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Is it possible to copy bones, actions and vectors?

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 3:08 am
by FHUGO
Hi, I'm looking for a way to copy the rigging, actions and vector layer for a leg and also reposition it.

I have a side view of a rhino with the legs for the right side setup with rigging (all point binding) and actions that I want to copy to the left side.
I don't need to mirror them but I do need to offset them slightly and parent them back to the main rig.

Is this doable or am I better off copying the bones and layers and remaking the actions?

Re: Is it possible to copy bones, actions and vectors?

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:48 am
by Greenlaw
What I do is I save a copy of the project with the part I want to flip, and then rename the parts/actions in the new project. This process goes quickly since I'm typically just changing the letter L to an R at the end of each item's name. Next, I flip the part. Then I copy and paste the items back to the original project. Because the items were renamed in a different project, you don't have to worry about the new names conflicting with the original parts and actions.

Tip: Be sure you also copy the parent bone for your copied controls so when you reparent them you don't break their rotation values.

Alternatively, you can use MultRush's Transform Rig Tool: https://mohoscripts.com/script/mr_transform_rig_tool

This tool allows you to duplicate and edit rig parts and much more. That said, it's always good to learn how how to do things in Moho manually first before relying too much on third party scripts. This way, when the script fails or gives you an unexpected result, you'll understand why and you'll know how to fix the problem.

Hope this helps.

Re: Is it possible to copy bones, actions and vectors?

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:17 am
by lucasfranca
Greenlaw wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:48 am What I do is I save a copy of the project with the part I want to flip, and then rename the parts/actions in the new project. This process goes quickly since I'm typically just changing the letter L to an R at the end of each item's name. Next, I flip the part. Then I copy and paste the items back to the original project. Because the items were renamed in a different project, you don't have to worry about the new names conflicting with the original parts and actions.

Tip: Be sure you also copy the parent bone for your copied controls so when you reparent them you don't break their rotation values.
Hope this helps.
Interesting that, but I did some unsuccessful tests here. Can you explain better how you do it and how to flip the part? Thanks in advance!

Re: Is it possible to copy bones, actions and vectors?

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 5:04 pm
by Greenlaw
Yeah, I should do a walk though. It was pretty late when I wrote that and was writing off the top of my head so it's possible I missed something in my description or it's too vague.

I'll see if I can whip up an example later today if I have time.

Re: Is it possible to copy bones, actions and vectors?

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 7:57 pm
by FHUGO
I had a good go at it by renaming all my actions and bones such that they all worked and then saved it and imported it into the main project. I did however run into 3 problems:

1. The point binding of the second set of legs I import are still colour coded and therefore bound to the bones of the first set of legs. (Only a 2 clicks to reparent each bone so not a huge deal)
2. I can't seem to reposition the bones and vector layers together so I still need to amend my actions for the inaccuracy
3. I have 2 actions for each bone for rotation CW and CCW e.g. 'B9' and 'B9 2'. I rename these to 'B9R' and 'B9R 2' and they work fine but then for whatever reason the 'B9R 2' will rename itself 'B9 2R' and break the action. It happens when I'm not looking so I must be hitting something that does this.

Apart from that it is a little faster than re-rigging. It would be great if I could lock the vector layer and corresponding bones together when repositioning so I don't have to touch up the actions.