Sei sulla pagina 1di 756

Basics

Copyright Notice
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Contents

Chapter 1

Interface overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Working in Maya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3D coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Maya Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Objects and components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Selection, tools, and actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Menus and menu sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Marking menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Shelves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Maya Web browser plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Autodesk Maya Error Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Get help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Customize the interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Print the Maya Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Work with menu items, tools, and options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Select tools and actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Set the options for a tool or menu item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Select actions from marking menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Select actions from the hotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Select actions on a shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Load the default shelves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Rearrange the interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Start Maya from the command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

iii

Install the Maya Web browser plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 2

Selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Select objects or components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select multiple components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select only unobstructed components . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select multiple component types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select a node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select only certain types of objects or components (selection masks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Save and reuse a selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select objects based on hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select components by painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soft Select components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change one type of selection to another . . . . . . . . . . . . Grow, shrink, or change the selected region of CVs or polygon components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Highlight components before selecting them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . 24 . 25 . 26 . 27 . 27 . 28 . 30 . 30 . 31 . 31

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Chapter 3

Viewing the scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35


Move and rotate the camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the ViewCube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Center the view on selected or all objects . . . . . . . . . . Return to previous views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change and resize panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change the panel layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create a window from the contents of a panel (tear off) . . . Control what camera is shown in a view . . . . . . . . . . . Show, hide, or change the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show information over top of a view (heads-up display) . . Change the display of objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects . . Show or hide objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide object-specific UI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show an isolated subset of objects or components in a panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change an objects wireframe color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . 35 . . . 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 . 42 . 42 . 43 . 43 . 44 . 44 . 45 . 45 . 46 . 46 . 47 . 48 . 48

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Chapter 4

Transforming objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

iv | Contents

The pivot point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . World space, object space, and local space . . . . . . . . Maya interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Construction history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Construction planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Copies vs. instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transform objects and components . . . . . . . . . . . Use manipulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lock a manipulator to the current selection . . . . Move, rotate, or scale objects and components . . Move, rotate or scale components proportionally . Use the Universal Manipulator . . . . . . . . . . . Move components with the Tweak mode . . . . . Move, rotate, or scale components with reflection . Change the pivot point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transform along different axes . . . . . . . . . . . Preserve textures during transformation . . . . . . Set transformation values to zero . . . . . . . . . . Align and snap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Snap to the grid, a curve, points, or a view plane . Snapping with live objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . Align objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position objects along a curve . . . . . . . . . . . Snap one object to another . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Undo, Redo, and Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit completed commands (construction history) . Show a custom manipulator for the selected node . Create and edit models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create geometric primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut, Copy, and Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Duplicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit component numeric values directly . . . . . . Transfer attribute values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Troubleshooting Manipulators and Transformations . . . Issues with manipulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Issues with transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 5

Nodes and attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95


Nodes and attributes overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Two views of the scene: hierarchy and dependency . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Scene hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Contents | v

Dependency graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Outliner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Hypergraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Node types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View and edit attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inline numeric calculation in multiple cells . . . . . . . . . . View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes . . . . . . Save and reuse attribute presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lock the value of an attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create, edit, or delete custom attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open multiple Attribute Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Control the display of attributes in the Channel Box . . . . . . View and change the hierarchy of nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View and edit the hierarchy of nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change the visual layout of nodes in the Hypergraph . . . . . Change the order of nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View and change input and output history relationships between nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) . . . . . . . . . Connect input and output attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connect attributes with an expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . Break connections between attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set a nodes update state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change the display of nodes and attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Control which objects or attribute types appear in an editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Save and reuse object or attribute visibility filters in editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. 100 . 101 . 102 . 104 . 107 . 107 . 109 . 110 . 112 . 114 . 115 . 116 . 117 . 117 . 118 . 118 . 120 . 121 . 122 . 122 . 123 . 124 . 125 . 125 . 126 . 126 . 127 . 128

Chapter 6

File

management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
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Managing your files . . . . . . . . . . Supported image formats (rendering) . Supported file formats . . . . . . . . . Create, open, or save a scene file . . . Autosave a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open recently saved files . . . . . . . Import files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Export objects to a new file . . . . . . Export objects directly to Mudbox . . Archive a scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . Export objects as a referenced file . . .

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Export and Apply Reference Edits . Organize files into projects . . . . View images or animations . . . . Recover data after a crash . . . . .

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Chapter 7

Scene management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147


Managing complex scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organizing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sets and partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Optimize scene size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organize objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change the name of one or more objects . . . . . . . . . . Make an object unselectable (template) . . . . . . . . . . . Organize objects on display layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit all objects on a layer at once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Group objects together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create and edit sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create nested sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annotate and measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annotate or document objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Measure the distance between two points . . . . . . . . . . Show parameter or arc-length values on a curve or surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 . 150 . 151 . 152 . 153 . 153 . 153 . 154 . 155 . 156 . 157 . 158 . 158 . 159 . 160 . 160 . 161 . 161

Chapter 8

Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Asset overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are assets? . . . . . . . . . Parts of an asset . . . . . . . . . Working with assets . . . . . . . What is encapsulation? . . . . . Published attributes and nodes . Asset templates . . . . . . . . . . Parts of an asset template . . . . Template file format . . . . . . . Assets and file referencing . . . . The Asset Editor . . . . . . . . . Asset workflows . . . . . . . . . Pre-planning Workflow . . Artist control workflow . . Artist workflow tips . . . . Creating and removing assets . . . . . Create assets . . . . . . . . . . . Preview the contents of an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 . 163 . 164 . 166 . 167 . 169 . 173 . 178 . 191 . 193 . 195 . 196 . 196 . 198 . 199 . 201 . 201 . 203

Contents | vii

Remove assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Navigating assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select asset contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set the current asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lock an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hide unpublished nodes and attributes . . . . . . . . Organize assets in the Channel Box . . . . . . . . . . Organize assets in the Attribute Editor . . . . . . . . Mark an asset with a custom icon . . . . . . . . . . . Navigate assets in the Hypergraph or Hypershade . . Expand and collapse assets . . . . . . . . . . . Lay out nodes inside an asset . . . . . . . . . . Show and hide connections . . . . . . . . . . . Customize an assets background . . . . . . . . View assets in the Hypershade . . . . . . . . . . Navigate assets in the Outliner . . . . . . . . . . . . Showing or hiding asset contents . . . . . . . . View published attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize how an asset is treated in the UI . . . . . Editing Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add nodes to an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remove nodes from an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publish or unpublish attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . Publish ramp attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publish swatch attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publish attributes connected to external nodes . . . . Publish multiple attributes to one published name . . Edit published attribute values . . . . . . . . . . . . Publish or unpublish nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bind/unbind an attribute or node . . . . . . . . . . . Autobind an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rename a published name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connect asset attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transfer attribute values between assets . . . . . . . . Example: Duplicating animation on non-matching hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assign a custom command or menu to an asset . . . Creating templates and views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create an asset template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assign a template to an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit an asset template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reload an asset template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Save an asset template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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viii | Contents

Change the template search path . . . . . . . . . . . Organize asset templates into packages . . . . . . . . Create a binding set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize a template binding set . . . . . . . . . . . Add a view to an asset template . . . . . . . . . . . . Set the active view for an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize a template view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Localize the asset user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . Example: Creating a template and a view . . . . . . . Assets and file referencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prepare an asset for referencing . . . . . . . . . . . . Reference an asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Export an asset as a file reference . . . . . . . . . . . Replace referenced assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Example: Referencing and swapping a car in a scene . Lock referenced assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create a proxy asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 9

Preferences and customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289


Save preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize the look and feel of the interface . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide user interface elements . . . . . . . . . . . . Change user interface colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change the scene view background color . . . . . . . . . . Arrange the interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create a custom panel layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add a new panel to the list of available panels . . . . . . . Change the length (scale) of normals in the display . . . . Customize shelves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create, rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf . . . . . . . . . Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf . . . . . . . . . Edit the MEL or Python script associated with a shelf item . Edit the contents of a shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item . . . . . . . . . Change the display of shelves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize menu sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Custom menu sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manage custom menu sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize marking menus and the hotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . Create or edit a marking menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assign a marking menu to a hotkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add a marking menu to the hotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customize the hotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customizing the Script Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maya Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maya Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 . 290 . 290 . 291 . 292 . 293 . 293 . 294 . 295 . 296 . 296 . 297 . 298 . 298 . 299 . 300 . 301 . 301 . 301 . 304 . 304 . 306 . 307 . 308 . 309 . 310 . 310

Contents | ix

Assign a predefined command to a hotkey . . . . Hotkeys in Maya for Mac OS X . . . . . . . . . . Assign a MEL script to a hotkey . . . . . . . . . . View a list of all assigned hotkeys . . . . . . . . . Customize how Maya works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Switch operations between actions and tools . . . Load or unload Maya plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . Improve performance, quality, or interactivity . . Switch between Y-up and Z-up . . . . . . . . . . Advanced customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Directly modify the settings files . . . . . . . . . Run MEL commands whenever Maya starts up . . Run MEL commands whenever a scene is opened Create a custom heads-up display readout . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . or closed . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. 322 . 323 . 323 . 325 . 326 . 326 . 328 . 329 . 329 . 329 . 329 . 332 . 332 . 332

Chapter 10

Performance tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337


Set Maya to use maximum memory (increase the Virtual Memory limit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Get the most out of Maya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Chapter 11

Running Maya in Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347


Japanese Maya overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Extended ASCII characters in node and attribute names and scene portability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Run Maya with a Japanese user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Run Maya in English within a Japanese environment . . . . . . . Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 . . . . . 348 . 349 . 350 . 351

Chapter 12

Basics Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353


Status line (toolbar) . . . . . . . . . . . Panel toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tool Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lasso Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paint Selection Tool . . . . . . . . Move Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rotate Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scale Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Universal Manipulator . . . . . . . Soft Modification Tool (toolbox) . Show Manipulator Tool . . . . . . Quick layout buttons . . . . . . . Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 . 357 . 360 . 361 . 361 . 365 . 366 . 368 . 373 . 375 . 378 . 378 . 378 . 380 . 381

x | Contents

View hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 Tool and action hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 Transform marking menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

Chapter 13

Basics Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389


File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > New Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Open Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Save Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Save Scene As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Archive Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Save Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Optimize Scene Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Export All, Export Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Export to Offline File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Assign Offline File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Export Selected to Mudbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > View Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > View Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Create Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Reference Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Project > New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Project > Edit Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Project > Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Recent Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Recent Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File > Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Undo, Redo, Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Recent Commands List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Delete by Type > History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Delete by Type > Non-Deformer History . . . . . . . . . Edit > Delete by Type > Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Static Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Non-particle Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Delete by Type > Motion Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Delete All by Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Select Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Lasso Select Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Paint Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit > Select All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 . 389 . 390 . 393 . 393 . 395 . 395 . 395 . 402 . 406 . 410 . 411 . 412 . 412 . 412 . 412 . 417 . 418 . 418 . 420 . 420 . 420 . 421 . 421 . 421 . 421 . 421 . 421 . 421 . 422 . 422 . 422

. 422 . 423 . 423 . 423 . 423 . 424 . 424

Contents | xi

Edit > Deselect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 Edit > Select Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 Edit > Invert Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Edit > Select All by Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Edit > Quick Select Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Edit > Duplicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Edit > Duplicate Special . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426 Edit > Duplicate with Transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 Edit > Transfer Attribute Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 Edit > Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 Edit > Ungroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430 Edit > Level of Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430 Edit > Parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432 Edit > Unparent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 Create . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 Create > NURBS Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 Create > Polygon Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438 Create > CV Curve Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454 Create > EP Curve Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 Create > Bezier Curve Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 Create > Pencil Curve Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 Create > Arc Tools > Three Point Circular Arc, Two Point Circular Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 Create > Measure Tools > Distance Tool, Parameter Tool, Arc Length Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 Create > Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 Create > Adobe Illustrator Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 Create > Construction Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 Create > Locator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 Create > Annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 Create > Empty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 Create > Sets > Set, Partition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Create > Sets > Quick Select Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Modify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, Show Manipulator Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Modify > Transformation Tools > Universal Manipulator . . . . . 464 Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Normal Tool . . . . . . . 464 Modify > Transformation Tools > Default Object Manipulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464 Modify > Transformation Tools > Proportional Modification Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 Modify > Transformation Tools > Soft Modification Tool . . . . . 467 Modify > Reset Transformations, Freeze Transformations . . . . 468 Modify > Snap Align Objects > Point to Point, 2 Points to 2 Points, 3 Points to 3 Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

xii | Contents

Modify > Snap Align Objects > Align Objects . . . . . . . . Modify > Snap Align Objects > Position Along Curve . . . Modify > Align Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Snap Together Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Evaluate Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Make Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Center Pivot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Prefix Hierarchy Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Search and Replace Names . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Add Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Edit Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Delete Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > NURBS to Polygons . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv, Polygons to Subdiv . Modify > Convert > Smooth Mesh Preview to Polygons . . Modify > Convert > Polygon Edges to Curve . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > Subdiv to Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > Subdiv to NURBS . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > Texture to Geometry . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > Displacement to Polygons with History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > Fluid to Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > nParticle to Polygons . . . . . . . . . Modify > Convert > Instance to Object . . . . . . . . . . . Modify > Replace Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Heads Up Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > UI Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Hide, Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Wireframe Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Object Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Transform Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > NURBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Subdiv Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display > Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Component Editor . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet . . . . Window > General Editors > Connection Editor . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Visor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Display Layer Editor . . . . . Window > General Editors > Asset Editor . . . . . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Blind Data Editor . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. 469 . 470 . 471 . 472 . 473 . 473 . 473 . 474 . 474 . 474 . 478 . 479 . 480 . 485 . 487 . 487 . 487 . 488 . 489 . 492 . 493 . 493 . 493 . 493 . 494 . 494 . 496 . 499 . 500 . 501 . 501 . 502 . 502 . 507 . 509 . 509 . 510 . 511 . 511 . 512 . 512 . 512 . 512 . 512 . 512

Contents | xiii

Window > General Editors > Channel Control . . . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Script Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Window > General Editors > Command Shell . . . . . . . . Window > Rendering Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Animation Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Relationship Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences . . . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Tool Settings . . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Performance Settings . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Marking Menu Editor . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor . . . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Panel Editor . . . . . . . . Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager . . . . . . Window > Attribute Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Outliner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Hypergraph: Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Paint Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > UV Texture Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Playblast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > View Arrangement, Window > Saved Layouts . . . Window > Save Current Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Frame All in All Views, Window > Frame Selection in All Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Minimize Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Raise Main Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Window > Raise Application Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Create Asset with Transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Add to Asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Remove from Asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Asset Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Export Proxy Asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Publish Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Unpublish Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Publish Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Lock Unpublished Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Unlock Unpublished Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Publish Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Unpublish Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Assign Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Select Asset Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Advanced Assets > Create . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. 512 . 512 . 513 . 513 . 513 . 513 . 513 . 513 . 513 . 515 . 515 . 516 . 516 . 516 . 516 . 516 . 516 . 516 . 517 . 517 . 517 . 518 . 518 . 518 . 518 . 518 . 518 . 519 . 519 . 519 . 519 . 520 . 520 . 520 . 521 . 522 . 522 . 523 . 523 . 523 . 523 . 524 . 524 . 524 . 525

xiv | Contents

Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Unpublishing . . . . . . . . . 525 Assets > Advanced Assets > Set Current Asset . . . . . . . . . . . 526 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 Menu Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 Help > Maya Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 Help > Learning Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Help > Learning Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Help > Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Help > Whats New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Help > Support Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Help > Subscription Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Help > Release Note Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Help > The Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Help > Download Bonus Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Help > Download Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Help > Report a Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Help > Suggest a Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 Help > Customer Involvement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 Help > Autodesk DirectConnect Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 Help > Autodesk FBX Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 Help > MEL Command Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Help > Python Command Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Help > Node and Attribute Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Help > Browser Setup Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Help > Find Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Help > About Maya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Panel menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 View > Camera Tools > Tumble Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 View > Camera Tools > Track Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 View > Camera Tools > Dolly Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 View > Camera Tools > Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 View > Camera Tools > Roll Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 View > Camera Tools > Azimuth Elevation Tool . . . . . . 534 View > Camera Tools > Yaw-Pitch Tool . . . . . . . . . . . 535 View > Camera Tools > Fly Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 Shading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 Shading menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 Shading > Wireframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 Shading > Smooth Shade All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 Shading > Smooth Shade Selected Items . . . . . . . . . . 537 Shading > Flat Shade All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 Shading > Flat Shade Selected Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 Shading > Bounding Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 Shading > Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 Shading > Use default material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538

Contents | xv

Shading > Wireframe on Shaded . . . . . Shading > X-Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shading > X-Ray Joints . . . . . . . . . . Shading > X-Ray Active Components . . . Shading > Object Transparency Sorting . . Shading > Polygon Transparency Sorting . Shading > Interactive Shading . . . . . . . Shading > Color Index Mode . . . . . . . Shading > Backface Culling . . . . . . . . Shading > Smooth Wireframe . . . . . . . Shading > Hardware Texturing . . . . . . Shading > Hardware Fog . . . . . . . . . . Shading > Apply Current to All . . . . . . Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lighting menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show > Isolate Select . . . . . . . . . . . . Show > Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Panels > Look Through Selected . . . . . . Panels menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 14

Basics Windows and Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549


Asset Editor . . . . . . . . Attribute Editor . . . . . Attribute Spread Sheet . . Channel Box . . . . . . . Color Chooser . . . . . . Color Settings . . . . . . Component Editor . . . . Display Layer editor . . . File Browser . . . . . . . Hotbox customization . . Hotkey Editor . . . . . . Marking Menu Editor . . Menu Sets . . . . . . . . Namespace Editor . . . . Outliner . . . . . . . . . Panel editor . . . . . . . Plug-in Manager . . . . . Preload Reference Editor . Relationship Editor . . . . Script Editor . . . . . . . Shelf Editor . . . . . . . . Visor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549 . 556 . 565 . 566 . 579 . 583 . 584 . 586 . 590 . 592 . 593 . 596 . 599 . 600 . 602 . 606 . 609 . 614 . 616 . 618 . 624 . 627

xvi | Contents

Hypergraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hypergraph overview . . . . . . . . Hypergraph tips . . . . . . . . . . . Hypergraph limitations . . . . . . . Maya Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maya Help overview . . . . . . . . . About the web browser . . . . Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing PDF Documentation . Contacting Customer Support . Preferences window . . . . . . . . . . . . Preferences overview . . . . . . . . . Interface preferences . . . . . . . . . UI Elements preferences . . . . . . . ViewCube preferences . . . . . . . . Help preferences . . . . . . . . . . . Display preferences . . . . . . . . . Kinematics preferences . . . . . . . Animation (Display) preferences . . Manipulators preferences . . . . . . NURBS preferences . . . . . . . . . . Polygons preferences . . . . . . . . . Subdivs preferences . . . . . . . . . Settings preferences . . . . . . . . . Animation (Settings) preferences . . Assets preferences . . . . . . . . . . Cameras preferences . . . . . . . . . Dynamics preferences . . . . . . . . Files/Projects preferences . . . . . . Modeling preferences . . . . . . . . Rendering preferences . . . . . . . . Selection preferences . . . . . . . . . Snapping preferences . . . . . . . . Sound preferences . . . . . . . . . . Time Slider preferences . . . . . . . Undo preferences . . . . . . . . . . Save Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modules preferences . . . . . . . . . Applications preferences . . . . . . . Reference Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reference Editor overview . . . . . . Reference Editor toolbar . . . . . . . Reference Editor Layouts . . . . . . . Reference editor menus . . . . . . .

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Contents | xvii

Chapter 15

Basics Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703


Camera node . . . . . . . . . . . General attributes for nodes . . . General attributes . . . . . Transform attributes . . . . Display . . . . . . . . . . . Node behavior . . . . . . . Level of Detail group node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703 . 703 . 703 . 704 . 704 . 705 . 706

Chapter 16

Mac OS X and Linux Specific Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709


Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Maya with Mac OS X . . . . . . . Notes and Procedures . . . . . . . Troubleshooting Maya for Mac OS Using Maya with Linux . . . . . . . . . Notes and Procedures . . . . . . . Troubleshooting Maya for Linux . . . . . . . X. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709 . 709 . 709 . 711 . 712 . 712 . 713

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717

xviii | Contents

Interface overview

Working in Maya
Maya is the premier application for creating compelling 3D digital content, including models, animation, visual effects, games, and simulations. The work you do in Maya generally falls into these categories:

Creating models. Polygons, NURBS, and subdivision surfaces are different object types with different ways of modeling. Each has its own strengths, and different artists prefer working with different types.

Polygons let you model a surface by building up and reshaping a number of simple surface facets. NURBS let you easily create smooth, curving surfaces with high-level control. Subdivision surfaces let you edit surfaces at a high level with minimum overhead data, while still letting you work with subsections of the surface as if they were made from polygons.

Character rigging. Most animations involve characters, articulated models such as a person, an animal, robot, or anything else that moves by articulation. Maya lets you define internal skeletons for characters and bind skin to them to create realistic movement with deformation. Animation. Just about everything you can think of in Maya is keyable or able to be animated. Dynamics, fluids, and other simulated effects. Maya includes a comprehensive suite of tools for simulating real world effects such as fire, explosions, fluids, hair and fur, the physics of colliding objects, and more.

Painting and paint effects. Maya includes an incredible system for using a graphics tablet (or the mouse) to paint 2D canvases, paint directly on 3D models, paint to create geometry, scriptable paint, and virtually limitless other possibilities. Lighting, Shading, and Rendering. When you want to render a still image or movie of you scene or animation, you can create them using your choice of renderers.

3D coordinates
The most basic visual entity is the point. The point has no size, but it has a location. To determine the location of points, we first establish an arbitrary point in space as the origin. We can then say a points location is so many units left (or right) of the origin, so many units up (or down) from the origin, and so many units higher (or lower) than the origin.

These three numbers give us the 3D coordinates of the point in space. For example, a point 7 units right (x), 4 units down (z), and 3 units above (y) the origin has the XYZ coordinates (7,4,3). To specify points on the opposite side of the origin, we use negative numbers. In the example, a point at (-5, -2, -1) would be 5 units left of the origin, 2 units up, and 1 unit below.

2 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

In computer graphics, we dont really say the point is left/right, up/down, or higher/lower. Instead we call the three dimensions the X axis, the Z axis, and the Y axis.

Y-up and Z-up


In animation and visual effects, the tradition is to use Y as the up or elevation axis, with X and Z as the ground axes. However, some other industries traditionally use Z as the up axis and X and Y as the ground axes. Maya lets you switch the up axis between Y and Z. Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences, then click Settings in the list on the left.

Switch between Y-up and Z-up on page 329

Maya Interface
Objects and components
In Maya, you model, animate, and render using objects such as spheres, NURBS surfaces, polysets, and so on. Objects are made up of or contain components, such as control points, patches, polygon faces, and so on.

Selection, tools, and actions


Selection
When you select multiple objects, the last selected object is drawn in a different color from other selected objects. This is known as the key object. Some tools use the key object to determine what to do with the selection. For example:

When you transform multiple objects, the transformation uses the key objects pivot point. The constrain actions constrain all selected objects to the key object.

Maya Interface | 3

Tools and actions


Maya makes a distinction between tools and actions.

Tools work continuously: any clicks or drags you make while the tool is active apply the tool. For example, the selection arrow is a tool. Any clicks or drags in the view window while the selection arrow is active performs a selection. Actions are immediate, one shot operations applied to the selection. Most items in the menus are actions.

Tools appear in the Tool Box. Almost all menu items are actions, however there are some tools in the menus. You can tell which menu items are tool by the following:

The menu item has the word Tool in it. When you select the tool it shows up in the Tool Box. Instructions appear on the help line when the tool is active.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23 Select tools and actions on page 12 Switch operations between actions and tools on page 326

Main window

This section is a brief summary of the main Maya interface. As you read, keep in mind the following:

You can show or hide any of the UI elements in the main window using the Display > UI Elements menu. Alternatively, you can right-click the double-dotted edge ( ) of an existing UI element and select the desired UI element from the pop-up menu.

4 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

If you cant find the menu youre looking for, it may be hidden. You can show or hide menus using the menu hotkeys. For more information see Maya Hotkeys on page 310. You can hide all the interface elements and instead use the Maya quick command features: the Customize the hotbox on page 308, Marking menus on page 8, and Maya Hotkeys on page 310. You can resize some UI elements by dragging the dotted edge ( ). You can rearrange the interface to suit your preferences. For more information, see Rearrange the interface on page 16.

A menu icon appears to the right of the mouse pointer when a right mouse button pop-up menu is available for the control over which the mouse is hovering.

Status line (toolbar)


The status line (or toolbar) lets you

Change the menu set

Main window | 5

Access common functions Control the selection mask Set various options Change the contents of the sidebar.

Related topics

Shelves on page 8 Display > UI Elements on page 499 Quick layout buttons on page 380 Status line (toolbar) on page 353 Command line on page 360 Attribute Editor on page 556 Channel Box on page 566 Panel toolbar on page 357 Customize the hotbox on page 308 Marking menus on page 8 Maya Hotkeys on page 310

Menus and menu sets


The menus in Maya are grouped into menu sets. Each menu set corresponds to a module of the software: Animation, Polygons, Surfaces, Dynamics, and Rendering. Maya Unlimited has additional modules. As you switch between menu sets, the right-hand menus change, but the left-hand menus remain the same; these are the common menus. To switch between menu sets, use the Status Line drop-down list or hotkeys. The default hotkeys are: F2 (Animation), F3 (Polygons), F4 (Surfaces), F6 (Rendering).

6 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

You can create custom menu sets that contain your choice of menu items. For more information, see Custom menu sets on page 301.

Tear-off menus
You can display menus as separate windows. This is helpful when you use a menu repeatedly. Pull down the menu and click the tear-off line at the top. Tear-off menus always display on top.

Related topics

Marking menus on page 8

Menus and menu sets | 7

Select tools and actions on page 12

Marking menus
You can quickly access many of your most commonly used tools with marking menus. Marking menus are used throughout the Maya interface. When you right-click an object, a marking menu appears that lets you select a selection mode and other options. Some marking menus appear when you hold a key and press a mouse button. Marking menus are very fast for experienced users because once you get used to showing them and the positions of their items, you can select the items using very quick gestures with the mouse or tablet pen, sometimes so fast the entire menu wont even display.

Related topics

Select actions from marking menus on page 13 Create or edit a marking menu on page 304 Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307 Marking Menu Editor on page 596

Shelves
Shelves hold commonly used actions and tools, allowing them to be accessed by clicking an icon. You can also put custom scripts and panel layouts on a shelf.

Related topics

Select actions on a shelf on page 15 Create, rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf on page 296 Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf on page 297

8 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Edit the MEL or Python script associated with a shelf item on page 298 Edit the contents of a shelf on page 298 Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item on page 299 Change the display of shelves on page 300

Maya Web browser plug-in


The Maya Web browser plug-in allows you to send MEL protocol commands to Maya through the Maya command port. The plug-in is available for browsers on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X platforms that support the Netscape plug-in API, as well as the plug-in scriptability extension. You should be able install the plug-in on the following browsers. Use the latest version of your browser to ensure compatibility.

Mac OS X: Safari, Camino, Firefox, Mozilla Windows and Linux: Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape

For Internet Explorer on Windows, the installation is slightly different: you must install a COM object. See the instructions in the Related Topics.

Related topics

Install the Maya Web browser plug-in on page 21

Autodesk Maya Error Report


If Autodesk Maya quits unexpectedly on Windows (32-bit or 64-bit), the Autodesk Maya Error Report appears.

Maya Web browser plug-in | 9

In this dialog box, you can enter your email address to get notifications regarding this error report. As well, you are encouraged to enter the steps that caused the problem so that Autodesk developers can reproduce it and help solve it.

Get help
To...
Show the online help in a browser. Show the help for a window. Find a tool or menu item in the interface.

Do this
Select Help > Maya Help, or press F1. Select an item in the windows Help menu. Select Help > Find Menu. The name of the menu item and the menu and menu set it is in is returned. Look in the help line.

Get a description of/instructions for the action under the mouse pointer.

10 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Customize the interface


The Maya interface is built using the Qt framework. You can create custom UI for Maya using Qt Designer, which can be found at the Qt Development Tools website. You can load your custom UI into Maya using the loadUI command.

Print the Maya Help


The Maya Help is also provided in PDF format. You can print the online books using Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free from Adobe at www.adobe.com. To print the online books (Windows, Mac OS X) 1 Insert the Maya DVD. 2 Navigate to the ExploreMe/PDF_documentation directory. 3 Double-click to open contents.pdf. This file lists all of the available books. 4 Click to select the book you want to print. The selected PDF document opens. 5 Select File > Print. To print the online books (Linux) 1 Insert the Maya DVD. 2 Start the PDF viewer and open /mnt/dvd/ExploreMe/PDF_documentation by entering the following:
cd /mnt/dvd/ExploreMe/PDF_documentation xpdf contents.pdf

3 Click to select the book you want to print. The selected PDF document opens. 4 Select the print icon.

Customize the interface | 11

Work with menu items, tools, and options


Select tools and actions
To use a tool Do one of the following:

Click a tool in the Tool Box to make it active. Double-click a tool to show the Tool Settings panel.

To use an action (menu item) Do one of the following

Click a menu item to perform the action on the selected objects or components.

Some actions work differently depending on the order you select the objects. For example, you select all the objects you want to constrain, and then select the object to constrain to last when you create a constraint. The help line for an action tells you the order you need to select objects if order is important.

Click the box next to the name of a menu item to open the actions options window. Click the lines at the top of a menu or submenu to keep the menu open in its own window.

To reset a tool or action to its original (factory) options Do one of the following:

In the option window, select Edit > Reset settings. In the Tool Settings editor, click Reset Tool.

Related topics

Selection, tools, and actions on page 3

12 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Menus and menu sets on page 6 Switch operations between actions and tools on page 326

Set the options for a tool or menu item

Click the box next to the name of a menu item to open the actions options window. Double-click a tool to show the Tool Settings panel.

To reset a tool or action to its original (factory) options In the option window, select Edit > Reset settings.

Select actions from marking menus


Marking menus appear at the mouse pointer when you use certain key and mouse button combinations. They allow you to quickly select an action from a small list. Marking menus are common in the Maya interface:

When you press the right mouse button on an object Maya shows a context-sensitive marking menu of actions you can apply to the object. The hotbox provides five customizable marking menus you can show by clicking inside, above, below, left, or right of the hotbox menus. You can assign marking menus to hotkeys. Hold the key and press the mouse button to show the marking menu. The q, w, e, and r keys have default marking menus attached to them. Marking menu items can show additional marking menus, allowing you to pack more commands onto the marking menu.

To select an item from a marking menu 1 Show the marking menu through one of the methods listed above (for example, hold q and press the left mouse button). 2 With the mouse button held, drag in the direction of the item you want to select.

Set the options for a tool or menu item | 13

It doesnt matter how far you drag or if you hit the item exactly. This allows you to make the drag very quickly with a little practice. Dragging over an item with a submenu attached shows the submenu. 3 Release the mouse button to select the item.

Related topics

Marking menus on page 8 Select actions from the hotbox on page 14 Create or edit a marking menu on page 304 Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307 Marking Menu Editor on page 596

Select actions from the hotbox


The hotbox contains every action available in the Maya interface. It appears when you hold down the space bar. The hotbox has three main functions:

It contains every menu and menu item. This is useful if you want to quickly use an action from another menu set without switching menu sets. You can use the hotbox to select actions even if youve hidden the menu bar and other UI to save space. The hotbox provides five customizable marking menus you can show by clicking inside, above, below, left, or right of the hotbox menus.

To select an action from the hotbox 1 Hold the space bar to show the hotbox. The hotbox remains on screen as long as you hold the space bar. 2 Click one of the menus, or hold the left mouse button above, below, to the left, to the right, or in the center of the hotbox to show marking menus.

14 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Related topics

Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307 Customize the hotbox on page 308

Select actions on a shelf


Click an icon on the shelf to perform the action. Click a tab above the icons to show a different shelf. Use the pull down menu to the left of the icons (the black arrow) to show or hide the tabs. If the tabs are hidden, or if there are too many to fit on screen, click the tab icon to the left of the icons to show a menu of available shelves.

Drag menu items or snippets of code onto a shelf with the middle mouse button.

Load the default shelves


Maya for Windows and Mac OS X include default shelves with buttons for commonly used features. The shelves are: Animation, Curves, Custom, Deformation, Dynamics, Fluids, Fur, General, Hair, Paint Effects, Polygons, Rendering, Subdivs, and Surfaces. Maya does not include the shelves in Linux because they can slow the startup time on those platforms. However you can use the following instructions to load them. 1 Open the Script Editor (Window > General Editors > Script Editor).

Select actions on a shelf | 15

2 To load all shelves, copy the following and paste it into the Script Editor window, then select Command > Execute. (Select only some shelves from the list below if you do not want to load them all by default.)
loadNewShelf "shelf_General.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Curves.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Surfaces.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Polygons.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Subdivs.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Deformation.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Animation.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Dynamics.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Rendering.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Fluids.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Fur.mel"; loadNewShelf "shelf_Hair.mel"; saveAllShelves $gShelfTopLevel;

Related topics

Main window on page 4 Create, rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf on page 296 Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf on page 297 Edit the contents of a shelf on page 298 Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor on page 516

Rearrange the interface

Docking and undocking


You can rearrange the default Maya interface by docking and undocking UI elements and menus. To undock a control or menu Drag the double-dotted edge ( ) of a control/menu away from its current place and into the middle of the scene.

16 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

When you release the mouse button, the undocked control/menu is left hovering on the interface if it is the Attribute Editor, Tool Settings Editor, Channel Box/Layer Editor, or snaps back into place if it is any other control. To dock an control or menu Drag the double-dotted edge ( ) of a control/menu around the UI. Any place where it can be docked automatically shifts to accommodate it as you drag the control/menu across it.

When you release the mouse button, the control/menu locks into place. NOTE If UI elements do not immediately shift out of the way for you to dock a control/menu, try moving the control/menu to various places around your attempted dock point. Dock widgets need to be released near the middle of a dockable area.

Attribute Editor, Tool Settings Editor, and Channel Box tabs


You can rearrange the Attribute Editor, Tool Settings Editor, and Channel Box into tabs on the side of Maya. This allows you to keep more than one of these windows open at any time. To create a tab 1 Open one of the Attribute Editor or Channel Box. By default, the Attribute Editor and Channel Box open in tabs.

2 Open the Tool Settings Editor. By default, the Tool Settings Editor opens on the left side of the interface. 3 Drag the dotted line on top of the Tool Settings Editor onto the open Attribute Editor or Channel Box.

Rearrange the interface | 17

The Tool Settings Editor appears on the right side of the interface and a new tab is created for it. 4 Switch between the editors by clicking the tabs. If you undock or close any of the editors, its tabbed entry is removed.

Start Maya from the command line

If you start Maya from the command line, there are various startup options you can specify. For example, you can open a file at startup using the -file flag:
maya -file filename maya.exe -file filename

To see the available startup flags, type the following:


maya -help

Running Maya in batch or prompt mode


Maya can be run in several distinct modes that affect its overall manner of operation, two of which allow you to execute Maya commands without the interface, -prompt and -batch (on Windows, use mayabatch.exe instead of maya -batch).

The -prompt flag issues a MEL prompt for you to type commands as you would in the Script Editor. Some commands that require the graphical user interface are either unavailable or have no effect. Type quit to exit the prompt mode. Use the -batch flag to run commands without user input, such as in shell or batch scripts. The -batch flag starts Maya, executes any commands you specify, and then closes Maya. For example, you could create a script to open a file from a prior version of Maya in order to update it to the current version. For Linux and Mac OS X:
maya -batch -file someMayaFile.mb -command "file -save"

For Windows:
mayabatch -file someMayaFile.mb -command "file -save"

18 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Additional Maya startup flags

These are additional flags you can use when starting up Maya from the command line (maya on Linux/Mac OS X; mayabatch.exe on Windows).
-archive [file] Displays a list of files required to archive the specified scene and then exits Maya. Runs the specified command on startup. The command should be enclosed in double quotes to protect any special characters, including spaces. Copies all standard output and error messages (those that normally appear in the Output Window) to the specified file (use complete file name). This flag is for Windows only. Do not auto-load any plug-ins. Processes the specified scene file to optimize it for rendering, puts the result in outfile and then exits. Use maya -optimizeRender -help for more options. See -optimizeRender flags on page 20. Looks for scene files in the specified project directory. Recovers the last journal file. Sources the specified file (which is expected to be a MEL script) on startup. Displays the product version and cut number, and then exits. Enable Python 3000 compatibility warnings.

-command [mel command]

-log [file]

-noAutoloadPlugins -optimizeRender [file] [outfile]

-proj [dir]

-recover -script [file]

-v

-3

Start Maya from the command line | 19

NOTE

The -batch command is not used for batch rendering. Instead, use the Render command. However, -batch does check out a render-only license instead of a full Maya license. On Windows, type mayabatch when using the -batch flag. The mayabatch command runs within the command prompt window, whereas the maya command starts a separate window. The -render flag is now obsolete. Use the Render -r command instead.

-optimizeRender flags
Use this command to optimize the specified scene file for rendering, send the result to an output file and then close Maya.
maya -optimizeRender [options] [file] [outfile]

The available [options] are:


-botRes [int] Specify a minimum file texture resolution that will cause BOT files to be produced. For example, specifying -botRes 256 means that all file textures bigger than 256x256.will be converted to BOT format. Specify the directory in which BOT files reside. The default is in the same directory as the original file. Displays all the flags available for use with -optimizeRender. Does not create BOT files. Does not clean up useless data. Calculates NURBS tessellation that gives the best image quality based on the camera projection.

-botLoca [name]

-help

-noBOT -noCleanup -tessFreeze [startframe] [endframe] [byframe]

20 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Install the Maya Web browser plug-in


Related topics

Maya Web browser plug-in on page 9

Automatic installation
You can install the Maya Web browser plug-in for your default Web browser through the Maya Help menu. To install the Maya Web browser plug-in automatically 1 Select Help > Browser Setup Assistant to begin the automatic configuration process. The Browser Setup Assistant appears. 2 Follow the Browser Setup Assistant instructions.

Manual installation
Files to install the Maya Web browser plug-in are installed with your Maya installation in the ExternalWebBrowser folder under your Maya folder, with separate folders for each supported platform. By default, this is:

(Windows) C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2011\ExternalWebBrowser\Windows (Mac OS X) /Applications/Autodesk/Maya2011/ExternalWebBrowser/MacOS (Linux 64-bit only)


/usr/autodesk/Maya2011-x64/ExternalWebBrowser/Linux/64

Windows 1 (For all browsers except for Internet Explorer [Netscape-compatible browsers such as Firefox, Mozilla, and so on]) You can skip this step if you are using Internet Explorer only. Copy PlugIn\npmcpplugin.dll into the plugins folder of your Web browser (for example, <FirefoxLocation>\plugins). 2 (For Internet Explorer, and to allow all applications on Windows to handle mel: protocol URLs)

Install the Maya Web browser plug-in | 21

You must register the COM object. In the Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2011\devkit\ExternalWebBrowser\Windows\src\COM directory, double-click Register.bat. For further details, see the instructions in <Maya Directory>/devkit/ExternalWebBrowser/COM. Mac OS X Copy McpPlugIn.plugin into ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ or /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/.

Linux 1 Copy libmcpplugin.so into the plugins folder of your Web browser (for example, <FirefoxLocation>/plugins). 2 On Linux, MEL URL handling must be set up manually. See the instructions in <Maya Directory>/devkit/ExternalWebBrowser/Linux.

Examples
Examples of scripts that communicate with Maya through the Web browser can be found in the Examples directory under the ExternalWebBrowser directory, including a JavaScript file that contains many useful Maya-web browser communication functions, such as browser and platform detection, presence of plug-in, and error handling. As well, we provide a document in the same directory to help you transition existing solutions designed to work with the Maya embedded web browser to the external web browser approach.

22 | Chapter 1 Interface overview

Selecting

Select objects or components

Selecting specific component types


The following table has tips for selecting certain types of components. They follow the same general pattern for selecting components, but demonstrate some selection techniques or component types that may not be obvious. To...
Select polygon faces.

