Name the rig is the first step to build it.

"Master Name" will set the name of the future rig. Name this is obligatory. 
The names of the future rig objects breaks down as follows :
(nom)_setup_(class)_(description)_(side)_(numbers)_(vers.)

Namely, special characters are not allowed in the "Master Name".

To simplify the placement of construction helpers, 3 modes of creation are available: "Biped", "Quad. I" et "Quad. II". 
1. The "Biped" mode is more suited to create "biped" character rig. 
2. The "Quad. I" mode is more suited to create animals/creatures character rigs with front members of type arms (primates, rodents..).

In this section, the user can set the desired number of members for the future rig . For the first generation , it is necessary to check " Master Control" to create a controller general to the rig. When you want to create just one member, for example, to complete a rig existing, it is not necessary to check this option.

To create quadrupeds rigs, it may be necessary to add bones to members to improve the rig. With "Add quadruped bones" options you can add to the chain of bones right and left legs these additional bones.

In this section of the auto-rig, the user can set the number of fingers to the hand and to the feet and the number of bones desired for each finger chain.

The creation of the "Helpers Base" is the first and essential step in the creation of the rig. It generates a first draft of the future rig with helpers. The helpers, once positioned on the joints of your character, will allow the system to generate future rig. Two display modes are available "Sphere Mode" and "Helpers Mode", the two modes are interconnected and do not change the final result, only how to place helpers differs.

The mode choice is according to your preference. A legend helps to know how to place helpers basis of marks depending on the mode (see image above).

Tips:
Good positioning of helpers is vital to get the best rig adapted to your character. A legend in the scene explains how to set up the helpers/spheres of "Base Helpers".

For starters, it is advisable to adjust the overall size of the "Base helpers" with the general controller nammed "XXXX_setup_Ctrl_MasterControl_G." Then each member of "Base helpers" has one helper/sphere master, spotted by their green color, to place in second time. Then, the red, blue and yellow helpers/spheres let completely adjust the rest of "Base helpers".

Namely:
The big helper of the spine nammed "Ini_Taille_pointChest_1SV" to define the future bones that will not affect by the optional squash of spine.

In this part, you will be able to set the number of bones for each member. A high number of bones improves the rendering of twists and cartoons options (curves and stretch) but will more complicated to skin and will use more ressources.

The reverses options should be checked when the joints move in the opposite direction relative to the direction of the common human joints, eg to rig a flamingo. The reverse option will prevent the bones flip when finalizing the rig.

During the work of placement of the base helpers, the "create preview rig" button gives you the opportunity to see a quick preview of the future rig. This step is required before finalizing the rig.

To facilitate the creation of the "base helpers", the auto-rig has options of symmetry. To make a symmetry of a member, open the symmetry module, select a helper/sphere of member as you want symmetrized and make the symmetry in the direction as you want with the appropriate buttons.

Use the Save and Open button to save a base helpers or load a base helpers. It is highly recommended to save the base helpers before finalizing a rig, it will quickly regenerate the rig when needed .

Namely, the creation of a rig can be paused and resumed at any time. Simply, save the current scene in the state then restart the scene and the script to resume yout work. The auto-rig will automatically resume to the state of the backup to finish the rig.

The rig options allows to add or to delete some functions to rig:.

FK/IK Solver : This future option will add to a rig an undifferentiated IK and FK system. 

FK Spines: add a FK animation system to the spine. 

Inter. bones: Intermediate bones can improve skinning in the joints and avoid the use of a maximum skin that quickly morph increasing red scene (see the image below).

The finalization is the last step in the creation of the rig. The auto-rig will generated the rig depending on the placement of base helpers previously defined. Once the rig finalized it is no longer possible to change the rig without regenerating a new base of helpers.

At the end of the finalization, it's possible to lock all the animation controller shapes to avoid to add useless animation keys on them and to slow down the scene.

