David Shepstone
Article

Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2 Update Now Available

Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2 is now available, bringing rebuilt tools, one-click toolbar actions, Maya hotkey support, cleaner installers, and toolkit-wide stability improvements for animators using Autodesk Maya.

Animation Tool Kit ATK Maya Tools Autodesk Maya Animation Tools Maya Plug-in Maya Toolbar Rigging Tools Animator Workflow Xform Copy Paste AnimSnap Reset Tool Wire Shape Tool Smart Select Sets SavePlus 3D Animation Animation Software Software Update v1.1.2
Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2 Update Now Available

Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2 Update Now Available

Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2 is now live. This update focuses on making the toolkit cleaner, faster, and more reliable for everyday animation work in Autodesk Maya.

The latest version can be downloaded from the Software page on my website:

Download the latest version from shepstone.ca/software

You can also visit the dedicated Animation Tool Kit page here:

Animation Tool Kit page


What’s New in v1.1.2

This update includes rebuilt tools, improved toolbar actions, Maya hotkey support, and several toolkit-wide cleanup fixes.

Some of the main improvements include:

  • Rebuilt and upgraded animation tools
  • New one-click toolbar actions
  • Maya hotkey support for key utilities
  • Cleaner installer behaviour
  • Improved PySide6 compatibility
  • Removed stale cached files and old compiled bytecode
  • General toolkit-wide stability improvements

One-Click Toolbar Actions

Version 1.1.2 adds faster one-click toolbar actions for frequently used tools.

AnimSnap

AnimSnap can now snap one selected object to another instantly, making it quicker to align controls, props, or scene objects during animation work.

Reset Tool

Reset Tool now includes faster one-click reset options for selected transforms, helping animators quickly return controls to clean default values.


Maya Hotkey Support

This release adds proper Maya hotkey support for several tools, including:

  • Xform Copy Paste
  • AnimSnap
  • Reset Tool

The new hotkey setup dialog lets users assign key combinations directly inside Maya. These bindings are saved to the user’s Maya hotkey set and can be managed through Maya’s Hotkey Editor under Custom Scripts.


Tool Improvements

Xform Copy Paste 2.0

Xform Copy Paste 2.0 has been rebuilt with a cleaner interface, better feedback, and improved handling for locked or connected channels.

This makes it more reliable when working with animation rigs, especially when controls have locked channels or driven attributes.

Wire Shape Tool 2.0

Wire Shape Tool 2.0 now includes a reorganized shape library, live search, and new rig-ready controller shapes.

New shape options include:

  • Diamond 3D
  • Triangle
  • Hexagon
  • Root
  • Gear
  • Pole Vector
  • Foot
  • Eye Target
  • Flag

This version also introduces an Offset Dummy builder for cleaner control setups and layered offset groups.

Smart Select Sets 2.5

Smart Select Sets 2.5 has been updated with a cleaner category system, a better create dialog, shelf-button support, duplicate group options, faster filtering, and fixes for scene-event callback leaks.

SavePlus 2.0.5

SavePlus 2.0.5 includes cleanup improvements for duplicate close events, file monitoring behaviour, logging, and the overall ATK-styled interface.


Toolkit-Wide Cleanup

Version 1.1.2 also includes package-wide maintenance and cleanup work.

This includes:

  • Cleaner installer text
  • Re-synced embedded installers
  • Updated deprecated Qt calls for PySide6 compatibility
  • Removed old compiled bytecode files
  • General stability improvements across the toolkit

These updates help make Animation Tool Kit easier to maintain and more stable for future releases.


Download Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2

The latest release is available from the Software page on my website:

Download Animation Tool Kit v1.1.2

You can also view the GitHub release notes here:

View the GitHub release


Installation

To install the update:

  1. Download the latest package.
  2. Extract the downloaded file.
  3. Drag install_atk_toolbar.mel into the Maya viewport.
  4. Restart Maya if needed.

If you already have an earlier version installed, run the installer again to update the toolbar package, refresh the shelf button, and clear out older cached scripts.