Do this
Right-click a polyset and select Face, or press F11. Select the dots in the center of the faces. Right-click a curve and select Curve Point. Click on the curve and drag to select a point along the curve.

Select an arbitrary point on a curve.

23

To...
Select an isoparm on a surface.

Do this
Right-click a surface and select Isoparm. Click on a visible isoparm that runs in the direction you want, then drag to the position you want. Right-click a surface and select Surface Point. Click on an isoparm and drag to select a point on the surface. Right-click a NURBS surface and select Surface Patch. Select the dots in the center of the patches.

Select an arbitrary point on a surface.

Select a NURBS surface patch.

TIP You can marquee select multiple components by clicking and dragging to create a selection rectangle around the objects that you want to select.

Related topics

Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Edit > Select All on page 424 Edit > Select All by Type on page 425

Select multiple components


You can select multiple components on a polygon mesh by dragging your mouse cursor over them. Maya offers two methods of multiple component selection, Marquee Select and Drag Select. To set Marquee Select or Drag Select 1 Open the Attribute Editor with a transformation tool active. 2 In the Common Selection Options section, select one of Marquee Select or Drag Select.

24 | Chapter 2 Selecting

Marquee Select
With Marquee Select, you can select multiple components by dragging a rectangular marquee box over them with the mouse. You can also reposition a marquee select without redrawing the marquee. To move a marquee select 1 Select the Select Tool from the toolbox. 2 Drag the mouse in any direction in the scene panel. A marquee appears and highlights any components contained within it. 3 While dragging, hold Alt and drag the mouse in any direction. The entire marquee moves with the mouse cursor. This works in the scene view, UV Texture Editor, Graph Editor and Dope Sheet.

Drag Select
With Drag select, you can select multiple components by dragging the mouse over them. This is useful for selecting a continuous line of components. Drag Select is similar to the Paint Selection feature except without a radius. For more information, see Select components by painting on page 30. Unlike Paint Selection, you can use Drag select to select obstructed components (components covered by other components). You can modify this behavior by using Camera based selection. For more information, see Select only unobstructed components on page 25.

Select only unobstructed components


By default, a drag selection will select all components under the mouse. This can be a problem when viewing the scene in shaded mode since your selection may include components hidden from your view. You can use Camera based selection to only select components with a clear line-of-sight to the camera. This ensures that you dont accidentally select components you cant see. To turn on Camera based selection 1 Open the Attribute Editor with any of the transformation tools active.

Select only unobstructed components | 25

2 In the Common Selection Options section, turn on Camera based selection under the Drag setting. Now, if you Drag select objects in your scene, Maya only selects the components unobstructed by other components from the cameras point of view. NOTE You can also turn on Camera based selection from the Preferences window (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences). The option can be found in the Selection section under Settings.

Select multiple component types


Multi component selection lets you select faces, vertices and edges without having to change between selection modes. In this mode, you select components based on the mouse cursors proximity to them. To turn on multi-component selection mode for a single object, right-click when the cursor is over a polygon model and then select Multi from the marking menu. To turn on multi-component selection mode for all objects, press the Select by component type button on the status line and then right-click the Select miscellaneous components button and select Mesh Multi Components from the menu.

Marquee select with multi component selection mode


When you perform a marquee select on an object in multi component selection mode and no components are initially selected, Maya will select all vertices in the marquee. If a component or multiple components of the same type are already selected, then Maya selects components of the same type within the marquee. If multiple components of different types are already selected, then Maya selects components based on a hierarchy of vertices, edges, and then faces. For example, if an edge and a face are already selected and you perform a marquee select on the object, Maya will select all edges in the marquee.

26 | Chapter 2 Selecting

Select a node
To select a node, do any of the following:

Open the Outliner (Window > Outliner) and select the node from the list. Select an object with which the node is associated, click the nodes tab in the Attribute Editor, and click the Select button at the bottom of the Attribute Editor. Select an object with which the node is associated, then click the nodes heading in the Channel Box. Open the Hypergraph (Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy or Window > Hypergraph: Connections) and select Graph > Input and Output Connections, then click the node in the graph.

With a node selected, you can click the Show Manipulator Tool in the Tool Box to show custom manipulators for the node.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23 Nodes and attributes overview on page 95

Select only certain types of objects or components (selection masks)


You can limit the types of objects or components Maya selects when you click or drag with the selection tools. This lets you work on certain parts of a complex model without accidentally selecting other objects. To limit selections, you select which types of objects or components you can and cant select. This is called the selection mask. To...
Switch between selecting objects and components.

Do this...
Use the Select by object type and the Select by component type icons in the Status Line (toolbar). The icons available in the selection mask depend on whether you are in object or component selection mode.

Select a node | 27

To...
Turn a object/component type on or off in the selection mask.

Do this...
Click the type icon in the selection mask area of the Status Line (toolbar). When an icon is depressed, that type is selectable. Press the left mouse button on the pop-up menu icon to the left of the selection mask and select All objects on. Press the left mouse button on the pop-up menu icon to the left of the selection mask and select All objects off. When all types are off, you cannot select anything. Make sure to turn at least one type on again if you want to select. If the area to the left of the selection mode icons on the Status Line (toolbar) is hidden, click the bar to expand it.

Set the selection mask to all types.

Clear the selection mask.

Set the selection mask to a preset combination of objects and components based on workflow.

Press the left mouse button on the pop-up menu icon and select a workflow. The selection mask is set to objects and components related to that workflow.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23 Status line (toolbar) on page 353

Save and reuse a selection


Quick-select sets are useful to:

Make it easier to quickly select commonly used sets of objects/components.

28 | Chapter 2 Selecting

Save a complex selection so you can re-use it later without having to reselect each object.

To create a quick-select set 1 Select the objects or components. 2 Select Create > Sets > Quick Select Set. 3 Type a name for the set. To select the members of a quick-select set

Select the set in the Edit > Quick Select Sets submenu.

To edit the membership of a quick-select set

Use the Relationship Editor to control which objects are in a quick select set.

To delete a quick-select set 1 Select Window > Relationship Editors > Sets to open the Relationship Editor to a list of sets contained in your scene. 2 Click to highlight the quick-select set you wish to remove. 3 From the left panel of the Relationship Editor, select Edit > Delete highlighted. NOTE You can also delete a quick-select set using the Outliner. See Create and edit sets on page 158 for instructions on how to delete a set.

Related topics

Edit > Quick Select Sets on page 425 Create > Sets > Quick Select Set on page 463

Save and reuse a selection | 29

Select objects based on hierarchy


To set the selection mask to only select top level nodes (roots) 1 Click the Select by hierarchy and combinations icon in the Status Line (toolbar).

2 Set the selection mask to Root. To set the selection mask to only select only nodes without children (leaves) 1 Click the Select by hierarchy and combinations icon in the Status Line (toolbar).

2 Set the selection mask to Leaf. To select all nodes under the selected node Select Edit > Select Hierarchy.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23 Edit > Select All on page 424

Select components by painting


You can select components such as vertices or faces by painting over the components with your graphics tablet pen. 1 Select the object on which you want to select components. 2 Select Edit > Paint Selection Tool > .

30 | Chapter 2 Selecting

3 Use the Tool Settings panel to set up the tool, including the brush size and choosing whether you are selecting, deselecting, or toggling components between selected and unselected. 4 Set up the selection mask to select what types of components you want to select. 5 Paint on the selected object to select components. You can also use the Drag Select option to achieve a similar workflow but without a brush size. For more information on Drag Select, see Select multiple components on page 24.

Soft Select components


With Soft Selection you can perform a weighted selection of components using the Soft Selection setting in the Tool Settings editor for any of the transformation tools. Transforming a soft selected region results in a smooth progression between the transformed components and untransformed components.

Related topics

Soft Selection

Change one type of selection to another


When you have one type of component selected you can automatically select a corresponding component of a different type. For example, you can select a face and then use Select > Convert Selection > To Edges to select the edges around the face. The Convert Selection type menu items do not change or convert the actual geometry. They only change which components are selected.

To change polygon selections, use the Convert Selection items in the Select menu within the Polygons menu set. To change subdivision surface selections, use the Convert items in the Subdiv Surfaces menu.

Soft Select components | 31

You can convert a selection to many different items using items from the Select > Convert Selection submenu. For more information, see the following in the Polygonal Modeling guide.

Select > Convert Selection > To Vertices Select > Convert Selection > To Vertex Faces Select > Convert Selection > To UVs Select > Convert Selection > To UV Shell Select > Convert Selection > To UV Border Select > Convert Selection > To Shell Select > Convert Selection > To Shell Border Select > Convert Selection > To Edges Select > Convert Selection > To Edge Loop Select > Convert Selection > To Edge Ring Select > Convert Selection > To Contained Edges Select > Convert Selection > To Faces Select > Convert Selection > To Face Path Select > Convert Selection > To Contained Faces TIP Many of the convert selection features are available from the context sensitive polygon marking menu when you press Ctrl + right-click whenever a polygon component is selected.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23

32 | Chapter 2 Selecting

Grow, shrink, or change the selected region of CVs or polygon components


Polygon components
To...
Grow or shrink a selection.

Do this
Chose Select > Grow Selection Region. Chose Select > Shrink Selection Region.

Select the components around the current selection. Select all edges connected to the current selection.

Chose Select > Select Selection Boundary.

Chose Select > Select Contiguous Edges.

NURBS CVs
To...
Grow or shrink a selection.

Do this
Chose Edit NURBS > Selection > Grow CV Selection. Chose Edit NURBS > Selection > Shrink CV Selection.

Select the CVs around the current selection. Select CVs on the edges of the surface.

Chose Edit NURBS > Selection > Select CV Selection Boundary. Chose Edit NURBS > Selection > Select Surface Border.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23

Grow, shrink, or change the selected region of CVs or polygon components | 33

Highlight components before selecting them

This feature provides a visual cue about the component that your mouse cursor is pointing to. You can turn Preselection Highlight on and off by pressing Ctrl + Shift + the right mouse button and selecting Select from the marking menu. Preselection Highlight works on all component selection modes such as Face, Vertex, UV, Edge or Multi. Maya highlights the appropriate components when the mouse cursor is placed on top of them. Non-selected components appear red when highlighted while selected components appear green when highlighted. Preselection Highlight only appears on polygon objects.

Related Topics

Select tools and actions on page 12

34 | Chapter 2 Selecting

Viewing the scene

Move and rotate the camera


Using the ViewCube

The ViewCube is an on-screen 3D navigation element that:


provides feedback about the current camera view in relation to the 3D scene. lets you quickly and easily switch between scene views.

The ViewCube appears in the upper-right corner of the scene view as a cube with its individual faces labelled to indicate the camera view in relation to the 3D scene. The default camera view in Maya is the Perspective view, a standard three-quarter view with a perspective projection. As the camera view is adjusted, the ViewCube updates to reflect the cameras current orientation in relation to the 3D scene. Clicking on a particular face of the cube automatically adjusts the cameras view so it matches that face. The viewing camera animates in real-time during the transition between views so you can see how the orientation of the camera

35

changes in relation to the 3D scene. Clicking on the edges or corners of the ViewCube adjusts the camera view to positions that are in-between the face views. Clicking on the Home icon resets the cameras position to the default perspective view.

In total, 26 standard views are available by clicking on the various cube elements (6 face views, 8 corner views, and 12 edge views).

The ViewCube can also be dragged and snapped to different positions other than the fixed views providing many other viewing options. The ViewCube outlines are drawn with a dashed line style when this occurs. The ViewCube is on by default in the scene views. You can turn off the ViewCube and edit options for the ViewCube by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences, and selecting the ViewCube category. When you position the mouse pointer over the ViewCube, regions of the cube appear highlighted. The highlighted areas of the cube (faces, corners, and edges) indicate the view that will be selected when you click your mouse. To change the scene view using the ViewCube 1 Position your mouse pointer on the ViewCube so that the desired region is highlighted. 2 Left-click on the highlighted region of the ViewCube. The scene view changes to match the point of view that corresponds to the region of the ViewCube you selected.

36 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

To reset the scene view using the ViewCube Click the Home button above the ViewCube. The camera returns to its default position. That is, clicking the Home button in the orthographic views (Front, Top, and Side) resets the views to their default camera positions. Clicking the Home button in the Perspective view resets the cameras position to a three-quarter view with a perspective projection. When viewing the scene in an orthographic view, four small arrows surrounding the ViewCube are used to rotate the camera to an adjacent orthographic view. For example, when viewing the scene in the Front view, clicking the arrow to the right of the ViewCube changes the orthographic view so the scene is viewed from the right. To view an adjacent orthographic view using the ViewCube In an orthographic view, click on any of the four arrows that appear around the ViewCube. These arrows represent the views adjacent to the current orthographic view. The orthographic view changes to match the adjacent orthographic view you selected on the ViewCube.

Using the ViewCube | 37

When viewing the scene in an orthographic view, two curved arrows appear in an arc shape adjacent to the ViewCube to control clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation (roll) of the scene view. To roll an orthographic view using the ViewCube In the desired orthographic view, click on a curved roll arrow to roll the view in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.

To tumble the scene view using the ViewCube Click-drag on the ViewCube in any direction to tumble the view. The scene view tumbles in relation to how you tumble the ViewCube. As you drag your mouse to tumble the ViewCube it attempts to snap to the closest pre-defined view. NOTE This snapping behavior option can be turned off by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences and turning off the Snap to closest view option.

38 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

To hide the display of the ViewCube in the scene views You can control whether or not the ViewCube displays in the scene views using the ViewCube preferences editor. 1 In the main menu, select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences and select the ViewCube category to display the preferences. 2 To turn off the display of the ViewCube, select the Show the ViewCube item so that a check mark does not appear beside it.

Related topics

ViewCube preferences on page 656

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view


To look around in a scene, you move the virtual camera associated with a view panel. Hold
Alt

Drag
The left mouse button

To...

Tumble Alt The middle mouse button

Track

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view | 39

Hold
Alt

Drag
The right mouse buttonorThe left and middle mouse buttons

To...

Dolly Alt + Ctrl The left mouse button Draw a box around the part of the view you want to dolly in on. If you drag the box out from left to right, you dolly in. If you drag the box out from right to left, you dolly out.

These keyboard shortcuts actually correspond to tools. While it is much more convenient to use these keyboard shortcuts, you may occasionally want to use the tool form, or set the options for the tool:

View > Camera Tools > Tumble Tool on page 531 View > Camera Tools > Track Tool on page 532 View > Camera Tools > Dolly Tool on page 532

To roll (tilt) the camera 1 In a view panel, select View > Camera Tools > Roll Tool. 2 Drag the left mouse button to roll the camera. To zoom the camera lens 1 In a view panel, select View > Camera Tools > Zoom Tool. 2 Drag the left mouse button to zoom the camera lens.

40 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

Related topics

Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch on page 41 Return to previous views on page 42 View > Camera Tools > Zoom Tool on page 533 View > Camera Tools > Roll Tool on page 534

Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch


In a panel, select...
View > Camera Tools > Azimuth Elevation Tool

holding the left mouse button...


Drag left and right to change the azimuth. Drag up and down to change the elevation.

View > Camera Tools > Yaw-Pitch Tool

Drag left and right to change the yaw. Drag up and down to change the pitch.

View > Camera Tools > Fly Tool

Drag to change yaw and pitch. Hold Ctrl and drag up and down to move forward and back.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39 Return to previous views on page 42 View > Camera Tools > Azimuth Elevation Tool on page 534 View > Camera Tools > Yaw-Pitch Tool on page 535 View > Camera Tools > Fly Tool on page 535

Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch | 41

Center the view on selected or all objects


To...
Show the selected objects

Do this
In the panel menus select View > Frame Selection or press F. In the panel menus select View > Frame all. In the panel menus select View > Look at selection.

Show all objects

Point the camera at the selected objects but dont move the camera.

Related topics

Return to previous views on page 42 Show or hide objects on page 47

Return to previous views


To...
Go back in the view history.

Do this
In a panel, select View > Previous or press [. In a panel, select View > Next or press ]. In the panel menus select View > Bookmarks > Edit bookmarks. Click New bookmark. Change the name of the bookmark to something descriptive. In the panel menus select View > Bookmarks and then click the name of the bookmark. In the panel menus select View > Bookmarks > Edit bookmarks. Click the bookmark. Click Add to shelf.

Go forward in the view history. Bookmark the current view.

Return to a bookmarked view.

Create a shelf button for a bookmark

42 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39 Center the view on selected or all objects on page 42

Change and resize panels


Change the panel layout
You can set up the division of the main window into panels, adjust their size, and change the contents of panels between view and editors. To...
Switch to a saved layout of panels.

Do this
Click one of the Quick Layout buttons below the Tool Box. or In a panel, select an item from the Panels > Saved Layouts submenu. Press the right mouse button on the panel contents proxy (at the bottom of the Quick Layout buttons below the Tool Box) to show the layout menu. or In a panel, select an item from the Panels > Layouts submenu. Drag the dividers between panels. Drag the point where the dividers cross to resize all panels at the same time. Tap the space bar.

Change the number and division of panels

Resize the panels

Switch between panel layout and filling the screen with the active panel. Set the contents of a panel.

Click the icon for that panel in the layout proxy below the layout thumbnails, then select a panel from the pop-up menu. or In the panel, select an item from the Panels > Panel submenu.

Change and resize panels | 43

To...
Use a preset layout of panels.

Do this
In a panel, select an item from the Panels > Saved layouts menu. In a panel, select Panels > Layouts > Previous arrangement. In a panel, select Panels > Layouts > Next arrangement.

Go back in the panel layout history.

Go forward in the panel layout history.

Related topics

Control what camera is shown in a view on page 44 Create a custom panel layout on page 293 Quick layout buttons on page 380 Panel editor on page 606

Create a window from the contents of a panel (tear off)


To...
Copy a panel into a floating window. Move the contents of a panel into a floating window and change the panels contents.

Do this
In the panel, select Panels > Tear Off Copy. In the panel, select Panels > Tear Off.

Control what camera is shown in a view


When you start a new scene it has four default cameras: persp (perspective), front, side, and top. You can assign a view panel to show the view through one of these camera, or create new cameras and assign them. To...
Assign a camera to a view

Do this
In the panel, open the Panels menu and select a camera from the Perspective or Orthographic submenu. or

44 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

To...

Do this
If the camera object is visible in the scene, select it and in the panel select Panels > Look Through Selected.

Create a new camera for a view

In the panel, select Panels > Perspective > New or Panels > Orthographic > New.

Show, hide, or change the grid


To...
Show or hide the grid in all view panels. Hide the grid in one panel. Edit the spacing, look, and extent of the grid.

Do this
Select Display > Grid. In the panel, select Show > Grid.

Select Display > Grid >

NOTE If you are working in non-default units, you may not see the grid in perspective view when you first open a file. The problem is that the grid is created at the wrong size. Zooming out will show it. To fix this problem, select Display > Grid > Home. and click the Reset button. Then, on the view panel select View > Default

Related topics

Show information over top of a view (heads-up display) on page 45 Display > Grid on page 494 Show > Grid on page 543

Show information over top of a view (heads-up display)


In the Display > Heads Up Display submenu, turn items on or off.

Related topics

Create a custom heads-up display readout on page 332

Show, hide, or change the grid | 45

Display > Heads Up Display on page 496

Change the display of objects


Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects
Changing the smoothness affects how accurately Maya draws NURBS and subdivision surfaces on screen. It does not affect the actual geometry of the surface. Using a rougher display results in faster screen drawing for complex scenes. You can also change whether Maya draws the object as a wireframe (only lines), with shading (showing the solid surfaces), or shaded with textures. Press...
1 2 3

To display the selected objects as


Rough Medium Fine You can also use Display > NURBS > Hull and Display > Subdiv Surfaces > Hull to get an even faster/rougher approximation of a NURBS or subdivision surface than the Rough option.

4 5 6

Wireframe Shaded Shaded with hardware-rendered textures You can also use X-ray shading, which automatically displays objects with slight transparency to let you see and select things behind opaque surfaces. In a view panel, select Shading > X-ray.

46 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39 Show or hide objects on page 47 Change an objects wireframe color on page 50

Show or hide objects


To...
Hide the selected objects. Redisplay the last object(s) you hid. Show all hidden objects. Hide or show all objects of a specific type.

Do this
Select Display > Hide > Hide Selection. Select Display > Show > Show Last Hidden. Select Display > Show > All. To change the display of all panels, use the items in the Display > Hide and Display > Show submenus. To change the display of one panel, use the items in the panels Show menu. Select the objects node in one of the editors and select Display > Show > Show Selection. Use the Outliner or Hypergraph to select the objects node. Select Display > Object Display > No Geometry. Select Display > Object Display > Bounding Box.

Show a specific hidden object.

Select a hidden object.

Hide the actual geometry of an object while leaving other components visible. Show only an objects bounding box.

Related topics

Show or hide components on page 48 Show or hide object-specific UI on page 48 Show an isolated subset of objects or components in a panel on page 49

Show or hide objects | 47

Show or hide components


Use the items in the Display > NURBS, Display > Polygons, and Display > Subdiv Surfaces submenus, as well as the Display > Hide and Display > Show menus submenus. TIP When you are in component selection mode, Maya automatically shows the components on the selected objects. To...
Show or hide geometry components on the selected objects.

Do this
Use the Display > NURBS, Display > Polygons, and Display > Subdiv Surfacessubmenus. Select Display > Show > All Surface CVs. Select Display > Polygons > Backface Culling.

Show CVs on all NURBS surfaces. Show or hide backfaces (polygon faces hidden behind other faces) on the selected polygons.

Related topics

Show or hide objects on page 47

Show or hide object-specific UI


To show or hide...
A lattice deformer attached to the selected object.

Do this
Select Display > Animation > Lattice Points to show or hide the control points on the lattice. Select Display > Animation > Lattice Shape to show or hide the lattice object. Select Display > Transform Display > Rotate Pivots or Display > Transform Display > Scale Pivots. Select Display > Transform Display > Selection Handles.

Pivot points on the selected objects.

Selection handles attached to the selected objects.

48 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

To show or hide...
Manipulators on the selected cameras or lights.

Do this
Use the Display > Rendering > Camera/Light Manipulator submenu.

Related topics

Show or hide objects on page 47

Show an isolated subset of objects or components in a panel


Use the Isolate Select feature (Show > Isolate Select > View Selected) to show only certain objects or components in a view panel. Unlike the Display > Hide commands, the Isolate Select feature can also isolate components (polygon faces, NURBS CVs, or subdivision surface mesh faces), and only affects the display, not rendering. Each panel maintains its own Isolate Select settings. To...
Only show the selected objects/components in a panel. Always only show the selected objects in the panel as the selection changes. Select whether new objects will or wont be in the isolated subset. Add or remove objects in the isolated subset when Auto Load is off.

Do this
In the panel, select Show > Isolate Select > View Selected. In the panel, turn on Show > Isolate Select > Auto Load Selected Objects. In the panel, turn Show > Isolate Select > Auto Load New Objects on or off. In the panel: To change the isolated subset to the current selection, select Show > Isolate Select > Load Selected Objects. To add the current selection to the isolated subset, select Show > Isolate Select > Add Selected Objects. To remove the current selection from the isolated subset, select Show > Isolate Select > Remove Selected Objects.

Show an isolated subset of objects or components in a panel | 49

To...
Save and reuse isolation settings.

Do this
In the panel: To save the current isolation settings, select Show > Isolate Select > Bookmarks > Bookmark Current Objects. To recall an isolated subset, select it from the Show > Isolate Select > Bookmarks submenu.

NOTE The Isolate Select feature does not work for subdivision surface vertices or edges. Instead, you can Isolate subdivision surface faces.

Related topics

Show or hide objects on page 47

Change an objects wireframe color


You can assign different wireframe colors to objects to make them easier to keep track of in the view panels. To...
Change an objects wireframe color.

Do this
Select the object(s) and select Display > Wireframe Color. Select Display > Wireframe Color and double-click a color swatch. or Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings. On the General tab, open the User Defined section. Select the object(s) and select Display > Wireframe Color, then click Default.

Change the colors available in the wireframe color palette.

Make an object use the default wireframe color.

Related topics

Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects on page 46 Change user interface colors on page 291

50 | Chapter 3 Viewing the scene

Transforming objects

Transformations
Transformations change an objects position, size, and orientation without changing its shape. Transform is basically a fancy way of saying Move, Scale, and/or Rotate. Transformations are relative to an objects (or components) pivot point, and take place along/around either the world axes, object axes, or local axes. In Maya, the transformations you make to an object are saved in a transform node. That is, Maya remembers that the object is rotated 32,0,5 degrees and moved -3,6.2,7 cm from its original position. When you group objects together, each group remembers its own transformations. This lets you create hierarchical animations easily.

Related topics

The pivot point on page 52 World space, object space, and local space on page 52 Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59 Set transformation values to zero on page 76 Group objects together on page 157

51

The pivot point


Pivot points control how objects rotate and scale, and also represent the exact locations of objects in space. All transformations to an object are relative to the pivot point. You can change the pivot point of an object or the selected components by pressing Insert or Home and using the pivot point manipulator. Transformation
Move

Relationship to Pivot
Moves the pivot point (and the object travels along with it). Scales object out from or in toward the pivot point.

Scale

Rotation

Rotates object around the pivot point.

Related topics

Change the pivot point on page 68 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

World space, object space, and local space


3D positions and transformations exist within coordinate systems called spaces. World space is the coordinate system for the entire scene. Its origin is at the center of the scene. The grid you see in view windows shows the world space axes.

52 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

Object space is the coordinate system from an objects point of view. The origin of object space is at the objects pivot point, and its axes are rotated with the object.

Local space is similar to object space, however it uses the origin and axes of the objects parent node in the hierarchy of objects. This is useful when you havent transformed the object itself, but it is part of a group that is transformed.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 The pivot point on page 52

Maya interface
Construction history
As you work in Maya, most of your actions create nodes in the construction history of the objects you work on. At each point in your work, the current scene is the result of all the nodes youve created so far. For example, you can revolve a curve around a centerpoint to create a new surface with a cross-section in the shape of the curve. When you apply this action to the curve, a new revolve node is created. The new node has the shape of the curve as an input. It has attributes that control how it creates the surface from the curve. And it has the resulting surface as its output.

Maya interface | 53

This chain of nodes, from the curve to the revolve node to the surface, is called the surfaces construction history. The most important thing about construction history is that you can change it. You can reshape the curve, or change the attributes on the revolve node, and the resulting surface updates automatically. Construction history is part of Mayas dependency graph. While construction history refers to the history of actions that created the scene, the entire dependency graph refers to all connections (input and output) between nodes.

Related topics

Edit completed commands (construction history) on page 84 Show a custom manipulator for the selected node on page 85 Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 Dependency graph on page 100

Construction planes
A construction plane is a construction aid that can make creating objects with orientations other than along XYZ easier. When you make a construction plane live, all drawing is locked to the plane.

Related topics

Snap to the grid, a curve, points, or a view plane on page 77 Snapping with live objects on page 77

Copies vs. instances


The Duplicate and Duplicate Special commands let you create either a complete duplicate or a lightweight instance of the original. For example, you could create armies and forests full of duplicate objects without needing the memory or computing power to handle that much actual geometry. An instance is like an alias or shortcut or symbolic link in a file system: its a visual pointer back to the original. However, each instance has its own transform node so it can have its own position, rotation, and scaling.

54 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

An instance stays linked to the original so when the original changes, the instance changes too. If you move a control point on the original, all instances automatically update. Instances do not have their own control points. (In the Outliner an instance appears to have its own shape node but this is actually shared with the original.)

Limitations

Instanced lights have no effect. Some functions, such as extrude and insert, cannot be used on instances. You cant apply clusters and deformations to instances, although you can of course use them on the original. There is always at least one non-instanced transformation node between the instance nodes and the actual geometry nodes. You cannot create a hierarchy of instances. If you create an instance of an instance node, Maya simply makes a new sibling. File referencing connects objects by name. If you replace a reference with a different file, instanced objects within both files should have the same name. Otherwise you may encounter errors when retrieving the scene.

Related topics

Duplicate on page 88

Transform objects and components


Use manipulators
The Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, and the Universal Manipulator show a manipulator on the selected objects. You move, rotate, or scale the objects by dragging handles on the manipulator. Other tools and objects can also have manipulators. Usually these are the same manipulators (or combinations of the manipulators) used by the Move, Rotate, or Scale Tools. For more details on the Universal Manipulator, see Use the Universal Manipulator on page 62.

Transform objects and components | 55

Position manipulator

Drag an arrow to move along that axis. Drag the center handle to move freely across the view plane. Click a handle to make it active (yellow), then drag the middle mouse button anywhere in a view window to move along the active handle. Hold Shift and drag the middle mouse button up and down or left and right to move in that direction. In a perspective view, Ctrl+click an arrow to switch the center handle to move across an axis plane. Ctrl+click the center handle to switch it back to moving across the view plane.

Rotation manipulator

Drag the rings to rotate around the different axes. Drag the outer ring to rotate around the view axis.

56 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

Scale manipulator

Drag a box to scale along that axis. Drag the center box to scale uniformly in all directions. Click a handle to make it active (yellow), then drag the middle mouse button anywhere in a view window to move along the active handle. Hold Shift and drag the middle mouse button up and down or left and right to scale in that direction.

Combined move/rotate/scale manipulator

This manipulator combines the handles from the Position, rotation, and scale manipulators in one. The Move/Rotate/Scale Tool and Proportional Modification Tool use this manipulator. When a move or scale handle is active, the axis rotation rings are hidden. Click the outer ring rotation ring to show all rotation handles. Some tools add another handle projecting from the center of the manipulator. Clicking this handle switches the manipulator axes between world and local space.

Use manipulators | 57

Complex manipulators
Many objects/nodes have manipulators that let you control the attributes of the node. Often these manipulators are based on the position, rotation and scale manipulators, although some objects and nodes (for example, the spotlight) use complex custom manipulators.

Partial curve manipulators


Some actions (such as Revolve) let you operate on only part of a curve using the Curve Range: Partial option. When you show manipulators for an action with a partial curve, boundary handles appear on the curve that let you adjust what part of the curve is used.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 World space, object space, and local space on page 52 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

Lock a manipulator to the current selection


1 Select the object or objects. 2 Select the Move, Rotate, Scale, or Show Manipulator Tool. 3 Click the Lock current selection icon in the Status Line (toolbar). While the lock icon is on, you cannot select other objects using this tool. Clicking or dragging the left mouse button operates the active manipulator handle (like the middle mouse button does normally). Click the Lock current selection icon again to unlock the manipulator.

58 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

Move, rotate, or scale objects and components


For details of how to move, rotate, and scale with the Universal Manipulator, see Use the Universal Manipulator on page 62. To move objects or components 1 Select the object or component. 2 Select the Move Tool or press w. 3 Use the position manipulator to change the position of the selected objects. Hold w and press the left mouse button to show a marking menu of options and actions related to the Move Tool. To rotate objects or components 1 Select the object or component. 2 Select the Rotate Tool or press e. 3 Use the rotation manipulator to rotate the selected objects. The selection rotates around the pivot of the key object. Hold e and press the left mouse button to show a marking menu of options and actions related to the Rotate Tool. To scale objects or components 1 Select the object or component. 2 Select the Scale Tool or press r. 3 Use the scale manipulator to scale the selected objects. The selection scales from the pivot of the key object. Hold r and press the left mouse button to show a marking menu of options and actions related to the Scale Tool. The combined Move/Rotate/Scale Tool shows the move, rotate, and scale handles all in one manipulator. You may find it easier to use than the individual tools when youre performing a lot of move, rotate, and scale operations on an object to get it into position.

Move, rotate, or scale objects and components | 59

To use the combined Move/Rotate/Scale Tool Select Modify > Transformation Tools > Move/Rotate/Scale Tool.

To type exact transformation values 1 Select the object or component. 2 Select the Move, Rotate, or Scale Tools. 3 From the drop-down menu for the Menu of Input line operations box, select either Absolute transform or Relative transform. 4 Click the input field and type X, Y, and Z values in the appropriate fields. NOTE If you are moving a selected NURBS object to an extreme distance or scaling an NURBS object to an extreme size, you may need to activate the High Precision NURBS display to view the objects correctly. The High Precision NURBS display setting can be found in Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences in the NURBS category under the heading Display.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 Use manipulators on page 55 Move, rotate or scale components proportionally on page 60 Change the pivot point on page 68 Flip objects on page 70 Transform along different axes on page 70 Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, Show Manipulator Tool on page 463 Input box on page 355

Move, rotate or scale components proportionally


For details of how to move, rotate, and scale proportionally with the Universal Manipulator, see Use the Universal Manipulator on page 62.

60 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

The Proportional Modification Tool lets you move a manipulator and have the surrounding control points follow proportional to their distance from the moving point. This effect is controlled by the Distance Cutoff setting.

Proportional modification is sometimes shortened to propmod. To transform the selected components proportionally 1 Select the components you want to modify. Only the selected components are influenced by the tool. 2 Select Modify > Transformation Tools > Proportional Modification Tool > .

3 Use the options in the Tool Settings panel to control how distance is measured and how quickly the influence of the manipulator falls of with distance:

Set the Modification Type to World to calculate distance in world space. Set it to Parametric to calculate distance across the surface (Parametric only works on NURBS). Set Modification Falloff to Linear to have influence fall off at a steady rate. Set it to Power to have influence fall off very quickly.

4 Press Insert or Home to change the manipulator to pivot point mode. Drag the manipulator to move it where you want the center of influence. Press Insert or Home again to change the manipulator back to normal mode. 5 Use the other handles on the manipulator to move or scale the selected components based on their distance from the manipulator.

Related topics

Use manipulators on page 55

Move, rotate or scale components proportionally | 61

Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

Use the Universal Manipulator


The Universal Manipulator combines the functions of the Move Tool, Rotate Tool, and Scale Tool. You can also use it to enter precise values to scale and rotate your object directly in the scene view. To show the Universal Manipulator, do one of the following before or after selecting an object:

Click the Universal Manipulator icon

in the Toolbox.

Select Modify > Transformation Tools > Universal Manipulator. Press Ctrl+t.

The Universal Manipulator interface appears around the object.

The rotation arrows are color-coded based on what axis they are rotating around (red for the x-axis, green for the y-axis, and blue for the z-axis). A selected arrow is yellow. NOTE The Universal Manipulator does not work on components such as vertices, faces, and so on. To manipulate components, use the Move, Rotate, and Scale Tools. To move your object along an axis Drag one of the move handles.

62 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

A number appears in light blue showing the distance from the starting point of the move. To move your object precisely along an axis 1 Select a move arrow. A numerical entry text box appears. 2 Type a value and press Enter. To move your object freely Drag the center point of the manipulator arrows.

Vector lines in red, yellow, and blue and numbers in light blue appear, showing the distance from the starting point of the move. To rotate your object freely Drag a rotation handle.

To rotate your object precisely 1 Select a rotation arrow. A numerical entry text box appears. 2 Type a value in degrees and press Enter. NOTE The value entered is in degrees no matter what the setting is of your Working Units.

To scale your object proportionately Shift+drag a bounding box vertex.

Numbers appears showing the size of each dimension of the object. This scales your object from the opposite corner of the bounding box. To scale from the center of the bounding box, Ctrl + Shift + drag. To scale one dimension of your object Drag on a bounding box vertex.

Use the Universal Manipulator | 63

Numbers appears showing the size of each dimension of the object. This scales your object from the opposite corner of the bounding box. To scale one dimension of your object from the center of the bounding box, Ctrl + drag. To scale your object precisely 1 Click a size number. A numerical entry text box appears. 2 Type a value and press Enter. To scale one dimension of your object precisely 1 Ctrl + click a size number. A numerical entry text box appears. 2 Type a value and press Enter.

Move components with the Tweak mode


Tweak mode lets you quickly move components under the mouse cursor regardless of whether you are currently using the Select Tool, Move Tool, Rotate Tool or Scale Tool. Its useful for positioning objects in a scene or making quick adjustments to a specific mesh without switching to the Move Tool and selecting individual components each time. You can activate tweak mode by holding on the keyboard and simultaneously dragging the left mouse button over the component you want to move. Alternatively, you can double-click the Move Tool in the toolbox and select Tweak mode. Tweak mode is compatible with all component types. All manipulators disappear when tweak mode is active. The Soft Selection settings apply to all of the transformation tools simultaneously. For example, if you turn on Soft Selection for the Move Tool, it stays on even if you select the Rotate Tool and maintains all of its settings.

64 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

Move, rotate, or scale components with reflection


When editing a model with the transformation tools you often need to make changes symmetrically. For example, when modifying a character's head, if changes are made to the top of the left ear, you may also want the top of the right ear to also be affected. The Reflection setting lets you do this. You can select a component(s) on one half of the model, and the Reflection setting will highlight the affected component(s) on the opposite half of the model with a white color. This is called the color feedback.

To move, rotate, or scale components on an object using the Reflection setting 1 In the scene view, select the components you want to move, rotate, or scale on one half of the surface mesh. 2 Select the appropriate transformation tool by doing one of the following:

Double-click the desired transformation tool icon on the Toolbar. Select Modify > Transformation Tools > Move/Rotate/Scale Tool > .

The tool settings for that transformation tool appear. 3 In the Tool Settings Editor, turn the Reflection setting on. The corresponding component(s) across the reflection axis is highlighted in white. 4 When you subsequently move, rotate, or scale the selected component(s), the corresponding highlighted component(s) are also transformed on the opposite side of the reflection axis.

Move, rotate, or scale components with reflection | 65

5 With the other reflection settings you can specify:

whether the Center of reflection is at the origin or based on the bounding box of the object. set the Tolerance for the reflection (that is, how closely the selected component and the component across the reflection axis have to mirror each other in order for mirroring movement to occur). the Reflection axis which the reflection occurs across.

NOTE Reflection settings stay consistent when switching between transformation tools. For example, if you turn on reflection when the Move Tool is active and then you select the Scale Tool, reflection will still remain on. The manipulator indicates the axis along which the reflection takes place:

NOTE The position of the reflection plane on the manipulator doesnt correspond to the actual origin of reflection (which may be outside of the current view); its just a visual indication of the reflection plane (x, y, or z).

Reflection works differently depending on whether Soft Selection is turned on or off. When Soft Selection is turned off and you select a component, Maya attempts to find a component on the opposite side of the seam and include it in the current selection. You can use the Reflection Settings to reflect transformations on a model that is not perfectly symmetrical.

66 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

When Soft Selection is turned on and you transform geometry, Maya mimics the same modification on the opposite side of the seam regardless of whether or not a component exists there.

Notes on the using the Reflection setting

The reflection color feedback automatically appears whenever the reflection setting is turned on and cannot be optionally turned off. The color feedback will not display if you momentarily edit an attribute in the Channel Box. The reflection color feedback will automatically update whenever the reflection center, axis, or tolerances are changed. The reflection color feedback only appears on NURBS surfaces when the surface is displayed in shaded mode. When textures are applied to the shading material on a NURBS surface they will temporarily not display on

Move, rotate, or scale components with reflection | 67

the surface while the transformation tool with reflection settings are in use.

Reflection color feedback does not appear on subdivision surfaces. The Reflection color feedback indicates the components affected by the current selection. In some cases, components may or may not appear with color feedback based on the original component selection, reflection center, axis, or tolerances. For example, when the Center setting is set to Bounding box, when the object shape is irregular, there may not be a corresponding component to highlight based on the shape of the bounding box. In this situation you should try setting the Center setting to Origin, and set the Move setting to either Local or Object space.

Related topics

Move Tool on page 368 Rotate Tool on page 373 Scale Tool on page 375

Change the pivot point


To move the selected objects pivot 1 Select a transformation tool such as the Move Tool, Rotate Tool, or Scale Tool. 2 Press the Insert or Home key to switch the manipulator to pivot point mode. 3 Use the manipulator to move the pivot point. 4 Press Insert or Home again to switch the manipulator back to normal mode. To move the pivot point using exact values 1 Show the Attribute Editor and click the transform nodes tab. 2 In the Pivots section, turn on the pivot display options so you can see the effects of editing the pivot values.

