Softimage Startup Options

Softimage Startup Options

There are a number of startup options that can be used for starting Softimage. These options allow you to perform a variety of tasks. For example, you can control which license token gets grabbed at startup, and which component of Softimage to run, such as batch rendering or scripting. You can also specify a project list or scene to load, install and uninstall add-ons, and set workgroup paths: all at the command line.

To get a list of command-line options you can use when starting Softimage, type:

xsi -h

Usage

xsi [licensing options] <.scn file> 
   [-projlist <projectlistfile>]
   [-render|-export <batchrenderoptions>]
   [-script <scriptname> <scriptoptions>]
   [-i <.xsiaddon|.spdl file> <pluginoptions>]
   [-u <.xsiaddon|.spdl file> <pluginoptions>]
   [-l <filteroptions>]
   [-w <path>]
   [-migrate <previous user preferences path to migrate>]
   [-auxiliary_data <auxiliary data file>]
   [-uilang <languageid>]
   [-helplang <languageid>]

Licensing Options

Option	Description
-academic	Only grab an Academic license.
-advanced	When an Softimage interactive or processing session is launched, only grab an Advanced license.
-batchonly	When running in batch mode, Softimage will not fall back to an interactive license.
-essential	When an Softimage interactive or processing session is launched, only grab an Essential license.
-nobatch	When running Softimage in batch mode, Softimage will not grab batch tokens; instead, it will only use interactive licenses.
-nofallback	When an interactive or batch Softimage session is launched, only try the default or specified license (don’t fall back).
-processing	Grabs an Advanced Processing license or falls back to an Essential Processing license. Render is disabled with such licenses.
-thread <# MaxThread>	Specifies the maximum number of CPU intensive threads Softimage will use (render, compositing, etc.)
-trial	When an Softimage interactive session is launched, only grab a Trial license.

If both -essential and -advanced are present, then -advanced is ignored. If both -batch and -nobatch are present, then the application will not start because no license will match. All other combinations are good.

Command Line Options

Option	Description
-projlist <projectlistfile>	Specifies the project list to be imported in the Project Manager.
-r <batchrenderoptions>	Batch render according to batch render options.
-i[nstall] file <pluginoption>	Install add-on file which can be specified as either a .spdl or .xsiAddon file. By default, add-ons are installed in the factory root location and others are installed in the user root location; use -dest to specify a different location. File name wildcards are not supported.
-u[ninstall] file <addonoptions>	Uninstall the given .spdl or .xsiAddon file.
-l <filteroptions>	List user add-ons according to the filter options.
-w <path>	Set the workgroup to a given path. You can reference environment variables using the Linux-style syntax, for example: -w $wglocation
<.scn file>	Starts Softimage and opens the specified scene.
-migrate <previous user preferences path to migrate>	The -migrate option takes as argument a path containing preferences to be migrated to the currently running Softimage (the one executing the -migrate option).
-auxiliary_data <auxiliary data file>	Loads an auxiliary data file on startup. Data is automatically applied on post-load when the <.scn file> argument is also defined.
-script <scriptname> <scriptoptions>	Executes the specified script without launching the Softimage user interface. This is useful for performing batch operations on scenes.
-uiscript <scriptname> <scriptoptions>	Executes the specified script in the Softimage user interface. This is useful for performing batch operations that require the interface, for example, capturing realtime output in a custom display.
-uilang <languageid>	Specifies the language of the Softimage user interface: en for English or jp for Japanese.
-helplang <languageid>	Specifies the language for the online help: en for English or jp for Japanese.

For more information about project lists and loading scenes, see Projects [Data Management].

Batch Render Options with -render and -export

For more information on batch rendering and the render options available, see Batch Rendering [Rendering].

Script Options with -script or -uiscript

Option	Description
-lang <language>	Specifies desired scripting language (optional).
-main <function>	Specifies function entry point (optional).
-continue	Omits the continuation prompt (optional).
-args <argument list>	List of function arguments specified as -<argname> <argvalue> for each argument.

For more information, see Batch Rendering with Scripts [Rendering].

Plug-in Options with -i or -u

Option	Description
-dest <factory \| user>	Specifies the installation destination (default destination is user for SPDL and factory for Add-ons).
-run	Instructs Softimage to continue execution once the Add-on operations are done (optional).
-silent	Does not start a new shell to display the execution status.
-overwrite	If the item (such as toolbar,spdl, etc.) already exists, it will be overwritten.
For SPDL only:
-d name	Specifies the third-party installation directory (optional).
-n name	Specifies the plug-in name (optional, ignored if -d is not specified). The plug-in name can be used as a sub directory of the third party installation directory. Example xsi -i abc.spdl -d MyCompany -n TheABCPlugin This creates the following directory structure: <InstallPath>\Addons\MyCompany\TheABCPlugin\Application\SPDL

For more information about add-ons and how to install and uninstall add-on elements from the command line, see Sharing and Managing Customizations [Customization].

Filter Options

The filter options are all (the default), layout, tbar (toolbars), kmap (keyboard mappings), cmap (command maps), shader, cpset (custom parameter sets), and scriptop (scripted operators). You can also combine these, such as: “layout,tbar” or “cpset,scriptop” with no space between tokens.

Example

xsi -l layout,tbar

Migration Options with -migrate

Option	Description
-copy_only	Specifies a copy-only migration (no registration) of the previous user’s preferences.
-register_only	Specifies a register-only (no copy) of the user’s preferences (administrative privileges required).
-overwrite	By default, the -migrate option fails if the user’s preferences already exist. Use this switch to force the migration process and overwrite any existing user preferences.

Preferences migration can be done automatically during the Softimage Setup process.

Autodesk Softimage v.7.5