"Delete rig" to remove a rig easily. With this method, however, it is important to enter the name of the rig in the edit text "Master Name".

2. choose the mode of creation "biped"

3. select the members usefull for the future rig and these numbers. For a standard character, we keep the standard parameters.

4. define the number of digits for the hands and the foots.

5. generate the "Base Helpers", which is a set of marks to guide the auto-rig to build the future rig.


Move the marks of the "Base Helpers" in function of the joints of your character. Two modes to define the marks position : Spheres and Helpers. A legend is display in the viewport to explain how to move the marks.

The position of the 4 marks of the foot (see above) will define the position of pivots of rotation of the IK foots. To easier skinning and get best result, I recommend to position the bones between the center and the exterior of the mesh of the joints (see example next to).

1. nammed the future rig.

2. choose the creation mode "Quad. II" corresponding to the quadrupeds with 4 members of type legs.

3. The mode "Quad. II" preselected the members necessary to build a standard quadruped (horses, dogs...). Of course, you can then modify the members as you want.

4. define tje number of digits as you want.

5. generate the "Base Helpers", which is a set of marks to guide the auto-rig to build the future rig.


Move the marks of the "Base Helpers" in function of the joints of your character. Two modes to define the marks position : Spheres and Helpers. A legend is display in the viewport to explain how to move the marks.

The position of the 4 marks of the foot (see above) will define the position of pivots of rotation of the IK foots. To easier skinning and get best result, I recommend to position the bones between the center and the exterior of the mesh of the joints (see example next to).

In this part, you can define the number of members you want for your future rig. When you generate the rig for the first time, it's necessary to check "Master Control" for create a master general on the rig. When you want to generate just a member, by exemple, to completed a rig already existing, it's not advisable to check this option.

After you create a member or a FK chain, to connect it to the rig, select the main control shape (yellow shape nammed "XXX_Ctrl_MasterXXX"), to press on the button "Connect at --> pick" and pick the object to which you want to connect the member to connect it.

Example with a leg :

1. Select the master of the leg.
2. Press the pickbutton "Connect at --> pick"
3. Select the object to which connect your leg.

To keep this option on the head or the arm that you want to connect to a rig, just check "Head relative to" for the head or "Arms control by" for the arms and select the object with which the head or the arms will be relative in picking it with the corresponding pickbutton.

To add the "cartoons" options, the auto-rig has need to be initialized. It is possible to add "cartoons" options on a members or on all the rig.

To add them on a specify member, pick his master shape. To add them on all the rig, pick the master general of the rig.

The stretch option allow to strech the members like an elastic. 

Once the cartoon menu initialize, just press on "Add Strech/Squash" to add the stretch option on the member or rig picked during the initialization.

When the stretch option is added, a "Squash/Stretch Controls" menu is available on the master shape of the member or members picked. This menu allow to activate the stretch in IK, or set the stretch in FK and also to set the squash force.

The curves options provide the ability to deform the members.

Once initialized cartoon menu, simply click on "Add Curve" to add the curve system on the member or the rig picked during initialization.

4 systems of rig for the curves: "Fast CV", "CV", "Skin" and "Script". The system of curves "Fast CV" is the last system of rig, normally it's the most faster and with the better compatibility with different version of 3ds Max.
The "CV" system is relatively similar, it's just more realistic but is slower. The "Skin" system is the old system of curves, it's a good system but not compatible with 3ds Max 2015. The "Script" system is a other system, compatible with any versions but very slower.

When the curve system is added, a "Curve Controls" menu becomes available on the master shape of control of the member or or members picked. This menu allows you to adjust the value of the curves of the joint member and its tangents value. A checkbox can also display control shapes to customize and animate curves.

Adding curves options allows to add "Delock Joints" option.

Once the cartoon menu initialized and options of curves added, you can add the possibility to animate the position of joints with this options 'Delock joints". 

This option will add an animation controller on each joints and the animator will be able to animate them.