68 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

3 Do one of the following:

In the Local Space section, type X, Y, and Z coordinates for the Rotate Pivot and Scale Pivot relative to the objects origin. In the World Space section, type X, Y, and Z coordinates for the Rotate Pivot and Scale Pivot relative to the world origin.

To reset the selected objects pivots to center 1 Select the Rotate or Scale Tool. 2 Select Modify > Center Pivot. To make the selected objects pivot points visible in the scene Select Display > Transform Display > Rotate Pivots and Display > Transform Display > Scale Pivots.

When you transform components, Maya creates a temporary pivot at the center of the selected components. Because the pivot is always at the center of the selection, selecting or deselecting additional components moves the pivot. You can lock the pivot in place so it wont move as components are added to or removed from the selection. To keep the pivot in place while working with components 1 Press the Insert or Home key to show the pivot point manipulator. 2 Move the pivot point. 3 Click the circle at the top of the pivot point manipulator to lock or unlock the pivot point for component transformations. When the circle is filled, the pivot is locked. NOTE If the pivot point of an object is changed from its default value, duplicating multiple copies of that object results in additional transforms to the channels of the duplicated transform node. However, the resulting position, orientation and the pivots of the duplicated objects will be correct. To avoid these extra transforms, the duplicate command should be invoked with No of copies set to 1. The hotkey g can then be used as many times as needed.

Change the pivot point | 69

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 The pivot point on page 52 Modify > Center Pivot on page 473

Flip objects
Scaling an object by a negative amount in one or more directions has the same effect as flipping it across its axes. 1 Click the Scale Tool and then click the object you want to flip. 2 In the Status Line (toolbar) right-click the icon beside the triple-input box and set it to Absolute Transform or Relative Transform. 3 In the text boxes, type three numbers representing X, Y, and Z. To flip the object across an axis, enter -1 for that axis, otherwise type 1. For example, to flip the object across Y, type 1 -1 1. To flip the object across X and Z, type -1 1 -1. 4 Press Enter.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59 Change the pivot point on page 68

Transform along different axes


In the Move Tool, Rotate Tool, and Scale Tool settings, you can select what axes to use. To access these settings, double-click the respective tool in the toolbox, or select a tool from the Tool Settings editor.

Move/Scale Tool

Object moves/scales along an objects own rotated axes. Local moves/scales along an objects parents rotated axes.

70 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

World moves/scales along the world (grid) axes. Normal lets you move/scales CVs on a NURBS surface along U, V, or Normal directions.

You can specify the movement axis of the Move/Scale Tool in additional ways:

Along live object axis Orient the Move/Scale axis towards a point (Set to point). Align the Move/Scale axis with an edge (Set to Edge). Align the Move/Scale axis with a face (Set to Face). Move/Scale along custom axis (Custom Axis orientation).

NOTE You can only animate scale transformations that occur in Object space. However, if you scale an object on all three axes simultaneously, the object will always scale in Object space, regardless of the current setting. NOTE Scaling an object in any space other than Object space ignores that objects scale limits. However, scaling an object on all three axes simultaneously, in any space, respects the objects scale limits. NOTE You can only scale objects without components (for example, joints) in Object space.

Moving or scaling along a live object axis


You can set the Move Tool / Scale Tool to move/scale objects along the axis of a live object. Most commonly, you would make a construction plane live, but any object can be set live. Example: moving an object along the axis of a live object 1 Create a construction plane (Create > Construction Plane). 2 Rotate the plane. 3 With the plane selected, click the Make the selected object live icon in the Status Line, or select Modify > Make Live. 4 Create another shape (here, a polygon torus).

Transform along different axes | 71

5 Do one of the following to open the Move Tool settings:


Double-click the Move Tool icon. Select Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool > .

6 In the Move Settings section of the Move Tool options, change the Move setting to Along Live Object Axis. The move arrows of the move tool align to the live construction plane.

By clicking and dragging the move arrows, you can now move the torus in a constrained manner: along the surface in two directions or at exact right angles to the surface. Clicking and dragging the center point of the move arrows moves the object with default behavior (snap to live geometry). For more information, see Modify > Make Live and Move Tool. The geometry of the live object doesnt matter; the move aligns to the axes of the live object.

Orient the Move/Scale axis towards a point


You can set the Move Tool / Scale Tool to transform the selected object along an axis defined by selecting a point. Example: To set the axis of the Move Tool 1 Select an object. 2 Double-click the Move Tool icon in the Toolbox. The Tool Settings editor appears. 3 In the Tool Settings editor, click Set to Point.

72 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

4 Select a vertex in the scene. It can be a vertex on any object, including the currently selected object (right-click the object and select Vertex from the marking menu). The axis of the Move Tool changes.

You can see the new axis settings by opening the Move Tool settings (double-click the Move Tool icon or select Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool > Orientation. ) and examining the three boxes under Custom Axis

You can use an almost identical workflow to set the axis of the Scale Tool by substituting the Scale Tool in the above steps.

Align the Move/Scale axis with an edge or face


You can set the Move Tool / Scale Tool to move the selected object along an axis defined by an edge or a face. Example: To align the Move axis with an edge or face 1 Select an object. 2 Double-click the Move Tool icon in the Toolbox. The Tool Settings editor appears. 3 In the Tool Settings editor, click Set to Edge or Set to Face. 4 Select an edge or face in the scene. It can be an edge or face on any object, including the currently selected object (right-click the object and select Edge or Face from the marking menu). The axis of the Move Tool changes.

Transform along different axes | 73

You can see the new axis settings by opening the Move Tool settings (double-click the Move Tool icon or select Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool > Orientation. ) and examining the three boxes under Custom Axis

You can use an almost identical workflow to align the axis of the Scale Tool by substituting the Scale Tool in the above steps.

Move/Scale along custom axis


You can set the Move/Scale Tool to move/scale objects along a custom axis. 1 Do one of the following to open the Move/Scale Tool settings:

Double-click the Move Tool icon or the Scale Tool icon. Select Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool > Transformation Tools > Scale Tool on page 463. or Modify >

2 In the Move Settings (Scale Settings) section, enter the x, y, and z offset of the custom axis in radians.

Rotate Tool

Local rotates around an objects own axes. World rotates around the world (grid) axes. When this option is on the rings do not rotate with each other but instead stay locked to the world axes. Gimbal changes only the X, Y, or Z rotation value. In local and world modes, the rings may change more than one of the rotation XYZ channels.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 World space, object space, and local space on page 52

74 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

Move Tool on page 368 Rotate Tool on page 373

Preserve textures during transformation


When you transform the vertices of an object the UVs do not move in UV space by default. As a result, textures on your object may become warped. To avoid this, turn on the Preserve UVs option in the Tool Settings Editor for any of the transform tools you are using. Preserve Translate UVs
Before

Rotate

Scale

Off

Preserve textures during transformation | 75

Preserve Translate UVs


On

Rotate

Scale

By turning on this option, Maya automatically transforms UVs in the UV space relative to the transformations taking place in the scene view.

Related topics

Introduction to UV mapping Move, rotate, and scale UVs

Set transformation values to zero


When you transform an object, Maya stores it in a transform node as the difference from its original (zero) position. These menu items let you control this saved transformation information for an object. To...
Reset transformations on the selected object back to zero (return to first or last frozen position). Make the selected objects current transformations be the zero position.

Do this
Select Modify > Reset Transformations.

Select Modify > Freeze Transformations.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, Show Manipulator Tool on page 463

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Align and snap


Snap to the grid, a curve, points, or a view plane
When using the Move Tool and various creation tools, you can snap to existing objects in the scene. To snap a move, press the middle mouse button on the object you want to snap to (pressing the left mouse button just selects the object). To snap to...
Grid intersections

Hold
x

Or turn on this icon in the Status Line (toolbar)

Curves

CV, vertex, or pivot

View plane

NOTE If you have snapping turned on and drag an arrow on the position manipulator (as opposed to the center), the manipulator snaps to the first available point along that axis.

Related topics

Snapping with live objects on page 77

Snapping with live objects


You can use the Make Live ( ) option with snapping to create or move geometry that is locked to existing geometry.

Align and snap | 77

Snap all creation tools to a surface or construction plane


You can set a surface so that all creation tools (such as the curve drawing tools) are locked on to the surface. This does not affect actions (such as the create primitives commands). To snap creation tools to the selected surface 1 Click the Make the selected object live icon (toolbar), or select Modify > Make Live. in the Status Line

2 While the Make live icon is on, creation tools snap to the surface when in Interactive Creation mode. Click the icon again to stop snapping to the surface. To snap creation tools to a plane 1 Select Create > Construction Plane > the plane and click Create. , set the initial orientation of

2 Use the Move and Rotate Tools to orient the plane. 3 Select the plane and select Modify > Make Live. While the Make live icon is on, creation tools snap to the surface when in Interactive Creation mode. Click the icon again to stop snapping to the surface. NOTE When you use Make live to snap a curve to a NURBS surface, the curve becomes a curve-on-surface and you can use it to trim. the Make live feature works in either wireframe or shaded display mode.

Related topics

Construction planes on page 54 Snap to the grid, a curve, points, or a view plane on page 77 Create > Construction Plane on page 461 Create polygon primitives interactively

78 | Chapter 4 Transforming objects

Snap translation to live object


You can set a surface so that a translated surface locks onto it. To snap to a live object 1 Select the surface you want to snap to. 2 Click the Make the selected object live icon (toolbar), or select Modify > Make Live. in the Status Line

If you perform a free translate on the object, it snaps to the live surface. NOTE If Snap to curves is enabled and the object is already snapped to a curve or very close to one, then the object remains snapped to the curve when free transformed. If the object is not near a curve, it snaps to the live surface.

Align objects
To align objects using an interactive manipulator 1 Select Modify > Align Tool. 2 Select the objects you want to align. The other objects align to the last selected (key) object. This object is highlighted in green.

Align objects | 79

3 Do any of the following:

Click an icon to align the objects. The icons show how the bounding boxes align. For example:

Use Edit > Undo or press z to reverse an align.

In the following example, the objects align to the far right of the cube outside the transparent box.

To align objects by setting options 1 Select the objects you want to align. 2 Select Modify > Snap Align Objects > Align Objects > .

3 Select the align mode. Min aligns objects along the side closest to 0. Max aligns objects to the side farthest from 0. Mid aligns centers. Dist

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distributes objects equally along the distance between them. Stack moves objects so they are lined up with no space between them. 4 Select which axes to align along. For example, to align tops/bottoms turn on World Y. 5 Select what to move the objects to. Selection Average moves the objects to the average of the objects coordinates. Last selected object moves the objects to the key object. This object is highlighted in green. 6 Click Align.

Related topics

Snap one object to another on page 82 Modify > Snap Align Objects > Align Objects on page 469 Modify > Align Tool on page 471

Position objects along a curve


You can reposition a selection of objects so they are spaced evenly along a curve. For example, you can create a line of fence posts that meanders along a winding road. To position a selection of objects along a curve 1 Draw a curve in the scene to indicate the path along which you want the objects to be positioned. (Alternately you can duplicate or use an existing curve in the scene). 2 Select the objects you want to have evenly positioned as well as the path curve and then select Modify > Snap Align Objects > Position Along Curve. The selected objects are repositioned so they are evenly spaced along the curve.

Related topics

Modify > Snap Align Objects > Position Along Curve on page 470

Position objects along a curve | 81

Snap one object to another


To snap objects together with interactive control 1 Select Modify > Snap Together Tool. 2 Click the point on the first object you want to snap. 3 Click the point on the second object you want to snap to. 4 An arrow appears showing how the objects snap together. To change the points, click or drag new points on either object. 5 Press Enter to snap the objects together. The Snap Together Tool normally moves and rotates the objects to make the points touch. Use the tool settings to make the tool move the objects without rotation. TIP You can also use the Snap Together Tool on polygon edges. Press the right mouse button on an object and select Edge from the marking menu to enter edge selection mode, then apply the Snap Together Tool to polygon edges. To snap two objects together at one point 1 Select the point that will move. 2 Shift-select the point to snap to. 3 Select Modify > Snap Align Objects > Point to Point. Maya moves the first points object so the two points touch. To snap two objects together at two points 1 Select two points on the object that will move. 2 Shift-select two points on the object to snap to. 3 Select Modify > Snap Align Objects > 2 Points to 2 Points. Maya moves the first object so the first point you selected on each object touch, and the second point you selected on each object touch. To snap two objects together at three points 1 Select three points on the object that will move.

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2 Shift-select three points on the object to snap to. 3 Select Modify > Snap Align Objects > 3 Points to 3 Points. Maya moves the first object so the first point you selected on each object touch, the second point you selected on each object touch, and the third point you selected on each object touch.

Related topics

Snap to the grid, a curve, points, or a view plane on page 77 Snapping with live objects on page 77 Align objects on page 79 Modify > Snap Align Objects > Point to Point, 2 Points to 2 Points, 3 Points to 3 Points on page 469 Modify > Snap Align Objects > Align Objects on page 469 Modify > Align Tool on page 471 Modify > Snap Together Tool on page 472

Change history
Undo, Redo, and Repeat
To...
Undo. Redo. Repeat the last command. Repeat a recent command.

Do this
SelectEdit > Undo or press z. SelectEdit > Redo or press Shift + z. Select Edit > Repeat or press g. Select Edit > Recent Commands List to show a list of recent commands. Hold the space bar to open the hotbox and press the left mouse button in the Recent Commands area on the left to show a menu of recent commands.

Change history | 83

Related topics

Edit completed commands (construction history) on page 84

Edit completed commands (construction history)


Most actions you perform in Maya create a node in the dependency graph. To select and edit history nodes 1 Select the object. 2 Do one of the following:

Hold the a key and press the left mouse button to show a marking menu of commands related to attributes. Choose Select All Inputs. Press the left mouse button on the input icon in the Status Line (toolbar) and select a history node from the menu. In the Attribute Editor, click the tab for the history node you want to edit. Click the nodes heading in the Channel Box.

3 Edit the nodes attributes in the Attribute Editor or the Channel Box. To show a custom manipulator for this node, click the Show Manipulator Tool in the Tool Box. To temporarily turn off creation of construction history Click the Construction History On/Off icon in the Status Line (toolbar).

Related topics

Construction history on page 53 Dependency graph on page 100 Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) on page 122 Edit > Delete by Type > History on page 422

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Show a custom manipulator for the selected node


Select the node and click the Show Manipulator Tool in the Tool Box, or select Modify > Transformation Tools > Show Manipulator Tool.

The manipulator lets you edit the attributes of the node visually. NOTE Custom manipulators only appear when Construction History is turned on.

Related topics

Construction history on page 53 Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box on page 109

Create and edit models


Create geometric primitives
Use the items in the Create > Polygon Primitives and Create > NURBS Primitives to add geometric primitives such as spheres, cubes, cylinders, cones, planes, and tori to the scene.

Create text
The Create > Text action lets you create curves or surfaces in the shape of styled text. 1 Select Create > Text > .

2 Type the text you want to create. 3 Use the menu button at the right end of the Font box to select a type face and style.

Show a custom manipulator for the selected node | 85

4 Select one of the following:


Click Curves to create NURBS curves from the outline of the text. Click Trim to create planar NURBS surfaces trimmed to the shape of the text. Click Poly to create polygonal surfaces in the shape of the text. You can set the options for the NURBS to Polygons conversion; they are the same as the Modify > Convert > NURBS to Polygons command. Click Bevel to create bevelled text. You can set the options for the bevelled text; they are the same as the Surfaces > Bevel Plus command.

5 Click Create.

Notes

The text is always created starting at the origin in the XY plane. In some views it may appear to be a line because it is edge-on to the view. The letters of the text are individual objects in a group. To transform the text, select the group in the Outliner. When you use the Curves option, the NURBS curves use CV multiplicity to achieve sharp corners. There is also a textForBevel node in the history. The text attribute on this node allows you to edit the text string. For example, you can go to the textForBevel tab in the Attribute Editor for the beveled text object and modify the text in the Text Curves History section:

Related topics

Create geometric primitives on page 85 Annotate or document objects on page 160 Create > Text on page 457

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Edit objects
Cut, Copy, and Paste
To...
Cut the selection and put it on the clipboard Copy the selection to the clipboard Paste from the clipboard

Do This
Select Edit > Cut.

Select Edit > Copy. Select Edit > Paste.

Related topics

Edit > Cut on page 421 Edit > Copy on page 421 Edit > Paste on page 421

Delete
To...
Delete the selection. Delete components of a certain type from the selected objects Delete all objects of a certain type.

Do this
Select Edit > Delete. Select an item from the Edit > Delete by Type submenu. Select an item from the Edit > Delete All by Type submenu.

Related topics

Edit > Paste on page 421 Edit > Delete by Type > Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Static Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Non-particle Expressions on page 422 Edit > Delete All by Type on page 423

Edit objects | 87

Duplicate
The Duplicate and Duplicate Special commands let you create multiple copies of the selected objects, with optional transformations applied to each copy. You can also make lightweight references to existing objects, known as instances. Instances are linked to the original object, so changing to the original automatically updates all its instances. To make a simple duplicate of the selected objects Select Edit > Duplicate.

To duplicate the selected objects with the options you specify 1 Select Edit > Duplicate Special > 2 Set the Geometry Type to Copy. 3 Set the options for the number of copies and the transformations to apply to each copy. To duplicate the selected objects and reapply the last transform Select Edit > Duplicate with Transform. .

For example, if you move an object 2 units up, then select Edit > Duplicate with Transform, a duplicate object is created and moved 2 units up again. To create lightweight instances of the selected objects 1 Select Edit > Duplicate Special > 2 Set the Geometry Type to Instance. 3 Set the options for the number of copies and the transformations to apply to each copy. .

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NOTE

If the pivot point of an object is changed from its default value, duplicating multiple copies of that object results in additional transforms to the channels of the duplicated transform node. However, the resulting position, orientation and the pivots of the duplicated objects will be correct. To avoid these extra transforms, the Duplicate Special command should be invoked with No of copies set to 1. The hotkey g can then be used as many times as needed. Edit > Duplicate does not work on isoparms. Instead, use Edit Curves > Duplicate Surface Curves.

Related topics

Copies vs. instances on page 54 Flip objects on page 70 Edit > Duplicate on page 425 Edit > Duplicate Special on page 426 Edit > Duplicate with Transform on page 428

Edit component numeric values directly


With the Component Editor you can view and edit the numeric values of each individual component of an object in a spreadsheet format. For example:

The stiffness of individual springs. The colors of individual particles. Polygon vertex colors and normals. Weights of CVs, vertices, or lattice points with cluster deformers or after skinning.

Edit component numeric values directly | 89

Each component is a row in the spreadsheet. Each value or influence is a column. To...
Edit components on an object.

Do this
Select the object and select Window > General Editors > Component Editor. Click the tabs across the top of the Component Editor window. Select all the cells you want to enter the same value in, then type the value or use the slider at the bottom of the window. You can select one or more cells, rows, columns, or any combination. In the Component Editor, turn List > Auto Update on or off. When Auto Update is off, use the Load Components button to update the window with the current selection. Select List > Change Precision.

Show different component types or influences. Enter values in cells.

Switch between always showing the current selection and manually updating the selection.

Change the decimal precision in the cells.

Related topics

Component Editor on page 584

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Transfer attribute values


You can transfer the values from one object (the source) to another (the target) using the Transfer Attribute Values option. This is useful for quickly transferring or duplicating animation from one object to another.

Related topics

Edit > Transfer Attribute Values on page 428 Assets and file referencing on page 193 Transfer attribute values between assets on page 242

To transfer attribute values between objects 1 Select the source object in the scene. 2 Shift + select the target object. 3 Select Edit > Transfer Attribute Values > .

The Transfer Attribute Values Options window appears. 4 Select Apply or Apply and Close. Depending on what options you turn on in the Transfer Attribute Values Options window, you can achieve a number of different behaviors. The Values option allows you to copy all commonly named attributes from the source to the target. In the following example, the scale attribute is copied from the arrow to the cylinder when Values is on. When Values is off, the cylinder remains its original size.

Transfer attribute values | 91

NOTE The rotation and translation of the cylinder mimic those of the arrow regardless of whether Values is on or off. This is because these attributes are connected to the curve. The In connections option allows you to duplicate all incoming connections to the source node on the target node, or transfer all incoming connections to the source node to the target node. In the following example, when In connections is off, the cylinder copies the initial values of the arrow, but does not animate since its movement is dependant on input from the curve. If In connections is set to Share with source then both the arrow and cylinder will animate since they both have incoming connections from the curve. If In connections is set to Transfer from source then only the cylinder animates because the incoming connection to the arrow is deleted.

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Unlike incoming connections, you can only transfer outgoing connections. The Transfer Attribute Values Options window also has a number of container specific options. For more information see Assets and file referencing on page 193.

Troubleshooting Manipulators and Transformations


Issues with manipulators
If you experience any issues with manipulators, check this section for common issues and their workarounds.

Troubleshooting Manipulators and Transformations | 93

Manipulators missing on certain tools


If you are using a tool or option that you expect to have a custom manipulator and the manipulator does not appear, make sure Construction History is on. A few examples of such options include Extrude, Extract and Poke Face.

Issues with transformations


If you experience any issues with transformations, check this section for some common issues and their workarounds.

Double transformation when objects are parented with history


When an object is parented with its construction history, the output surface may get a double transformation when the group is moved.

Workaround
To fix this toggle the inhertsTransform flag (on the surface) to off. This stops the surface from inheriting the groups transformation and fixes the problem. NOTE The group command automatically detects and toggles this flag in these situations but the parent command does not.

Revolved surface limitation


If a revolved surface is grouped with its input curve then transforming the resulting group will change the shape of the revolved surface since the revolve nodes pivot will not be transformed. Workaround This can be avoided by not grouping the curve with the surface or by creating a locator under the group and connecting its position to the revolve nodes pivot.

Transform with multiple surfaces


If a transform has multiple surfaces under it the shape node may have to be selected in the outliner for commands like makeLive to work properly.

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Nodes and attributes

Nodes and attributes overview


Nodes
Maya is built around nodes. An object, such as a sphere, is built from several nodes: a creation node that records the options that created the sphere, a transform node that records how the object is moved, rotated, and scaled, and a shape node that stores the positions of the spheres control points.

Attributes
An attribute is a position associated with a node that can hold a value or a connection to another node. Attributes control how a node works. For example, a transform node has attributes for the amount of rotation in X, Y, and Z. You can set attributes to control practically every aspect of your animation. There are many ways to set attributes in Maya: with the Attribute Editor, the Channel Box, the Attribute Spread Sheet, menu selections, and MEL.

95

Every node is created with certain default attributes. Some attributes (such as Opacity and Color of particle objects) are added dynamically when you need them. You can also add your own attributes to any node to store information. This is often useful for animation expressions and scripts, and can be used to control several normal attributes using one custom attribute.

Related topics

Two views of the scene: hierarchy and dependency on page 98 Node types on page 104 Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) on page 122

Construction history
As you work in Maya, most of your actions create nodes in the construction history of the objects you work on. At each point in your work, the current scene is the result of all the nodes youve created so far.

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For example, you can revolve a curve around a center point to create a new surface with a cross-section in the shape of the curve. When you apply this action to the curve, a new revolve node is created. The new node has the shape of the curve as an input. It has attributes that control how it creates the surface from the curve. And it has the resulting surface as its output.

This chain of nodes, from the curve to the revolve node to the surface, is called the surfaces construction history. The most important thing about construction history is that you can change it. You can reshape the curve, or change the attributes on the revolve node, and the resulting surface updates automatically.

Direct manipulation
Much of working in Maya involves directly manipulating nodes and attributes using manipulators. Manipulators are visual objects that let you accomplish complex tasks easily, concretely, and visually by dragging handles and seeing the results immediately. Using the revolve example above, you can select the revolve node and edit its attributes (how it creates the surface) visually by showing its manipulator with the Show Manipulator Tool.

This lets you control attributes (such as how far around the centerpoint the surface goes) simply by dragging a handle. You can also show manipulators for individual attributes to edit their values visually.

Nodes and attributes overview | 97

Keyable attributes
Animation in Maya is not limited to making things move. You can animate practically any attribute of any node in Maya. Attributes that control how a surface is constructed, or the look of a texture, or the influence of a deformer or physical force, can all change over time.

MEL
MEL stands for Maya Embedded Language. It is Mayas scripting language. It is deeply integrated with Maya, and allows you to do anything from open a window or perform a simple action with a command, to total customization of the Maya interface, to writing an entirely new application on top of Maya. Practically everything that Maya can do can be accomplished through MEL (and what cant can be done in another language with the Maya API).

Two views of the scene: hierarchy and dependency


There are two basic ways to view your scene in Maya:

As a hierarchical list of nodes. This shows which nodes are parents and children of other nodes. See Scene hierarchy on page 98. As a graph of connections between nodes. This shows which nodes provide input or output to other nodes. See Dependency graph on page 100.

Scene hierarchy
The scene hierarchy is the grouping of child nodes under parent nodes.

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While you could create a scene without establishing a hierarchy, you will find that it makes modeling and especially animation much easier. You can view and edit the scene hierarchy with the Outliner or the Hypergraph.

Example 1
When you transform a parent, its children are transformed with it. This lets you, for example, model a leg by making the thigh the child of the hip, the knee the child of the thigh, the shin the child of the knee, the foot the child of the shin, and so on. Rotating one join rotates the rest of the leg under that joint.

Example 2
Suppose you animate a planet to orbit the center of the workspace. If you make a moon the child of the planet, it follows the motion of the planet.

Though the moon is the child of the planet, you can also give the moon motion thats independent of the planet. For example, you can make it orbit the planet. If you later change the orbiting motion of the planet, the moon continues to follow the planets motion, but stills retains its original orbiting motion.

Parenting
Among Maya users, establishing hierarchy is often called parenting objects. When make node B the child of node A, we say you have parented node B to node A. (This might be somewhat confusing at first, since parenting something does not mean making it a parent but rather means making it a child, but thats the way it is.)

Scene hierarchy | 99

Grouping
To control multiple objects with one node, you can group objects together under a new transform node. By grouping objects, you can move, shade, texture, and do many other actions to all the objects at the same time.

Organizing
You can also use the scene hierarchy to organize objects to make them easier to work with, even if youre not animating them.

Related topics

Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 Dependency graph on page 100 The Outliner on page 101 The Hypergraph on page 102 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Group objects together on page 157

Dependency graph
The dependency graph is one of two ways Maya represents your scene (the other being the scene hierarchy). Its a chain of nodes. The dependency graph is like a series of instructions for how to get the current scene starting from scratch: create a sphere A, move these CVs, create a curve B, project curve B onto sphere A to create curve-on-surface C, trim sphere A using curve on surface C, and so on. The dependency graph gets its name from the connections between nodes. In the example above, the project curve operation depends on two inputs: sphere A and curve B. Each node in the dependency graph represents an action to build up or change the scene, with the final result being the scene in its current state. What this lets you do is modify or reshape input objects, change attributes on a node, change node connections, or delete nodes, and have Maya automatically and instantaneously update the entire scene to reflect the changes.

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The connections between creation and editing nodes is also called construction history, because it records the history of how the scene was constructed. You can view and edit the dependency graph in the Hypergraph. You can organize nodes together using container nodes. Container nodes are a special type of node that lets you organize nodes into logical groupings for a special purpose. They can be used to simplify the view of dependency graph.

Related topics

Construction history on page 53 Scene hierarchy on page 98 Edit completed commands (construction history) on page 84 Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) on page 122 Connect input and output attributes on page 123 Connect attributes with an expression on page 124

The Outliner
The Outliner is one of two main scene management editors in Maya (the other is the Hypergraph). The Outliner shows the hierarchy of all objects in the scene in outline form: You can expand and collapse the display of branches in the hierarchy, and lower levels of the hierarchy are indented under higher levels.

The Outliner | 101

The outline includes objects that are normally hidden in the view panels, such as the default cameras. You can control what objects appear in the Outliner using the menus and the text filter box. For example, type *top* in the box and press Enter to only show objects with the letters top in their names. Clicking the name of a node in the Outliner selects the node. The selected node(s) are shown with a gray background. You can double-click the name of a node to rename it. You use the Outliner most often for two functions:

Selecting objects. With complex scenes it is often easier to select an object by clicking its name in the Outliner than trying to hit it in a view panel. Changing the hierarchy of nodes. You can move nodes around the hierarchy and parent nodes to other nodes by middle-dragging them.

Related topics

Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 The Hypergraph on page 102 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Outliner on page 602

The Hypergraph
The Hypergraph is one of two main scene management editors in Maya (the other is the Outliner). The Hypergraph shows a network of boxes representing nodes and lines connecting them representing relationships. You can use the Hypergraph to view and edit hierarchical relationships (the same information the Outliner shows) or dependency relationships (input and output connections between attributes).

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While the Hypergraph can seem more intimidating than the Outliner at first, it has several advantages of its own:

You can use it to show and edit connections between nodes. You use the same move keys to move around the graph as you do to move around view panels (alt + the middle mouse button and alt + the right mouse button). You can bookmark different views of the scene and zoom between them The Hypergraph draws animated nodes with slanted sides making them easy to see.

Related topics

Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 The Outliner on page 101 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) on page 122 Connect input and output attributes on page 123 Connect attributes with an expression on page 124 Hypergraph overview on page 630

The Hypergraph | 103

Node types
Transform node
A node that contains an objects transformation attributesvalues for its translation, rotation, scale, and so on. It also holds information on parent-child relationships it has with other nodes. InnerSolarSystem, Sun, Moon, and all other boxes shown in the example are transform nodes.

Shape nodes
Holds an objects geometry attributes or attributes other than the objects transform node attributes. A shape node is the child of a transform node. A transform node has only one shape node.

Auxiliary nodes
There are several nodes, such as unitConversion, which are hidden to reduce clutter in the editors. They are not normally useful to see or edit; however, if you need to you can show these nodes. (You can also hide nodes that are normally shown if you want to further reduce clutter.)

Hidden nodes
Any object hidden using Display > Hide. Maya hides the default cameras (top, front, side, and persp) by default.

Underworld nodes
A pair of nodes below a shape node. When you create a curve-on-surface, Maya creates an underworld transform node and shape node for the curve-on-surface below the surfaces shape node. The CV positions of underworld nodes have UV coordinates on the surface rather than coordinates in world or local space.

Rendering nodes
Materials and textures each have nodes containing attributes that control their look. Texture placement nodes have attributes that control how a texture is fitted onto a surface. Lights are of course nodes too, with attributes controlling their properties.

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Container nodes
You can organize nodes within the dependency graph into logical node groupings using Container Nodes. A container node is a special type of node that lets you:

simplify the display of nodes related to a particular item in the scene. assemble multiple nodes together for a special purpose.

Container nodes do not change the hierarchical relationships between nodes. Container nodes can be created, and modified using the Hypergraphs Edit menu or by using the icons on the Hypergraph Toolbar. You add and modify attributes and make attribute connections to container nodes (and the nodes placed within them) just like you would other nodes in Maya. For more information see Connect input and output attributes on page 123.

Utility nodes
Maya has a few utility nodes that provide extra functions you can use in a shader network. For example, multiply/divide nodes let you alter inputs and outputs between other nodes.

Script nodes
Script nodes are a way of storing a MEL script in a Maya scene file: You can set a script node to execute its payload in response to various events:

When the node is read from a file. Before or after rendering a frame. Before or after rendering an animation. When a file is closed or de-referenced.

Examples Example 1
If you select Create > NURBS Primitives > Sphere to create a sphere, Maya creates a transform node and a shape node.

Node types | 105

The spheres shape node holds the mathematical description of the spheres shape. The spheres transform node holds the spheres position, scaling, rotation, and so on. The shape node is the child of the transform node. If you select Options > Display > Shape Nodes in the Hypergraph, the scene hierarchy shows these nodes for the sphere:

Maya gives the nodes the default names shown in the preceding figure. The transform node is nurbsSphere1, the shape node is nurbsSphereShape1. If you rename the transform node, for example, to Bubble, Maya renames the shape node to BubbleShape. If you rename the shape node, Maya does not rename the transform node. Maya doesnt transmit a childs attribute changes up to its parent.

Example 2
If you select Create > NURBS Primitives > Sphere to create a sphere, Maya creates a transform node and a sphere node. If you then select Modify > Make Live, then use the Create > CV Curve Tool to draw a curve on the surface of the sphere and turn on the display of shape nodes and underworld nodes, the scene hierarchy appears as follows:

Maya gives the nodes the default names shown. The transform node is nurbsSphere1, the shape node is nurbsSphereShape1. The curve1 and curveShape1 nodes are underworld nodes for the curve created on the spheres surface. When a curve-on-surface is hard to select in the workspace because of crowding or complex geometry, you can select it easily in the scene hierarchy with underworld nodes displayed.

Related topics

Nodes and attributes overview on page 95

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Scene hierarchy on page 98 The Hypergraph on page 102 Dependency graph on page 100

View and edit attributes


Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box
Attribute values with an purple background in the Channel Box or Attribute Editor are controlled by a connection to another attribute. You cannot edit them manually. To...
Enter a value for an attributes

Do this
Click in the text box and type a new value and press Enter. For boolean (on/off) values, type 1 or on, or 0 or off. Note that you cannot set rotation and translation limits in the Channel Box. You must use the Attribute Editor instead. To set the limits of many objects at once, use the All tab in the Attribute Spread Sheet (Window > General Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet). Type the value and press the Enter or Return key.

Change a value and return the keyboard focus to the view windows so you can use hotkeys. Change a value and leave the keyboard focus in the edit box. Enter the same value in multiple attributes at once.

Type the value and press the Enter key on the numeric keypad. Shift-click, Ctrl-click, or drag across multiple text boxes to select them. Then type a new value and press Enter.

View and edit attributes | 107

To...
Change the sensitivity of sliders in the Channel Box.

Do this
Click the slider speed icon to switch between slow, medium, and fast sliders. Click the hyperbolic icon to switch to a hyperbolic scale. This causes the value to change very fast. Use this for values that need large adjustments.

Adjust the value of a numeric attribute with the mouse.

Click the attribute and middle-drag left or right. Use the icons in the Channel Box toolbar to control the mapping between mouse move distance and numeric change.

Enter a value relative to the current one.

Type +=n to add n to the current value. Type -=n to subtract n from the current value. Type *=n to multiply n by the current value. Type /=n to divide the current value by n. % as a suffix Indicates a percentagebased operation (For example, +=10% adds 10% of the current value to each selected value).

108 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

To...
Quickly link the attribute to another value. (Attribute Editor only)

Do this
You can type =time or =frame in the text box to use the reserved keywords time or frame and link the value of the attribute to the current time or the current frame. You can also include simple operators; for example, =frame/2, =time*3.5. Right-click the text box and select Create New Expression (Attribute Editor) or Expressions (Channel Box). See the MEL book for details on creating and using expressions.

Create a complex expression

TIP When typing values in the Channel Box:

Press the Enter key on the numeric keypad to enter a value and keep the focus in the Channel Box. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to enter the value and return focus to the view windows (so you can use hotkeys).

Related topics

Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box on page 109 Inline numeric calculation in multiple cells on page 110 View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes on page 112 Save and reuse attribute presets on page 114 Lock the value of an attribute on page 115 Creating animation expressions in the MEL and Expressions guide

Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box


Normally when you click an attribute name, a manipulator appears on the selected object to control that attribute, and you can also middle-drag to

Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box | 109

change the attributes value. You can disable the manipulator and dragging features.

To...
Prevent the manipulator from appearing when you click an attribute name. Prevent the manipulator from appearing and disable middle-dragging . Show the manipulator when you click an attribute name and allow middle-dragging .

In the Channel Box, select...


Edit > Settings > Invisible Manips.

Edit > Settings > No Manips.

Edit > Settings > Standard Manips.

Inline numeric calculation in multiple cells


You can perform numeric calculations and percentage-based calculations in the Component Editor and Attribute Spread Sheet in multiple cells at once. To perform a calculation 1 Select the cells to operate on. 2 In the active cell, enter the operation prefixes and values. 3 Press Enter. All selected cells get a new value specified by the operation.

Examples
To add a value to selected cells 1 Select the cells to operate on. 2 Enter +=4.0 into the active cell.

110 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

The selected cells increase by 4.0.

To subtract a percentage from selected cells 1 Select the cells to operate on. 2 Enter -=50% into the active cell.

The selected cells decrease by half their current value.

NOTE Some values are subject to limitations and may not change to the desired value because they are bounded by other factors.

Inline numeric calculation in multiple cells | 111

Related topics

Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107

View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes


The Attribute Spread Sheet lets you edit the values of many attributes on many nodes at the same time by presenting them in a spreadsheet format.

To...
Open the Attribute Spread Sheet.

Do this
Select a node and select Window > General Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet. Select all the cells you want to enter the same value in, then type the value. You can select one attribute, multiple attributes on the same object, or the same attribute on multiple objects, or any combination. Type +=n to add n to the current value. Type -=n to subtract n from the current value. Type *=n to multiply n by the current value. Type /=n to divide the current value by n.

Enter values in cells.

Enter a value relative to the current one.

Switch to short attribute names to save room.

In the Attribute Spread Sheet, select Names > Short Attribute Names.

112 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

To...
Display different types of attributes.

Do this
Click the tabs across the top of the Attribute Spread Sheet window. Many useful attributes of an object are not stored in its main node, but instead in its shape node. The Attribute Editor includes tabs that show attributes from an objects associated shape node. In the Attribute Spread Sheet, click, shiftclick, or drag to select the attributes (columns) you want to show. Then select Layouts > Show Selected Columns Only. To return to the full display, select Layouts > Show All Columns. In the Attribute Spread Sheet, select Layouts > Remember This Layout. The Attribute Spread Sheet now has a new tab that shows the layout. To delete a layout tab, click the tab and select Layouts > Delete Current Layout. Select the cells and select Key > Key Selected.

Only show certain attributes.

Save the current layout of visible columns as a new tab.

Key certain attributes.

When the Attribute Spread Sheet opens for the first time, the Keyable tab is shown. This tab only shows attributes that are marked as keyable (able to be animated). Click the All tab to show all attributes, keyable and not.

Related topics

Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107 Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box on page 109 Open multiple Attribute Editors on page 117

View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes | 113

Save and reuse attribute presets


The Attribute Editor lets you save and re-apply presets. A preset is a collection of attribute settings you can save from one node and reapply to any number of other nodes. This lets you store complex node setups, such as a library of lights set up with the attribute values you want. Maya comes with a variety of presets for various nodes, such as fluids. To create a preset 1 Open the node you want to take presets from in the Attribute Editor. 2 In the Attribute Editor, press the left mouse button on the Presets button (to the right of the node name) to show a pop-up menu and select Save (preset type) Preset.

3 Type a name for the new preset and click Save Attribute Preset. If the preset already exists, you are prompted to overwrite it or save it with a different name. To apply a preset to another node 1 Open the node you want to apply a preset to in the Attribute Editor. 2 In the Attribute Editor, press the left mouse button on the Presets button (to the right of the node name) to show a pop-up menu.

114 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

3 Point to the name of the preset to show another submenu with options for applying the preset to this node. You can replace the current attribute values with the values in the preset, or blend the preset values together with the current values.

Notes

Presets do not save connections to other nodes (such as texture maps). Applying a preset does not overwrite connections to other nodes. Maya saves presets as editable MEL scripts in a presets folder inside the main Maya application folder. Presets for each node type are in separate folders inside the presets folder.

Troubleshoot when the Presets button is grayed out


Some node types cannot be saved as presets. Shape nodes, for example, would be meaningful as presets.

Related topics

Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107 Lock the value of an attribute on page 115

Lock the value of an attribute


Press the right mouse button on the attribute and select Lock Attribute. Maya displays locked attributes with a gray background. To unlock an attribute, press the right mouse button on the attribute and select Unlock Attribute.

