mzp builder

When working with large scripts in 3dsMax it's very practical to split the project up in multiple files. When done correctly this loosely resembles an object-oriented approach. Something that maxscript doesn't really support. While working with multiple files is easier than with a single large one, publishing them is more work. This script helps with that.

I like to publish my scripts as an mzp-file. This is a self-extracting zip-file built for 3dsMax. Within an mzp-file you can bundle scriptfiles, art,presets or other files and link special actions which are executed upon installation. Building such a file needs some manual work however. It's also very error-prone. I always have to check three times if everything is in place and have to edit my mzp-file after each try. This takes a lot of time and is frustrating. The mzpBuilder creates an mzp-file based on an ini-file you can fill in yourself. It also creates the run-file based on the data in the ini-file.Read more about the mzp-file in the maxscript documentation.

Using the ini-file makes the building process more consistent and a lot quicker. My script covers a small portion of the features of the mzp-files, but it's enough for me at the moment. I might expand upon this if needed.

Check out the project on github or download it directly.

You can also check out the blog for more info.