Interrupting and/or pausing batch render script

[Bobo]

If you are rendering by calling the render() method, you shoud use the built-in cancel mechanism as documented in the Reference.

The render() method provides an optional parameter Cancelled: where you can pass a by-reference variable which will contain true if you pressed Esc while rendering or false if not. You can then use an IF statement right after the render() call to see if the user pressed Esc and exit the loop if requested.

Before you call render(), make sure you have disabled cancel handling for scripts (it is disabled in Max 9 by default anyway) by setting escapeEnable=false so pressing Esc does not break your own code but only stops the renderer. If you want, you could set escapeEnable=true after exiting the loop.

[Pjanssen]

How in the world could I have missed that? :scream: I've literally been reading and searching through the reference for hours, but I just missed it.

Is it correct that you can only cancel the render() function by pressing the escape key? Or is there some other way to do it, or perhaps even fake the 'escape pressed' ?
I'm using max7 by the way.

Thanks for your help!

[distract]

you could use
if (keyboard.escPressed == true) do
and a return command or
while (keyboard.escPressed != true) for your loop.

cleaning up the scene (temp objects, etc.) will have to be
outside your loop then, or invoke it by checking the
return value for if it was escaped.

[Pjanssen]

I see, but the point is, I'd like to have a cancel button, rather than the ability to cancel the process by pushing escape. That'd be somewhat more userfriendly.

[distract]

either i´m not really getting the point or couldn´t you just check for the
pressed state of your cancel button then? and use a return or use it as
a "while" with your loop? i´m not sure how to also cancel the renderer using
that button but it should be able to break your other code using that.

[Pjanssen]

Yeah I've now got it set up like this: (a bit simplified of course)

global renderAborted = false;

function startRender = (
for h = settings.hStepsCompleted to settings.hSteps do (
if renderAborted then (
exit();
) else (

for v = settings.vStepsCompleted to settings.vSteps do (
if renderAborted then (
exit();
) else (
--render.
)
)

)
)
)
edit: sorry for the crappy formatting...

And then theres a button somewhere that can change the state of renderAborted to true.
The thing is, this does not cancel the current frame. Another problem is that in some cases (this time with other operations than rendering, for example the stitching of bitmaps), the button does not respond to any clicking at all, probably because max is so busy doing the stuff that should be cancelled...

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