Lock the value of an attribute | 115

Create, edit, or delete custom attributes


To add custom attributes to objects 1 Select the objects/nodes you want to add attributes to. 2 In the Attribute Editor, select Attributes > Add Attributes. 3 Type the Long name of the attribute. 4 If you would like, turn on Override nice name and add a non-default nice name for the attribute. Maya creates a nice name by default: it replaces intercapped text (testAttribute) with spaces (Test Attribute). Setting your own nice name allows more flexibility; for example, creating a nice name for an attribute in the local language (Japanese). 5 Set the Keyable option. When an attribute is keyable, you can use its value in keyframe animation, and it appears in the Channel Box. You can also choose Displayable (appear in the Channel Box, but non-keyable), or Neither (Hidden). 6 Select the type of value the attribute holds:

Vector: three floating point values. Float: a single floating point value. Maya does not display floating point numbers in the user interface with their full precision.

Although Maya only displays numbers to a customizable number of decimal places, and the Attribute Editor always shows only three decimal places, the true value of a float attribute is kept in memory.

Integer: a single integer value. Boolean: an on/off switch. String: a text string. Enum: a list of choices.

7 Click Add. Remember that Maya adds the attribute to the selected node, not necessarily the node currently displayed in the Attribute Editor.

116 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

To edit a custom attribute 1 Select the object/node with custom attributes you want to edit. 2 Select Modify > Edit Attribute. Or, in the Attribute Editor, select Attributes > Edit Attributes. In attribute names, all punctuation except for the underscore (_) and the pound sign (#) are illegal characters 3 Click the name of the attribute. To delete a custom attribute 1 Select the object/node with custom attributes you want to delete. 2 Select Modify > Delete Attribute. 3 Click the name of the attribute. 4 Click Delete.

Open multiple Attribute Editors


1 Select Window > Attribute Editor to show the Attribute Editor. 2 Select the first object. 3 In the Attribute Editor, click Copy Tab. A new Attribute Editor is created with the object attributes loaded. 4 Select another object. Its attributes load in the original Attribute Editor. You can set an option in Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences to always open the Attribute Editor in a window instead of in the side panel.

Related topics

Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences on page 513

Control the display of attributes in the Channel Box


To change the display precision of floating point attribute values 1 In the Channel Box select Channels > Settings > Change Precision.

Open multiple Attribute Editors | 117

2 Type the number of decimal places to show in the Channel Box and Attribute Spread Sheet. The default (Nice) attribute names in the Channel Box are easy to read, but cannot be used in expressions or MEL scripts. To show the actual internal names of the attributes, use the Long or Short options. To change the display of attribute names 1 In the Channel Box, open the Channels > Channel Names submenu. 2 Do one of the following:

Select Nice to show attribute names that are easier to understand, but cannot be used in expressions or MEL scripts. This is the default. Select Long to show the long versions of the actual attribute names. Select Short to show the short versions of the actual attribute names.

To change the width of the Channel Box Drag the dotted edge.

Related topics

Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107

View and change the hierarchy of nodes


View and edit the hierarchy of nodes
To...
Show scene hierarchy in the Hypergraph. Show scene hierarchy in the Outliner. Move one or more nodes under another (parent) node.

Do this
Select Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy. Select Window > Outliner. In the Hypergraph or Outliner, select the node(s) you want to parent, then do one of the following:

118 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

To...

Do this Middle-drag the selected node(s) onto the parent node. The mouse cursor appears with a + sign when you drag. Release the mouse button when the cursor appears over top of the parent node to complete the parent operation. or Middle-click on the background region of the Hypergraph, then middle-drag the selected node(s) onto the parent node. The mouse cursor appears with a + sign when you drag. Release the mouse button when the cursor appears over top of the parent node to complete the parent operation.
Select the nodes you want to assign to the parent, then shift-select the parent and select Edit > Parent.

Remove a node from the hierarchy under another node (unparent).

In the Hypergraph or Outliner, middle-drag the node away from its parent.

or
Select the child object you want to remove from under the parent and select Edit > Unparent > .

Tips

You can set the options of the Parent menu item to make the command create an instance under the new parent instead of moving the actual object in the hierarchy. Unparenting an object removes it from under its parents transformation node, which can change the objects position in the scene.

View and edit the hierarchy of nodes | 119

Open the Unparent menu items options and turn on the Preserve Position option to apply the transformations to the object as it is unparented so it retains its current position.

Related topics

Change the visual layout of nodes in the Hypergraph on page 120 Change the order of nodes on page 121 Show or hide nodes on page 126

Change the visual layout of nodes in the Hypergraph


To...
Switch between automatic and manual layout.

Do this
Select one of the following: Options > Layout > Automatic Layout. Options > Layout > Freeform Layout.

Move nodes in freeform layout. Display an image in the background of the freeform layout.

Drag nodes with the left mouse button. To load an image, select View > Set Background Image. To turn the image on or off, View > Show Background Image. Select Edit > Reset Freeform Layout.

Reset the positions of nodes in the freeform layout. Switch the automatic layout between stacking root nodes horizontally or vertically.

Select one of the following: Options > Orientation > Horizontal. Options > Orientation > Vertical. Options > Orientation > Schematic.

Change the color of nodes as they display in the Hypergraph.

In the Attribute Editor for that node, go to Drawing Overrides. (You may have to expand Object Display to see this section.) Turn on Enable Overrides and set a color using the color slider.

120 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

To...

Do this
You must have Node Display Override Color turned on in the Hypergraph to display color changes. Changing the color of a layer overrides this node display setting.

Related topics

Two views of the scene: hierarchy and dependency on page 98 The Hypergraph on page 102 Hypergraph overview on page 630

Change the order of nodes


When Maya draws or renders the scene, it looks at each node in the scene in order and applies the nodes effect (for example, creating an object or applying a rotation) to the scene. In certain limited situations, the order in which Maya evaluates nodes can affect the final result. To view the nodes in order Do one of the following:

In Outliner (Window > Outliner), select Display > Sort Order > Scene Hierarchy. In the Hypergraph (Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy), select Graph > Scene Hierarchy and then Options > Layout > Automatic Layout.

To change the order of nodes in the Outliner Middle-drag a node and drop it between other nodes.

As you drag, Maya draws a single line to indicate that dropping the node results in reordering, or a double line (above and below the target) to indicate that dropping the node makes it a child of the target node. To change the order of nodes in the Hypergraph Hold Ctrl, middle-drag a node, and drop it on the node you want it to precede in the order.

Change the order of nodes | 121

Related topics

Scene hierarchy on page 98 The Outliner on page 101 Outliner on page 602

View and change input and output history relationships between nodes
Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph)
To show connections between nodes 1 Open the Hypergraph (Window > Hypergraph: Connections). 2 Select one of the following menu items in the Hypergraph:

Select Graph > Input and Output Connections to show both the input chains leading up to nodes, and the output chains leading from nodes. Select Graph > Input Connections to show the input chains leading up to nodes. Select Graph > Output Connections to show the output chains leading from nodes.

To show connections for only certain types of nodes 1 Select a node of the type, or multiple nodes of different types you want to show. 2 In the Hypergraph, select Show > Show Selected Type(s). 3 To show all nodes again, select Show > Show All. To show connections for a node or nodes in the Outliner or Hypershade window 1 Set up the Hypergraph to show connections. 2 Drag the node from the Outliner or Hypershade window into the Hypergraph.

122 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

Show or hide extra connections


You can show color-coded lines between nodes representing expression, constraint, and deformer connections in the Hypergraph. Select the following menu items in the Hypergraph to show or hide different types of connections:

Options > Display > Expression Connections. Options > Display > Constraint Connections. Options > Display > Deformer Connections.

Related topics

Connect input and output attributes on page 123 Connect attributes with an expression on page 124 Show or hide nodes on page 126

Connect input and output attributes


To connect attributes in the Hypergraph using context menus 1 Point to the right end of the node in the Hypergraph (the cursor changes). Press the right mouse button and select an output attribute. 2 Press the right mouse button on the node you want to connect to, and select an input attribute. You may need to select Graph > Layout to update the view with the new connection. To connect attributes in the Hypergraph using the Connection Editor 1 Hold Shift and middle-drag from the output node to the input node. 2 Use the Connection Editor to select which attributes to connect. To change the input or output of a connection 1 Point to the connection line in the Hypergraph, toward the connection you want to change (input or output).

Connect input and output attributes | 123

2 Drag the line end with the left mouse button and drop it on a new node. 3 Select the attribute you want to connect.

Related topics

Connect attributes with an expression on page 124 Break connections between attributes on page 125

Connect attributes with an expression


To connect the value of one attribute to another with an expression In the Attribute Editor, type an equals sign (=) followed by a MEL expression in the attributes text box. or Select the node with the attribute you want to edit and select Window > Animation Editors > Expression Editor. Click the attribute and type a MEL expression in the box at the bottom. For example, to make the translateX value of pTorus1 always equal the translateY value of pCone2, type =pCone2.translateY in pTorus1s translateX box. When you move the cone up and down in Y, the torus moves side-to-side in X. You can create more complex expressions using multiple attributes and MELs math functions. When you type an expression into a text box in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box and press Enter, Maya then shows the computed value with an purple background. You cant edit values that are the result of an expression. To edit the expression, use the Expression Editor.

Related topics

Connect input and output attributes on page 123 Break connections between attributes on page 125

124 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

Break connections between attributes


Attribute values that are controlled by a connection have an purple background in the Channel Box and Attribute Editor. Do one of the following:

In the Channel Box or Attribute Editor, press the right mouse button on the attribute and select Break Connections. Select the connection line (or lines) in the Hypergraph and press Delete.

Related topics

Connect input and output attributes on page 123 Connect attributes with an expression on page 124

Set a nodes update state


To show the Node State attribute 1 Select the node you want to change. 2 Show the Attribute Editor (Window > Attribute Editor). 3 Expand the Node Behavior section. To...
Disable the effect of the selected node. Keep the selected node from updating when its inputs change. Make the node active again.

Set the Node State attribute to...


HasNoEffect. Blocking.

Normal.

Notes

The HasNoEffect state has a different meaning for each node type. Some node types do not implement the state, in which case the state acts just like Normal.

Break connections between attributes | 125

The Waiting node states are used internally by Maya to keep track of nodes that are waiting for a view update in the Hypergraph. You should not normally set nodes to a Waiting state.

Change the display of nodes and attributes


Show or hide nodes
To...
Expand or collapse hierarchy under a node.

Do this
In the Outliner, click the plus or minus icon to the left of the node name. In the Hypergraph, double-click the node.

Show auxillary node types.

In an editor, select Show > Show Auxiliary Nodes. In an editor, select Show > Auxiliary Nodes. To remove a node from the hidden list, click it in the top list and click Remove From List. To add a node to the hidden list, click it in the bottom list and click Add to Hide List (Above).

Control which node types are hidden as auxillary.

Show or hide shape nodes in the Hypergraph. Show or hide hidden nodes in the Hypergraph. Show or hide underworld nodes in the Hypergraph.

In the Hypergraph, select Options > Display > Shape Nodes. In the Hypergraph, select Options > Display > Hidden Nodes. In the Hypergraph, select Options > Display > Underworld Nodes. Underworld nodes are only visible if shape nodes are also visible.

126 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

Related topics

View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) on page 122

Control which objects or attribute types appear in an editor


The Outliner, Hypergraph, Graph Editor, Dope Sheet, and Relationship Editor let filter out information youre not interested in right now. To temporarily filter out objects or attributes from the editor display Do one of the following: To...
Only show items with specific text in their names.

Do this
Type text in the text filter box and press Enter. An asterisk (*) matches anything. A question mark (?) matches any single character. For example, to show all items whose name starts with spot, type spot* in the text filter box. To show items with new anywhere in their names, type *new*. In the Show > Objects submenu, select the object types you want to show. To show all object types again, select Show > Objects > Clear Below. In editors that show attributes (Relationship Editor with characters, Outliner with Display > Attributes (Channels) on): In the Show > Attributes submenu, select the object types you want to show. To show all object types again, select Show > Attributes > Clear Below. Select Show > Show Selected Type(s).

Only show certain types of objects.

Only show certain types of attributes.

Only show objects or attributes of the same type(s) as the selection.

Control which objects or attribute types appear in an editor | 127

To...
Show all objects and attributes.

Do this
Select Show > Show All.

Related topics

Outliner on page 602 Hypergraph overview on page 630

Save and reuse object or attribute visibility filters in editors


To save an object filter 1 Select objects of the type you want to show. 2 In the editor, select Show > Show Selected Type(s). 3 Select Show > Create Entry. 4 Type a name for the filter and click Save. The filter appears in the Show > Objects submenu. To save an attribute filter 1 Select attributes of the type you want to show. 2 In the editor, select Show > Show Selected Type(s). 3 Select Show > Create Entry. 4 Type a name for the filter and click Save. The filter appears in the Show > Attributes submenu. To delete a saved filter 1 Select Show > Delete Entry. 2 Click the Objects or Attributes tab. 3 Click the name of the filter and click Delete.

128 | Chapter 5 Nodes and attributes

Related topics

Outliner on page 602 Hypergraph overview on page 630

Save and reuse object or attribute visibility filters in editors | 129

130

File management

Managing your files


Maya has many features for managing your files. You can create, open, save, import, export, and organize files. Maya can export objects from a scene to either a new scene file, or to a referenced file. Arranging your scene files into projects keeps the elements of a scene organized. In the event of a crash, Maya attempts to save your data by saving your scene in a temporary directory. Maya can import and export a variety of file formats for 3D objects and 2D image bitmaps. In addition, you can view still images and animations from within Maya.

Related topics

Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139 Import files on page 141 Export objects to a new file on page 142 Export objects as a referenced file on page 144 Organize files into projects on page 145 Recover data after a crash on page 146 Supported file formats on page 135 View images or animations on page 146

131

Supported image formats (rendering)


Maya can save rendered image files in several image file formats. The following table lists these formats alphabetically. For more information on mental ray specific image formats, see mental ray for Maya renderer in the Rendering Book. File Format Class
Adobe Illustrator (.ai) Alias PIX (.als) AVI (.avi) Cineon (.cin) DDS (.dds) Encapsulated Postscript (.eps) EPS (.eps) GIF (.gif) JPEG (.jpg) MacPaint (.pntg) Adobe
SWF (.swf)

Maya Software
--

Maya Hard- Maya Vecware tor


-Yes

mental ray
--

Vector

Movie

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Movie --

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes --

Yes Yes

-Vector

Yes --

Yes --

-Yes

Yes --

---Mac

Yes Yes Yes --

Yes Yes Yes --

-----

Yes Yes Yes --

Vector

--

--

Yes

--

Maya IFF (.iff)

--

Yes

Yes

--

Yes

132 | Chapter 6 File management

File Format Class


Maya16 IFF (.iff) PNG (.png) 16-bit

Maya Software
Yes

Maya Hard- Maya Vecware tor


Yes Yes

mental ray
--

PSD Layered --PSD Layered

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

PNG (.png) PSD (.psd) PSD Layered (.psd) Quantel (.yuv) QuickDraw (.pict) Apple Quicktime Image (.qtif) Apple Quicktime Movie (.qt) RLA (.rla) SGI (.sgi) SGI16 (.sgi) SoftImage (.pic) SVG (.svg)

Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

--Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Quantel Mac

Yes

Yes

Yes

--

--

--

--

--

Mac

--

--

--

--

Mac

--

--

--

--

--16-bit --

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes

--Yes --

Yes Yes -Yes

Vector

--

--

Yes

--

Supported image formats (rendering) | 133

File Format Class


Swift3DImporter (.swft) Targa (.tga) Tiff (.tif) Tiff16 (.tif) Windows Bitmap (.bmp) Vector

Maya Software
--

Maya Hard- Maya Vecware tor


-Yes

mental ray
--

-----

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes

-----

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Image formats are divided into seven classes: Vector, Movie, Sixteen Bit, PSD Layered, Quantel, and Mac. A description of each class is listed below: Vector An image format comprised of segments of vector data. Vector graphics are resolution independent: they appear smooth and crisp regardless of the magnification level. True Vector True vector art outlines every line in the figure and contains points. Movie An image format used to store video and audio information. This information can be played back as a sequence of images from within the movie file. Sixteen Bit A bitmap image format. Bitmaps store a single raster image in any color depth. For a 16-bit image, thirty-two thousand different colors can be represented. Unlike vector images, bitmap images are resolution dependent: image degradation occurs when images are magnified at a high level. PSD Layered Photoshop Drawing Layered image format. Layers are independent images that can be manipulated in Adobe Photoshop. PSD layered images can be multi-layered. In multi-layered images, each layer is a part of the final image. You can work on each layer independently without interference from any graphical elements that are on other layers. Quantel An image format made by Quantel. This 16-bit uncompressed image format contains video and RGB channels. Quantel image formats are typically used for broadcast.

134 | Chapter 6 File management

Mac An image format unique to Macintosh applications. These formats are only supported on Macintosh machines.

Supported file formats


The following lists general file format support. There may be slight differences in support between platforms and depending on variations in file formats. For example, TIFF is a very loosely defined format. It may be possible to save TIFF files in another program that Maya cannot open.

Translators
Translators are plug-ins that let you open and/or save data in a given file format. You must have the proper translator plug-in loaded to be able to open, save, import, or export data in the format. Use the Plug-in Manager to load or unload translators. Data Import
Maya ASCII Maya Binary MEL FBX DXF OBJ IGES StudioTools wire AIFF image mov (ascii motion) VRML2

Windows
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Mac OS X
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Linux
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes *

Yes Yes Yes *

Supported file formats | 135

Data Import
EPS Adobe Illustrator OpenFlight STL

Windows
Yes Yes Yes Yes

Mac OS X
Yes Yes Yes Yes

Linux
Yes Yes Yes Yes

Data Export
Maya Ascii Maya Binary MEL FBX DXF OBJ IGES StudioTools wire mov (ascii motion) VRML2 GE2 RTG mental ray RIB Open Inventor2 OpenFlight

Windows
Yes Yes Yes Yes

Mac OS X
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Linux
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

136 | Chapter 6 File management

* via wrl2ma Image Input


Maya IFF AVI Apple Quicktime GIF Softimage Wavefront RLA BMP TIFF SGI RGB Alias Pix JPEG EPS Cineon Quantel Targa MacPaint Adobe PhotoShop PNG Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Windows
Yes Yes

Mac OS X
Yes

Linux
Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Supported file formats | 137

Image Input
QuickDraw

Windows

Mac OS X
Yes

Linux

Image Output
Maya IFF AVI Apple Quicktime GIF Softimage Wavefront RLA BMP TIFF SGI RGB Alias Pix JPEG EPS Cineon Quantel Targa MacPaint Adobe PhotoShop PNG QuickDraw

Windows
Yes Yes

Mac OS X
Yes

Linux
Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

138 | Chapter 6 File management

Image Output
DDS

Windows
Yes

Mac OS X
Yes

Linux
Yes

NOTE The mayaAscii and mayaBinary file formats are the only ones that preserve all the information contained within your scene. Setting the output format for an export using the Export Options box will change your default export format for the current and subsequent export operations. If you set the output format to something other then mayaAscii or mayaBinary and export using that format and then quit without saving the entire file then you can lose data. Always check the export type in the export file browser to ensure you are writing the file using the expected file format.

Create, open, or save a scene file


To start a new, blank scene file Select File > New Scene.

You can select to always create new scenes with default content by choosing File > New Scene > and turning on Enable Default Scene.

To open an existing scene file Select File > Open Scene. The Open dialog box appears, open in the scene folder of the current project. NOTE

You can open a file that is created in a later version, provided the Ignore version setting is turned on.

Maya files of later version types that are opened in an earlier version of Maya are not supported as feature compatibility to earlier software versions cannot be ensured. The Ignore version feature is primarily provided for users in production environments where multiple versions of Maya are in use simultaneously.

Create, open, or save a scene file | 139

To save the current scene file Do one of the following:


To save the scene with its current name, select File > Save Scene. To save the scene with a new name, select File > Save Scene As. To change how Maya saves the scene, select File > Save Scene > and set the options.

When you use Save Scene As you can select whether to save the file as Maya Binary (smaller) or Maya ASCII (human readable). To save in a different format, use File > Export All. You can optionally lock a file to prevent the file from being edited whenever it is referenced from other scene files using the Lock file option.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Import files on page 141 Work with proxy references of the File Referencing book Optimize scene size on page 153

Autosave a file
To save your scene automatically in timed intervals 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences. The Preferences window appears. 2 In the Categories, under the Settings section, select Files/Projects. 3 In the Autosave section, turn on Enable. 4 Set any additional options and click the Save button.

140 | Chapter 6 File management

NOTE The autosave file has the same name as the source file, followed by the word AUTO-SAVE and an incrementing number.

Related topics

Files/Projects preferences on page 675

Open recently saved files


To open a Maya scene file that was recently saved, do one of the following:

Select File > Recent Files and click the name of the file you want from the list that appears. Right-click the Open a Scene icon on the Status Line and choose the name of the file from the list of recently opened files that appears.

NOTE The number of files that appear in this list can be customized using the Files/Projects preferences found in the Preferences dialog box. For descriptions of the File/Projects preferences, see Files/Projects preferences on page 675.

Related topics

Preferences overview on page 651 File > Recent Files on page 420

Import files
WARNING Before importing files, always check your current Maya Playback preferences. Playback preferences can affect the import of animation data. See Time Slider preferences on page 685. To...
Import data from a file into the scene.

Do this
Select File > Import.

Open recently saved files | 141

To...

Do this
To set file format import options, click the file in the Import dialog box and then click Options.

Export objects to a new file


To save scene data in a non-native file format such as OBJ or DXF, you must have a plug-in for that file format loaded. To...
Export the selected objects to a file. Export the scene to a different file format.

Do this
Select File > Export Selection. Select File > Export All.

NOTE The mayaAscii and mayaBinary file formats are the only ones that preserve all the information contained within your scene. Setting the output format for an export using the Export Options box will change your default export format for the current and subsequent export operations. If you set the output format to something other then mayaAscii or mayaBinary and export using that format and then quit without saving the entire file then you can lose data. Always check the export type in the export file browser to ensure you are writing the file using the expected file format.

Export objects directly to Mudbox


Although you can export Maya files to FBX which can then be imported into Mudbox, you can also export files directly from Maya into Mudbox with a single click. NOTE This feature is only available for Windows and Mac OS X. In order to do this, you must first ensure Maya knows where to find your copy of Mudbox as well as where to export the file to.

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To enter the location of Mudbox in Maya 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences. 2 In the Applications section, click the file icon next to Application Path in the Export to Mudbox section. The file browser appears. 3 Navigate to your Mudbox executable file and click Open. The path appears in the Application Path field. 4 Click the file icon next to Export Folder. The file browser appears. 5 Navigate to the folder where you want to store the exported FBX file and click Open. NOTE If you do not perform the above steps, the File > Export Select to Mudbox option will be disabled. To export Maya objects directly into Mudbox 1 Select the objects you want to export. 2 Select File > Export Selected to Mudbox. Maya exports the selected objects to an FBX file and stores them in the folder you defined in your preferences. Mudbox is then opened automatically with your scene pre-loaded.

Archive a scene
You can package files related to the current scene into a zip file with the Archive Scene command. The files included in the zip file are as follows:

References File textures Image planes Audio files Render layer precomposition templates NURBS surface mental ray proxy files

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Mesh shape mental ray proxy files Disk caches nCaches Container hypergraph background images, container icons, container templates

To archive a scene 1 Save your scene. 2 Select File > Archive Scene. The file and any dependencies are packaged into a zip file and placed in the same directory as the current file.

Export objects as a referenced file


To...
Export objects to a new file that is referenced to the current scene.

Do this
Select the objects you want to export as a reference. Select File > Reference Editor. In the Reference Editor, select File > Export Selection as a Reference. Select the file type from the File of Type drop-down list.

Related Topics

About file referencing of the File Referencing book File referencing workflows of the File Referencing book Work with file references of the File Referencing book

Export and Apply Reference Edits

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You can export edits to referenced nodes , made in your main scene, to an external file. You can then apply this edits file to other objects to invoke the same changes on them. For more information, see Export to an offline file and Assign an offline file in the File Referencing book.

Organize files into projects


Maya organizes the various files associated with scene files into projects. A project is a collection of folders for different types of files. To start a new project 1 Select File > Project > New. 2 Type the name of the project in the Name text box. 3 Click Browse to select where to save the Project folder. 4 The Locations text boxes control where Maya looks for files of different types. Click Use Defaults at the bottom of the window to fill in the usual project sub-folder names. To switch to a different project 1 Select File > Project > Set. 2 Select the top level folder of the project. To change where the project stores different types of files 1 Select File > Project > Edit Current. 2 Edit the paths. TIP Relative paths start from the project folder. You can enter multiple paths in a text box by separating them with semicolons (;) on Windows and colons (:) on Mac OS X and Linux.

Organize files into projects | 145

View images or animations


To...
View an image. View an animation.

Do this
Select File > View Image. Select File > View Sequence.

A file browser appears and FCheck is launched with the image or animation you specify.

Related topics

Overview of FCheck

Recover data after a crash


If Maya crashes, it tries to save your scene in Documents/temp in your home folder. If the TEMP (Windows/Mac OS X) or TEMPDIR (Linux) variables are set, the recovery file is saved to the path in the variable instead.

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Scene management

Managing complex scenes


Maya provides many organizational features to help you manage complex scenes. These features include tools to aid selection in dense scenes, organize the items directly in your working scene, segment a scene into smaller parts, and increase performance.

Selecting objects in a complex scene


Selecting items can be difficult in a complex scene due to overlapping geometry that can obstruct your view. In Maya there are a number of ways to simplify this process.

The Outliner shows the hierarchy of all objects in the scene as an indented list where child nodes are indented under their parent node. Useful for quickly navigating through the objects in the scene given that you know the objects hierarchy and names. Show > Objects lets you filter the nodes shown in the Outliner by various classifications such as Polygons, NURBS, and Lights. You can show different combinations of classifications. You can use the Create Entry option to store your filter in case you need to sort by the same criteria again. When viewing the scene from certain angles, objects may obscure each other making it difficult to select the object you want. Maya offers a number of different options to deal with this scenario.

Isolate Select Lets you display only the selected items in the scene view. Useful to temporarily remove objects which may obstruct your view of the specific components you want to work with. You can use Isolate Select by selecting a set of components and selecting Show > Isolate Select > View Select.

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Pick Chooser When you click a space in the scene view that corresponds to overlapping objects a marking menu will appear listing these objects. You can then select the appropriate object from the marking menu. Useful as an alternative to modifying the scene when trying to select obscured objects. You can turn on the Pick Chooser by selecting the Pick Chooser option in Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences in the Settings > Selection section. Selection Priority When performing a marquee select over a model that contains multiple component types, Maya will select all the components of a single type within the marquee. You can modify the order that these components are chosen by modifying their order in the Selection Priority. Useful when you want to select all the components of a single type within a marquee. You can modify the Selection Priority by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences in the Settings > Selection section.

Templating Lets you make a group of objects unselectable while retaining a wireframe reference of them in the scene. Useful when you do not want to accidentally modify an object, but still need to see it for reference purposes.

Related Topics

The Outliner on page 101 Show > Isolate Select on page 542 Selection preferences on page 681 Make an object unselectable (template) on page 154

Organizing objects
In a scene you may want to associate related objects together. You can accomplish this in a number of ways.

Groups Lets you perform basic selection and transformations on a collection of objects as if they were one without actually combining the meshes. For more information see Group objects together on page 157. Sets and Partitions A set is collection of objects which can be transformed and selected as one without altering the hierarchy of the scene. A partition is a collection of exclusive sets such that no object can be contained in

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multiple sets within the same partition. For more information see Sets and partitions on page 151.

Display layers A collection of objects which are transformed and selected individually. You can make layers invisible which reduces the amount of objects in your scene that may obscure your view. You can also template or reference a layer making all the objects within it unselectable but still present in the scene. For more information see Organize objects on display layers on page 155. Render layers - You can assign any object to multiple layers with a different material on each layer. This lets you create multiple images for each frame, from any combination of Maya's renderers. For more information see Render layer overview. Containers - A collection of nodes represented by a single container node. You can publish a subset of attributes from the internal nodes to the container node.

Related Topics

Group objects together on page 157 Sets and partitions on page 151 Organize objects on display layers on page 155 Render layer overview of the Rendering book

Increasing Performance
When working with complex scenes interactive performance can slow down. There are a number of ways to remedy this problem.

Default Material Shades your entire scene with a default shader regardless of what materials and textures are applied to each object. This reduces the complexity of the scene view display without actually affecting the render. You can turn on the Default Material by selecting Shading > Use default material. Interactive Shading Lets you display the scene with less complexity when performing a variety of interactive operations such as camera tumbles and dollies. This is useful for increasing performance in scenes that slow down when modified. You can turn on Interactive Shading by selecting Shading > Interactive Shading.

Managing complex scenes | 149

Related Topics

Shading > Use default material on page 538 Shading > Interactive Shading on page 539

Reducing File Size


Scenes containing a lot of geometry require a lot of hard disk space. Maya provides options for replicating existing objects or dividing up your scene that can help keep your file sizes small.

Instancing Lets you create multiple copies of a single object with individual transform nodes. Since they are copies and not considered actual geometry, the memory and computing power required to render the scene is close to that of rendering only the original object. File Referencing Lets you assemble objects from multiple files into a single scene without actually importing them. Instead, these objects are referenced from their native files. This is useful when you want multiple people to collaborate on a single scene.

Related topics

Copies vs. instances on page 54 About file referencing of the File Referencing book File referencing workflows of the File Referencing book

Organizing objects
Groups
A group is a way to transform multiple objects at once. The group shares a single pivot point for rotation and scaling. In terms of the scene hierarchy, grouping objects together moves them under a new transformation node.

Display layers
Layers are a way of grouping large pieces of the scene together so you can show, hide, or edit them all at once.

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Related topics

Scene hierarchy on page 98 Organize objects on display layers on page 155

Sets and partitions


Sets
A set is a collection of objects or components. Any item you can select can be in a set. The set exists as a separate object representing the collection. Unlike groups, sets do not alter the hierarchy of the scene. In some instances, Maya creates sets for you as you work with objects. For example, when you add a cluster deformer to some CVs of a NURBS surface, Maya makes a set for the CVs. You can edit the set to control the effect of the deformation. Maya also creates sets that represent shading groups and layers, and points controlled by deformers, flexors, and skin. You can create a custom set so you can work on its items with a single action. For example, you can create a set of NURBS objects, then hide or display the set as a single entity. You can control the membership of sets easily using the Relationship Editor. Sets are useful for the following:

Simplifying selection of objects or components that you regularly select or have difficulty selecting in the workspace. Assigning objects to shading groups for rendering. Moving objects from one layer to another. Adjusting deformer, skin, and flexor deformation. Adjusting the weight of cluster, cluster flexor, and skin points. Working with shading groups.

Partitions
A partition is a collection of related sets. Partitions prevent the sets in them from having any overlapping members. Maya uses partitions to keep sets separate where overlapping members could cause problems.

Sets and partitions | 151

Maya creates partitions to keep character sets, shading groups, skin point sets, and exclusive deformers from having overlapping members. You can create your own partitions when you want to create sets that have no overlap. For example, suppose youre animating a cartoon characters nose as he smiles and laughs. You added a cluster to several CVs for adjusting the nose as he smiles and another cluster to different CVs for adjusting the nose as he laughs. Creating the two clusters creates a set for each group of CVs. Occasionally you want to move CVs from one set to the other. When you move the CVs from one set to the other set, they remain in the first set. You might not want the CVs in the first set because they add undesirable deformations as you transform the cluster. To avoid this problem, you can create a partition and put both sets in it. The partition prevents one set from having members of another set. When you move the CVs from the first set to the second set, theyre automatically removed from the first set.

Related topics

Create and edit sets on page 158 Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership on page 159

Layers
Layers are overlapping views of your scene that have objects attached to them. With layers, you can organize related elements of your scene and selectively make them visible or invisible in the 3D view. You can also template or reference all objects associated with a given layer. For example, you can attach completed objects to a layer and template it. By turning the visibility of this layer on or off, you can see these completed objects in the 3D view only when you need to. Also, since the layer is templated, you will not accidentally select or change any of the completed objects on that layer. If you want to make changes to any objects on that layer, simply make it visible and untemplate it.

Related topics

Organize objects on display layers on page 155

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Edit all objects on a layer at once on page 156

Optimize scene size


There are several functions available in Maya to decrease the size and complexity of your scene. To...
Remove empty, invalid, and unused information from the scene. Remove construction history from the selected object(s). Only do this if you are sure you do not need to edit the objects history again. Do not save panel layouts with the scene.

Do this
File > Optimize Scene Size > .

Select the objects and select Edit > Delete by Type > History.

Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences. Under UI Elements, turn off Save Panel Layouts with File. Select File > Reference Editor. In the Reference Editor, select File > Clean Up Reference Edit > Delete by Type > Static Channels.

Remove unused file references.

Delete static animation channels.

Related topics

Construction history on page 53 Delete on page 87

Organize objects
Change the name of one or more objects
You can give different objects in the scene the same name, but two sibling nodes (nodes with the same parent) cannot have the same name.

Optimize scene size | 153

NOTE In node and attribute names, all punctuation except for the underscore (_) and the pound sign (#) are illegal characters. To change the name of an object or node Do one of the following:

Select an object or node and edit its name at the top of the Attribute Editor. Double-click a node in the Outliner. Press the right mouse button on a node in the Hypergraph and select Rename.

To rename multiple objects at once 1 Select the objects. 2 Open the pop-up menu next to the input field(s) on the Status line and select Rename. 3 Type the base name for all the objects. Maya renames the objects to have the base name plus an incremental number. To add a prefix to the names of a parent node and all its children Select the parent node and select Modify > Prefix Hierarchy Names.

To search and replace names in the scene Select Modify > Search and Replace Names.

You can search and replace all node names in the scene, selected node names, or node names in a hierarchy.

Make an object unselectable (template)


To...
Template an object so it cant be selected.

Do this
Select the objects you want to template and select Display > Object Display > Template.

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To...
Make a template object selectable again.

Do this
Use the Hypergraph or Outliner to select the templated node and then, from the main Maya window, select Display > Object Display > Untemplate. Templated nodes have a different color in the Hypergraph. Use the Hypergraph or Outliner to select the templated node. or Click theSelect by hierarchy and combinations icon in the Status Line (toolbar) and set the selection mask to Template.

Select a templated object.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23 Select a node on page 27 Select objects based on hierarchy on page 30

Organize objects on display layers


To...
Show the Layer Editor.

Do this
Select Display > UI Elements > Channel Box/Layer Editor, or click the Show or hide the Channel Box/Layer Editor button in the Status Line (toolbar). Set the pop-up menu to Display. In the Layer Editor select Layers > Create Empty Layer, or click the Create a new layer button on the Layer Editors toolbar. Double click the layer in the Layer Editor and type the new name in the layer window.

Create a new layer.

Rename a layer.

Organize objects on display layers | 155

To...
Assign the selected objects to a layer.

Do this
Select the layer in the Layer Editor, right-click the layer and select Add Selected Objects. Right-click the layer and select Remove Selected Objects. Select the layer in the Layer Editor and select Layers > Delete Selected Layers. In the Layer Editor, select Layers > Delete Unused Layers.

Remove the selected objects from whatever layers they are on. Delete a layer.

Delete layers without any objects.

Related topics

Organizing objects on page 150 Edit all objects on a layer at once on page 156 Group objects together on page 157

Edit all objects on a layer at once


To...
Show the Layer Editor.

Do this
Select Display > UI Elements > Channel Box/Layer Editor, or click the Show or hide the Channel Box/Layer Editor button in the Status Line (toolbar). Set the pop-up menu to Display. Click the left column next to the name of the layer. A V in the box means the layer is visible. Click the middle column next to the name of the layer to cycle through three values: A blank box means the layer is normal. A T means the layer is templated. An R means the layer is reference.

Show or hide a layer.

Cycle the layers display type between normal, reference, and template.

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To...
Change the wireframe color of all objects on a layer.

Do this
Double click the layer in the Layer Editor and click a color in the layer window.

The Attribute Editor for a layer contains additional, seldom-used attributes in addition to the settings available in the layer window. To show the Attribute Editor for a layer, select the layer in the Layer Editor and select Layers > Attributes.

Related topics

Organizing objects on page 150 Organize objects on display layers on page 155

Group objects together


When you group objects together, you can select, move, rotate, and scale the group as a single unit. To...
Group the selected objects together. Ungroup the selected group. Select a group.

Do this
Select Edit > Group. Select Edit > Ungroup. Open the Outliner (Window > Outliner) and expand the group node to show the objects inside the group, then click the object you want to select.

In terms of the scene hierarchy, the Group command moves the selected objects under a new transformation node.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 Scene hierarchy on page 98 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118

Group objects together | 157

Create and edit sets


To create a set with the selected objects Select Create > Sets > Set.

To delete a set Select the set in the Outliner or Relationship Editor, and press Delete.

Deleting the set does not delete its members.

Related topics

Sets and partitions on page 151 Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership on page 159

Create nested sets


Using the following procedure, you can create a set within a set. To create a nested set 1 Select Window > Relationship Editors > Sets to open the Relationship Editor. 2 To create a set, select Edit > Create Set. Repeat this procedure for the number of sets that you want to create. All sets that you have created are displayed in both the left hand Sets panel and the right hand Objects panel. 3 In the left hand Sets panel, select the set that you want to edit the membership of, for example, Set1. 4 In the right hand Objects panel, select the set that you want to be nested under Set1, for example, Set2. Set2 is now nested under Set1.

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Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership


Partitions lets you group sets together while ensuring that the sets do not share members. To create a partition 1 Use the Outliner or Relationship Editor to select the sets you want to go in the new partition. 2 Select Create > Sets > Partition. The sets in the partition are now prevented from having overlapping membership. To create a new set in a partition 1 Select the items you want to go in the new set. 2 Select Create > Sets > Set > 3 Do one of the following:

To add the set to a partition only if its already exclusive (that is, it doesnt overlap with any of the sets in the partition), click Only If Exclusive. To add the set to a partition and remove any members that are already in other sets in the partition, click By Making Exclusive.

4 Select the name of the partition to add this set to from the Partition pop-up menu. 5 Click Apply and Close. If you chose Only If Exclusive and the set overlaps sets in the partition, Maya does not add the set to the partition and a warning appears on the status line. To edit the membership of a partition 1 Select Window > Relationship Editors > Partitions. 2 On the left side, click the partition you want to add to. 3 On the right side, click to highlight the sets you want in the partition.

Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership | 159

You can also select the sets you want to add to a partition in the Outliner, and then in the Relationship Editors left side menus select Edit > Add Selected Items. To remove a set from a partition 1 Select Window > Relationship Editors > Partitions. 2 On the left side, click the plus icon to next to the partition name to show its contents. 3 Click the set you want to remove. 4 In the Relationship Editors left side menus select Edit > Remove Highlighted From Partition. To delete a partition 1 Select Window > Relationship Editors > Partitions. 2 Select the partition and press Delete. Deleting the partition does not delete its member sets.

Related topics

Sets and partitions on page 151 Create and edit sets on page 158

Annotate and measure


Annotate or document objects
To attach a label to an object in the scene 1 Select the object. 2 Select Create > Annotation. 3 Type the label text and click OK. You can then select and move the label.

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To add text notes to a node 1 Select the object or node you want to add notes to. 2 Type in the Notes field at the bottom of the Attribute Editor.

Related topics

Measure the distance between two points on page 161 Show parameter or arc-length values on a curve or surface on page 161

Measure the distance between two points


1 Select Create > Measure Tools > Distance Tool. 2 Click two points. Maya creates two locators with a distance measurement. You can select and move the locators to edit the measurement. If you snap a measurement locator to an object, the locator moves with the object.

Related topics

Show parameter or arc-length values on a curve or surface on page 161

Show parameter or arc-length values on a curve or surface


To show parameter values 1 Select Create > Measure Tools > Parameter Tool. 2 Press the left mouse button on a curve or surface and drag to show parameter values. Release the mouse button to create a parameter locator. To show arc-length 1 Select Create > Measure Tools > Arc Length Tool.

Measure the distance between two points | 161

2 Press the left mouse button on a curve or surface and drag to show arc-length from the beginning of the curve or (0,0) corner of the surface. Release the mouse button to create an arc-length locator.

