The Illinois of Art, Chicago	Programming for the Artist
	Instructor: Lindsay Grace

 

Mel Interface Link Tutorials:

Interface is perhaps one of the easiest places to begin your education in MEL script. The practical use of being able to customize the MEL interface, coupled with the ease of understanding fundamental concepts in user interface make this a good place to start. If you want to get a thorough understanding of why we use specific interface elements, I'd suggest reading this list from Microsoft Developer Network. It rearticulates the logic behind using specific interface elements for specific goals and problems. User interfaces are always pursuing the illusive "intuitive interface", but i'm most concerned that you make intelligent choices in how your MEL script works. You have already had at least one course in interface design, so some of this might be review.

I like this list of MEL controls because it's easy to understand. In short, we will be using the following controls, although there are more available to you:

• Text Box: For single, unpredicted, disparate numerical values or string values.
• Slider: For ranged values, especially when you know the range. You can pair this with text box
• Check Box: For a boolean situation, such as choosing whether or not to display verts.
• Button: For executing a task, such as an update, it's useful as your "go" button.

 

If you would like specific examples of implementing controls, I suggest the following resources. They act as tutorials for people learning to build interfaces in MEL.

MEL Window Shopping: This is another useful, step by step walk through. If you don't like the austere, technical writing of the previous link, you may prefer this one. This one is a little more fun to read.

MEL User-Interface Creation Documentation: This is useful, step by step walk through of creating a window, adding controls and assigning actions to those controls. It includes help in understanding how MEL form layouts assist you in designing the interface.

Last modified August 31, 2008.