Reading .mel into Maya

To bring the .mel file into Maya, first load up the Script Editor. To do this, go to Window->General Editors->Script Editor…Then, choose File->Source Script. This will bring up a file dialog box.Locate your new .mel file and select OK. This will source your .mel script and create the model (see Figure 3). You now have a basic model which you can color, light, animate and render.

Each element and all bonds in the new model have been organized into a logical hierarchy. Bring up the Hypergraph (Window->Hypergraph) to facilitate simple selection of each group of elements or bonds (See Figure 4).

Moving the Model to Other Programs

If you are interested in animating or manipulating the model in a program other than Maya, you will need to export the model. The model can be exported in IGES, DXF or OBJ formats.However, if you are interested in working with the model inside Softimage 3D, you can use Lambsoft’s MoveTools.This package transcodes entire scenes between Maya and Softimage, preserving all coloring, lighting, texturing, animation and hierarchy.

Planned Improvements

A few additions to mol2mel are planned. First, the ability to specify new radius values for the individual elements will be included. Currently, element sizes are based on the Van der Waal values taken from Cerius ².Second, mol2mel will eventually automatically assign default coloring to each element group, based on standard elemental coloring schemes used in molecular modeling (i.e. Oxygen=red, Hydrogen=white, etc.).

More Information

Cerius²http://www.msi.com.
Mayahttp://www.aw.sgi.com/maya/
MACCS formathttp://www.mdli.com
Softimagehttp://www.softimage.com

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