Related topics

Measure the distance between two points on page 161

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Assets

Asset overview
What are assets?

An asset is a set of nodes that are organized inside a special asset node. Some of the things you can do with assets are:

hide internal non-published nodes by making the asset a black box (see Hide unpublished nodes and attributes on page 210). pre-plan the organization and attributes of a scene (see Asset templates on page 173).

163

customize the attributes displayed in the Channel Box and Attribute Editor (see Published attributes and nodes on page 169). lock attributes from being edited (see Lock an asset on page 208). organize nodes together by function without any affect on performance (see What is encapsulation? on page 167). substitute parts of your model with other parts while maintaining behavior and animation (see Replace referenced assets on page 283). reference assets from external files and display them in your scene as proxies (see Proxy assets on page 194).

Nodes contained in an asset are called encapsulated nodes. With assets you can create templates to plan and organize the capabilities and attributes of various parts of the scene before you actually build them. Conversely, you can set up assets and publish attributes as you create your geometry and then save a template based on that for future scenes. Either of these methods can be used to set the expectations for future artists working on the asset. Assets are particularly useful for streamlining and maintaining workflows while simultaneously allowing the scene author to securely control what aspects of the scene particular artists are allowed to modify. For example, a rigger working on a character can create an asset with an interface of attributes needed for animation. When the model is sent down the pipeline, the animator only sees the attributes that are keyable and exposed for the animation department. This simplified subset of attributes prevents the animator from having to search through (and possibly modifying) long lists of non-animation attributes. Assets are also useful when parts of the model need to be swapped in and out. For example, multiple versions of arms and legs for a robot can be stored in their own files and referenced into a scene using assets without breaking existing hierarchies and animation (For more information see Export an asset as a file reference on page 282).

Parts of an asset
While asset nodes themselves do not appear in the scene view, they do appear in many editors. Additionally, if you select an object encapsulated by an asset in the scene view, the asset is displayed in the Attribute Editor / Channel Box

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along with their published attributes. For more information on published attributes, see Published attributes and nodes on page 169.

Assets appear in the Hypergraph Connections editor as nodes with beveled edges. If you expand one of these nodes you can see a number of parts:

Encapsulated Nodes

The nodes that appear in the translucent area are the nodes encapsulated by the asset. Each node in your scene can only be placed in a single asset, unless the assets are nested. Display incoming and outgoing connections to/from unpublished attributes from/to other nodes. When you lock unpublished attributes, unpublished attribute connections can no longer be made or broken. Represent internal node attributes that have been published to the asset's interface and are useful for displaying a subset of the internal nodes' attributes in

Unpublished Attribute Connections

Published Attributes

Parts of an asset | 165

one place.By default, these connections are invisible. You can display them by turning on Options > Show Relationship Connections and turning off Options > Merge Connections, both in the Hypergraph Connections editor. One connection for each published attribute then appears from the attribute's internal node to the asset border. Published Attribute Connections Display a connection from a published attribute to an external node. Published attribute connections can be differentiated from unpublished attribute connections from the square on the connection line. When a published attribute is connected to a published attribute on another asset, a square appears at each end. When a published attribute is part of a number of connections which have been merged, the square appears solid if all the merged connections are published, and hollow otherwise. NOTE When transferring connections from one asset to another with the Transfer Attribute Values option, only the published attribute connections are transferred. NOTE When referencing an asset, published attribute connections are saved with respect to their published attribute names, not their internal node names.

Working with assets


When you create an asset, Maya arranges the nodes in a number of ways:

In the Hypergraph Connections editor, all the internal nodes encapsulated by that asset appear as a single node with rounded borders. In the Outliner, all the internal nodes encapsulated by the asset appear under a new asset node. A corresponding entry appears in the Channel Box above the Inputs and Outputs.

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You can expand an asset node to display its contents (see Parts of an asset on page 164).

Types of Assets

In Maya there are two types of assets, and you can interact with each one in different ways.

Asset with transform are assets that have transform properties and can be manipulated in the scene like a group node. You can also parent assets in the DAG hierarchy like any other node. Any node parented to an asset with a transform is automatically placed inside it. Assets with transform are simpler and allow direct manipulation and thus are most appropriate for nodes that need to be placed in the scene or the DAG hierarcy (for example, geometry or groups). Advanced assets do not have an associated transform. These assets are not part of the DAG hierarchy and the assets themselves cannot be parented in the hierarchy. However, internal nodes can be published as anchors and placed in the DAG hieararchy if necessary. Advanced assets are most appropriate for collections of nodes that do not need to interact much with the DAG hierarchy, or for collections of nodes that are not in the same DAG hierarchy (for example, shader networks or character rigs).

In both cases, you add and modify attributes and make attribute connections to asset nodes (and the nodes placed within them) just like you would other nodes in Maya. For more information on connections, see Connect input and output attributes on page 123.

What is encapsulation?
Assets promote encapsulated design. Encapsulation refers to the act of hiding information the user doesnt necessarily need to know. For example, you may want to keep the node structure of an object hidden from people who might tamper with it, or you may want to keep the node structure flexible in case a future requirement changes.

What is encapsulation? | 167

With an asset, you can place all the nodes related to an object in a single asset node, then publish a subset of those internal node attributes to the asset itself. This creates a custom interface that exposes only the information you want to expose (for more information see Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221).

Assets act as a black box between what its contents do and how they do it. An assets interface acts like a contract promising that, no matter how the asset is arranged internally, it will offer a concrete set of inputs and outputs. Using the interface, artists know the exact capabilities of an asset without knowing the details of the assets internal structure. This allows them to do their work regardless of how the asset is set up. Encapsulation maintains a scenes integrity. The internal structure of each asset may change but, as long as its interface isnt violated, the objects in the scene that rely on it remain unaffected. Maya Assets provides a number of locking and hiding mechanisms to enforce the benefits of encapsulated design.

Related topics

Lock an asset on page 208 Hide unpublished nodes and attributes on page 210

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Published attributes and nodes


Published attributes
Publishing a node attribute to an asset makes that attribute visible at the asset level. A published attribute consists of three parts:

An internal node attribute. A published name on the asset. A relationship connection from the internal node attribute to the published name.

You can modify published attributes as though you were modifying the values of the corresponding encapsulated attributes directly. This allows you to:

Make attributes from multiple internal nodes accessible in one place. Hide unpublished attributes and node hierarchy inside the asset to protect them from tampering. Streamline the interface when working with complex objects. Rename and re-map encapsulated attributes at the asset level.

Published attributes make up the assets interface and are still editable when a asset is locked. Thus, by publishing a set of attributes and then locking the asset, you can ensure that users are only able to interact with the contents of that asset through the published attributes you give them. If a published name on an asset exists but is not connected to an internal node attribute, the published name is unbound. Modifying unbound attributes has no affect on the assets contents. You can bind and unbind attributes to published names with the Asset Editor.

Published attributes and nodes | 169

You can publish published attributes from a child asset to a parent asset. This allows you to build asset hierarchies to better manage your scenes.

For example, in a car scene you may create a asset for the front wheels named front_wheel_AST that is encapsulated by the asset for the entire car named car_AST. You can then publish the wheels rotation first to front_wheel_AST and then publish those published attributes to car_AST. You can also publish an asset nodes own attributes to itself. This is useful if you want to allow an artist to change views or control other asset attributes when the asset itself is locked. Templates use published names to define what published attributes it requires. You can also publish nodes. For more information, see Published nodes on page 170.

Related topics

What is encapsulation? on page 167 Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221 Edit published attribute values on page 228

Published nodes
Like publishing attributes, you can publish a node to an asset. For either type of asset, published nodes are the only encapsulated nodes that can be seen (in the Outliner, Attribute Editor, and Channel Box), selected, and manipulated when an asset is in Black Box mode.

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For advanced assets specifically, published nodes can also be used to define the way encapsulated DAG nodes interact with external DAG nodes in the hierarchy. In addition to the generic node publishing common to both types of assets, advanced assets allows you to publish a DAG node three different ways:

As a parent anchor As a child anchor As the assets selection transform

A parent anchor or child anchor identifies, respectively, that a node in an advanced asset is allowed to be the parent or child of a node outside the asset. A selection transform functions as the node selected in an asset centric selection (for more information, see Asset centric selection on page 204) and is useful for directing the user to the primary node in the asset. NOTE In the case of an asset with transform, the asset node itself acts as a parent anchor, child anchor, and selection transform. You cannot publish these manually. Here are a few common ways of publishing nodes for an asset:

The simplest workflow is to publish a single encapsulated node as a selection transform of the advanced asset. As the selection transform, this node is automatically selected when any object in the asset is selected in the scene (assuming youve turned on Asset centric selection). The selection transform also acts as both a parent anchor and child anchor so that you can parent it to external nodes in the DAG even when the asset is locked. NOTE The Create Asset options window provides options for auto-publishing a root this way upon creation. For more information, see Create assets on page 201.

For added functionality, you can publish multiple parent anchors or child anchors in addition to a root transform. Each of these parent anchors and child anchors can then be parented in the DAG when the asset is locked. Publish nodes generically that you still want access to when the asset is put into Black Box mode. For example, publish controls on a character rig so that you can still see them in the Outliner and select them in the scene.

Maya handles published node parent relationships differently compared to other relationships during file input and output. Rather than using the nodes name directly, parent anchors and child anchors rely on the published name

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of the parent/child to manage the relationship between objects. This is especially useful when working with file referencing. For example, suppose you reference a file with a bouquet and parent it to an arm in the parent file.

If you alter the hierarchy or name of the bouquet file, Maya is unable to maintain the relationship between the arm and the bouquet in the parent file since the DAG path has changed. as a result the bouquet loses all its relationship data and is reset to the origin.

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You can avoid this problem by encapsulating the bouquet in an asset and publishing bouquet_GRP as a child anchor. Then you can change the names and structure of the bouquet without affecting the relationship to the arm.

Related topics

Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228 Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) on page 233

Hiding non-published attributes and nodes


Published attributes and nodes represent parts of the asset you want to give users access to. You can hide the rest of the attributes and nodes in an asset by setting it to Black Box mode (for more information on Black Box mode, see Hide unpublished nodes and attributes on page 210). However, even though you cannot see these attributes and nodes, it is still possible to modify them. To prevent this, you can also lock the asset. When an asset is locked, you can only parent/child published nodes and modify published assets (for more information on locking assets, see Lock an asset on page 208). By using these two features together, you can ensure that users only interact with your assets in the ways you intended.

Asset templates
Asset templates are XML files that let you create a common, interchangeable user interface for assets. For each template, you can create multiple custom

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views of the published attributes. Each view can be customized with its own layout, attribute labels, and descriptions (tooltips). After you have created an asset and defined its published attributes, you can save a template of the published attribute and published node names. (See Create an asset template on page 248.) The next time you create an asset of the same kind, you can load the saved template to set up the new asset with the same published names. (See Assign a template to an asset on page 249.) TIP You can also set up all assets that use the same template to display the same icon in the Hypergraph and Outliner. (See Mark an asset with a custom icon on page 212.) Templates are referenced by the asset using the assets Template Name attribute, which tells the asset which template to use. (See also Template naming conventions on page 191.) Each template file stores a set of published attribute names that the assigned asset requires. This lets you quickly and easily create other assets of the same kind without missing any of the required attributes. Saving templates as separate files lets you establish a library of templates that you can reuse across a pipeline, independent of specific scene files. Once you have assigned a template to an asset in your scene, you can bind the assets attributes to the templates unbound attributes. For example, you can set up all of the spot lights in your scene using the same asset template, giving all spot light assets a common interface. Since all of your spot light assets have the exact same set of published attributes, you can easily swap controls and animation between them using Replace Reference or Transfer Attribute Values. (See Replace referenced assets on page 283 and Transfer attribute values between assets on page 242). Using templates to create a common interface for assets is optional. However, if you save templates, you can also define multiple views, or layouts, for each template. Template views let you completely customize the asset interface, changing the grouping, organization, and naming of attributes in the Asset Editor, Attribute Editor, Outliner, and Channel Box. The following illustration shows the Attribute Editor for a fountain asset first with no views assigned, then with two different views created for the shading artist and the environment artist on a team. Each artist is supplied with only those attributes they will need when working with the fountain asset.

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Even if you do not save templates or define custom views, the asset View Mode attribute gives you two options for organizing the layout of published attributes in the various windows and editors. The Group By Node view organizes published attributes by node, with one collapsible frame per node. The Flat view lists nodes in the order they were published.

NOTE For all views, Maya automatically creates the appropriate interface tools in the layout (for example, numeric attributes display with sliders and appropriate Min and Max values) based on each attribute type you have included in the template. For more information on customizing views, see Customize a template view on page 263. For more detailed technical information about asset templates, refer to Parts of an asset template on page 178 and Template file format on page 191.

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Template views
Template views let you define the way an assets published attributes are displayed in Maya windows and editors. Depending on your production requirements, you can create multiple views for each template. (See Add a view to an asset template on page 261) A template view is essentially a set of published asset attributes that you have grouped and organized together for a specific purpose. Creating a set of different views for one template lets you create a different user interface for any purpose your pipeline requires. (See Customize a template view on page 263.) For example, you can create custom template views to do the following:

Customize the basic display of asset attributes in the Outliner, Attribute Editor, Asset Editor and Channel Box. Re-organize the asset display, changing the grouping and order of attributes. Control which attributes can be viewed and modified by each member of your team. You can specify the attributes you want each user to have access to by creating a template view for that user. For example, you might create a view for the modeler, one for the rigger, and one for the animator on your team. You group the controls and attributes that each user needs into an interface designed specifically for them. Since each user can modify only the attributes you have included for them, there is no danger of team members accidentally overwriting attributes not related to their work.

Group attributes needed for each task or assignment within a project. Set up a view for each task that team members need to accomplish within a project. You can streamline the workflow for each user by including only the attributes they will require for an assigned task within a template view. Users can switch between different views as they complete work on the project and save time searching for the attributes they need.

For information on setting up your own customized views, see Add a view to an asset template on page 261 and Customize a template view on page 263.

Template Binding Sets

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Binding sets allow you to create a mapping of the published names and the attributes they are bound to and store them in an assets template. You can then use this mapping to autobind future assets that use the same template. This allows you to avoid publishing every attribute individually. For more information, see Create a binding set on page 259. When you create a binding set, Maya creates a set of entries in the template file that automatically associate all published names with the node names to which they are currently bound. You can open the template file externally and replace these names with regular expressions if you want your binding set to work more generally. For example, you could use binding sets and autobind to do the following:

Retro-matching assets. Open an existing asset and apply your template to it. Autobind the asset. Any previous unbound attributes or attributes bound differently than the binding set mapping are published and bound (or re-bound) to match the template. Creating multiple characters of the same type. After creating the first character of a set, you can create an asset and publish the appropriate attributes to that asset. You can then create a binding set of the current asset. When you create the second character of the set, apply the same template and autobind the asset. All the attributes are published and bound according to the template. Then you can fix any remaining unbound attributes. Managing iterative versions of the same asset. After creating an asset and publishing the appropriate attributes, create a binding set. Even after the current project is over, you can re-use this binding set as the base same asset in the next generation version. You can then autobind the next generation asset and repeat this procedure indefinitely.

Related topics

Parts of an asset template on page 178 Template file format on page 191 Add a view to an asset template on page 261 Customize a template view on page 263 Create a binding set on page 259

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Parts of an asset template


This topic describes all of the elements available in the XML template file. You can edit your XML template files using any XML editor or plain text editor of your choice. See Edit an asset template on page 252. A complete template file reference document for FBX Assets is also available at http://www.autodesk.com/maya-docs. The following diagram shows a sample template file with two views, and illustrates the placement of the XML elements within the template file.

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Related topics

Asset templates on page 173 Create an asset template on page 248

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The following table provides a summary of what each template element can contain. Detailed descriptions of each element follow. Template
Name Attribute Label Description

View
Name Template Group Property Label Description

Attribute
Name Attribute Type Label Description

Group
Name Group Property Label Description

Property
Name Property Label Description

Bindingset
Name Template Binding property Condition

Main elements
The main body of the template is defined by a single <template> element. Within the template, a series of <attribute> properties describe the published attribute interface of the asset. The following table describes the main elements of a template file. Element
<encoding>

Description
Must be UTF-8. If the encoding is not specified, UTF-8 is assumed. NOTE Files containing only ASCII characters are UTF-8 compatible.

<templates> <package>

Encloses all file elements. (Optional) If a template is part of a named package, this attribute specifies the package name. See Template packages on page 181 for more information. A <using> statement should be included to identify all packages required by the file. Maya automatically adds <using> directives to templates created or saved from Maya. Encloses all elements within the template file. Usually there is one template definition per file. See Template elements on page 182.

<using>

<template>

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Element
<view>

Description
(Optional) View elements define customized user interface layouts for the template. Multiple views can be associated with each template. See View elements on page 185. (Optional) Bindingset elements define a binding set for a template used for Autobinding other assets which use the same template. A binding set defines a mapping from published names to nodes in the asset.

<bindingset>

Template packages
Templates can optionally be organized into packages. Setting up the package structure involves some extra steps but it offers a number of advantages when establishing libraries of templates that are intended to be reused or shared. See Organize asset templates into packages on page 258. Packaged templates are referred to by both their package name and template name, separated by a period. For example a template1 located in pkg1 will have the full name "pkg1.template1". When a template is put into a package, the package name acts like a namespace, reducing conflicts with templates of the same name in other packages. All template files in the same package are stored in a folder matching the package name. For example, a package named pkg1 would be located in folder pkg1. The parent folder of the package should be located on the template search path. In the following example, template1 and template2 are in package pkg1, template3 and template4 are in pkg2. The parent directory templatePackages would be specified on the template search path and references to either package could be resolved.
.../templatePackages/pkg1/template1.template .../templatePackages/pkg1/template2.template .../templatePackages/pkg2/template3.template .../templatePackages/pkg2/template4.template

The package name must be specified in each template in the package:


<templates package=pkg1></templates>

Templates that refer to definitions from a package require a <using> directive. The <using> directive ensures the package is available so that the information

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in the template can be resolved at load time. When a template is saved from Maya, this directive is automatically added if it is required.
<templates><using package='pkg1'>....</templates>

Related topics

Template search path on page 191

Template elements
The following table describes the elements allowed within the template definition of a template file. Element
<template>

Description
The main element of a template file. It defines the published interface of an asset. Uniquely identifies this template. It cannot contain any special symbols or multi-byte characters. By convention in Maya, the template name and filename correspond. Templates in packages are namespaced with the package name so the same template name can be used in multiple packages. Template elements contain a series of attribute elements that define the template contents. See Attribute elements on page 183. (Optional) Display label for the template. When a label is not specified, the template name is used. This value can be localized. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. (Optional) A notation for the template. When available, this value is used in some parts of the user interface to display tooltip help. This value can be localized. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information.

<name>

<attribute>

<label>

<description>

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Attribute elements

Each published attribute is described by an attribute element. The following table describes the elements allowed within an attribute definition. Element
<name>

Description
Corresponds to the published name of the attribute on the asset. Corresponds to the data type of the attribute. This information is generated from the attribute type when templates are created in Maya. A set of standard types are defined in the Maya package which correspond to Maya attribute types. See Attribute types on page 183 for more detailed information. (Optional) Display label for the attribute. If the label is not specified, a label is generated from the attribute name. The attribute label may also be overridden when the attribute is used in a view. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. (Optional) Annotation text for the attribute. This text appears in some parts of the UI (such as the Attribute Editor) as tooltip help. The description can also be overridden when the attribute is used in a view. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information.

<type>

<label>

<description>

Example code:
<attribute name='attribute1' type='maya.float3'> <label>Display Name</label> <description>Your description here.</description> </attribute>

Attribute types
Template attribute types are used by Maya to document the expected type of the attribute that will be bound to the published attribute. They are generated

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using information from bound attributes when the template is created. Unbound attributes will have their types set to VOID, which indicates that the type is unknown. The template format supports several mechanisms for defining attribute types. Templates created from Maya will contain either built-in or customized types. It is not an error for a template to contain unresolved types; however, Maya generates warnings if they are encountered. The following built-in types can be used directly or can be used to define custom types:

BOOL INT8 INT16 INT32 INT64 UINT8 UINT32 UINT64 FLOAT DOUBLE STRING VOID

Custom attribute types are defined using <type> elements. A set of custom types corresponding to Maya attribute types is supplied. These types are defined in the 'maya' package. Templates created from Maya that use these types will have the <using package='maya'> directive and the type names will be prefixed with this package name. Refer to the FBX Assets reference document available at http://www.autodesk.com/maya-docs for more information on creating custom types.

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View elements

A template can have one or more views associated with it. A view describes a particular display layout for the asset and can be used to tailor the interface for different purposes (for example different users or workflows). Views are defined using <view> elements. The attributes in a view are referenced from the template using <property> elements. Attributes can be grouped using <group> elements. View-specific overrides can optionally be supplied for certain template information. In particular, the attributes label and description text that is displayed in the interface can be customized on a per-view basis if desired. A view element defines a customized user interface layout for the contents of the template. When the view is active, only those attribute properties included in the view definition are shown in the user interface, and the other template attributes are suppressed. The view properties can be organized into groups. Some information (labels, descriptions) can be provided on both the template and the view. View-specific definitions take precedence over template-level information when they are provided. ELement
<name>

Description
Provides a name for this view. The view name is an identifier and cannot contain spaces, special symbols, or multi-byte characters. To provide a user-interface label for the view, use the <label> attribute. Identifies the template with which this view is associated.

<template>

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ELement
<label>

Description
(Optional) Display label for the view. If the label is not specified, the view name is used. This value can be localized. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. (Optional) Annotation text for the view. This text displays in some parts of the interface (such as the Attribute Editor) as tooltip help. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. Views contain a series of property elements which refer to template attributes. See Property elements on page 187. Properties can be organized into groups. See Group elements on page 186.

<description>

<property>

<group>

Example code:
<view name='ShadingArtist' template='fountain'> <label>Shading Artist</label> <description>This view is for the shading team. <group name='Water_Shader'> <property name='water_diffuse'/> <property name='water_color'/> </group> </view>

</description>

Group elements

Views can contain group elements. Groups organize the attributes in the windows and editors of Maya. In the Attribute Editor and Asset Editor for example, groups are used for creating collapsible layouts. In some cases, the

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use of groups is not supported (such as in the Channel Box) and the view properties are laid out in an ordered list instead. NOTE Groups can be nested. The following table describes all elements that are allowed within a group definition. Element
<name>

Description
Provides a name for this group. The group name is an identifier and cannot contain spaces, special symbols, or multi-byte characters. To provide a display label for the group, use a <label> element. (Optional) Display label for the group. If the label is not specified, the group name is used. This value can be localized. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. (Optional) Annotation text for the group. This text is used in some parts of the interface (such as the Attribute Editor) as tooltip help. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. Groups contain a series of property elements which identify the template attributes included in the group.

<label>

<description>

<property>

Example code:
<group name='Brick_Shader'> <label>Brick Shading Properties</label> <description>Control main brick shader.<description> <property name='brick_diffuse'/> <property name='brick_color'/> <property name='brick_transparency'> </group>

Property elements

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The following table lists the elements allowed within a property definition. Element
<name>

Description
View attribute properties refer to template attributes by their name. (Optional) Display label for the attribute when used in this view. This value is view-specific and overrides any template-level label that is set on the attribute. If no label has been set on the attribute (either in the view or the template), the label is derived from the attribute name. This value can be localized. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information. (Optional) Display annotation for the attribute when used in this view. This value is view-specific and overrides any templatelevel annotation that is set on the attribute. This text is used in some parts of the interface (such as the Attribute Editor) as tooltip help. See Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188 for more information.

<label>

<description>

Example code:
<property name=brick_glowIntensity> <label>Brick Glow Intensity<label> <description>Controls glow intensity of brick shader.<description> </property>

Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions

Most of the text values in the template file are object identifiers or similar values that cannot contain spaces or other special characters. The exception to this are the <label> and <description> tags, which are used on various elements to set display-only label and annotation text for the user interface. The data values for these fields support localized data (UTF-8 encoded), spaces, special characters, and punctuation.

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Interface information fields (<label> and <description>) can be provided on both the template and the view. View-specific definitions (when provided) take precedence over those defined in the template. For example, if an attribute has a label defined in the template and a different label defined in the view, the view label takes precedence. The <label> and <description> elements define display-only strings for the user interface and apply to many elements in the XML format. Since these values are display-only, they can contain spaces and other special characters that are not allowed in the object name fields. They also provide the ability to localize the template interface into other languages. All text values defined in the XML file are to be encoded in UTF-8. Element
<language>

Description
(Optional) Language tags can be added to localizable elements to support display strings in alternate languages. Untagged entries are considered default entries and will be used if a more specific language match is not found. Language tags are not required if the template is only intended to be used in an English language environment. IMPORTANT If you are using the template to support any language other than English, it is recommended that all localizable values (including the English values) be explicitly tagged with the <language> tag to avoid any ambiguity about which language they are associated with. Language tags use standard language or language_country abbreviations (such as en_US, ja_JP, en, ja). Maya automatically selects the most appropriate entry from those supplied based on the current UI Language. NOTE Maya's user interface language can be determined by entering the command "about -uiLanguage".

See also Localize the asset user interface on page 270.

Binding Set elements

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A template can have one or more binding sets associated with it. A binding set is a mapping of published names (binding properties) mapped to node attributes (conditions). This mapping is used by the Autobind feature to quickly publish and bind attributes in any asset that uses this template. Element
<name>

Description
Provides a name for this binding set. The binding set name is an identifier and cannot contain spaces, special symbols, or multi-byte characters. The default name when a binding set is created is MayaBindings. Identifies the template with which the binding set is associated. Defined a name that is to be mapped to an attribute inside the asset. Refers to an attribute in the asset. If the Autobind command is issued and Maya finds this attribute in the asset, then Maya publishes it and binds it to the name defined by the corresponding binding property. You can input actual attribute names or regular expressions here. For more information on regular expressions, see Using regular expressions on page 261.

<template>

<binding property>

<condition>

Related topics

Template Binding Sets on page 176 Create a binding set on page 259

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Customize a template binding set on page 260

Template file format


Asset templates are used in Maya to store information about the published interface of an asset and to customize the user interface associated with it. This topic provides a reference for advanced users who want to customize template files and understand in more detail the way that asset templates work. A complete template file reference document for FBX Assets is also available at http://www.autodesk.com/maya-docs. Asset templates are defined in XML template files. This file format allows you to define a hierarchical template with inheritance from multiple types. You can edit and validate the structure of the XML template file using the XML editor of your choice. (See Edit an asset template on page 252.) Once you have saved an asset template, you can find the XML template file in the assets directory of your current project.

Template naming conventions


Within Maya, a template is defined by a unique name. All actions associated with the template use the template name as the primary means of identifying and locating the template. The template name is an object identifier and cannot contain illegal characters such as spaces, special symbols and multibyte characters. Maya adopts the following naming conventions for template files:

Each template is stored in a separate XML file. The template name is used as the base name of the associated template file. Template files have .template as the file extension. For example, a template named characterRig would be stored in the XML file characterRig.template.

Template search path


Maya uses a search path for locating template files. The template search path contains both built-in and user-designated locations that will be searched in order when attempting to load a template.

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Templates are loaded primarily by name. An attempt is made to locate a template file matching the template name along the search path. Template files not on the search path can also be loaded using absolute file paths, but this approach is not recommended as it can lead to problems locating the template in future sessions. To query the current template search path, use the following command:
containerTemplate -query -searchPath;

By default, this file rule points to the assets subdirectory of the current workspace. The first location in this file rule is also the default location where template files are saved if no other path is specified. To customize the search path with a location of your choice, see Change the template search path on page 257.

Related attributes
The following attributes are stored on the asset node to define the associated template. templateName Specifies the name of the template. This is the primary identifier for the template. templatePath (Optional) Specifies the physical location of the XML template file. This path can be relative to the current project or it can be an absolute path. NOTE The template path is used only as secondary information when locating the template. Templates of the same name located along the template search path always take precedence over those found in other locations. If the template cannot be located on the search path, the templatePath is used to attempt to locate the file. The following asset node attributes define the current asset view.

viewMode
The assets current view mode. Select from the following options: Flat One of two default modes. Group By Node One of two default modes. Use Template When selected, the template associated with the asset is used to determine the ordering and layout for the assets published interface. If the template includes views, these are also available as additional layout options.

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viewName When the viewMode is set to Use Template, the template definition of the asset is used for layout of the published interface of the asset. If the template has views defined for it, the viewName attribute is set to the name of the view to use. If the viewName attribute is empty, the template definition serves as the default view.

Related commands
All common template operations are provided through the Asset Editor and Attribute Editor, so you will not require the command-line interface in most cases. The following commands provide the underlying support for asset templates and asset views and can be used for scripted access to these operations:
containerTemplate: Performs actions on a template and its file (create, load, unload, save, query.) In general, this command operates independently on the template and its file and does not involve an association with a particular asset. For a small number of actions, however, an asset node is specified (for example, when creating a template from an asset or adding a view). containerView: Provides an interface for accessing the view-related information for an asset node. The containerView command operates on a specific asset node and returns the view information based on the assets view settings (viewMode, templateName, viewName). If the asset is not associated with a template or template view, the information is derived directly from the asset node. If the asset has an associated template view in effect, the layout and display information are derived from the template and/or view definition.

Refer to the command reference documentation for further details on these commands.

Assets and file referencing


As with any collection of nodes in maya, you can export assets in your scene as references. File referencing allows you to modularize a parent scene into multiple referenced files so that different people can work on different aspects of it without having to access the parent scene itself. Each time you reload the parent scene, it will reflect the newest versions of the child scenes it references.

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However, referencing assets specifically gives you even more versatility in your scenes through their handling of reference edits and proxy assets. For more information on file referencing, see About file referencing.

Saving reference edits


Although you can edit a referenced object encapsulated by an asset and save those edits to the referenced file, the real power of assets and referencing comes from the fact that changes to published attributes are stored according to their published names. These reference edits can be saved to an offline file instead of the referenced file. This means that you can replace references in your scene with assets that have entirely different contents and, so long as the asset names and attributes match the previous asset, your edits will apply to the new asset. Reference edits in the parent file also allows other artists to modify the contents of the assets in the referenced files without affecting the behavior of the parent file. For more information on reference edits, see Modifying a file reference.

Proxy assets
Although you can apply a regular proxy reference to a referenced asset, this greatly reduces your ability to interact with the asset since its published attributes are not available. To remedy this problem you can export a referenced asset as a proxy asset instead. A proxy asset, like a proxy reference, allows you to substitute a potentially complex referenced asset for a simpler file. Proxy assets are useful for simplifying complex scenes and help to improve navigation or performance when you are primarily concerned with the behavior of components in your scene. For more information on reference proxies, see About proxy references. When you create a proxy asset, the proxy file consists of a locator representing the assets root node and an additional locator for each parent or child anchor for the asset. You can add additional geometry in the proxy file to better represent the geometry it is being substituted for. Proxy assets retain published attribute values and connections even when reloaded with their proxy files in the main scene. Also, any published parent or child anchors will still appear in the scenes hierarchy so you can move the encapsulated objects around as needed.

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Related topics

Assets and file referencing on page 281 About file referencing in the File Referencing guide Work with file references in the File Referencing guide

The Asset Editor

The Asset Editor allows you to manage all the assets in your scene from a single window. It consists of two panels. Similar to the Outliner, the left panel displays a list of all the assets in your scene and their attributes. From this panel, you can:

View and arrange your assets Publish and unpublish attributes Select specific assets to edit

The right panel displays template binding information for the asset selected in the left panel. From the right panel you can:

Bind and unbind published attributes to the published names from a template Publish or unpublish unbound attributes

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Rename published attributes

You can use the Asset Editor to manage the binding between published names and internal node attributes. The Asset Editor is also the main interface for managing the templates in your scene. Aside from these two functions, you can also publish/unpublish attributes, add and remove nodes from assets, create Views and Binding Sets, and perform any other asset-related operations. In order to load a template and bind or unbind published attributes, you must first select an asset in the left panel and click the Pin Asset icon . This changes the Asset Editor to Pinned Asset mode (and the Pin Asset icon to the Unpin Asset icon ). When you have an asset pinned, it is the only asset displayed in the left panel, and its published attributes are displayed for editing in the right panel.

Related topics

Asset Editor on page 549 Asset templates on page 173

Asset workflows
Pre-planning Workflow
The following workflow is useful when a single technical director needs to define the assets, in detail, for all the departments working on a project. For example, consider a studio making a game that requires multiple interchangeable characters and props.

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The technical director knows the game requirements for the characters and props and their relationships relative to each other. Additionally, he knows how the content created by the modelers, riggers, and animators needs to interact. The following workflow allows the technical director to communicate these requirements to the various content creators. 1 The technical director assesses the games needs and determines the required deliverables for each department. 2 The technical director creates a set of asset templates and pre-populates them with published names, published nodes, and views useful to the artists. This gives the artists a guideline for validating that the assets they are creating are what the technical director expects. 3 The artist opens the asset and changes to a view appropriate for his/her department. 4 The artist builds the interior of the asset while binding appropriate attributes to their templates published attribute names. If the technical director created a binding set for the template, the artist can also use Autobind to achieve this step automatically.

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5 When the template is fulfilled, the artist publishes additional attributes which other artists down the pipeline may need.

6 The artist saves the asset and notifies the director.

7 The director reviews the integrity of the template file and ensures that any new published attributes are properly placed in the standard production template. 8 The technical director makes any final changes to the asset and then approves it to be passed onto the next department.

Artist control workflow


The following workflow is useful when artists want to encapsulate their existing objects with an asset so that it can be easily sent down a pipeline while ensuring artists in other departments cant make changes to areas they are not responsible for. For example, consider a rigger working on a character model who needs to pass the asset down to an animator. The rigger would like to give the animator access to the characters controls but not to the characters joints themselves. The following workflow shows how the rigger can give the animator limited access. 1 The rigger imports the character geometry, rigs the geometry with joints and creates controls as usual.

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2 The rigger creates an asset for the character including shapes, shaders, and related hierarchy. The rigger also includes the characters controls in this asset. 3 The rigger publishes the character controls to the asset and any other attributes/nodes other artists need control over. 4 The rigger locks the asset and sets it to Black Box mode. 5 The rigger sends the file down the pipeline to the animator. Now if the animator requires a change in the assets rigging structure, he cannot make the change himself (potentially causing problems elsewhere in the pipeline). Instead, the animator must inform the rigger to make the changes.

Artist workflow tips


As an artist working on a scene, you must choose the workflow that works best for you. The following are a few tips for common workflow related issues.

It is possible to assemble all the components before adding them all to an asset and publishing the appropriate attributes. However, you can also create an asset first and use the Set Current Asset option to ensure that all the objects created thereafter are automatically placed in the asset. Building an asset this way helps reduce the risk of missing objects, which could happen if you add them to the asset manually. When creating an asset from existing components, you may want to include some nodes related to the selected nodes, but not all of them. You can do this using the Preview contents option in the Create Asset with Transform and Create Advanced Asset Options window. For more information, see Create assets on page 201. One of the primary benefits of using assets is to limit visual complexity and streamline your working interface. Here is a list of options to think about in order to maximize this benefit:

Once you have published all your attributes and nodes for an asset, set that asset to Black Box mode. If you choose to show attributes in the Outliner, Channel Box or Asset Editor, set the Show > Attributes menu to display Published only. Set the Outliner to Display > Advanced Asset Contents > Under Asset to avoid displaying the DAG hierarchy. Conversely, you can also set

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the Outliner to Display > Advanced Asset Contents > Under Parent to reduce the asset to a single asset node representation in the DAG hierarchy.

Use template views to show published attributes in a meaningful way to each artist that works on an asset. In the Hypergraph, use Options > Merge Connections to reduce the number of connection lines. If Black Box mode is off, you can also turn off Options > Show Relationship Connections to hide published attribute connections.

When setting up a file with assets to be referenced by a parent file, it is usually a good idea to lock assets so that other artists cannot modify them from the parent file. You can do this either by manually locking unpublished attributes, or by setting the Asset Unpublished option to Lock in the Save Scene As Options window. For more information on locking, see Lock an asset on page 208. Sometimes you may want to publish attributes that dont appear in the Channel Box. You can do this by opening the Attribute Editor, right-clicking the attributes name and selecting the asset name from the marking menu. You can also use the Asset Editor. For more information on publishing attributes, see Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221. You can connect multiple published attributes to a single Dynamic Attribute. For more information on publishing attributes, see Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221. In scenes representing landscapes or large objects, you can publish the Level Of Detail information of various nodes to control the detail of related objects when the camera moves closer and farther from them. For more information on LOD, see Edit > Level of Detail on page 430.

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Creating and removing assets


Create assets
Basic Assets
The most commonly used asset is the asset with a transform node. Assets with transform nodes are most appropriate for collections of objects that you want to manipulate as a whole (for example, multiple pieces of geometry that compose a single prop in a scene). To create an asset with a transform 1 Select the nodes you want to place in an asset. 2 Select Assets > Create Asset with Transform on page 519> The Create Asset with Transform Options window appears. 3 Set Operation to Create asset with transform. 4 Set the connected nodes to be included in the asset by turning on the appropriate options in the Include Options. 5 Click Apply and close. An asset node is created containing the selected nodes and their children. .

Advanced Assets
You can also create an asset without a transform node. Assets without transforms work well for nodes that dont have parenting relationships in the DAG (for example, lighting and shading). Advanced assets require more management if you do want them to interact with the DAG hierarchy, but are useful if you want to create an asset without inserting a node into the hierarchy, or if you want advanced control over parenting encapsulated nodes. You can use the Create Advanced Asset Options window to customize which nodes, connected or related to your selected nodes, will also be included. To create an asset without a transform 1 Select the nodes you want to place in an asset.

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2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Create >

The Create Advanced Asset Options window appears. 3 Set Operation to Create asset. 4 Name your asset. 5 Set the connected nodes to be included in the asset by turning on the appropriate options in the Include Options. The NOTE Include Connected option includes nodes directly connected to the selected nodes, as well as indirectly connected nodes (nodes connected to directly connected nodes and so forth). 6 Select Selection Transform to automatically publish the selected object as the assets selection transform. Select Transform Attributes to automatically publish the selection transform nodes basic attributes (translation, rotation, and scale) to the asset. 7 Click Apply and close. An asset node is created containing the selected objects and any related nodes you specified.

Including a subset of nodes


When working with either basic assets or advanced assets, you may want to include a subset of the nodes that are included when you use the provided Include Options. Rather than including and then removing unwanted nodes manually, you can use the Preview contents option to customize your selection before creating the asset. To create an asset with a subset of connected or related nodes 1 Use the Preview contents option in the Create Advanced Asset Options window to select a set of connected or related nodes (for information on how to do this, see Preview the contents of an asset on page 203). Even if you dont want all the connected or related nodes, these options often provide a good starting point for a node selection. 2 Modify the selection to include only the nodes you want in the asset. 3 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Create > .

The Create Advanced Asset Options window appears.

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4 Set Operation to Create asset. 5 Turn off Include connected and Include hierarchy. Maya creates an asset encapsulating only the currently selected nodes. NOTE You can also use this technique for assets with transforms, though it is not as useful since children of the selected nodes are automatically placed in such an asset.

Preview the contents of an asset


You can preview the contents of an asset before you actually create one. This is useful when using the Include Hierarchy option in the Create Advanced Asset Options to confirm you are including the actual hierarchy you want. To preview the contents of an asset 1 Select the objects you want to place in an asset. 2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Create > .

The Create Advanced Asset Options window appears. 3 Set Operation to Preview contents. 4 Select the node hierarchy to include in your asset. 5 Click Apply or Apply and Close. Any objects that would be placed in the asset are selected in the scene. NOTE Performing a preview operation changes your selection. If you want to preview multiple creation options on the same original selection, you should undo each preview operation before changing options and previewing again.

Remove assets
To remove an asset 1 Select the asset node you want to remove in the Hypergraph Connections editor. 2 Select Edit > Asset > Remove Asset.

