Distribute MGTools

If you just want to install MGTools in one single machine, check out the "Install MGTools" section at the left.

Distributing MGTools for Node-Locked License：Means installing MGTools to all the machines in your animation production, and batch register them, also make them easy to be updated.

They are much easier than it looks, all are pretty easy to understand and follow.

1.Visit http://twincodes.com to download the latest MGTools Pro package, extract it to a server directory. (Called it MGTools server source)

The server directory should be readable to all the animators' machine, of course you can make it non-writable to them but please keep the folder "MGTools_LicenseData" within writable to them.

2.Find a file called "InstallMGTools_InstallOptionPresets.txt" in the MGTools server source.
The file setups an initial installation option presets. It 's content is the same as the installation option page of the installation wizard.
With the file been setup, you no longer need to customize the install options in the installation wizard.
The most critical thing to do, is to change the option "> Install Mode:" to "Install As Server Program" or "Install As Full Server Program".

3.Save the change to the InstallMGTools_InstallOptionPresets.txt.

4.Make sure the "MGTools_LicenseData" folder is writable to all the machines that need the MGTools.

5.Install MGTools in every machine with the file "InstallMGTools_WrittenByMiguel.mel", in the installation wizard just keep clicking the next button and install.

6.If the MGTools_LicenseData folder in MGTools server source is writable to the machine, the installation will auto-submit a file to it.
The file contains the IP, userName, MGTools usercode info. Don't worry because these files are just for batch registering purpose.
They are submitted to your server, not mgland.com. And only usercodes are needed when purchasing MGTools later.

7.With all machines installed, the software manager, pick one of the machine, right click on the first icon of MGTools toolbar, select Register/Batch Register MGTools..

8.With an security confirmation dialog being clicked, the batch register dialog shows up:

9. Assuming MGTools are installed to 3 machine, as shown above, section 1 and section 2 show three computer information and usercodes.
If you find some machines haven't submitted the user code, go to that machine, and click on the first icon of MGtools/Register/Submit userCode to Server.. to manually submit it.

10.Click the "Copy" button to copy the usercodes in section 2 to clipboard. If this failed, just select the usercodes in section 2 and ctrl+c to manually copy them.

11.Go to mgland.com or twincodes.com to purchase MGTools Pro3 licenses, attach these usercodes when doing this, or email them to mgtoolspro@gmail.com afterward.

12.When you receive the authorization codes from mgtoolspro@gmail.com, the info will be of this form:
UserCode1 > AuthorizationCode1
UserCode2 > AuthorizationCode2
....

13.Copy these text, keep the form, and go back to the "2. Paste And Match And Batch Register" tab.

14.Paste the text in the section 2. Press "2.Match ->" button and the authorization code should be matched the computers correctly in section1.

15.Press the "3. Apply Register !!" button to actually write the register data into the files in the "MGTools_LicenseData" folder.

16.Restart Maya in every machine, the MGTools will be registered automatically.

17.Once locally registered, the register files in server source no longer needed by the local machines, you could make it non-writable to these machines, and keep it as the MGTools user list to help out the software management.

18.All done.

Tips: When there is a update for MGTools, pick an online machine to online update the server source, and for other offline machines, if you installed it as Full server mode, you need nothing but a restart of Maya. If you installed it as server mode, just let user right click on MGTools' first icon/Update/Update MGTools From server.. , this will get the latest program files from server.

Distributing MGTools for Floating License：You could just follow the 1~6 steps above to deploy MGTools in your pipeline.

To use floating license, checkout here.