Additional Linux notes

This section provides information for configuring Maya to run on Linux, describes differences between Maya for Linux and other versions of Maya, and provides other information specific to using Maya on the Linux operating system. For complete information on limitations and possible workarounds, also refer to the Maya Release Notes.

Compiling plug-ins and standalone programs

To compile plug-ins and standalone applications for Maya 2019 on Linux, see Linux compiler requirements in the Maya Developer Help.

Maya uses some component libraries that may already exist on your system (for example, Qt, Python, OpenAL, Intel TBB, MKL, Cg). These libraries are installed in the /lib directory under your Maya installation directory, and should not interfere with the normal operation of your Linux system. In some cases, your system may include newer versions of these libraries, which may or may not be compatible with Maya.

Note: Maya requires its own versions of the Qt libraries to run properly.

Installing additional required packages and fonts

Not all system libraries required to run Maya are included in some default Linux installations. You can use yum to find any additional system-dependent library packages and get the required runtime libraries:

yum install mesa-libGLw
yum install mesa-libGLU
yum install libXp
yum install gamin audiofile audiofile-devel e2fsprogs-libs

The following libraries must be installed on your system in order to run Maya:

Dependent OpenGL libraries (vendor Nvidia/AMD supplied)

libGL.so from Nvidia/AMD 3rd party library
libGLw.so.1 from mesa-libGLw
libGLu.so from mesa-libGLu

Dependent X Windows libraries

libXp.so.6 from package libXp
libXmu.so.6 from package libXmu
libXpm.so.4 from package libXp
libXt.so.6 from package libXt
libXi.so.6 from package libXi
libXext.so.6 from package libXext
libX11.so.6 from package libX11
libXinerama.so.1 from package libXinerama
libXau.so.6 from package libXau
libxcb.so.1 from package libxcb

Dependent System libraries

libfam.so.0 from package gamin
libaudiofile.so.0 from package audiofile
libaudiofile.so from package audiofile-devel
libuuid.so.1 from package e2fsprogs-libs
libpthread.so.0
libc.so.6
libdl.so.2
libz.so.1
librt.so.1
libSM.so.6
libICE.so.6
libutil.so.1
libssl.so.6
libcrypto.so.6

Dependent applications

tcsh
This is a command language interpreter application. Run the command yum install tcsh to install.

Fonts

Maya also uses some fonts that may not be installed by default. Execute the following to install these fonts:

yum install xorg-x11-fonts-ISO8859-1-100dpi
yum install xorg-x11-fonts-ISO8859-1-75dpi
yum install liberation-mono-fonts liberation-fonts-common
liberation-sans-fonts liberation-serif-fonts

Standalone license installation with Consistent Network Device Naming enabled

If you are using standalone licensing on Fedora 14 and beyond with Consistent Network Device Naming (CNDN) enabled, note that the version of FlexNet that Autodesk is using does not support this naming convention. New systems intended to run Maya with a stand-alone license must be set up with the old style ethX device names.

(CNDN is enabled by default on Fedora systems. For Red Hat it is enabled on select Dell systems.)

Refer to the Red Hat and Fedora web sites for more information, and to search for methods of disabling CNDN:

Linux desktop configuration

To run Maya on Linux, certain default keyboard and mouse bindings must be changed from the factory settings. These default bindings prevent commands from being received by Maya, such as the ones that let you tumble or pan a view in a panel.

Different Linux window managers have different key bindings and different procedures for setting them. Linux systems are highly customizable, and many combinations of Linux system components are possible for use with Maya—more than can be described (or tested) by Autodesk.

The following instructions give the procedures necessary for changing the most common configurations.

KDE and Gnome desktop configuration

For Maya to work properly with KDE and Gnome, some modifications should be made to the mouse control. The default bindings of the Alt key and mouse buttons do not work well with Maya. Maya 2019 adds support to use the Meta (Windows) key to act as the Alt key for tumbling. If you want to use the Alt+mouse buttons for scene tumbling, ensure the bindings do not conflict.

Different versions of KDE and Gnome may have different methods of selecting the key bindings. See the KDE and Gnome documentation for instructions if the following steps don’t work for your particular window manager.

KDE under Red Hat

Open the KDE Control Center.
Select Desktop and then select Window Behavior.
Do one of the following:
- (Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 6.2) Open the Actions tab.
- (Fedora 14) Open the Window Actions tab.
In the following section:
- (Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 6.2) Inner Window, Titlebar & Frame
- (Fedora 14) Interactive Inner Window, Inner Window, Titlebar &
  
  Frame
For modifier key Meta, set all mouse action combinations to Nothing.
Click Apply and close the Control Center.

Gnome under Red Hat

Open the Gnome Panel.
Do one of the following:
- (Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 6.2) Select Applications, then Preferences and then select Windows.
- (Fedora 14) Select System, then Preferences and then select Windows.
In the Window Preferences dialog box, set the “To move a window...” key to Super.
(Setting either Control or Alt here can cause problems when using Maya.)
Click Close.