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The selected asset node is removed from the graph area of the Hypergraph and deleted from the file. The nodes within the deleted asset are either moved to the parent asset (if one exists), or to the top level of the dependency graph. Note that all connections (published or unpublished) to and from the internal nodes of the asset are retained. NOTE You cannot removed locked assets from a scene. To remove all the assets in your scene Select Edit > Delete All by Type > Assets. All the assets in the scene are removed, but their contents remain in the scene.

Navigating assets
Select an asset
You can select an asset in either the Outliner or Hypergraph Connections editor. Like many other nodes, asset nodes are not visible in the scene panel. In the latter window, assets appear as a node with beveled corners (for more information, see Parts of an asset on page 164). You can view or hide the contents of the asset at any time by expanding or collapsing the asset. NOTE Assets appear in the Hypergraph Connections editor, but not in the Hypergraph Hierarchy. NOTE If the asset you are looking for does not appear in the Hypergraph Connections editor, select an object in the scene that is encapsulated by the asset and refresh the Hypergraph. In the Outliner you can filter your view to display only assets by selecting Show > Objects > Asset. You can select all the assets in your scene at once by selecting Edit > Select All by Type > Assets.

Asset centric selection


For assets with no transform, you can customize Maya to select the first published node of an asset (the selection transform, the first parent, or the

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first child in that order) whenever any node in an asset is selected in the main scene. This is useful in complex scenes, especially with hierarchies, where you usually only want to ever select the highest level parent in the asset. For example, in a character scene where a skeleton and its skin are placed in the same asset, an animator may have trouble selecting the skeleton behind the skin. However, if the skeleton is published as the assets root transform, the animator could then select the underlying skeleton just by selecting the skin.

Related topics

Select a node on page 27

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To set a selection transform 1 Select a node inside the asset. 2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Publish as Selection Transform. The selected node is set as the assets root transform. To select assets by their selection transform 1 Hold the Q + the left mouse button while the cursor is pointing to an object in the scene. 2 Select Select > Asset Centric from the marking menu. Now if you select any object in the asset in the scene panel, the object that you set as the selection transform is selected instead. NOTE The default selection transform is the first created top-level node in the asset. NOTE You can also turn on Asset Centric selection in the Windows > Settings/Preferences > Preferences window, in the Selection section. Selecting selection transforms works differently if one of the transformation tools is active. In this case, Maya selects the first node with the appropriate published attributes above the selected node.

For example, in the above hierarchy, pSphere1 is published as asset1s root node. If Asset centric selection is on and you select pCylinder1 with the Move Tool, Maya selects pCube1 if it has one or more published translation attributes. Even if pSphere1 also has published translation attributes, Maya still selects pCube1 because it is the first node with the appropriate published attribute(s) encountered by a traversal up the hierarchy. In this case, if you select the Rotate Tool or Scale Tool and select pCylinder1, Maya selects pSphere1 because pCube1 does not have any published rotation or scale attributes.

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To view an assets selection transform 1 Select the asset. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 In the asset tab, navigate to the Published Nodes section. The Root Transform field displays the current published root node. If the word None appears then the current root node is the default. You can quickly go to the root node by clicking the icon next to the Selection Transform field.

Select asset contents


You can select encapsulated nodes by selecting them in the scene panel, Outliner, or Hypergraph. In the Hypergraph Connections editor, encapsulated nodes will be hidden in their respective assets until you expand them (see Expand and collapse assets on page 214). From the Hypergraph Connections editor, you can select all the nodes in an asset at once. To select all the nodes in an asset 1 In the Hypergraph Connections editor, right-click the asset whose contents you want to select and choose Select Asset Contents. All the nodes in the asset are selected. 2 You can also select Assets > Select Asset Contents. In either case, if the asset is in Black Box mode, only published nodes are selected.

Set the current asset


If an asset is set as the current asset, any subsequent nodes you create are automatically added to that asset. To set the current asset 1 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Set Current Asset. 2 Select the asset from the list that appears.

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You can also right-click an asset in the Hypergraph Connections editor and select Set Asset as Current. You can set the heads-up display to show your current asset in the bottom right corner of the scene panel by selecting Display > Heads Up Display > Current Asset. NOTE Default nodes (such as ikSolvers and UI-related nodes) cannot be placed into an asset even when the asset is set as current.

Lock an asset
You can lock unpublished attributes for nodes inside assets so that their contents cannot be changed. This is a useful precautionary measure when you want to protect sensitive components from accidental changes. When an assets unpublished attributes are locked, you cannot:

Alter the values of unpublished attributes. Publish/Unpublish attributes. Bind/Unbind attributes. Unlock or remove encapsulated nodes. Add nodes to the asset. Delete incoming connections to unpublished attributes. Delete encapsulated nodes. Rename the asset or its nodes. Modify the parenting of unpublished nodes. Change views, view modes, or other asset attributes.

You can:

Change values and connections of published attributes. Modify the parenting of published parent or child anchors for nodes inside the asset. Delete outgoing connections from internal nodes to external nodes.

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Delete external source nodes for incoming connections (this deletes the incoming connection as well).

Any published attributes and nodes are unaffected when an asset is locked. Thus, locking unpublished attributes is an easy way to promote the use of an assets interface over modifying its internal node attributes. NOTE When you lock unpublished attributes on an asset, the unpublished attributes of any sub-assets are automatically locked as well. To lock all unpublished attributes 1 Select an asset or any object in the asset. 2 Select Assets > Lock Unpublished Attributes. All unpublished attributes for nodes in the asset are locked. To unlock all unpublished attributes 1 Select an asset. 2 Select Assets > Unlock Unpublished Attributes. All unpublished attributes for nodes in the asset are unlocked.

Locking and referencing


You can lock all unpublished attributes when saving an asset for use when an asset is referenced by a parent file. This allows you to lock all unpublished attributes from the parent files perspective, without locking them in the working (child) file. NOTE In general you cannot lock/unlock a referenced assets attributes from a parent file. To lock unpublished attributes for referencing 1 Create your geometry and place it in an asset. 2 Publish the appropriate attributes to the asset. Make sure to publish any attributes that are needed by the parent scene. 3 Select File > Save Scene As > .

The Save Scene As Options window appears.

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4 In the Referencing Options section, set Asset unpublished to Lock. 5 Optionally, you can set Lock File to Lock as well. This prevents users from saving any reference edits to this file from the parent file. 6 Select Save Scene As and enter a name for the file. When the file is saved, all the unpublished attributes for all asset in the scene are locked. These attributes cannot be unlocked from the parent file.

Hide unpublished nodes and attributes


You can hide all unpublished information in an asset with the Black Box option. When an asset is in Black Box mode:

Only published selection transforms, parent anchors, child anchors and other assets appear when the asset is expanded in any editor. Unpublished nodes encapsulated by the asset are not shown in the DAG hierarchy. Unpublished nodes are removed from the Channel Box and Attribute Editor. Unpublished nodes become un-selectable in the scene. Trying to select an unpublished node from the asset instead selects whatever asset centric selection would select. Pick-walking only selects published nodes. Black Box assets cannot be expanded in the Hypergraph. Using the Select Asset Contents option only selects published nodes.

To set an asset as a Black Box 1 Select an asset in your scene. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 In the Asset Attributes section, turn on Black Box. NOTE When working in Black Box mode, you should set the Outliners Advanced Asset Contents (Display > Advanced Asset Contents) display to Under Parent.

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Organize assets in the Channel Box


You can organize how the Channel Box displays your assets using the Show menu. You can change the order of internal nodes and asset nodes as well as filter which published attributes are displayed in the Channel Box. You can also control the types of attributes that are displayed in the Channel Box (for more information, see Organizing the Channel Box on page 570).

Related topics

Organizing the Channel Box on page 570 Show on page 578 Creating templates and views on page 248

To display published attributes for selected objects only 1 Select the objects whose published attributes you want to see. 2 Select Show > Assets > Selected object attributes from the Channel Box menu. The asset display in the Channel Box reduces to show only the published attributes from the selected objects. These attributes are displayed in the order specified by the current view (for more information see Add a view to an asset template on page 261). If you select a different object in the scene, the Channel Box will update accordingly. To change the order that assets are displayed in the Channel Box Select Show > Assets > Show at top. If Show at top is on, an asset encapsulating a selected object always appears at the top of the Channel Box. If Show at top is off, the asset appears in the Outputs section of the Channel Box. To change the order of nodes beneath the asset in the Channel Box 1 Open the Outliner (Window > Outliner). 2 Expand an asset. 3 Middle-drag the nodes underneath the asset into the desired order.

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The nodes in the Channel Box rearrange to match their order in the Outliner.

Organize assets in the Attribute Editor


There are a number of different ways to lay out published attributes in the Attribute Editor. You can view the published attributes as a flat list of attributes, organized under their respective nodes, or organized according to the views in a template file. You can select the arrangement of published attributes in the Attribute Editor from the View Mode field in the Asset Attributes section. You can control the order of the nodes displayed in the Group by Node View Mode with the Outliner. To change the order of nodes beneath the asset in the Attribute Editor 1 Open the Outliner (Window > Outliner). 2 Expand an asset. 3 Middle-drag the nodes underneath the asset into the desired order. 4 Open the Attribute Editor and select the asset tab. 5 Set View Mode to Group by Node. The nodes in the Channel Box rearrange to match their order in the Outliner.

Mark an asset with a custom icon


You can customize the icon that appears next to an asset in the Hypergraph, Hypershade and Outliner. You can either associate all assets of the same template with a common icon or you can mark individual assets with unique icons. To associate an icon with a template 1 Place your icon image file in the current projects asset directory. 2 Rename the image to match the name of the template you want to associate it with.

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3 In Maya, create an asset and assign the template. For more information, see Assign a template to an asset on page 249. All asset nodes that use this template are now displayed with this custom icon. To display a custom icon on a asset 1 Select an asset. 2 Open the Attribute Editor and navigate to the asset tab. 3 Select Icon Name under the Asset Attributes heading. A file browser appears. 4 Navigate to select your icon image file and click the Open button. The node for the asset is now displayed with your custom icon. If the asset you selected is associated with a template that already has an associated icon, then only the selected assets icon is changed. The rest of the assets associated with that template are unaffected. NOTE Filetypes supported include BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, XBM, SVG, and XPM. Note that due to the way that the interface handles transparency, you may notice messy borders around the edges of XPM images. To fix this, you must use an image format other than XPM. If you specify XPM, Maya automatically searches for a PNG of the same name before defaulting to XPM. NOTE If you modify your icon file, you may need to reload Maya to see the changes. NOTE The preferred size for an asset icon in the Outliner is 20 x 20 pixels. Icons larger than this are scaled automatically in the Outliner display.

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Navigate assets in the Hypergraph or Hypershade


Expand and collapse assets
Nodes encapsulated in an asset appear in a translucent box (for more information see Parts of an asset on page 164). You can display or hide the contents of these asset nodes by expanding or collapsing the asset. NOTE Attribute connections in or out of the node remain visible regardless of whether a node is expanded or collapsed. To expand an asset Double-click a collapsed asset node in the Hypergraph Connections editor or Hypershade.

Or 1 Select a collapsed asset node in the Hypergraph Connections editor. 2 Select Edit > Asset > Expand Asset. Or

Select an asset in the Hypershade and click the Expand Asset icon .

To collapse an asset Double-click an expanded asset node in the Hypergraph Connections editor or Hypershade.

Or 1 Select an expanded asset node in the Hypergraph Connections editor. 2 Select Edit > Asset > Collapse Asset. Or

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Select an asset in the Hypershade and click the Collapse Asset icon .

Lay out nodes inside an asset


You can adjust the layout of the nodes inside an expanded asset the same way you adjust the layout of nodes in the rest of the Hypergraph. However, note that each assets individual layout is independent of the Hypergraph and other assets layouts. Thus, you can have multiple assets each with different internal layouts.

Related topics

Hypergraph overview on page 630

To change the layout of an asset 1 In the Hypergraph Connections editor or the Hypershade, right-click the border of the asset. 2 Select Layout Asset from the pop-up menu. 3 Choose a layout for the asset from the list that appears. For the full list of graph layouts, see the Options Menu on page 639 in the Hypergraph overview on page 630.

Show and hide connections


You can streamline the connections shown in the Hypergraph Connections editor and Hypershade in a number of ways. This is useful when you are working with a complex scene consisting of many connections. To hide published connections in the Hypergraph and Hypershade Select Show Relationship Connections from the Hypergraph Connections editor or Hypershade menu. All the connections indicating a relationship (but not those indicating a transfer of data) are hidden. This includes connections from internal nodes to their assets borders (published attribute asset connections).

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To merge multiple connections from one node to another Select Merge Connections (for more information, see Merge connections on page 644) from the Hypergraph Connections editor or Hypershade menu. Any set of multiple connections from one node to another are merged into a thick connection. This is especially useful to merge all published attribute asset connections from an internal node to its assets border.

Customize an assets background


By default, asset nodes are translucent so you can partially see external nodes or connections underneath them. You can make asset nodes opaque by selecting Opaque Assets from the Hypergraph or Hypershade options menu. You can also set the background for each asset in the Hypergraph to a custom image. This can help you quickly identify an asset by sight. To customize the background of an asset in the Hypergraph 1 In the Hypergraph Connections editor, right-click the border of your asset and select Set Background Image from the pop-up menu. NOTE You must right-click any side of the border other than the right side. The Adjust Background Image window appears. 2 Enter the path of your image file in the Image Name field or click Load and navigate to select the file in the browser window. 3 Select Fit to Width or Fit to Height. 4 Use the value fields or sliders to adjust the size of the image.

View assets in the Hypershade


Assets appear slightly different in the Hypershade than they do in the Hypergraph. Like all render nodes, asset nodes in the Hypershade have a small icon bar underneath allowing you quick access to create connections between input and output values.

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To view a asset in the Work Area 1 Select a render node that is encapsulated by the asset. 2 Click one of the graphing icons in the toolbar, such as Input Connections . The asset encapsulating the node appears in the Work Area.

Navigate assets in the Outliner


Showing or hiding asset contents
You can alter the display of advanced assets in the Outliner to display the node only under the asset encapsulating it or only under its parent in the hierarchy. This is helpful to simplify the display, since a child node is not necessarily encapsulated in an advanced asset.

Related topics

Asset Contents on page 604

To show or hide asset contents 1 In the Outliner, select Display > Advanced Asset Contents.

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2 Select a display method from the list that appears. NOTE Nodes not encapsulated in advanced assets are unaffected by this display option. For an even more streamlined Outliner view, you can also choose to hide encapsulated nodes altogether, and is one way to promote the use of an advanced assets published attributes. To hide encapsulated nodes In the Outliner, select Display > Advanced Asset Contents > None.

View published attributes


You can view asset attributes in the Outliner the same way you view any other nodes attributes. However, you can also limit the Outliner to only display published attributes. To view published attributes in the Outliner 1 In the Outliner, select Display > Attributes (Channels). All nodes can now be expanded to show their attributes. 2 Select Show > Attributes > Published.

Now if you expand a node to view its attributes you see only published attributes. This applies to both asset nodes and their internal nodes. Nodes not encapsulated by an asset do not show any attributes at all.

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Customize how an asset is treated in the UI

You can use a script to customize the way your asset can interact with the Maya UI. For example, if youve created an asset that encapsulates a number of shaders or materials, it maybe useful to have this asset appear in the Assign Existing Materials list that appears when you right-click an object. To customize how an asset is treated in the UI 1 Select the asset in the Outliner. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 In the asset tab, under the Asset Attributes section, click UI Treatment. 4 Do one of the following: 5 If you want to treat the asset as a shader, select Shader from the drop-down menu.

If you want to assign some other custom treatment, select Custom from the drop-down menu and enter a string in the Custom Treatment field. You can then write custom scripts or plug-ins that use this string.

Editing Assets
Add nodes to an asset
To add nodes to an asset 1 Select the node(s) you want to add. 2 Do one of the following:

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3 Select Assets > Add to Asset. If you have two assets selected, the first one you selected is added to the second. NOTE Maya returns an error if more than two assets are selected.

In the Outliner, middle-drag the node(s) onto an existing asset node. NOTE When adding nodes to an asset using the Outliner, Maya respects the current Add to Asset options. For more information, see Assets > Add to Asset.

In the Hypergraph Connections editor, hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and drag the node(s) into the asset node. In the Hypergraph Connections editor, right-click the asset border and select Add selected to asset.

The node is added to the asset. If the node was already inside another asset, it is removed from that asset. The above methods are useful if you want to manually specify the nodes to add to the asset. However, you can also quickly add a group of nodes that are related by their hierarchy or connections. To add a group of related nodes to an asset 1 In either the Outliner or Hypergraph Connections editor, select the node(s) whose related hierarchy you want to add to an asset. 2 Shift + select the asset you want to add the node(s) to. 3 Select Assets > Add to Asset > .

4 Select whether you want any connected nodes and the hierarchy related to the node included in the asset. 5 Click Apply and Close.

Remove nodes from an asset


To remove nodes from a asset 1 Select the node(s) you want to remove from their current asset.

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2 Do one of the following


In the Outliner, drag the node(s) out of the asset. Select Assets > Remove from Asset. If the node is part of a series of nested assets, it moves one level higher. In the Hypergraph Connections editor, hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and drag the node(s) out of the asset node. In the Hypergraph Connections editor, right-click one of the asset and select Remove from asset.

Publish or unpublish attributes


Publish attributes
You can publish attributes from an encapsulated node to its asset making it appear as though they are attributes of the asset itself.

Changes to either the published attribute or the corresponding internal node attribute update each other accordingly. For more information on published attributes, see Published attributes and nodes on page 169. NOTE You can also publish an assets own attributes to the asset itself. For example, you can publish an assets View Mode so that even after you lock the assets unpublished attributes, artists can still switch between views.

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To publish attributes to the asset using the Channel Box 1 Select the encapsulated object whose attributes you want to publish. 2 Select the attributes you want to publish in the Channel Box. 3 Ctrl + right-click in the Channel Box and select Publish to Asset from the pop-up menu. Maya creates a published name(s) on the asset and binds it to the selected attribute(s) in the Channel Box. Published attributes appear in the Attribute Editor in the Published Attributes section or at the top of the Channel Box under the asset they are published to. You can use the Asset Editor or Attribute Editor to publish attributes that dont appear in the Channel Box. To publish an attribute using the Attribute Editor 1 Select the encapsulated object with the attribute you want to publish. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 Right-click the attribute and select the asset you want to publish to from the menu that appears. Maya publishes the attribute to the selected asset. If the selected object is stored in a hierarchy of assets, all the assets above it appear in the menu. However, you can only publish attributes to higher level assets if they are also published to intermediate level assets. For example, in the case below you can publish pCylinder1s att1 to asset2 since it is published to asset1. On the other hand, you cannot publish any of pSphere1s attributes to asset2.

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To publish an attribute using the Asset Editor 1 Open the Asset Editor. 2 Select the asset to which you want to publish the attribute and click the Pin Asset icon .

3 Find the node whose attribute(s) you want to publish in the left panel. 4 Expand the node using to view the attributes.

5 Select the attribute name and do one of the following:

Click the Publish Attribute icon

Select Assets > Publish Attributes > , set Publish to Selected Attributes, and click the Apply and Close button.

The attribute is published to the asset. NOTE If no attributes appear in the left panel, select Display > Attributes (Channels).

You can publish attributes with a custom name or publish sets of related attributes with the Publish Attributes Option window. To publish attributes with a custom name or publish sets of related attributes 1 In the Hypergraph Connections editor, expand the asset with the node whose attribute you want to publish. 2 Select the node. 3 Select Assets > Publish Attributes > to Asset > in the Channel Box. . You can also select Edit > Publish

The Publish Attribute Options window appears. 4 Select which related attributes you want to publish. Selected channel box attributes publishes any attributes you currently have highlighted in the Channel Box. All keyable publishes any attributes that can be keyed for animation.

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Incoming connections publishes any attributes that are defined by incoming values from other nodes. Selected Attributes publishes any attributes selected in any editor. 5 Select an Attribute Name naming convention. 6 Click Apply and Close. NOTE You cannot publish an attribute with the name note or with a . as they are a reserved keyword and reserved symbol respectively.

Unpublish attributes
To unpublish attributes 1 Select the attribute(s) you want to unpublish in the Channel Box. 2 Select Assets > Unpublish Attributes or Ctrl + right-click the Channel Box and select Unpublish from Asset from the pop-up menu. The attributes are unpublished from the asset and no longer appears under the assets name in the Channel Box.

Publish ramp attributes


You can publish ramp attributes (for example, the penumbra attribute of a volume light) from the Asset Editor the same way you publish any other attribute. For more information on publishing attributes with the Asset Editor, see Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221. You can also publish individual ramp points to an asset. However, the parent attribute of these points must not be published or temporarily unbound to do this. To publish a ramp point 1 Open the Asset Editor. 2 Select the asset containing the object with the ramp attribute and click the Pin Asset icon .

3 Select the ramp attribute.

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4 If the ramp attribute is already published, unbind the ramp attribute by clicking the unbind icon ( in the right panel. ) for its corresponding published name

5 Expand the attribute list beneath the ramp attribute. 6 Select the points you want to publish and click the Publish Selected Attributes button ( ).

7 Select the ramp attribute again (the parent attribute of the points you published in the previous step). 8 If the ramp attribute was originally unpublished, publish it using the Publish Selected Attributes button ( ). Otherwise, click the bind

icon ( ) next to the corresponding published name in the right panel (now in the Unbound section) to re-bind the ramp attribute to its original published name. Open the assets Attribute Editor and the ramp appears in the Published Attributes section. Each published point appears at the bottom of the published attributes for that node. Edit the values for these published points to update the corresponding point on the ramp.

NOTE Published ramp points are editable for graph ramps but not color ramps.

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Publish swatch attributes


With the Asset Editor you can publish swatches (for example, a swatch for a blinn shading node) by publishing the nodes associated message attribute. Swatches provide you with visual feedback on shading node properties. To publish a swatch 1 Open the Asset Editor (Assets > Asset Editor). 2 Select the asset containing the shading node and click the Pin Asset icon . 3 Expand the shading nodes attribute list and select the Message attribute. 4 Publish the Message attribute to the asset by either clicking the Publish Selected Attributes button ( a Specified Name button ( ) or the Publish Selected Attribute with ).

NOTE Since the Message attribute will publish with the default name Message, it is best that you publish this attribute with a more meaningful, custom name. This is especially important when an asset contains multiple published swatches for multiple shading nodes. 5 Publish additional controls for the shading nodes (for example, color, transparency, etc.). Open the asset in the Attribute Editor to see that the swatch now appears in the Published Attributes section. Modify attributes related to the shader to update the swatch accordingly.

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Publish attributes connected to external nodes


You can publish all attributes with existing connections to nodes outside the asset with the Publish Connections option. To publish existing input and output connections to an asset 1 Select the asset you want to publish connections to. 2 Select Assets > Publish Connections. Any encapsulated attribute connected to an external node is published to the asset.

Publish multiple attributes to one published name


You can publish multiple attributes to a single published name on an asset. This allows you to control all the attributes with a single field or widget on the asset (for example, a network of particles). To do this, you must first create a Dynamic Attribute that controls the particular attribute on all the internal nodes. Then you can publish that Dynamic Attribute to the asset. For more information on setting up Dynamic Attributes, see Add dynamic attributes. For more information on publishing attributes, see Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221.

Publish attributes connected to external nodes | 227

Edit published attribute values


You can interact with an assets published attributes the same way you would interact with any other nodes attributes. With the asset node selected, you can:

Use the Channel Box to edit the values of each published attribute directly. Use the Attribute Editor to edit the values in the Published Attributes section with widgets such as sliders.

NOTE By default, a published attribute is displayed in the Attribute Editor with the same widget it uses in its own Attribute Editor instance (for example, booleans show a checkbox, colors show a slider and color swatch, etc). This also means that if you publish translateX, translateY, and translateZ for an object in your asset, the Attribute Editor displays those attributes as a field with three values instead of as three individual sliders. You can still modify each of these values with a virtual slider by holding Ctrl + Shift and dragging the appropriate field left or right with the mouse. If you prefer to have three sliders display, you can set up an asset template with a customized view. See Add a view to an asset template on page 261. The Attribute Editor also allows you to modify the assets attributes such as the type, owner, creation date, associated template, view, and icon. All these options can be found under the Asset Attributes heading. You can also add additional information about the asset using the Notes field.

Publish or unpublish nodes

You can publish encapsulated nodes to an asset. This gives you access to whole nodes (rather than just their attributes), even when the asset is placed in Black Box mode. It also provides you with nodes whose parent/child relationships may be modified (provided those nodes are not locked). To publish a generic node 1 Select the internal node you want to publish to the asset. 2 Select Assets > Publish Node The Publish Node window appears.

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3 Input the published name you want for the node and click OK. Maya publishes the node to the asset under the published name you specified. For advanced assets, you can also publish nodes directly from the Attribute Editor.

To publish a generic node from the Attribute Editor (Advanced Assets only) 1 Select the internal node you want to publish to the asset. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 Navigate to the asset tab. 4 In the Published Nodes section, under the Nodes heading, click the Publish as node icon ( Node. ) next to the field marked Add Published

The Publish Node window appears. 5 Enter a published name for the node and click OK. A new entry appears with the published name and node name.

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To unpublish a node 1 Select the node you want to unpublish from the asset. 2 Select Assets > Unpublish Node. To unpublish a node from the Attribute Editor 1 Open the Attribute Editor. 2 Navigate to the asset tab. 3 In the Published Nodes section, under the Nodes heading, click the Unpublish as node icon ( ) next to the node you want to unpublish.

The node and its published name are removed from the list of published nodes. NOTE When publishing shading groups, use the published name mainSG to denote which group Maya should use to shade the asset.

Publish or unpublish a selection transform, parent anchor, or child anchor (Advanced Assets only)
For advanced assets, you can also publish a node in an advanced asset as a parent anchor or child anchor to designate hierarchical attachment points between the asset and other nodes in the DAG hierarchy. Furthermore, when an asset is locked, Maya only allows parenting relationships to be made or broken on internal nodes that are published as anchors.

Parent Anchor - Allows children to be parented to this node. Child Anchor - Allows this node to be parented to another node. Selection Transform - Automatically selected when the asset is selected in an editor. Can also act as both a parent and child anchor.

For example, a node representing a characters shoulder could be encapsulated in an asset representing a characters arm. This shoulder node could then be set as the child of the characters body node, which would be outside the arm asset. In this case, the shoulder is published as a child anchor.

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While Maya does not require that you publish an encapsulated node as an anchor in order to parent it to an external node (unless the asset is locked), publishing a node as an anchor gives many benefits.

Tells Maya to use the published name when recording modifications to their parenting during file referencing, allowing you to change the name of the node in a referenced scene without breaking a parent scene. Allows you to transfer parent/child relationships when using the Transfer Attribute Values option. Allows you to see nodes when an asset is in Black Box mode. For more detailed information, see Published nodes on page 170.

Like publishing generic nodes, you can publish a selection transform, parent anchors, or child anchors from the Assets menu or the Attribute Editor.

To publish a parent anchor or child anchor 1 Select the encapsulated node to be parented by or parented to an external node. If you want multiple encapsulated nodes parented under a single external node, you can group those nodes and select the group instead.

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2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Publish Parent Anchor or Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Publish Child Anchor. or In the Attribute Editor, under the Published Nodes section of the asset tab, click the publish button ( ) next to the Add Parent Anchor or Add Child Anchor field respectively, and enter a published name. Maya sets the node as a parent anchor or child anchor. You can now parent the node (in accordance with the type of anchor you chose) when the asset is locked. You can also publish a node as an assets selection transform. The selection transform automatically acts as both a parent and child anchor and is selected automatically when any part of the asset is selected in Asset centric Selection. An asset can only have one selection transform. To publish a selection transform 1 Select one object in the asset. 2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Publish as Selection Transform. or In the Attribute Editor, under the Published Nodes section of the asset tab, click the publish button ( field and enter a published name. ) next to the Selection Transform

The selected node is set as the assets selection transform. You can also set a selection transform when you are creating an asset. For more information, see Create assets on page 201. NOTE You can view the published nodes for an asset at any time in the asset tab of the Attribute Editor. You can click the show button ( ) next to any published node to quickly navigate to that nodes Attribute Editor tab. You can also view published nodes in the Asset Editor. To unpublish a selection transform, parent anchor, or child anchor 1 Select the asset.

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2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Unpublish Selection Transform, Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Unpublish Parent Anchor or Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Unpublish Child Anchor. or In the Attribute Editor, under the Published Nodes section of the asset tab, click the unpublish button ( unpublish. ) next to the node you want to

Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only)


This example shows you how to use assets, file referencing, the Transfer Attribute Values option, and the Publish Child Anchor option to swap between different arms on a robot model. NOTE Although this example focuses on how to accomplish this with Advanced Assets, you can also accomplish this with Assets with Transforms without any node publishing. Consider a robot model composed of various body parts referenced from other files (for more information on referencing an asset, see Export an asset as a file reference on page 282). Each of these body parts are encapsulated by an asset with appropriate published attributes.

Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) | 233

Suppose for a new animation, the robot must lift a heavy crate. However, these arms are too small for the animation. If you open the referenced arm file, you can see the original arm is encapsulated by L_RobotArm_AST. You can model a second, more powerful arm here. To create a second arm 1 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Create > .

The Create Advanced Asset Options window appears. 2 Name the asset L_PowerArm_AST. 3 Click Apply and Close. 4 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Set Current Asset and select L_PowerArm_AST. 5 Model the new arm. All the new arm geometry is automatically created under the L_PowerArm_AST node. 6 Publish the appropriate attributes and nodes with the same names as their corresponding attributes and nodes on the L_RobotArm_AST. 7 When finished, select Assets > Advanced Assets > Set Current Asset and select None.

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You now have two assets, each encapsulating one arm. However, if you use the Transfer Attribute Values option to switch the arm referenced by the main robot file, you get the following result.

The arms appear on top of one another and are not translated properly. If you take a closer look at the hierarchy, you can see that the referenced arms are no longer located correctly in the characters hierarchy (they are missing from underneath their respective groups). This is because the main robot scene no longer recognizes any of the nodes under the asset (for more information see Published nodes on page 170).

Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) | 235

In order to swap the arms correctly, you must first publish the new arm as a child before you transfer its attributes. To swap the robots arms 1 In the arm file, select the node L_powerArm_GRP. This group is located just under the L_powerArm_CNT node and is a grouping of all the geometry composing the new arm. 2 Select Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing > Publish Child Anchor. 3 Select L_robotArm_AST, then Shift + select L_powerArm_AST. 4 Select Edit > Transfer Attribute Values > .

The Transfer Attribute Values Options window appears. 5 Turn Values on. 6 Set In connections to Transfer from source. 7 Set Relationships to Transfer parent/child relationships. 8 Set Rename to Rename target asset. 9 Click Apply and Close. 10 Hide the display layer corresponding to the old robot arm. 11 Save the file.

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The new arm is organized under the asset L_robotArm_AST while the old arm is organized under the asset L_robot_arm_ASTOrig. Now if you open the main robot file, the robots arms are replaced with your new, more powerful looking arms. Since you published these arms as children in their source file, Maya knows they are part of a hierarchy and uses their node information, not their name, to determine their place in the hierarchy.

As long as the published attributes of your new arms match the published attributes of the old ones, any associated actions (such as animation) are transferred from the old arms to the new arms.

Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) | 237

Bind/unbind an attribute or node


You can bind published names to encapsulated node attributes with the Asset Editor. Likewise, you can also unbind a published attribute or node, which leaves an unbound published name on the asset. To bind an attribute 1 Open the Asset Editor (Window > General Editors > Asset Editor). 2 Select the asset with the published name you want to bind in the left panel. 3 Click the Pin Asset icon .

The assets bound and unbound published names appear in the right panel.

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4 In the left panel, select the attribute you want to bind under its corresponding object. 5 In the right panel, expand the Unbound section.

6 Click the Bind icon the attribute to.

next to the published name you want to bind

The Bind icon changes to the Unbind icon and the encapsulated attribute name appears next to the published name indicating they are bound. Now you can modify this attributes value in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box. To bind a node 1 Select the asset node with the node you want to bind. 2 Shift + select the node you want to bind. 3 Open the Attribute Editor. 4 Navigate to the asset tab.

5 In the Published Nodes section, click the Bind icon published name you want to bind the node to. To unbind an attribute

next to the

1 Open the Asset Editor (Window > General Editors > Asset Editor). 2 In the left panel, select the asset with the published attribute or published node you want to unbind. 3 Click the Pin Asset icon .

The assets bound and unbound published names appear in the right panel.

4 Click the Unbind icon unbind.

next to the published attribute you want to

The associated internal node attribute name disappears. The attribute disappears from the Attribute Editor and Channel Box since it now refers to only a published name.

Bind/unbind an attribute or node | 239

To unbind a node 1 Select the asset with the node you want to unbind. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 Navigate to the asset tab.

4 In the Published Nodes section, click the Unbind icon published name you want to unbind the node from.

next to the

Autobind an asset

If the current template has an associated binding set, you can use the Autobind feature to publish and bind attributes automatically. For more information about binding sets, see Create a binding set on page 259. To autobind an asset 1 Select the asset you want to autobind. 2 Open the Asset Editor (Assets > Asset Editor). 3 In the Asset Editor, select the asset and click the Pin Asset icon 4 Select Template > Assign > Assign New Template. A file browser appears. 5 Navigate to your template and click the Open button. 6 Select Template > Autobind Asset. You may need to wait a few moments as Maya autobinds the asset. When it is finished, the right panel updates to show you all the attributes that were successfully autobound. If the templates binding set cannot find an appropriate attribute in the asset to map an attribute to, the corresponding published name is left in the Unbound section. .

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Rename a published name


You can rename published names on an asset with the Asset Editor if they do not come from an assigned template. To rename a published attribute 1 Open the Asset Editor by selecting Window > General Editors > Asset Editor. The Asset Editor appears. 2 Select an asset and click the Pin Asset icon .

3 Expand either the attribute list in the asset or Published Nodes sections in the right panel and select the published name you want to change.

4 Click the Rename icon

5 Enter a new name for the published attribute and click OK. The published name changes.

Connect asset attributes


You can connect assets to other assets or nodes in the Hypergraph Connections editor and Hypershade by dragging connections. Before you can do this, you must publish the output attributes of an internal node to the asset. To create a new connection from an asset to an external node 1 Expand the asset in the Hypergraph Connections editor or the Work Area of the Hypershade. 2 Select the internal node whose attribute you want to connect. 3 Publish the attribute. (See Publish or unpublish attributes.) 4 Collapse the asset. 5 Right-click the bottom-right corner of the asset (a small empty arrow) and select the output attribute from the list. Maya draws a line from the node to the mouse cursor.

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6 Click the node you want to connect the asset to. A list of input attributes is listed when you hold the mouse button. 7 Select the input attribute from the list. Maya creates a connection between the two attributes. NOTE You can also create a connection from an external node to an asset using the same workflow but starting with the external node instead of the asset. If the list appears empty when you click the bottom-right corner of the asset, it is because you did not publish an output attribute. You can also middle-drag the asset onto an external node and select an attribute to connect to from the list that appears. This opens the Connection Editor where you can setup multiple connections at once.

Transfer attribute values between assets


You can transfer values and connections from one asset to another using the Transfer Attribute Values option. Maya copies the values from any identically named published attributes from the source asset to the target asset.

Related topics

Transfer attribute values on page 91 Assets and file referencing on page 193

To transfer attribute values between assets 1 Select the source asset from the Outliner. 2 Shift + select the target asset. 3 Select Edit > Transfer Attribute Values. All identically named attribute values are transferred from the source asset to the target asset.

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Transfer attribute values options


Maya provides a few asset-specific options for transferring attributes. You can access these options from the Edit > Transfer Attribute Values > .

You can use the Relationships option to re-parent external objects parented to the published anchors of the source asset to the published anchors of the target asset given that both published anchor names match. You can also use the Rename option to give the target asset the source assets name (the source asset is automatically renamed with an Orig suffix). Both these options are useful when you want to completely replace the source asset in your scene with the target asset.

Example: Duplicating animation on non-matching hierarchies

Example: Duplicating animation on non-matching hierarchies | 243

With assets, you can also transfer attributes between models composed of different component types and different configurations. In the following example, the walk cycle for a skeleton is transferred to a robot model with no joints at all. The components for both the skeleton and the robot each reside within their own assets.

However, the robots pivot points dont match precisely with the skeletons joints. For example, the robots elbow is composed of three parts, each of which only rotate in one direction. The skeletons elbow is a single joint that rotates in all 3 directions.

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To ensure that the robot mimics the skeleton properly, you must publish each of these individual elbow rotations as one axis of the assets elbow rotation. However, just publishing the rotations axis-to-axis does not yield the correct result. This is because the axis of each elbow part is not consistent with the corresponding axes of the skeletons elbow joint. For example, the robot elbows Y axis actually maps to the skeleton elbows X axis. To fix this problem, you must rename the attributes as you publish them. By publishing the skeleton elbows rotateX as the robot assets rotateY, you ensure that the movement of the robots elbow matches that of the skeleton. To publish three elbow parts as a single elbow 1 From the Outliner, select the robots left elbow1 node. 2 Select elbow1s rotateX attribute in the Channel Box. 3 Select Assets > Publish Attributes > .

The Publish Attribute Options window appears. 4 Set Publish to Selected channel box attributes. 5 Set Attribute name to Custom name. 6 Set Custom string to lelbow.rotateY.

Example: Duplicating animation on non-matching hierarchies | 245

Repeat the above procedure mapping elbow2s rotateY to the assets rotateZ and elbow3s rotateZ to the assets rotateX.

Once you have published these attributes, you can transfer values from the skeleton asset to the robot asset. To transfer the walk cycle to another character 1 From the Outliner, select PersonA_AST. 2 Shift + left-click robot_AST. 3 Select Edit > Transfer Attribute Values> Turn Values on. .

The Transfer Attribute Values Options window appears.

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4 Set In connections to Share with source. 5 Click Apply and Close. The robot changes position to match Person A. 6 Play the animation to see Person As walk cycle is replicated on the robot. The walk cycle can be duplicated from the skeleton to the robot because at the asset level the two objects appear the same, regardless of their internal components.

Assign a custom command or menu to an asset


You can assign a custom script to activate when an object in an asset is right-clicked. To assign a custom script to an asset 1 Select the asset in the Outliner. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 In the asset tab, under the Asset Attributes section, enter the name of your custom script in the Rmb Command field. You can now activate the script by either right-clicking an object in the asset in the scene view, or

Assign a custom command or menu to an asset | 247

right-clicking the asset or an encapsulated object in the Outliner and selecting Asset from the pop-up menu. NOTE When running a custom script from the Outliner, the script name does not appear in the pop-up menu itself. You only need to highlight the Asset menu and then release the mouse button to activate the script. NOTE A script must be located in your script path (environment variable: MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH) to be eligible to put in the Rmb Command field. NOTE Do not include the extension (for example, .mel for a MEL file) in the script name when entering it in the Rmb Command field. One way to use this attribute is to assign a script that adds a custom menu for a specific asset to the existing pop-up menu that appears when you right-click an asset in the scene or in the Outliner (in the Asset section of the pop-up menu). An example of such a script named containerRmbMenu.mel is included with the Maya default scripts. You can find it in your Maya install directory under scripts/others.

Creating templates and views


Create an asset template
After you have created an asset and published attributes and nodes, you can save a template of the assets published attribute names to be used by other assets. Creating a template also allows you to create additional views that change the interface of your asset in Maya. For more information, see Add a view to an asset template on page 261 and Customize a template view on page 263. NOTE An assets published node names are not stored as part of the template file. If the asset you use to create your template includes published selection transform, child anchor, or parent anchor nodes, those node names are not saved as part of the template. To create an asset template 1 Open the Asset Editor (Window > General Editors > Asset Editor).

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2 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select the asset from which you want to create a template and click the Pin Asset icon .

