Can I Key String Attributes? And How Do I Find Them? (sort Of Newbie)

[zboy]

I'm hoping to create a small script that holds keyframe based notes . . .
Basically I create an object, add some attributes with the "string" data type, and use a window to add data to them. I don't seem to have trouble keying those attributes and the string data from the script editor (at least I don't see any trouble), but when I use any of the functions (i.e. keyframe -q object.attr) I don't get any results. It's as though the string attributes aren't adding any "real" keyframes to the attributes. Do you guys (and/or gals) know any way that I can access this keyframe info? Basically, I just want to find out if there is already a keyframe on these string attrs. Thanks in advance.
edit
Actually, looking closer, there may be an issue with the keys "sticking". I don't get any errors when setting them (setAttr object.textattr -type "string" "text"; then setKeyframe -at textattr -ott "step" -t (currentTime -q) object;) but they don't seem to be sticking, as it were. Any ideas?

[kurianos3d]

Hi

I think if you add a key in your object attr then use

keyframe -q l_hand_ctrl.rz

sure it will give keyframe value

[zboy]

Thanks, but that's not the problem. That works fine on standard attributes.
The question is whether string-type attributes can be keyed. If they theoretically CAN be keyed then one) how do you set the keys for them in MEL and two) how do you access that keyframe info. Just playing around, I'm beginning to think you can't key string attributes, which stinks (for me). Anyone know about this?

[kurianos3d]

Hi

HMMMMMM

sttribute type is string then ??????

:sad

[joojaa]

No, they cant be keyed, i dont know what on earth possessed you to think you could. Keyframes imply its somesort of mathematical value that can be interpolated. And im pretty sure no one has yet taken the concept of interpolating words up yet. You can offcourse keyframe allmost everything else in maya because its numeric in nature.

infact theres little idea of pushing tetuual data trough the dg, altough would certainly be possible to implement. But on the border of pointless, since it imutable on its way so one mightaswell push it the whole way by himself. Angain such mutators could be made, but taht too is kindoff pointless.

Anyway it is certainly possible to change them outside of the dg context with setAttr -type "string" like construct, now you can put this intoa expression node but as said it works outside of dg and thus has certain update problems associated with it.

hmm what would be the inetrpolated value between cat and dog with a catmul-rom iterpolation? Elephant?

[zboy]

Can you also tell me how to make the tangents between the strings splined?
(kidding)

Thanks for the rply. Obviously, I'm not much of a MEL guy, though I'm trying to learn. The point of my trying to key the strings was so that I could store a bunch of data that would be easily retrievable and that would persist when I close and open the project. I know there must be some way to do this (rather, I hope). Any thoughts on a basic approach how? They definitely don't need to be editable in any way, just some way to hold string info and retrieve it.