does it need to be stativc or is there a need to change the button color on the fly if you ever happen to go and select the object?

Hi there,

Well if you need the color of button changing automatically when you select a sphere or anything for that matter then you will have to use "scriptJobs" ...
If you're new to mel scripting then you might find it a little difficult to set this up but anyways here is an eg:

$scrJob1 = scriptJob -e "RecentCommandChanged" "colorChange";
$scrJob2 = scriptJob -e "SelectionChanged" "colorChange";
$scrJob3 = scriptJob -uiDeleted ropeWindow ("killScrJobProcedure " + $scrJob1 + " " +$scrJob2);

here RecentCommandChanged tracks command changing in maya and
SelectionChanged tracks selecting and deSelecting.

"colorChange" is the procedure to update i.e. change of the button color

So using this you can have your procedure("colorChange") setup to change color of the button.

proc buttonColorUpdate()
{
button -edit -bgc 0 0 1 button1;
}

after you have initialised the scriptJob's its really important to kill them else they keep eating system resources. So you will have to have a kill scripts procedure.

eg:

global proc killScrJob(int $scrJob1, int $scrJob2)
{
scriptJob -k $scrJob1;
scriptJob -k $scrJob2;
}

Hope this helps you
Cheers....

amit.

here's the sample code

I hope this solves your purpose

proc colorChange()
{
string $selObj[] = ls -sl;

if($selObj[0] != "nurbsSphere1")
{
	button -e -bgc 1 4 11 -l "   do Something" -w 100 -align "left" "myButton01";
}
else
{
	button -e -bgc 3 44 8 -l "   do Something " -w 100 -align "left" "myButton01";

}

}

proc ccUI()
{
if(window -ex myWindow01)
deleteUI myWindow01;

window 
	-title "some Window" 
	-wh 100 100
	myWindow01;
showWindow myWindow01;

int $scrJob1 ;
int $scrJob2 ;
int $scrJob3 ;

// Initialise Script Jobs
$scrJob1 = `scriptJob -e "RecentCommandChanged" "colorChange"`;
$scrJob2 = `scriptJob -e "SelectionChanged"     "colorChange"`;
$scrJob3 = `scriptJob -uiDeleted myWindow01 ("killScrJob " + $scrJob1 + " " +$scrJob2)`;	

formLayout myFrmLyt;

button -l "   do Something" -w 100 -align "left" "myButton01";

formLayout -e
	-af "myButton01" "top" 20
	-af "myButton01" "left" 10
	myFrmLyt;

}

proc killScrJob(int $scrJob1, int $scrJob2)
{
scriptJob -k $scrJob1;
scriptJob -k $scrJob2;
}

ccUI;

You can parent the scriptjobs to the window, so you don't have to kill them extra and they are killed, when you kill the window.

CODE
scriptJob -e "SelectionChanged" "colorChange" -parent myWindow01;

and you can define vars as you process the command:CODE
int $scrJob1 = scriptJob -e "SelectionChanged" "colorChange" -parent myWindow01;

but when you parent.. of course you don't need the numbers at all.

hehe.. my reply was more for amitkhanna than for you. I just read what youwanted to do:

But your definition isn't final: I try to sketch the situation:

You got a scripted window with a button in it, right?
Now you select a sphere and the button shall turn blue just as you selected it?

Or is there something else you do to do the check? Of course you can make another button and a procedure that checks if there is a special object in your selection: e.g.:

CODE
global proc checkMySelection ()
{
   //ls :very usefull list-command// -sl is for selection// "[]" because ls returns an array
   string $sel[] = ls -sl;
   string $itemToCheck = "pSphere1";
   int $itemIsInSel; //if you set an int its 0 by default
   for ($item in $sel)
   {
       if ($item == $itemToCheck)
           $itemIsInSel = 1;
   }
   if ($itemIsInSel)
       print "Item IS in your selection!\n"; // or turn your button color
   else
       print "Item is NOT in your selection!\n"; // or turn your button color
}

But if you want it like described first: To change the color of the button as you pick it your object of desire thats an event that has nothing to do with you window at all. You have to create the window with a scriptJob parented to it, so this job acts if the window is open and is killed if you close the window.

Its really not a big deal. You gonna dig it!! CODE
{
   if (window -ex myWindow) deleteUI myWindow;
   window myWindow;
   columnLayout;
   button -bgc 1 1 1 myButton;

   scriptJob
       -parent myWindow
       -event SelectionChanged "checkMySelection";

   showWindow myWindow;
}

global proc checkMySelection ()
{
   //ls :very usefull list-command// -sl is for selection// "[]" because ls returns an array
   string $sel[] = ls -sl;
   string $itemToCheck = "pSphere1";
   int $itemIsInSel; //if you set an int its 0 by default
   for ($item in $sel)
   {
       if ($item == $itemToCheck)
       {
           $itemIsInSel = 1;
       }
   }
   if ($itemIsInSel)
   {  // sometimes the buttons are not updated ot once so make it invisible first
       // and visible again
       button -e -vis 0 -bgc 0 0 1 myButton;
       button -e -vis 1 myButton;
   }
   else
   {
       button -e -vis 0 -bgc 0 1 0 myButton;
       button -e -vis 1 myButton;
   }
}

I only wanted to ask if he really needs a scriptJob...

Yea its cool to parent that jobs. Saves a lot of stuff.

Yeah he mentioned he is new to mel,

It might be possible he finds it difficult at first to understand scriptJobs...anyways best of luck patbb

"hey any idea on how to implement progressBar ???" iam really stuck at it

i want to monitor progress of file being exported... i have asked in my other post but hant got any reply yet...

Thanks,
Amit