The pinned assets published attributes and nodes display in the right panel. 3 Select Template > Save As. 4 Enter a name for the template in the file browser that appears, and click Save. The XML template file is saved (by default) in the assets sub-directory of your current project, and the template is assigned to the current asset. The file name you entered becomes the Template name displaying at the top of the right panel of the Asset Editor, and the template View is set to Group By Node by default. Because a template has been assigned, the red Select icons next to each published attribute and node in the right panel update to reflect their status. For the assets published attributes, the Select icons turn green to indicate the published name is part of the assigned template. For the assets published nodes, the Select icons turn yellow to indicate the associated node is published, but its published name is not part of the assigned template. 5 (Optional) If you plan to reuse or share your template with other users, you should write protect the template file to prevent accidental changes.

Related topics

Asset templates on page 173

Assign a template to an asset


After you have saved an asset template, you can assign it to other assets. When you assign a template to another asset, all published names from the template that do not already exist on that asset are automatically published to the asset. You can then bind the relevant attributes from nodes within the asset to the published names from the template. You can assign a template using the Asset Editor or Attribute Editor.

Assign a template to an asset | 249

To assign a template using the Asset Editor 1 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select the asset to which you want to assign a template, then click the Pin Asset icon .

The pinned assets published attributes and nodes display in the right panel, and its name displays in the Asset Editor title bar. 2 From the Asset Editor menu bar, select Template > Assign > Assign New Template. A file browser opens to the assets sub-directory of your current project. 3 Select a previously saved template and click Select. The template is assigned to the selected asset, and its published names are listed under the Unbound heading in the right panel of the Asset Editor. The name of the assigned template displays in the Template field above the right panel. When an asset has no template assigned, the Select icons next to each published attribute or node in the right panel display in red to indicate that no template is assigned. When you assign a template to an asset, the Select icons change to green or yellow to indicate whether the published name comes from the assigned template or not respectively. Now that you have assigned the template with its list of published names, you can go on to bind the attributes of the assets nodes to those published names. To bind attributes to published names from a template 1 In the Asset Editor, select an asset that has a template assigned and click the Pin Asset icon .

The assets published attributes (bound and unbound) and its published nodes display in the right panel. The unbound published names from the template are available under in the Unbound section. NOTE Unbound published names that do not come from the template display with a yellow Select icon , and those that do come from the template will have no Select icon. The published names from the template do not display Select icons because they cannot be renamed or deleted.

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2 Expand the asset contents in the left panel of the Asset Editor. 3 Expand the Unbound heading in the right panel to view the list of published names defined by the template. 4 Select the attribute you want to bind in the left panel. NOTE If the attribute you select is written in italics then it is already bound to a published name and must first be unbound (using the Unbind icon next to the published name) in the right panel of the Asset Editor before you can bind it to a new published name. 5 In the right panel, find the published name you want to bind the attribute to, and click the Bind icon .

6 The attribute you selected in the left panel is now published and bound to the name you selected in the right panel. When you refresh the Asset Editor, the attribute moves to the bound attribute listing for the given node. (See also Bind/unbind an attribute or node on page 238.) 7 Continue selecting attributes in the left panel and binding them to names from the template until you have all of the required attributes for the asset published and bound. To unassign a template 1 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select the asset using a template you want to unassign, then click the Pin Asset icon .

2 From the Asset Editor menu bar, select Template > Unassign or Template > Assign > None. The template is unassigned, and the Asset Editor refreshes. The Select icons next to each published attribute turn red no template assigned. to indicate there is

Related topics

Create an asset template on page 248

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Edit an asset template


You can modify an assets template file to change the asset interface. These changes can be seen in Maya when the asset View Mode is set to Use Template and the View Name is set to None. The following image shows the Attribute Editor for an asset with a basic, default template assigned. The assets template has not yet been edited.

You can edit an asset template file in the XML editor of your choice. (Refer to Parts of an asset template on page 178 and Template file format on page 191 for detailed information about template files.) The following image shows the Attribute Editor for the same asset after some simple modifications to its template file.

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To open a template file for editing Open a text or XML editor and navigate to select a previously saved template file. (See Create an asset template on page 248.) By default, the XML template files you create are saved in the assets sub-directory of your current project. NOTE Each time you edit a template file in an external editor, you must reload the template in Maya in order to see your changes. See Reload an asset template on page 256. To rename published attribute names in the template Edit the name text string within an <attribute> element.

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NOTE The name for an <attribute> element cannot contain spaces, special characters, or multibyte characters. If you want the display name for an attribute to display with spaces or special characters, you can add <label> elements to contain those names.

To change the display names for an asset Edit the <label> element within an <attribute> definition.

Unlike the attribute names, the <label> elements can contain spaces, special characters, and multibyte characters. NOTE Editing the <label> element also changes the tooltip text that displays over the attribute in the Asset Editor.

To reorder published attribute names 1 Select and cut an entire <attribute> element. 2 Paste the element to a new location.

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Ensure that you dont paste the selected attribute element inside another attribute element, as this structure will not validate. To remove published attribute names from the template Delete entire <attribute> elements.

To change the tooltips that display over published names in the Attribute Editor Edit the text within an attributes <description> element. TIP The text within <description> tags can be localized. See Localize the asset user interface on page 270.

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NOTE The Asset Editor also displays tooltips that are based on the attributess <type> and <label> elements.

Related topics

Parts of an asset template on page 178 Template file format on page 191 Customize a template view on page 263

Reload an asset template


If you have updated a template XML file outside of Maya you need to reload it in order to synchronize the asset with your changes. For example, if you have reorganized the attributes within a custom view using an external XML editor, you need to reload the template in order for your changes to be displayed. To reload a template 1 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select an asset that uses the template you have updated and click the Pin Asset icon .

2 From the Asset Editor menu bar, select Template > Reload. Maya reloads the template and updates the display of attributes in the various windows and editors.

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Save an asset template


You can save an existing template to update it with any published names you added to your asset after assigning the template. To save a template 1 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select the asset with a template you want to save and click the Pin Asset icon .

2 In the Asset Editor menu bar, select Template > Save. Any published name from the pinned asset that is not in the template file is added and the template file is saved. NOTE If you plan to share your template file with other users, you should write-protect the template file to prevent others from overwriting your original template file. Templates are saved (by default) in the assets sub-directory of your current project.

Change the template search path


By default, template files are stored in the assets sub-directory of your current project. See Template search path on page 191 for additional information. To change the search path for templates Do one of the following:

Select File > Project > Edit Current from the main menu bar, then edit the Templates search path under the Project Locations heading. Use the following containerTemplate command:
containerTemplate -edit -searchPath "<path>";

or
workspace -fr "templates" "path1;path2;path3";

NOTE The resulting template search path contains both the user-defined locations as well as a set of built-in locations.

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Organize asset templates into packages


To organize templates into packages 1 Create a folder in a directory located on your template search path that has the same name as the package you want to create. For example, name the folder "MyStudioPackage" if you want to use "MyStudioPackage" as the package name. IMPORTANT Template files to be included in the package must be placed in this folder. For example, to include two templates named template1 and template2 in the package called MyStudioPackage, the templates need to be stored in the MyStudioPackage folder. The MyStudioPackage folder is located in a parent folder that is specified in the template search path. In the following example, the parent folder is named MyTemplates:
.../MyTemplates/MyStudioPackage/template1.template .../MyTemplates/MyStudioPackage/template2.template

2 In every template to be included in this package, ensure that the package name is specified with a package declaration. For example, for template1 and template2 in the MyStudioPackage, each template includes the following package declaration:
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> <templates package=MyStudioPackage> <template name='template1'> <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> <templates package=MyStudioPackage> <template name='template2'>

When these templates are used in Maya, they will be referred to as MyStudioPackage.template1 and MyStudioPackage.template2. 3 In every template that refers to templates or types defined in this package, ensure that the package name is specified with a <using> statement.

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NOTE Templates created in Maya automatically have the required <using> declaration added:
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> <templates> <using package='MyStudioPackage'/> <template name='anotherTemplate'>

Related topics

Template packages on page 181 Template search path on page 191 Change the template search path on page 257 Parts of an asset template on page 178

Create a binding set

A binding set creates a mapping of node attributes to published names in the template file. When you apply the template to another asset in Maya, you can then use the Autobind feature to automatically publish and bind the attributes to that asset based on the binding set. To create a binding set 1 Publish the attributes that you want included in your binding set to your asset. 2 Open the Asset Editor (Assets > Asset Editor). 3 In the Asset Editor, select the asset and click the Pin Asset icon 4 Select Template > Create Binding Set. Maya adds binding set information to the template. NOTE If you have published names that are not bound to published attributes, the binding set maps them to a placeholder value. .

Create a binding set | 259

You can update the binding set at any time with additional published attributes or names. To update a binding set 1 Publish any additional attributes or names to the asset. 2 In the Asset Editor, select Template > Update Binding Set. Maya updates the binding set in the template file. You can remove a binding set from a template by selecting Template > Remove Binding Set.

Customize a template binding set

In addition to updating a binding set from Maya, you can also manually add binding properties to or edit existing binding entries of a template binding set from an external XML editor. To customize a binding set 1 Open a text or XML editor and navigate to select a previously saved template file (See Create an asset template on page 248). By default, the XML template files you create are saved in the assets sub-directory of your current project. 2 Search for the words bindingset name. 3 Edit the appropriate entry. For detailed information on the XML elements allowed within a binding set definition, see Binding Set elements on page 189. NOTE You can also use the above method to create additional binding sets by copying and pasting the structure of the existing binding set and giving it a new name. However, Mayas Autobind feature always uses the binding set with the name MayaBindings. You must create a custom mel script to apply binding sets with other names.

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Using regular expressions


When defining conditions for binding sets, you can use regular expressions to fill in for attribute names that you dont know or to account for a range of attribute names that follow a specific naming convention. For example, consider the following binding set:
<bindingset name=VehicleBindingSet template=Vehicle> <binding property=Color condition=.+(\.color)/> </bindingset>

The regular expression .+(\.color) matches all strings ending in .color and can be broken down into the following components:

. matches any character + matches the preceding element (in this case, .) one or more times \ matches the following substring .color is the substring that is matched by \

Thus when the template is bound using this binding set, any attribute whose name ends with .color is bound to the Color published name. Regular expressions for binding sets follow PERL syntax, which can be found here.

Add a view to an asset template


You can add multiple views to each template, creating as many customized layouts of the assets attributes as you need. After you have added a view to a template, you can edit the template file to customize the view layout. See Customize a template view on page 263. To add a view to a template 1 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select an asset that has a template assigned, then click the Pin Asset icon . .

2 From the Asset Editor menu bar, select View > Add > The Add View Options dialog box appears.

Add a view to an asset template | 261

3 In the Add View Options, do the following:

Enter a name for the new view. This name will display when you select views in the View > Name list in the Asset Editor, or in the View Name field in the Attribute Editor. When an asset is set to use this view, the name also displays as a heading in the assets Asset Editor and Attribute Editor. Define the view options you want. See Asset Editor on page 549 for a description of each option. TIP

Leave the Layout Mode set to Group By Node if you plan to customize this view. This option organizes the attributes into groups in the XML template file, making it easier for you to find and organize them later. Turn Expand Compounds on if you want child attributes of compounds to have their own individual interface controls in this view.

4 Click Apply and Close. Depending on the Add View Options you selected, the new view becomes the active view for the pinned asset. TIP If you plan to lock your asset but you want to give your team members the ability to switch between views, publish the viewName attribute to your asset after you add new views to its template.

Set the active view for an asset


You can set the active view for an asset using the Asset Editor or Attribute Editor. The active view defines the interface for the asset in the windows and editors of Maya. Before you set the view, your asset must have a template assigned that includes views. (See Assign a template to an asset on page 249 and Add a view to an asset template on page 261.)

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To set a custom view on an asset (Asset Editor) 1 In the left panel, select the asset and click the Pin Asset icon .

2 Select View > Mode > Use Template on page 555 from the Asset Editor menu bar (if it is not already selected). 3 Select View > Name on page 555, then select from the list of custom views. To set a custom view on an asset (Attribute Editor) 1 Select the asset tab in the Attribute Editor and expand the Asset Attributes heading. 2 Click on View Mode and select Use Template if it is not already selected. 3 Click the View Name button and select a view from the pop-up menu that appears.

Customize a template view


While you can change the basic layout of an assets attributes by editing its template file (see Edit an asset template on page 252), adding multiple views lets you set up multiple layouts for the same asset. Some information (such as labels and descriptions) can be provided in both the template and the view. View-specific definitions take precedence over template-level definitions when they are provided. For detailed information on the XML elements allowed within a view definition, see View elements on page 185. The following illustration gives you a brief overview of the view XML elements and how they display in the Attribute Editor.

Customize a template view | 263

To customize a view 1 Open a template for editing and locate the view definition you want to change. 2 Edit the view definition by doing any of the following:

Remove attributes from the view on page 265 Re-order or re-group attributes in the view on page 267 Change the heading for a group of attributes on page 267 Display child attributes with individual controls on page 268

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Display only group controls for compound attributes on page 269 Add tooltips that display in the Attribute Editor on page 269

3 Save the XML template file. 4 Reload the template in Maya. To locate a view definition within a template file 1 Open the XML editor of your choice and load a template file. By default, the asset templates you create are saved in the assets sub-directory of your current project. (See Create an asset template on page 248.) 2 Search the XML file for the name of the view you want to change. For example, to find a view that you named ShadingArtist, search for the view name ShadingArtist. (See Add a view to an asset template on page 261 for information on adding views to your template files.) The view definition is located between <view> element tags. See Parts of an asset template on page 178 to see a diagram of a template file. You can edit the elements within this view definition to change the way the view displays. To remove attributes from a view By default, all attributes from the template are added to the view when you create it. The attributes are represented in the view definition by <property> elements. The <property> elements refer to the attributes available in the template by name. You can edit the view definition to remove any attributes you dont want to display in a particular view. 1 Within the view definition, delete the <property> element that represents any attribute you dont want to display in this view.

Customize a template view | 265

2 Save and close the XML file. When you reload the template in Maya and select the modified view as active, the attributes corresponding to your deleted <property> elements no longer display in windows and editors. To change the display names of attributes in a view In each view, you can use <label> elements inside each property definition to change the name that displays for the corresponding attribute in the Attribute Editor. 1 Add a <label> element to the property definition if it does not already have one. TIP Make sure you delete the trailing slash / at the end of the property definition and add a closing </property> tag when you add <label> tags to a property definition. 2 Edit the text string within the <label> element.

NOTE Changing the <label> text also changes what displays as tooltip help for the attribute in the Asset Editor. By default, the Asset Editor displays tooltips based on the attributes <type> and <label> elements.

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To re-order or re-group attributes in a view 1 Within the view definition, select and cut an entire <property> element. 2 Paste the element to a new location within the view definition.

3 When you are finished reorganizing attributes in the view, save the XML template file and close your XML editor. To change the heading for a group of attributes in a view Before proceeding with these steps, ensure that you select the Group By Node layout in the Add View Options as you create the view. Do one of the following:

If your group name does not need to contain spaces or special characters, simply edit the name text string within the <group> element.

If you want your group name to contain spaces or special characters, add and edit a <label> element to the group definition.

Customize a template view | 267

To display child attributes with individual controls in a view 1 As you add the view to your template, ensure that Expand Compounds is turned on in the Add View Options. (See also Add a view to an asset template on page 261.) When Expand Compounds is on, the child attributes of compounds are added to the view definition individually.

Consequently, they display with individual controls.

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2 (Optional) If you want to display only the child attributes (with their individual controls), you can remove the parent attributes (and their group controls) from the view definition. (See also Remove attributes from a view on page 265.) To display only group controls for compound attributes in a view As you create the view, turn off Expand Compounds in the Add View Options. See also Add a view to an asset template on page 261. When Expand Compounds is off, child attributes are not individually listed in the view definition, so the parent attribute (with its children) will be displayed using a group control.

To change tooltips that display in the Attribute Editor You can set up each view to display different tooltips as the users of your asset mouse over attributes in the Attribute Editor. This lets you display any information that will be helpful to your users. 1 Within the view definition, find the property definition with tooltips you want to edit.

Customize a template view | 269

2 Add a <description> element to the property definition if it does not already exist. TIP Make sure you delete the trailing slash / at the end of the property definition and add a closing </property> tag if you are adding <description> tags. 3 Enter your Attribute Editor tooltip text between the <description> tags.

4 (Optional) If you want the tooltip text to display in a different language, you can also add <language> tags. See Localize the asset user interface on page 270 and Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188. 5 Save the XML template file.

Related topics

Parts of an asset template on page 178 Template file format on page 191

Localize the asset user interface


You can customize templates and views to provide translated published names and descriptions for your assets. The <label> and <description> elements (which let you change the display text for your asset) support the display of text in different languages. See also Localization elements: Interface labels and descriptions on page 188. To localize the display text in a template or view 1 Add <label> and <description> tags to any element whose display text you want to localize, if they do not already exist. Labels and descriptions can be added to any element of your template file. See Parts of an asset template on page 178 for more information.

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2 Within the label and description tags, define the language you want to use by adding the language attribute.

3 Within the <label> and <description> tags, enter the text you want to display in your asset user interface. NOTE The <label> text will display as the attribute name in the Attribute Editor and as the tooltip text when users mouse over the attribute in the Asset Editor. The <description> text displays as a tooltip over the attribute in the Attribute Editor.

Related topics

Parts of an asset template on page 178 Edit an asset template on page 252 Customize a template view on page 263

Example: Creating a template and a view


In this example, you will set up a template for car model assets, then create different views for the members of a team that will work with cars.

Example: Creating a template and a view | 271

Set up the car asset 1 Create an asset for the car. See Create assets on page 201. For the car model pictured, the asset encapsulates group nodes for the car body, interior, axles, lights, and doors. 2 Rename the asset Car_AST. 3 Publish the Translation and Rotation attributes from all of the nodes to the car asset, as well as the Rotate Channel that controls the spinning of the wheels. See Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221. Create a template for the car asset 1 Open the Asset Editor by selecting Assets > Asset Editor or Window > General Editors > Asset Editor. 2 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select the Car_CNT asset and click the Pin Asset icon .

The published attributes of the asset display in the right panel.

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3 Create a template for the car asset as follows:

From the Asset Editor menu bar, select Template > Save As. A file browser opens to the assets sub-directory of your current project. Enter Vehicle in the File name field, and click Save. The template is saved in the assets sub-directory and the template name now displays at the top of the Asset Editor.

4 (Optional) Open the XML template file you have just created using the XML editor of your choice. The default template lists all of the published attributes in a flat list. In the next steps, youll add views and make other edits to this template file to help organize your asset.

Example: Creating a template and a view | 273

5 (Optional) Close the XML template file before continuing. Create a template view 1 In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select the car asset and click the Pin Asset icon (if it is not already pinned). .

2 In the Asset Editor menu bar, select View > Add > The Add View Options appear.

3 In the Add View Options, keep the default options turned on and enter Modeler as the view Name. Click Apply and Close when finished. (See also Add a view to an asset template on page 261.)

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The template switches to use the new view in the right panel of the Asset Editor. The new view is also active in the Attribute Editor.

Example: Creating a template and a view | 275

The assets attributes are currently organized using the default Group By Node layout. Each group of attributes displays under a heading based on its parent node name. In the next steps, you will customize the Modeler view.

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Customize the view of attributes 1 Open the XML editor of your choice, and navigate to open the XML Vehicle template file. 2 Search the XML file for the word Modeler to locate the section of the template file where the Modeler view is defined. (See Parts of an asset on page 164.) Because the Group By Node option was turned on when you created the
Modeler view, all the attributes in the XML file are grouped under group

name headings. In the view definition, each published attribute is represented by a property element. The property elements correspond to the published attributes by name.

Example: Creating a template and a view | 277

3 Customize the view until it is set up for the modeling artist on your team. (See Customize a template view on page 263.) For example, you might do the following:

For each group element, add <label> elements to change the display name for the group in the Attribute Editor.

For each property element, add <label> elements to change the display name of the attribute in this view only. TIP When adding elements within a property definition, ensure you delete the existing trailing slash / from the property element and add a closing </property> tag.

Add <description> elements to each property definition to create tooltip help.

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The description text will appear over each attribute when an asset user hovers the mouse pointer over them in the Attribute Editor. All of these changes let you completely customize the interface your modeling artist will use when they work with car assets. 4 When you are finished changing the Modeler view, save the XML template file and close your XML editor. 5 Return to Maya and select Template > Reload in the Asset Editor to reload the template. (See also Reload an asset template on page 256.) The published attributes in the right panel update to reflect the changes you made. The changes are also reflected in other editors, such as the Attribute Editor.

Example: Creating a template and a view | 279

Assign the Vehicle Template to another car model Now that you have set up the Vehicle template you can use it to help you create other car assets. Using the same published attribute names for all of your car assets can help you verify that all car models have the required attributes, and it also lets you assign the same customized views to all of your car assets. 1 Load the second car model and create an asset for it. See Create assets on page 201. 2 Rename the new asset LowPolyCar_AST. 3 Assign the Vehicle template to the second car by doing the following:

Open the Asset Editor, select the LowPolyCar_AST in the left panel, and click the Pin Asset icon .

Select Template > Assign > Assign New Template in the Asset Editor menu bar. In the template file browser that appears, select your Vehicle template file and click Select. (See also Assign a template to an asset on page 249.) The Vehicle template is assigned to the LowPolyCar_AST asset. The list of published names from the template file now displays in the right panel under the Unbound heading.

4 Expand the Unbound heading in the right panel to view the list of published names from the template. Now that you have loaded the published attribute names required for a car model from the template, you can start to bind the LowPolyCar_AST asset attributes to those published names. 5 Start to bind attributes from the LowPolyCar_AST to the published names of the template by doing the following:

In the left panel of the Asset Editor, select an attribute from the
LowPolyCar_AST.

In the right panel, find the published name you want to use for that attribute, and click the Bind icon .

The attribute you selected in the left panel is now published to the
LowPolyCar_AST asset with the published name you selected from the

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right panel. The Bind icon changes to the Unbind icon , indicating the published name is now bound to an attribute. When you click to refresh the Asset Editor, the bound attribute moves to display above the Unbound list. (See also Bind/unbind an attribute or node on page 238.) 6 Continue selecting attributes in the left panel and publishing/binding them with names from the template until you have all of the required attributes for car models published to the LowPolyCar_AST.

Assets and file referencing


Prepare an asset for referencing
File referencing allows you to store an asset in one file, while making use of it in another file. This segments a scene into multiple pieces, allowing multiple people to work on different parts of a scene simultaneously. To setup an asset to be referenced 1 Create an asset encapsulating the nodes you want to reference. 2 Publish the appropriate attributes to the asset. Make sure to publish any attributes that are needed by the parent scene. 3 Save the scene. It is very important to publish the attributes that are used by the parent scene (the scene that will reference this file). Interacting with published attributes ensures that you can replace the asset in your parent scene with a matching asset without damaging the scene. You can lock different aspects of the file to ensure that only published attributes are edited in the parent scene. For more information, see Lock referenced assets on page 286.

Assets and file referencing | 281

Reference an asset
To import an asset as a reference 1 In your parent scene (the scene which you are referencing the file into), select File > Create Reference. A file browser appears. 2 Navigate to select your reference file. 3 Click Reference. The asset is loaded into the scene as a reference. NOTE You should avoid sharing shading networks across assets when working with referenced assets.

Export an asset as a file reference


You can export an asset in an existing scene as a reference. This creates a child file containing the selected nodes and automatically creates the appropriate file referencing relationship between the two files. For more information see Export objects as a referenced file on page 144. To export an asset in a scene as a reference 1 Select the asset(s) you want to export. 2 Select File > Export Selection > .

The Export Selection Options window appears. 3 Turn Keep only a reference on. 4 You can also turn on options in the Include Options section to include additional animation, shaders, etc that exist outside of the asset. Anything encapsulated by the asset is included automatically. 5 Select Export Selection. A file browser appears. 6 Select a location and enter a name for the reference file. Maya exports all the selected nodes to an external file. It then creates a reference from the asset in that external file to the parent scene.

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Replace referenced assets


You can replace referenced assets in your scene with new assets without losing any of your reference edits (such as animation) as long as the published attributes of both assets match. To replace a referenced asset in your scene 1 Select File > Reference Editor. The Reference Editor window appears. 2 Select the referenced file in the Reference Editor. 3 Select Reference > Replace Reference. A file browser appears. 4 Select a file to replace the reference with. The referenced asset is replaced in the scene with the contents of the new file. As long as the new file has an asset with the same name as the old asset and a set of identically named published attributes, the new asset retains all the reference edits made to the old asset. Replacing references also works with published anchors. For example, if you have a prop file that needs to be parented to a characters hand in a parent file, you can publish the prop as a child anchor in its own file and then parent a reference to the hand. You can then create multiple versions of the prop, all with unique geometry and names and publish a child anchor of the same name on all of them. You can then use the above method to swap the various props in and out of the characters hand. For another example, see Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) on page 233.

Example: Referencing and swapping a car in a scene


This example shows you how to use assets and file referencing together to quickly substitute objects in your scene without losing any behavior. Consider a low polygon car referenced into a city scene, then scaled and animated.

Replace referenced assets | 283

In its source file (Car_low_poly.ma), the car model is organized under an asset named Car_AST. The assets published attributes include the cars Translate and Rotate values as well as the spin of its wheels and the left and right turn of its front wheels. In the parent scene, the animation is achieved by modifying these published attributes. These are called reference edits and are stored in the parent (City.mb) file. You can view reference edits by selecting File > List Reference Edits from the Reference Editor.

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Now consider a second car model that you want to replace the old car model. This new car resides in its own file (Car_high_poly.ma).

The second model has a different structure and additional nodes compared to the original model for extra details such as the steering wheel, windows, side doors, and trunk. More importantly, this second model is organized under an asset with the same name (Car_AST) and the same published attributes as the original car. This is crucial since the reference edits of the parent file are stored by published names. Optionally, it may also have additional published attributes to control the state of the doors, windows, and other details not present on the old car. You can now exchange the old car in the city scene by replacing the existing reference with a reference to the new car. To replace the car being referenced by the city 1 In the parent file, select File > Reference Editor. The Reference Editor appears. 2 In the Reference Editor, select the car reference. 3 Select Reference > Replace Reference. A file browser appears. 4 Select the file for your new car (Car_high_poly.ma) and click Reference. The old car is replaced with the new car with the appropriate scaling. If you playback the scene the new car also follows the old cars animation. Since reference edits are stored in the parent scene according to the published names of an asset, you can replace the car with any referenced asset with the same name and published attributes. This allows you the flexibility to try different options in a scene without breaking it.

Example: Referencing and swapping a car in a scene | 285

NOTE This example uses the Reference Editor and the Replace Reference command. However, you could also use the Transfer Attribute Values command to achieve the same result. To do this you would place both cars in the same file and transfer the attributes of the original car to the new car. For an example of this alternate workflow, see Example: Swapping arms on a robot (Advanced Assets only) on page 233.

Lock referenced assets


When you save a file expecting it to be referenced later, you can lock all the assets in it so that only their published attributes can be manipulated in the parent file. Additionally, you can lock the file itself so that no reference edits can be saved to the file from a parent file. To lock unpublished attributes for referencing 1 In the file to be referenced, select File > Save Scene As > The Save Scene As Options window appears. 2 In the Referencing Options section, set Asset unpublished to Lock. 3 Optionally, you can set Lock File to Lock as well. This prevents users from saving any reference edits to this file from the parent file. 4 Select Save Scene As and enter a name for the file. .

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When the file is saved, all the unpublished attributes for all assets in the scene are locked. This is the equivalent of selecting Assets > Lock Unpublished Attributes for each asset in the file. For more information, see Lock an asset on page 208. Locking is important for referenced assets because changes made to the unpublished attributes are invisible at the asset level. Likewise, changes saved to unpublished attributes are lost if the referenced asset is replaced. Locking ensures users use published attributes so as to avoid these pitfalls.

Create a proxy asset


You can create a proxy as a stand-in for an asset in your scene. This is useful to temporarily simplify complex scenes by substituting simpler geometry while still allowing you to work with an assets published attributes. For more information on proxy assets see Assets and file referencing on page 193. To create a proxy asset 1 Select a referenced asset in your scene. You can also select multiple referenced assets, but they must all be from the same source file. 2 Select Assets > Export Proxy Asset. A file browser window appears. 3 Select a location, enter a filename, and select Export. A proxy file is created. The proxy file consists of a locator representing the assets selection transform node and an additional locator for each parent or child anchor for the asset (if any). Once you have created the proxy file, you can then display the proxy file instead of the referenced file in the main scene. To substitute a proxy asset 1 In the parent file, right-click the referenced object and select Proxy > Reload Proxy As. 2 Select the proxy file from the list that appears. The referenced assets geometry is replaced with the proxy assets geometry and locators. However, you can still access all the assets published attributes and nodes.

Create a proxy asset | 287

If you open the Reference Editor (File > Reference Editor), referenced files with associated proxies appear with a small proxy icon next to their name.

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Preferences and customization

Save preferences
When you customize Maya, your new settings are stored in user preference files, so that each time you open Maya, your settings are used instead of the Maya default settings. If you delete a preference file, Maya uses the default settings. Saving your preferences in Maya saves any changes made to colors, hotkeys, hotbox marking menus, size and position of Maya windows, and any items defined in the Maya Preferences window. Maya stores preferences files in the following path: Windows

(Windows XP)
\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\ 2011\en_US\prefs

(Windows XP 64bit)
\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\2011-x64\en_US\prefs

(Windows Vista and Windows 7)


\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2011\en_US\prefs

(Windows Vista and Windows 7 64bit)


\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2011-x64\en_US\prefs

289

Mac OS X
/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/en_US/2011/prefs

Linux (64-bit)
~<username>/maya/2011-x64/prefs

You can change the location of your preferences and other important Maya folders (projects, etc.) by using environment variables. See File path variables of the Environment Variables guide for more information. Most preferences are saved as text files of MEL commands. For descriptions of the options in the Maya Preferences window, see Preferences overview on page 651. To save Maya preferences Select File > Save Preferences. NOTE Maya does not detect if you are out of space if your disk overflows while Maya is saving preferences. If this occurs, your preferences may become corrupt or irretrievable. Ensure that your hard drive has space available to save your Maya preference files. If the disk runs out of space, free up some space before exiting the Maya application.

Related topics

Directly modify the settings files on page 329

Customize the look and feel of the interface


Show or hide user interface elements
To...
Show or hide a specific part of the user interface Hide all user interface and only show the view/editor panels.

Do this
Open the Display > UI Elements submenu and select an item. Select Display > UI Elements > Hide All UI elements.

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Related topics

Main window on page 4 Display > UI Elements on page 499

Change user interface colors


To open the color editor Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings. The three tabs control different color uses and work slightly differently:

The General tab lets you change user interface and view panel colors, including the view background color. (See also Change the scene view background color on page 292.) The Active and Inactive tabs let you change the colors of selected and unselected objects and components.

To change a color on the General tab 1 Click the arrow next to a section heading to show the colors inside. 2 Double-click a color swatch to edit it or drag the slider next to a color to change its brightness. In the Active and Inactive tabs, you cannot edit the colors directly. Instead, you set up a palette of available colors (at the top of the tab) and then select each active or inactive color from that palette. To change a color on the Active or Inactive tabs 1 Double-click a color swatch at the top of the tab to edit the palette of available colors. 2 Click the arrow next to a section heading to show the colors inside. 3 Drag the slider next to a color to change which color Maya uses from the palette.

Related topics

Change an objects wireframe color on page 50

Change user interface colors | 291

Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings on page 515

Change the scene view background color

You can set preferences to change the default background in Maya. TIP Use the Alt-b hotkey to toggle between different background colors.

To customize the background color 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings. 2 In the Colors window that appears, select the General tab and expand the 3D Views section. 3 Do one of the following:

To change the default background color, click the Background color swatch or adjust the slider. To change the gradient background colors, click the Gradient Top and Gradient Bottom color swatches or adjust the sliders.

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To turn the gradient background on or off 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences. 2 In the Preferences window that appears, select the Display category. 3 In the View section, select on or off for Background Gradient.

Arrange the interface

You can drag components around the interface to quickly customize it to fit your needs. For more information, see Rearrange the interface on page 16

Create a custom panel layout


To create a new custom panel layout 1 Set up the layout, panel sizes, and panel contents you want. 2 In a panel, select Panels > Panel editor. 3 Click the Layouts tab. 4 Click New Layout. 5 Type a descriptive name for the layout in the Name text box. NOTE Panel layouts cannot use panels that have been torn off. If you select a panel layout that includes a torn-off panel, Maya displays a warning that it cannot use the panel. Any available panel is used instead. For example, the built-in Persp/Outliner panel layout usually places the Outliner in the left pane and the Perspective view in the right pane. If you tear the Outliner off into its own window, a warning is issued and another panel is put in place of the Outliner. Once you close the tear-off panel, it can be used by panel layouts that include it.

Arrange the interface | 293

To assign a custom layout to one of the icons in the Quick Layout bar below the Tool Box 1 Create custom panel layout. 2 In the Quick Layout bar, press the right mouse button on the thumbnail you want to assign the new layout to, and select the layout from the menu. 3 To change the thumbnail image, press the right mouse button on the thumbnail again and select Change Image. You can select a pre-made image or load an icon image from a file. To delete a saved layout 1 In a panel, select Panels > Panel editor. 2 Click the Layouts tab. 3 Click the layout name, then click Delete.

Related topics

Change the panel layout on page 43 Add a new panel to the list of available panels on page 294 Quick layout buttons on page 380 Panel editor on page 606

Add a new panel to the list of available panels


You can add a new item to the list of available panel contents. This lets you have more than one instance of a particular type of panel. For example, you might create a character with so many parts that you cant view the entire skeleton in the Outliner. In this case, you could create a second Outliner panel so you could view different parts of the hierarchy at the same time. Not all panels can be duplicated. For example, only one Hypergraph panel is allowed.

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To create a new panel 1 In a panel select Panels > Panel Editor and click the New Panel tab. 2 Click the name of a panel (such as the Outliner), then click Make New Panel. 3 In a panel, select the new item from the Panels > Panel menu. To delete a panel you created 1 In a panel select Panels > Panel Editor and click the Panels tab. 2 Click the panel you want to delete, then click Delete. Once you have deleted a panel, you cannot restore it.

Change the length (scale) of normals in the display


Occasionally you may want to change the length of normals (lines indicating the normal direction of a face or vertex) to make them more visible or less distracting. You can change the scale of normals on a per-object basis. To...
Change the size of normals on polygonal surfaces.

Do this
Show the Attribute Editor for the surface. Open the Mesh Component Display section. Turn on Display Normal and set the Normal Size.

Change the size of normals on subdivision surfaces.

Show the Attribute Editor for the surface. Open the Subdiv Surface Display section. Set the Normals Scale.

Change the length (scale) of normals in the display | 295

Customize shelves
Create, rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf

To open the shelf editor Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor.

To add a new shelf 1 Open the Shelf editor. 2 In the Shelves section, click New Shelf ( 3 Type a name for the shelf in the text box. To rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf 1 Open the Shelf editor. 2 In the Shelves section, select the shelf you want to edit. 3 Do one of the following:

).

To rename the shelf, type a new name in the Rename text box. To change the shelfs position on the shelf bar, click Move Up ( ) or Move Down ( ). ).

To delete the shelf, click Delete Shelf (

Related topics

Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf on page 297 Edit the contents of a shelf on page 298 Change the display of shelves on page 300 Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor on page 516

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Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf


To add a tool to a shelf 1 Select the tool. 2 Drag the tool icon with the middle mouse button from the Tool Box onto the shelf. You can add multiple versions of the same tool with different settings to a shelf. For example, you can add a Sculpt Surfaces Tool with the Push option selected and another Sculpt Surfaces Tool with the Pull operation selected. This only works with tools, not regular menu items (actions). To add a menu item (action) to a shelf 1 Click the shelf you want to add the menu item to. 2 Open the menu with the menu item you want to add. 3 Hold Ctrl + Shift and click the menu item. For example, you could modify the parameters of the NURBS sphere tool by selecting the option box and changing the settings in the NURBS sphere window. You can then save the tool settings as a shelf button by holding Ctrl + Shift and clicking the menu item. The shelf button is saved with the settings currently specified in the settings window. To add a command or script to a shelf 1 In the Script Editor (Window > General Editors > Script Editor), select the MEL or Python commands you want to add to the shelf. 2 Drag the selection with the middle mouse button from the editor onto the shelf. You may be prompted as to whether youre dragging Python or MEL commands to the shelf. To add a panel layout to a shelf 1 Click the shelf you want to add the layout to. 2 In a panel, select Panels > Panel editor. 3 Click the Layouts tab. 4 Click the layout name, then click Add to Shelf.

Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf | 297

Related topics

Create, rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf on page 296 Edit the MEL or Python script associated with a shelf item on page 298

Edit the MEL or Python script associated with a shelf item


1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor. 2 In the Shelves section, select the shelf containing the item. 3 In the Shelf Contents section, click the name of the item. 4 Click the Command tab (or Double Click Command tab if the item is activated with a double-click). 5 Edit the commands in the text box and press Enter.

Related topics

Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf on page 297 Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor on page 516

Edit the contents of a shelf


To...
Remove an icon from a shelf.

Do this
Drag the icon with the middle mouse button onto the trash icon in the upper right corner of the shelf bar. Drag the icon with the middle mouse button to a different position on the shelf. Drag the icon with the middle mouse button onto the shelf tab you want to move the icon to.

Rearrange icons on a shelf.

Move an icon to another shelf.

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To...
Copy an icon to another shelf.

Do this
Hold Ctrl and drag the icon with the middle mouse button onto the shelf tab you want to copy the icon to.

Related topics

Create, rename, rearrange, or delete a shelf on page 296 Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf on page 297 Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item on page 299 Change the display of shelves on page 300 Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor on page 516

Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item

To select an item in the Shelf Editor 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor. 2 In the Shelves section, select the shelf containing the item. 3 In the Shelf Contents section, select the item. To use a custom icon for a shelf item 1 Select the item in the Shelf Editor. 2 Click the browse button next to Icon Name. A file browser appears. 3 Navigate to the file you want to use as the icon and then click Open. The image must be in BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, XBM, SVG, or XPM format. PNG is the recommended format.

Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item | 299

NOTE Due to the way that the interface handles transparency, you may notice messy borders around the edges of XPM images. To fix this, you must use an image format other than XPM. If you specify XPM, Maya automatically searches for a PNG of the same name before defaulting to XPM. The standard size for a shelf icon is 32 x 32 pixels. If your image does not conform to this size, Maya scales it to fit. To change the name of a shelf item as it appears in lists and tooltips 1 Select the item in the Shelf Editor. 2 Type a new description in the Tooltips text box and press Enter. To overlay a short text label on an icon 1 Select the item in the Shelf Editor. 2 Type a new label in the Icon Label text box and press Enter. The characters are overlayed on the icon.

Related topics

Change the display of shelves on page 300

Change the display of shelves


To...
Hide the shelf tabs to save space.

Do this
Press the left mouse button on the black triangle to the left of the shelf area. In the pop-up menu, turn off Shelf Tabs. Press the left mouse button on the small tab icon to the left of the shelf area. In the pop-up menu, select the shelf to display.

Switch shelves when the shelf tabs are hidden.

Related topics

Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item on page 299

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Customize menu sets


Custom menu sets
You can create custom menu sets that contain your choice of menu items. You can also rename, edit, and remove menu sets. This drop-down list simplifies workflows by grouping commonly-used menus into a single menu set. Custom menu sets behave like the default Maya menu sets (Animation, Polygons, Surfaces, Rendering, and Dynamics menu sets). When you switch to a custom menu set using the Status Line drop-down list, certain menu items change. (The common menu itemsFile, Edit, Modify, Create, Display, and Windoware always present.) The default Maya menu sets can be edited, renamed, and removed as well. Any custom menu sets you create are added to the list of available menu sets in the Status Line drop-down list and also appear in the Hotbox.

Custom menu set information is stored in your Maya user preferences. All customization of menu sets is done using the Menu Set editor.

