Appendices >
Environment variables

Environment variables are text strings that contain information to dynamically configure a software application when it is launched. For example, to specify a particular drive, directory path, preference setting, or file name that may be required.

Environment variables can be set locally for a single user account by the user or more globally for an entire system of users by a system administrator.

In Mudbox, the following environment variables can be set to configure Mudbox in specific areas. They are intended to be optional, and address specific situations that may not be encountered by the majority of users.

For information on setting environment variables for your system, consult the user help for your particular hardware platform and operating system.

Environment Variable | Platform | Usage/Notes:
--- | --- | ---
MUDBOX_USER_DOCUMENTS_PATH | Windows (32 and 64 bit) | This environment variable overrides the default directory path specified for Mudbox (Windows only) to address a limitation where directory paths containing double-byte characters (such as found in Japanese, Korean, Chinese languages) cannot be read or written to for user settings and preferences. When this variable is set, user settings and preferences are stored in a sub-directory of the specified path(s). Users data files are also stored by default to a sub-directory of this path, but this path can be modified using the window that appears when Mudbox is first launched. This environment variable must be: Set to an absolute directory path that already exists. Set to a value/path that contains single-byte characters (Latin alphabet) only.
MUDBOX_FORCE_GPU_RAM | Windows (32 and 64 bit) | Overrides the amount of GPU memory that Mudbox detects. This is meant to address a limitation on some systems where Mudbox detects an incorrect GPU memory value, causing unnecessary warnings to appear as you work with layers. Set this value between 256 and 4096 MB. Non-numerical values are ignored. For example, if Mudbox reports 1 MB of memory and your GPU actually has 1.5 GB, set this variable to 1536 (1.5 * 1024). TipTo determine whether Mudbox detects an incorrect memory value, verify your GPU memory in the nVidia or ATI Control Panel, then compare to the value listed in Mudbox (Help > System Information.)
MUDBOX2011_SKIP_OSX_VERSION_CHECK | Mac OS X | This environment variable disables the warning message that appears at startup when Mudbox detects that the Macintosh operating system does not meet the minimum hardware qualifications. Use of a non-qualified operating system may adversely affect the expected operation of the application. For more information, see http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-systemrequirements.
MUDBOX2011_SKIP_GRAPHICS_CHECK | All | This environment variable disables the warning message that automatically appears at startup if Mudbox detects that the graphics hardware and or related drivers on the computer do not match qualified specifications. Use of non-qualified graphics hardware and related drivers is unsupported and may adversely affect the expected operation of the application. For more information, see http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-hardware.
MUDBOX_NO_COMPRESS_TIFF_LZW | All | This environment variable specifies that TIFF image files are exported from Mudbox by default without LZW compression. A value is not required for this environment variable. This provides compatibility for software applications that do not support LZW compression in TIFF image files.
MUDBOX_PLUG_IN_PATH | All | Mudbox searches for any plug-ins at specific locations depending on the operating system. For a description of these locations, see File environment. Additional search paths can be specified for user-defined plug-ins using this environment variable. For example, users working in a production environment can place their plug-ins in a common shared location (server) or in a location that is project-specific. Users can specify either absolute paths, or relative directory paths. When relative paths are specified the variable: $MUDBOX_LOCATION should precede the relative file path. For example, if Mudbox is installed on Windows at C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Mudbox<version> this becomes the value used by the $MUDBOX_LOCATION variable. In that situation the relative path specified might be: $MUDBOX_LOCATION\plugins\game_project_plugins
MUDBOX2009_SUBDIVIDE_SMOOTH_UV | All | This environment variable alters how the Smooth UVs property works when subdividing a model. When this environment variable is set, the Smooth UVs property works as it did in Mudbox 2009. That is, the entire UV shell, including its UV borders, are smoothed when subdividing a model whenever the Smooth UVs property is turned on. If this environment variable is not set, the default Mudbox 2010 UV smoothing behavior occurs. That is, smoothing only occurs for the interior UVs in a UV shell, leaving the UV shell border edges unsmoothed. Which UV smoothing method you choose to use is entirely dependent on your individual rendering pipeline requirements and render application used. For more information on the Smooth UVs property, see Mesh menu.