
- Preset Modification Date
Displays the last time this preset was updated
Set Preview |
- Set Preview from File
Allows you to select an image file from disc to use as a Preview for the currently active preset.
Preset Preview Files should not exceed 400x400 pixels |
- Set Preview from Snapshot
Allows you to set a snapshot of your Mari Viewport as a Preset Preview.
Show in File Browser |
Will open the Save Location of the currently selected Preset in a File Browser
Rename |
With a Preset selected the dialog allows you to
- Rename a Preset
- Define Search Tags for a Preset
- Define Groups for Presets
With a Group selected the dialog allows you to
- Rename a Group
Copy to other Tab |
Copies the currently selected preset to another Tab.
The two default presets 'Smart Masks' and 'Procedurals' cannot be copy targets |
Move to other Tab |
Moves the currently selected preset to another Tab.
The two default presets 'Smart Masks' and 'Procedurals' cannot be move targets |
Delete Preset |
Deletes the currently selected preset
The preset will be permanently deleted from disc |
Update from selection |
This option is only available in the Nodegraph Context |
Replaces the contents of the currently selected preset with the selected Nodes in the Nodegraph.
Preset Name, Tags, Grouping and Preview Thumbnail are maintained.
NEXT PAGE: Preset Interaction and Options
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