Getting and Setting Attributes of Array elements

[paulbertino]

I'm very new to MEL, but I have wracked my brain already with "MEL scripting for Animators', the Maya online DOCS, and this forum - and to help prevent from going insane I thought I'd post my question/problem here:

In english:
1) I want to create an array of objects
2) access any element in the array (say [4])
3) and save the translate values of that object into a variable.
4) then apply those translation values BACK to that same object (sometime in the future).

What I'm attempting to do is create a script that remembers the translation values of a hierarchy of joints/objects, and then puts the joints back to their original positions later on. Yes - it sounds like bind pose.

To begin with, I've been trying to figure how to simply get translation info from ONE object in array, put that info into a variable, move the object, then apply the translation values stored in the variable. Is that asking for so much!?

What I've tried (among 10 million other things):
string $myobjects[] = ls -sl;
float $my_object2_translate = getAttr $myobject[2].translate;

Of course that doesn't work. But I was able to do this, but don't know if it helps:
float $mid_translate[] = getAttr ($one[2]+".translate");
// Result: 0 -1.953386 0 //

Ok, I created an array that is storing 3 values - uhm, now what?

Answers in the form of completed and working Mel Scripts are also welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[jeffd]

Looks like you have the right idea, but you are up against some syntax problems. Two big things that you are off on are the use of ` and the need to build the attr name string properly from your incoming string. So you would want your line of...

float $my_object2_translate = getAttr $myobject[2].translate;

to be...

float $my_object2_translate = getAttr ($myobject[2] + ".translate");

You need the ` to evaluate the MEL expression into the variable.

Also, get in the habit of using ls -sl -l to get the full names of the things you need to list. Someday, you will run into a situation in which you will have some scene in which you have same named things in two separate hierarchies and every script you have written in the past breaks because of it. Yep, I'm am speaking from personal experience

--JeffD

[paulbertino]

Thanks for the quick reply...

This:
float $my_object2_translate = getAttr ($myobject[2] + ".translate");

only worked when I declared the variable as a float array (ie. float $my_object2_translate[]), as ".translate" returns 3 numbers.

This being so, how can I use this array of 3 floating point numbers, which I am considering XYZ coordinates, and 'plug' them back into the translation of my object?

Can I use a form of "setAttr" on an element in my array of objects? Man, I've got a million questions...I'm forcing myself to ask one at a time.

Thanks in advance

[jeffd]

Whoops, you're right. getAttr will return an array there.

To re-apply them using setAttr it would look like...

setAttr (myobject[2] +".translate") $my_object2_translate[0] $my_object2_translate[1] $my_object2_translate[2];

--JeffD