 The scale option allow to enlarge or reduce the parts of a member.

To add this option, once the auto-rig initialized, just press on "Add scale" to add the scale option on the member or the rig picked during initialization.

When the scale system is added, a "Scale Controls" menu is available on the master shape of the member or members picked and allow to set the size of each part of member.

Once the cartoon menu initialized, just press on "Add Snap" to add the snap system to the member or to the rig initialized.

When the snap system is added, a "Snap Controls" menu is available on the IK shape on the member or on the members previously selected and allow to link/unlink the IK system of the member selected to any object during the animation.

Add link: Link the IK system to the picked object at the current frame.
Link to Walk: Link the IK system to the master of the rig at the current frame.
Link to Wordl Rig: Link the IK system to the world master of the rig at the current frame.
Link to World: Check the beside button to active it. Allow to link the IK system to nothink at the current frame.
Delete Link: Delete the link selected in the target list below. 

Start Time: allow to change the frame of the target link selected above.

The "Transforms" options allow to view the values of transformations (positions and rotations)  of the animation shape selected, to copy the values of transformations and paste them on an other animation shape or also to reset quickly the transformations of the animation shape.

To add this option, once the auto-rig initialized, just press on "Add Transforms Controllers" to add a "Transforms" menu on the member or the rig picked previously during the initialization.

The "Transforms" options can also be added on any personnal object or group of objects previously selected in pressing the "on selection" button.

The StretchBend system allows to add on any geometries, even if they are already rigged or have modifiers, etc... an overlay of modifiers to strech, bend and/or twist them.

To add this overlay, the object or the group of objects  must be added to the list of the script with the button "add mesh" after selected them. The system must be nammed with an unique name, then can be created with the "Create StretchBend" button.

Attention, the "Limit Effect" option is not accessible by script so you should be checked this options by hand to the system work properly. A message recall it before the finalization of system.

Once created, the box formed by the system must emcompass your object or group of objects to work properly. To set it, use the MasterStretchBend ( red shape created ) to position well the system and play with the values of height and of length/width to adjust its size.

The "Rig colors" options are useful to modified the color of the rig. Just select the master of the rig or of the member you want to set.

The "reset" button allows to back to the original colors.

"Lock selection" and "Unlock selection" allows to locked or unlocked the tracks attributes of any selected object of the rig. It's mainly usefull for the animation controllers to avoid to add useless animation keys when you animate and slow down the scene.

The "FK Chain" can quickly create a FK chain to rig a tail, a braid, etc... The FK chain will be able to be linked to the rig or others objects with the section "connect at".

To create a FK chain, you must frist name it. The master name of your chain is defined as the name of a rig.

The "FK Chain name" is the name you want give at your FK chain. Once defined names, the first step is to define the starting position of you FK chain and his main axis with the "Helper Base Direciton" button and the small arrow created (1).

Once the axis and the position set with the arrow, a first draft of the FK chain can be created with the "create" button and be set in rotation and position as desired by bones bones.

Once your FK chain, it can be finalized with the "Finalize" button and is ready to be animated.

== Connecting an FK chain to a rig ==

To connect an FK chain to object or member of a rig, the principle is similar to the connection of a member. Select the Main Control shape of the FK chain (yellow shape named "XXX_Ctrl_MasterXXX"), click on the "Connect at -> pick" then pick the object or the part of the rig to which you want to connect your FK chain.

== Stretch ==

To add the ability to stretcher your FK chain pouvroi to stretch it, select the primary controller of the FK chain (yellow shape named "XXX_Ctrl_MasterXXX") and add the stretch by simply clicking on the "Stretch" button.

== Spring ==

To add spring option on your FK chain to automatically generate delay in the movement, select the master controller of the FK chain (yellow shape named "XXX_Ctrl_MasterXXX") and add the spring by simply clicking on the button " Spring ".

 == Symmetry ==

Coming soon