Shelf buttons for loading and unloading Maya plugins are very useful and, as a matter of fact, I use them every day. I'd want to clarify that this method is not mine, but I don't remember where I read it, so I cannot give notice of copyright nor the right credits. I hope to correct this post as soon as possible.
Loading the plugin: we can copy (fixing the path to the plugin) the following lines to the Script Editor, select the text and drag it to the Shelf Bar:
{
string $pluginFile = "c:\\path\\to\\plugin.mll";
loadPlugin $pluginFile;
}
Unloading the plugin: same as above.
{
string $pluginFile = "c:\\path\\to\\plugin.mll";
if ( `pluginInfo -query -loaded $pluginFile` &&!
`pluginInfo -query -unloadOk $pluginFile` )
file -f -new;
unloadPlugin plugin.mll;
}
Best regards.