Main UI

Top Menu

• This is where you can access various functions.

Information and Refresh

Info Field

• Displays the layer name of current selected curves. Only the string after the last '_' will be displayed in the info box. For example, if you have a layer renamed as hair_short, 'short' will be displayed.

Refresh Button

• Sometimes a layer is deleted or when a new Maya scene is opened, if you do not see the layers in the Main UI, try clicking on this button to refresh the layer list.

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Toggles and Creations

Display Toggles

• Toggle display on strand geometry or curves.

• You can MMB click on this icon to reset the visibility state on selected, or all, if nothing is selected.

Visit to learn more about Display Toggles

Isolate Strand(s)

• Isolate selected strands or layers.

Preview Shader Toggle

Visit to learn more about Shader and Layer Relations

Geometry/Curve Selection Mode Toggle

• When lock is green , geometry selection mode is active.

  • activating geometry selection mode will allow you to view UVs easier in the UV editor.

• when lock is red , curve selection mode is active.

PFX Draw Tool

• Opens the PFX Draw UI that allows drawing with a strand preset.

Visit to learn more about Draw Strand Tool

Create

• When curve(s) are selected, clicking on this button will create a new layer and a strand will be created.

• When multiple curve(s) are selected, you will be prompted to choose either create one layer for all curves or, a separate layer for each curve.

• When nothing is selected, clicking on this button will create an empty layer.

Strand Editor Button

• This is the main control window for selected strands.

Visit to learn more about Strand Editor

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Main Functions

"Tube" Builder Main Functions

"Card" Builder Main Functions

Copy

• Select a curve (or strand geometry if in geometry selection mode) to copy the curve settings.

Paste

• After a strand or (strands) is copied, 'Left Click' on the Paste button will display several pasting functions.

Visit to learn more about Copy/Paste

Duplicate

• Select curve, (or strand geometry if in geometry selection mode) and click on this button to duplicate the strand. Duplicated strand will be put in the same layer as the original selected curve.

Visit to learn more about Duplicate, Mirror and Flip

Mirror (Flip)

• Left-click on the Duplicate button will give you the option to mirror or flip across x, y, or z.

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Deformers:

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Smoothing (Tube Only)

• Enables the strand subdivision preview on selected strand curves. (This is the same function as hitting the default Maya hot key 3). This function is for previewing the tube strands if you have crease geometry set.

• If you are on geometry selection mode already, simply hit 3 will do.

Orient (Card Only)

• Select strands first, and shift select a base mesh, click on Orient. The tool will automatically set the rotation values so the cards are properly oriented to the base mesh.

Adjust the "Orient Sample Distance %" in the Scene Presets Menu to change the location on the strand curve where orientation references are sampled.

Normalize

• Run a smooth operation to selected curves (or strand geometry if in geometry selection mode) so the CVs on the curves will be more evenly spaced out.

Delete

• Cleanly delete selected strands.

To delete a strand, use this button instead of your keyboard's 'delete' key.

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