Related topics

Manage custom menu sets on page 301 Menu Sets on page 599

Manage custom menu sets


To create a custom menu set 1 Select the Status Line menus drop-down list, and then select Customize. The Menu Set Editor appears.

Customize menu sets | 301

2 Select Edit > New Menu Set. 3 Enter a unique name for the custom menu set. 4 Select Create. The new custom menu set appears in the Menu Set column, the Status Line drop-down list, and the Hotbox. To add menus to a menu set 1 In the Menu Sets column, select the name of the menu set you want to add menus to. If the menu set you select already contains menus, they are listed in the Menus in Menu Set column. The All Menus column of the Menu Set Editor lists all of the menus used in Maya. Any of these menus can be added to a menu set. 2 To add a menu to the currently selected menu set, do one of the following:

Double-click the menu name in the All Menus column. Middle-drag the menu from the All Menus column into the Menus in Menu Set column. With the menu selected, right-click and select Add to Menu Set. TIP To add multiple menus to a selected menu set at a time, select multiple menus in the All Menus column and middle-drag them into the Menus in Menu Set column.

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To reorder menu sets or menus In the Menu Set Editor, middle-click the menu set or menu and drag it up or down in its column.

To remove menus from a menu set 1 Select the name of the menu set you want to remove menus from. The menus already contained in the menu set are listed in the Menus in Menu Set column. 2 Do one of the following:

Double-click the menu name in the Menus in Menu Set column. Middle-drag the menu from the Menus in Menu Set column to the All Menus column. With the menu selected, right-click and select Remove from Menu Set.

To remove a menu set 1 Select the name of the menu set you want to remove. The menus contained in the menu set are listed in the Menus in Menu Set column. 2 Do one of the following:

Select Edit > Remove Menu Set. Right-click the menu set and select Remove.

To rename a menu set 1 Do one of the following with the menu set selected in the Menu Sets column:

Right-click and select Rename. Select Edit > Rename.

2 Enter a new name for the menu set and click Rename. TIP You can also rename a menu set in the Menu Sets column by double-clicking its name, entering a new name, and pressing Enter.

Manage custom menu sets | 303

To revert a default menu set to its original state 1 Click the Status Line drop-down list and click Customize. The Menu Set Editor appears. 2 To restore a default menu set (Animation, Polygons, Surfaces, Dynamics, Rendering, and nDynamics), select the menu set in the Menu Sets column and do one of the following:

Right-click and select Revert Menu Name to Default. Select Edit > Revert Menu Name to Default.

To restore the default menu sets 1 Select the Status Line drop-down list and select Customize. The Menu Set Editor appears. 2 Select Edit > Restore Default Menu Sets.

Related topics

Custom menu sets on page 301 Menu Sets on page 599

Customize marking menus and the hotbox


Create or edit a marking menu
Making a new marking menu is a two step process: first you create the marking menu. Then to actually use the marking menu you assign it to a hotkey or to a region of the hotbox. You can add multiple versions of the same tool with different settings to a marking menu. For example, you can add a Sculpt Surfaces Tool with the Push option selected and another Sculpt Surfaces Tool with the Pull operation selected. This only works with tools, not regular menu items (actions). To...
Open the Marking Menu Editor.

Do this
Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Marking Menu Editor.

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To...
Start a new marking menu.

Do this
In the Marking Menu Editor, click Create Marking Menu. In the Marking Menu Editor, click the name of the marking menu you want to edit, then click Edit Marking Menu.

Edit an existing marking menu.

Add an item to a marking menu.

1 Start a new marking menu or edit an


existing one.

2 Middle-drag items onto spaces in the


marking menu editor. You can do any of the following: Drag a tool from the Tool Box. Drag a shelf item from the shelf. Drag selected text from the Script Editor.

Change the label or script of an item.

Right-click an item and select Edit Menu Item. Right-click on a space in the marking menu editor and select Popup Submenu. When youre finished editing the submenu, close the submenus window. Right-click an item and select Delete Menu Item. Click Save and close the marking menu editor window. Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307

Make an item open a submenu.

Delete an item.

Save your changes to a marking menu.

Set when the marking menu appears.

Create or edit a marking menu | 305

Related topics

Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307

Assign a marking menu to a hotkey


Marking menus appear when you hold a hotkey and press the left mouse button. You can set a hotkey to show one of the pre-made marking menus that come with Maya, or a custom marking menu you have created. To assign a marking menu to a hotkey 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Marking Menu Editor. 2 Click the marking menu in the list. 3 Set the Use Marking Menu In option to Hotkey Editor. 4 Click Apply Settings. 5 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor. 6 In the Categories list on the left, click User Marking Menus. 7 For each marking menu youve created, the list has two items in the Commands list: menu_Press and menu_Release. Click the press command. 8 Type a key name in the Key text box and turn on any modifiers you want on the hotkey. For example, type m in the text box and turn on the Alt setting to assign the marking menu to alt + m. As you edit these settings, Maya shows the command currently assigned to the hotkey, if any. Only assign the hotkey if you dont mind overriding this command. 9 Set the Direction option to Press. 10 Click Assign. If the hotkey you set already has a command assigned, Maya asks if you want to override it. 11 Maya warns you that it should assign the release command also. Click OK to do this.

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Related topics

Create or edit a marking menu on page 304 Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307

Add a marking menu to the hotbox


Marking menus appear in the hotbox when you point above (north), below (south), left (west), or right (east) of the hotbox menus and press a mouse button. You can set each mouse button press (left, middle, or right) in each different area (north, south, east, or west) to show one of the pre-made marking menus that come with Maya, or a custom marking menu you have created. To assign a marking menu to a hotbox area and mouse button 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Marking Menu Editor. 2 Click the marking menu in the list. 3 Set the Use Marking Menu In option to Hotbox. 4 Set the Hotbox Region option to the part of the hotbox (North, West, Center, East, or South) where the marking menu appears. 5 Set the Mouse Button(s) option to the mouse buttons (Left, Middle, and/or Right) you must hold for the marking menu to appear. For example, if you set the region to South and turn on Middle and Right, the marking menu appears when you show the hotbox (hold the space bar), move the mouse pointer below the menus, and press the middle and right mouse buttons. 6 Click Apply Settings.

Related topics

Create or edit a marking menu on page 304

Add a marking menu to the hotbox | 307

Customize the hotbox


To change what functions are available in the hotbox 1 Hold the space bar to show the hotbox. 2 Press the left mouse button in the Hotbox Controls area to show the marking menu. 3 Drag down to the Hotbox Style submenu. 4 Select one of the following options:

Zones and menu rows: show all menus, as well as the zones containing marking menus above, below, left, and right of the hotbox. Zones only: dont show all menus. Center zone only: only show the center marking menu. This makes the hotbox equivalent to a hotkey marking menu.

To change what extra menus are available in the hotbox 1 Hold the space bar to show the hotbox. 2 Press the left mouse button in the Hotbox Controls area to show the marking menu. 3 Drag left, right, up, or down to show submenus allowing you to either not show a menu set or only show that menu set. You can set up Maya to hide the extra menu sets at the bottom of the hotbox, and show them as pop-up menus by pressing the right mouse button in the center of the hotbox. To change the way you access the extra menus 1 Hold the space bar to show the hotbox. 2 Press the left mouse button in the Hotbox Controls area to show the marking menu. 3 Drag down to the Hotbox style submenu. 4 In the submenu, turn on the Center zone RMB pop-ups option.

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Related topics

Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307 Hotbox Controls > Hotbox Style on page 592

Customizing the Script Editor


You can customize the Hypershade so that the Script Editor appears as a tab in the Hypershade window. This tab is not retained in the Hypershade past the current instance of the Hypershade. While your Script Editor is in the Hypershade, it cannot be opened separately. Open the Script Editor and the Hypershade. If your Hypershade is floating, run the following command to create a Script Editor tab in your Hypershade:
setParent hyperShadePanel1Window|TearOffPane|hyperShadePanel1|main Form|mainPane|createBarWrapForm|createAndOrganizeForm|createAn dOrganizeTabs; $layOut1 = `paneLayout -configuration "single" "scriptEditor"`; setParent $layOut1; control -e -p $layOut1 scriptEditorPanel1Win dow;

If your Hypershade is in a pane, run the following command instead:


setParent MayaWindow|formLayout1|viewPanes|hyperShadePanel1|main Form|mainPane|createBarWrapForm|createAndOrganizeForm|createAn dOrganizeTabs; $layOut1 = `paneLayout -configuration "single" "scriptEditor"`; setParent $layOut1; control -e -p $layOut1 scriptEditorPanel1Win dow;

To remove this tab, close or tear off the Hypershade. The Script Editor will be accessible from Windows > General Editors > Script Editor or from the Script Editor icon again. NOTE This example illustrates the flexibility of Maya with QT, and is provided for the convenience of advanced users who may want to customize the example for their own purposes. However, the use of this example is not a supported workflow within Maya.

Customizing the Script Editor | 309

Maya Hotkeys
Maya Hotkeys

The following hotkeys are divided into sections based upon their related operation. Snapping Operations
c Snap to curves (press and release) Snap to grids (press and release) Snap to points (press and release) Move, Rotate, Scale Tool snapping (press and release) Move, Rotate, Scale Tool relative snapping (press and release)

Shift

Painting Operations
Alt Alt f a Flood with the current value Turn Show Wireframe on or off Turn Color Feedback on or off Toggle Reflection on or off

Alt

Alt

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Painting Operations
u With left mouse button for Artisan Paint Operation marking menu Modify upper brush radius (press and release) Modify lower brush radius (press and release) Edit Paint Effects template brush settings Modify maximum displacement (Sculpt Surfaces and Sculpt Polygons Tool) Modify paint value Switch to pick color mode (press and release) Open Paint Effects panel With left mouse button for the Poly Brush Tool marking menu With middle mouse button for Poly UV Tool marking menu

Shift

Ctrl

n /

8 o

Tumble, Track, or Dolly


Alt Left mouse button Tumble Tool (press and release) Track Tool (press and release) Dolly Tool (press and release)

Alt Alt

Middle mouse button Right mouse button

Maya Hotkeys | 311

2D Pan/Zoom
\+ \+ \ Middle mouse button Right mouse button 2D Pan tool 2D Zoom tool Enable/disable 2D Pan/Zoom.

Tool Operations
Return Insert Shift Q Complete current tool Enter tool Edit mode Select Tool, or with left mouse button for Component marking menu Select Tool, or with left mouse button for Polygon marking menu Select Tool, or with left mouse button for Selection Mask marking menu Move Tool, or with left mouse button for Move Tool marking menu Rotate Tool, or with left mouse button for Rotate Tool marking menu Scale Tool, or with left mouse button for Scale Tool marking menu Show universal manipulator tool

Alt

Ctrl

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Tool Operations
t y Show manipulator tool Selects the last used tool that is not one of Select, Move, Rotate, or Scale Move, Rotate, Scale Tool Snapping (press and release) Increase manipulator size Decrease manipulator size With left mouse button move pivot (Move Tool) Switches between move pivot and move object (Move Tool)

=, + d

Insert

Displaying Objects (Show, Hide)


Ctrl Shift h H Display > Hide > Hide Selection Display > Show > Show Selection Display > Show > Show Last Hidden Display > Hide > Hide Unselected Objects Show > Isolate Select > View Selected (in the panel menus)

Ctrl+Shift

Alt

Shift

Animation Operations
s Animate > Set Key

Maya Hotkeys | 313

Animation Operations
i Insert Keys Tool (for Graph Editor) (press and release) With left mouse button for Keyframe marking menu With middle mouse button for Tangent marking menu Set key for Rotate Set key for Scale Set key for Translate Toggle FBIK effector Pin Translate on or off Toggle FBIK effector Pin Rotate on or off Toggle FBIK effector Pin Translate and Rotate on or off Set Full Body IK Keys Toggle Multicolor Feedback Set FBIK keys on All Set FBIK keys on Body Part Set FBIK keys on Selected Key FBIK Reach to 1 Key FBIK Reach to 0

Shift

Shift

Shift Shift Shift Alt

E R W w

Alt

Alt

Ctrl Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt

f j d x 4 3 1

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Animation Operations
Alt 2 Key no FBIK Reach

Playback Control
Alt . Move forward one frame in time Move backward one frame in time Go to Next key Go to Previous key Turn Playback on or off Go to Min Frame With middle mouse button for virtual Time Slider mode (press and hold and scrub timeline)

Alt

. , Alt Alt+Shift v V k

Hotbox Display
space (When pressed down) Show the hotbox Default Hotbox Style (Zones and Menu Rows)

Alt

Rendering
Ctrl Left Render view next image

Maya Hotkeys | 315

Rendering
Ctrl Right Render view previous image

Window and View Operations


Ctrl a Switches between Attribute Editor or Channel Boxdisplays the Attribute Editor if neither is shown Frame All in active panel, or with left mouse button for History Operations marking menu Frame All in all views Frame Selected in active panel Frame Selected in all views (When tapped) Switch between the active window in multi-pane display and single pane display Switch between the standard view and full-screen view of the current panels Redo view change Undo view change Switch between a gradient, black, dark gray, or light gray background color. View previous layout

Shift

A f

Shift

F space

Ctrl

space

] [ Alt b

Shift

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Window and View Operations


Shift } F1 View next layout Help > Maya Help

Moving Selected Objects


Alt Alt Alt Alt h i f g Move up one pixel Move down one pixel Move left one pixel Move right one pixel

Pick Walk*
h i f g *Based on selection, the arrow keys let you walk up the hierarchy (object selected) or walk about the objects components (component selected, including vertices, edge loops, edge rings). Walk up current Walk down current Walk left in current Walk right in current

Modeling Operations
1 Default polygon mesh display (no smoothing)

Maya Hotkeys | 317

Modeling Operations
2 Cage + smooth polygon mesh display Smooth polygon mesh display Display coarser subdivision surface level Select/refine subdivision surface component Convert polygon selection to Vertices Convert polygon selection to Edges Covert polygon selection to Faces Covert polygon selection to UVs Proxy > Subdiv Proxy Displays original mesh (proxy) and a smoothed version of the original.

3 Ctrl h

Ctrl

Ctrl

F9

Ctrl

F10

Ctrl

F11

Ctrl Ctrl

F12 `

Ctrl+Shift

Proxy > Subdiv Proxy > Displays Subdiv Proxy options window Toggles the display between the original (proxy) and the smoothed mesh. Displays both the original (proxy) and the smoothed mesh. Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv, Polygons to Subdiv

Alt

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Modeling Operations
Alt+Shift ~ Displays option window for Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv > or Polygons to

Subdiv > (depending on whether NURBS or Polygons are selected). Page Up Increases Division Levels for Smooth Mesh Preview or Subdiv Proxy. Decreases Division Levels for Smooth Mesh Preview or Subdiv Proxy. Lock/unlock length of curve (press and hold)

Page Down

Display Settings
4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 Shading > Wireframe Shaded display Shaded and Textured display Lighting > Use All Lights Default quality display setting Rough quality display setting Medium quality display setting Smooth quality display setting

File Operations
n Ctrl (or ) File > New Scene

Maya Hotkeys | 319

File Operations
o Ctrl (or ) s Ctrl (or ) q Ctrl (or Ctrl ) r Create file reference File > Exit File > Save Scene File > Open Scene

Selecting Menus
Ctrl Shift Ctrl+Shift m M M h Show/hide main menu bar Show/hide panel menu bar Show/hide panel toolbar With left mouse button for Menu Set marking menu Show Animation menu set Show Polygons menu set Show Modeling menu set Show Dynamics menu set Show Rendering menu set

F2 F3 F4 F5 F6

Edit Operations
z Edit > Undo (also Ctrl+z/ +z) Shift Z g Edit > Redo Edit > Repeat

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Edit Operations
Shift G Repeat command at mouse position Edit > Duplicate Edit > Duplicate Special Edit > Duplicate with Transform Edit > Group Edit > Parent Edit > Unparent Edit > Cut

Ctrl Ctrl+Shift Shift Ctrl

d D D g p

Shift

P x

Ctrl (or

) c Edit > Copy

Ctrl (or

) v Edit > Paste

Ctrl (or

Selecting Objects and Components


F8 Select > Object/Component (Switch between object and component editing) Select > Vertex Select > Edge Select > Face Select > UV Select next intermediate object Select > Vertex Face

F9 F10 F11 F12 Ctrl Alt i F9

Maya Hotkeys | 321

Selecting Objects and Components


< > Shrink polygon selection region Grow polygon selection region

Assign a predefined command to a hotkey


Maya includes a number of pre-made commands that correspond to the actions you can accomplish with the user interface (for example, opening editors or creating objects). These commands are organized into categories. To assign a command to a hotkey 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor. 2 Click a category name in the Categories list to show a sublist of commands, then click the command you want to assign a hotkey to. To find a command in the categories, click Search (near the bottom of the hotkey editor window) and type some text to find. Use * to match anything. To find all commands that start with Delete, type delete*. To find all commands with the word light, type *light*. 3 Type a key name in the Key text box and turn on any modifiers you want on the hotkey. For example, type m in the text box and turn on the Alt setting to assign the marking menu to alt + m. As you edit these settings, Maya shows the command currently assigned to the hotkey, if any. Only assign the hotkey if you dont mind overriding this command. 4 Set the Direction option. If you select Press, Maya runs the command when you press the key down. If you select Release, Maya runs the command when you let the key up. The distinction between Press and Release can be important, for example when you assign a hotkey to a snapping mode. You want to assign the command to turns the snapping mode on to the key press, and the command that turns the snapping mode off to the key release. 5 Click Assign.

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If the hotkey you set already has a command assigned, Maya asks if you want to override it.

Hotkeys in Maya for Mac OS X


This section explains some differences you may encounter when using Hotkeys in Maya for Mac OS X.

Hotkeys and Expos


Expos hotkeys (F9, F10, F11) may conflict with preset Maya hotkeys. If you experience this problem, you can change the Maya hotkeys, or change the Expos hotkeys in the System Preferences panel of the computer running Mac OS X.

Using the set focus hotkey (Alt ) to change the focus


If "Alt `" is used as the hotkey to set focus to the numeric input field, then it must be pressed twice to set the focus to the numeric input field. However, if another hotkey is used (instead of "Alt `") to accomplish the same functionality, then pressing the hotkey combination once is sufficient.

Moving pivots
By default, the d key on the keyboard can be used to move pivot points. Hold the d key and drag the manipulators to move a pivot point. This is useful for Mac keyboards that do not have the Insert or Home key.

Related topics

Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Assign a MEL script to a hotkey on page 323 View a list of all assigned hotkeys on page 325 Hotkey Editor on page 593

Assign a MEL script to a hotkey


To associate a MEL script with a hotkey, you must first add the script to the list of available hotkey commands, then assign a hotkey to the command you created.

Hotkeys in Maya for Mac OS X | 323

1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor. 2 Commands are grouped into categories. Click the category name in the Categories list you want to put your script in. 3 In the command area at the bottom of the hotkey editor, click New. 4 Type a Name and Description for the new command. 5 In the Command text box, type the MEL commands you want the hotkey to run. 6 Click Accept. 7 Type a key name in the Key text box and turn on any modifiers you want on the hotkey. For example, type m in the text box and turn on the Alt setting to assign the marking menu to alt + m. As you edit these settings, Maya shows the command currently assigned to the hotkey, if any. Only assign the hotkey if you dont mind overriding this command. 8 Set the Direction option. If you select Press, Maya runs the command when you press the key down. If you select Release, Maya runs the command when you let the key up. The distinction between Press and Release can be important, for example when you assign a hotkey to a snapping mode. You want to assign the command to turns the snapping mode on to the key press, and the command that turns the snapping mode off to the key release. 9 Click Assign. If the hotkey you set already has a command assigned, Maya asks if you want to override it.

Example MEL scripts


You can use the following MEL scripts to create toggles for x-ray and wire/shaded modes.

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Script 1:
/MEL to toggle xray mode on/off //map to a hotkey //get the current panel as xray mode works per panel $currentPanel = `getPanel -withFocus`; //get the state of xray mode (either on or off) $state = `modelEditor -q -xray $currentPanel`; //set it to the opposite state modelEditor -edit -xray (!$state) $currentPanel;

Script 2:
//MEL to toggle cameras and image planes on/off //map to a hotkey $currentPanel = `getPanel -withFocus`; $state = `modelEditor -q -cameras $currentPanel`; modelEditor -edit -cameras (!$state) $currentPanel;

Related topics

Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 View a list of all assigned hotkeys on page 325 Hotkey Editor on page 593

View a list of all assigned hotkeys


1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor. 2 Click List All.

Related topics

Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Assign a MEL script to a hotkey on page 323 Hotkey Editor on page 593

View a list of all assigned hotkeys | 325

Customize how Maya works


Switch operations between actions and tools
Maya makes a distinction between tools and actions.

Tools work continuously: any clicks or drags you make while the tool is active apply the tool. For example, the selection arrow is a tool. Any clicks or drags in the view window while the selection arrow is active performs a selection. Actions are immediate, one shot operations applied to the selection. Most items in the menus are actions.

For example, many items under the Edit Curves, Surfaces, and Edit NURBS menus can be converted from actions to tools (or vice versa). You can distinguish tools from actions by the names of menu items. Tools have Tool in the menu entry title. Actions do not. For example, the Curve Editing Tool is a tool, but the Attach Curves menu item is an action. If you change an action to a tool, Maya adds Tool to its name in the main menu and option window. If you change the tool back to an action, Tool is removed from the name. Regardless of whether a feature is a tool or action, the order in which you select objects or components stays the same. Option windows for tools and actions include an Edit option menu at the top of the window that allows you to pick between tool and action modes. Currently, only actions can be switched to tool mode. Therefore, for tools (for example, Birail Surface Tool), the Edit option menu is disabled. To change actions to tools throughout Maya 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences. 2 In the Categories list of the Preferences window, click Modeling, then turn on Everything is a Tool. Afterwards, youll notice more NURBS menu items have Tool in their names. To return to action-based behavior, turn on Everything is an Action in the same Preferences window. If you turn on Mixed, a setting within each option box specifies whether the menu item is a tool or action.

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To convert a single menu item from an action to a tool 1 Open the items options window and select Edit > As Tool. 2 To return to action-based behavior, select Edit > As Action. If the options window doesnt have an Edit menu or the As Tool and As Action items are dim, the action (or tool) cant be converted. The setting in the Options window takes precedence over the Preferences window. Changing from actions to tools or vice versa works immediately. When you use an action converted to a tool, Maya sets an object and component selection mask appropriate for the tool. Maya returns to the prior selection mask after you finish using the tool.

Tool options
If you change an action to a tool, the options window for that tool displays two extra options:

Exit Upon Completion If this option is off, Mayas focus remains on the tool after you finish using it. You can use the tool repeatedly without selecting it again. If this option is on, Maya exits the tool. The following menu items, when used as tools, have Exit Upon Completion as the default option.

Edit Curves > Cut Curve Edit Curves > Intersect Curves Edit NURBS > Stitch > Global Stitch

All other tools, including actions converted to tools, use Auto Completion as the default.

Auto Completion If this option is on, you dont have to press Enter (Linux and Microsoft Windows) or Return (Apple Mac OS X) to finish a modeling task. The tool completes its task as soon as you select enough objects or components.

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Load or unload Maya plug-ins


A plug-in is an add-on module that extends Mayas capabilities. File translators are plug-ins you use to import and export various file formats. You can create or purchase specialty plug-ins to customize Maya for a specific job. Some features that can be added through plug-ins are:

File translators for new file formats. New tools, menu items, and MEL commands. New object types (nodes). Drivers for new devices.

To load or unload plug-ins 1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager. 2 Do any of the following:

Check the Loaded box next to a plug-in to load the plug-in. Check the Auto load box next to a plug-in to always load the plug-in when you start Maya. Click the i icon next to a plug-in to view the Plug-in Information window and find additional information about the plug-in, for example the version number and any MEL commands it adds to Maya. NOTE You cannot load a plug-in for any version of Maya that predates the Maya version the plug-in was compiled for. For example, you cannot use a plug-in compiled with the Maya 6 API in Maya 5. You can check the For API Version number in the Plug-in Information window. For more information on default plug-ins included with Maya, see List of plug-ins included with Maya on page 612.

Force Maya to unload a plug-in being used in the current scene


If you try to unload a plug-in that is providing functionality in the current scene (for example, the scene contains a node type that is provided by the plug-in), Maya warns you and gives you the opportunity to force the removal of the plug-in.

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If you select to force Maya to unload the plug-in, Maya converts any nodes in the scene provided by the plug-in to the Unknown node type. Even if you reload the plug-in, the nodes remain Unknown.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Plug-in Manager on page 609 List of plug-ins included with Maya on page 612

Improve performance, quality, or interactivity


Use the settings in Window > Settings/Preferences > Performance Settingsto select trade-offs between quality and performance.

Related topics

Window > Settings/Preferences > Performance Settings on page 513

Switch between Y-up and Z-up


1 Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences and click on Settings. 2 Under World Coordinate System, click Y or Z.

Related topics

3D coordinates on page 2

Advanced customization
Directly modify the settings files
Maya stores preferences files in the following path: Windows

(Windows XP)

Improve performance, quality, or interactivity | 329

\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\2011\en_US\prefs

(Windows XP 64bit)
\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\2011-x64\en_US\prefs

(Windows Vista and Windows 7)


\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2011\en_US\prefs

(Windows Vista and Windows 7 64bit)


\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2011-x64\en_US\prefs

Mac OS X
/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/en_US/2011/prefs

Linux (64-bit)
~<username>/maya/2011-x64/prefs

You can change the location of your preferences and other important Maya folders (projects, etc.) by using environment variables. See File path variables of the Environment Variables guide for details. Most preferences are saved as text files of MEL commands. Shelves are stored in the shelves subdirectory, icons are stored in the icons subdirectory, and marking menus are stored in the markingMenus subdirectory. When you customize Maya, your new settings are stored in user preference files, so that each time you open Maya, your settings are used instead of the Maya default settings. If you delete a preference file, Maya uses the default settings. NOTE Maya does not detect if you are out of space if your disk overflows while Maya is saving preferences. If this occurs, your preferences may become corrupt or irretrievable. Ensure that your hard drive has space available to save your Maya preference files. If the disk runs out of space, free up some space before exiting the Maya application.

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Color and hotkey files


The following .mel files store settings you have customized using the Colors window and Hotkey Editor.
userColors.mel Contains preferences defined on the Active and Inactive tabs of the Colors window. userRGBColors.mel Contains preferences defined on the General tab of

the Colors window.


paletteColors.mel Defines the colors (RGB) making up the index palette in the Active and Inactive tabs of the Colors window. userHotkeys.mel Contains any hotkeys you have assigned in the Hotkey

Editor window.
userNamedCommands.mel Contains all the commands that have hotkeys

assigned to them.

Default hotbox marking menus


The following files define the default Hotbox marking menus.
menu_ChangePanelLayout.mel North menu_ChangePanelType.mel South menu_ChangeSelectionMask.mel West menu_CommonModelingPanes.mel Center menu_ControlPaneVisibility.mel East

User preferences
The following files define user preferences.
userPrefs.mel Contains preferences defined in the Preferences window (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences). windowPrefs.mel Defines the default size and position of Maya windows.

NOTE Maya will not read a previous versions windowPrefs.mel file because some of the window sizes change between versions of Maya. If Maya recognized the old preferences, it could hide new functionality.

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Run MEL commands whenever Maya starts up


Maya runs any commands in the userSetup.mel file whenever it starts up. You can use this file to set up your working environment or execute commonly used MEL commands like aliasing. The userSetup.mel script is executed during the initialization and setup phase of Maya so only commands which set up your working environment and have no dependencies on Maya functionality can be successfully run in this script. To run a certain set of MEL commands every time Maya starts up 1 Create a file named userSetup.mel in the following folder:

Windows: <drive>:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\<Version>\scripts Mac OS X:


~/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/<version>/scripts.

Linux: ~/maya/<version>/scripts.

(where ~ is your home folder) 2 In the userSetup.mel file, type the commands you want to Maya to run on start up.

Run MEL commands whenever a scene is opened or closed


A script node lets you attach a MEL script to a scene, and have the script run whenever the scene is opened (loaded from disk) or closed (when the user opens another scene file or starts a new scene). Refer to the MEL and expressions guide for information on script nodes.

Create a custom heads-up display readout


Use the headsUpDisplay MEL command to create or edit a custom readout in the heads-up display. The following explains the basics of using the command. Read the headsUpDisplay command documentation in the online help for a full explanation of the commands usage and flags.

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Related topics

Show information over top of a view (heads-up display) on page 45

Ingredients Procedure
Create a MEL procedure that returns the information you want to show in the heads-up display.

Update event
Decide when Maya needs to update the display item. For example, if your display item shows some information about the selected object, Maya only needs to change it when the selection changes. This is the event that triggers a display update. Maya has a number of events you can listen for. Use headsUpDisplay -listEvents to see the list of all events. If you update on a selection-based event (SelectionChanged or SomethingSelected), you can refine the event listening to only fire on a specific type of change to the selected nodes using the -nodeChanges flag.
-nodeChanges "attributeChange" fires when any attribute on a selected node

changes.
-nodeChanges "connectionChange" fires when any input or output on a selected

node changes.
-nodeChanges "instanceChange" fires when any selected instanced node

changes.

Section and block position


Select a column for the item to appear in. This is called the section. The following chart shows the number the command uses to refer to each column. 0 is the upper-left corner, 9 is the bottom-right corner of the screen.
0 5 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9

Select a line within the section on which the display item appear. This is called the block.

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Label
Select the label that appears before the information on the display line, for example Position:.

The command
To create a heads-up display item:
headsUpDisplay -section <section number> -block <block number> -label "<label>" -command "<procedure()>" -event "<event>" <object name>;

Then, to show the item:


headsUpDisplay -edit -visability 1 <object name>;

Or to hide the item:


headsUpDisplay -edit -visability 0 <object name>;

See the example below. The command has many more options than are described here, especially for changing the appearance of the display item and checking the usage of blocks. Read the headsUpDisplay command documentation for more information.

Make the change permanent


Add the commands that create the heads-up display item (and any associated user interface) to userSetup.mel to have them permanently added to your copy of Maya.

Example
For example, if you want to show the XYZ coordinates of the selected object in the heads-up display, create a MEL procedure (for example, objectPosition() ) that returns the XYZ coordinates of the selected object.

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objectPosition procedure
global proc float[] objectPosition () { string $selectedNodes[] = `selectedNodes`; float $position[3]; if (size($selectedNodes) > 0) { string $mainObject = $selectedNodes[ (size($selectedNodes) - 1) ]; $position[0] = `getAttr $mainObject.translateX`; $position[1] = `getAttr $mainObject.translateY`; $position[2] = `getAttr $mainObject.translateZ`; } else { $position[0] = 0; $position[1] = 0; $position[2] = 0; } return $position; }

Create a custom heads-up display readout | 335

headsUpDisplay command
Then use the headsUpDisplay command to create the heads-up display object, and add a user interface to turn the display item on or off.
// Create custom HUD objects // To create a script like this for testing, see the command docu mentation // for the headsUpDisplay command. // headsUpDisplay -section 4 -block 5 -label "Position:" -command "objectPosition()" -event "SelectionChanged" -nodeChanges "attributeChange" HUDObjectPosition; // Add menu items to control the custom items // global string $gHeadsUpDisplayMenu; // Add a divider to separate Maya items from custom items menuItem -parent $gHeadsUpDisplayMenu -divider true; // Add one menu item per heads up display object created above // menuItem -parent $gHeadsUpDisplayMenu -checkBox true -label "Object Position" -command "headsUpDisplay -e -vis 1 HUDObjectPosition" -annotation "Object Postion: Toggle the display of object posi tion"\ myObjectPostionItem;

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Performance tips

10

Set Maya to use maximum memory (increase the Virtual Memory limit)
The following refers to Maya for 32-bit systems on Windows. Under Windows XP, the normal application memory partition is 2GB for system and 2GB for applications. For Maya, this means that the largest virtual memory that can be obtained is 2GB. Portions of this address space is used by MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes), as well as graphic card drivers. The effective virtual memory size of Maya is approximately 1.6GB. Under Windows XP SP2, there is a system boot option that partitions the memory into 1GB system and 3GB user. This option is /3GB. Microsoft Reference:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEmem.mspx Windows XP SP1 may have problems starting if /3GB is used. See Microsoft knowledgebase article: 328269 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;328269

Maya is linked with the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE linker option. This effectively adds approximately 1GB to the virtual memory that Maya can grow to when used with the /3GB boot option.

Get the most out of Maya


Use the following best practices to optimize Mayas performance.

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Interactive drawing

Turn on Shading > Interactive Shading to improve performance when moving the camera. Save the file in the simplest display mode to make load time faster. Avoid saving files in textured display mode. Use default display options for polygons. Turn off display of all non-essential UI that updates when the scene view updates, for example: Heads Up Display, Time Slider, Range Slider, Hypershade, Attribute Editor, UV Texture Editor. Turn off the display of all non-essential scene elements, ranging from the Grid to drawing skeletons. Work with a layout that only includes a single modeling panel. Divide your scene efficiently by doing the following:

Segment your scene into areas that dont overlap (for example, using a grid layout). Use display layers to turn on or off the areas as required.

Splitting your scene up into a non-overlapping rectangular grid is also helpful for setting up visibility layers because you can then plan the scene sector by sector. However, note that Maya performs front, back, and side camera frustum culling per object. So, if even one triangle shows up, Maya draws everything.

Use the new hardware Mipmap filtering options, which are in the Hardware Texturing section of the shader node, Texture Filter drop-down list. Use the new Use default material display mode if applicable. Dont use extra Shading menu settings like Wireframe on Shaded if you don't need them. If possible, use Show > Isolate Select to limit what is displayed and refreshed in the scene. Objects with less than a few hundred triangles, and especially those with only a few triangles will have a high performance overhead. If possible, merge the objects together into one. Maya performs much better with less objects that each have thousands of triangles versus many objects with only a few triangles.

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Use instancing when possible. This includes instancing geometry, materials and textures. If using file texture nodes, it is better to have one file texture node that is instanced versus many copies of the node. This affects memory used when the file is loaded as well as on disk. Make sure to set your video card settings to Maya settings and disable vertical sync (sync).

The default material display option can be used to see the difference between using 1 shader for all objects versus n shaders. If surfaces are partitioned into many layers, this may slow down shaded mode display. Attempt to use fewer partitions if possible, and if used for visibility to partition the surfaces into grid sections. This helps with visibility culling.

Attempt to build surfaces that do not intersect each other in terms of their bounds (bounding boxes). Visibility testing performs worse in these cases. Sorting of the DAG hierarchy by display attribute types may help. This can be done by reordering DAG objects in Outliner. Ordering your DAG hierarchy may help:

all surfaces first, then all non-surfaces by visibility within a given region (perhaps by layer if layers are used for visibility partitioning) by depth to viewer (if feasible) material and lighting attributes: for example, all lamberts, then all blinns, then all shaders which don't use lighting, then all those that do, and finally all shaders which don't have transparency, then all those that do

Use a minimal shader for an object. For example use a surface shader when you don't require lighting, or youll be overriding lighting elsewhere, for example, with color per vertex. Remove duplicate shading networks.

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Hardware Shaders
These are coding tips for hardware shader plug-in writers.

Do not push and pop all GL attributes if not required. This is more expensive than pushing specific attributes. If youre only using hardware shaders in the scene view, we recommend that you use the older API: geometry(), bind() and unbind(). If you also want to batch render your hardware shader, we recommend you use the newer API: glGeometry, glBind and glUnbind. We recommend you cache all node attributes as internal. The example plug-ins hwColorPerVertex, hwPhongShader and the cgFxShader all do this. Non-cached values are very expensive to evaluate and can double the draw time. Avoid using complex attributes (structures and arrays). If the output color on the shader is not important, do not make any attributes affect it. This causes additional computation as marking one attribute dirty causes a recomputation to derive the dependent one. The compute() method can be left empty if not required. The simpler the method the better. You will not see Hypershade swatches if you do not compute the output color. Do not post-normalize tangents in the plug-in. This is done for you. Data sent via the geometry calls are read-only and are cached internally. Do not modify the values. Use simple data structures (versus Maya API objects) for simple data. For example, use float3 versus MFloatVector. There is a performance overhead due to the interfaces used in OpenMaya. Take advantage of methods available on M3dView. OpenGL state is cached internally and can give better performance than using beginGL(), endGL() and direct calls to OpenGL. Use glDrawRangeElements to draw with. This is the API recommended by the card vendor for drawing with the geometry arrays passed to the hardware shader. Make sure to set the hasTransparency() return value appropriately. Setting it to true causes Maya to draw an object twice (once culling front faces, once culling back).

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Take into account the current display state in M3dView. For example, don't disable lighting if the display mode is Use No Lights. When transparency is enabled, framebuffer blending is already enabled. You do not need to enable it again. Take advantage of the new method: MPxHwShaderNode::currentPath() to send the appropriate information for attribute query methods (for example, getTexCoordSetNames()). Test which parameters on color/alpha and depth mask are enabled for interactive and especially for hardware rendering. They can give hints as to how to draw a simpler version of the geometry. For the Hardware renderer, the plug-in can be called multiple times. The general sequence is usually: depth pass, [lighting pass[es]], color pass, [shadow map pass], [alpha pass], [depth pass]. Items marked with braces [ ] are optional and dependent upon the number of lights in the scene, whether shadows are enabled for those lights, and whether alpha and depth output images are specified in the Render Settings. Use the new Ignore Hardware Shader option which is available per object (NURBS or polygonal surfaces). This is available in the Attribute Editor in the Object Display section and as a new option in the Display > Object Display menu. Use Ignore Hardware Shader to make the hardware shader not show up on the object, or use Use Hardware Shader to restore the default state of showing the shader. This allows users of the plug-in to selectively disable shader display for performance reasons.

Memory

Unlimited undo queue takes more memory than a limited undo queue. The default Undo queue is set to 50 in the Preferences window. Take advantage of large address awareness on Windows XP up to 3 GB. Use instancing when possible. This includes geometry, materials, textures, lights, and so on. Parallel memory copy may, in some cases, improve speed for Opterm or Nehalem systems. However, it can also potentially slow down Xeon systems. Use MAYA_NO_PARALLEL_MEMCPY to disable parallel memory copy if you find that your speed has been impacted. Note, however, that there are

Get the most out of Maya | 341

other factors that may affect speed in Maya, such as your scene complexity and workload.

IK, Dependency Loops, and Performance

After loading a file, a wait cursor may come up and Maya will use all available CPU cycles for a long time (several minutes at least). This problem seems to occur in files that have IK and dependency loops. The ideal workaround is to find and remove the dependency loop. These loops may be difficult to find. For example, A may be translated by a pointConstraint B that uses target C that has a parent D that is rotated by an expression E that has an input from F that is constrained to G which is a child of A. One hint is to look for expressions that have outputs to attributes on many different nodes. That is, some complex scenes take a long time to evaluate, and you could encounter this when loading a file.

The Polygon Draw Cache

In Maya, the use of a polygon draw cache usually improves speed and performance. However, when loading certain very large files in Maya, the polygon draw cache may cause the memory usage of Maya to exceed the memory available to the application on your system, resulting in instability. (Note: The 64-bit version of Maya on Windows and Linux provides enough memory space that this issue should not arise.) If you encounter this problem using Windows XP on a 32-bit system, we suggest you increase the application memory limit of Maya; for instructions on how to do this, see Set Maya to use maximum memory (increase the Virtual Memory limit) on page 337. You can also disable the polygon draw cache so that you can more easily load very large files. There is an environment variable called MAYA_DISABLE_POLYGON_DRAW_CACHE. Set it to 1 to disable the polygon draw cache. If you disable the polygon draw cache, interactive draw performance will be slower. We recommend that you not leave this environment variable set to 1, but instead set it only for working on files that show this problem.

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Animation

Use Skin > Edit Smooth Skin to limit max influences, remove unused influences and prune small influences. Use Edit Deformers > Prune Membership commands to remove components that arent affected by the deformer.

Audio

When using imported audio files in Maya, it is inadvisable to have background applications running that use audio capabilities. Running other applications that use audio may cause Maya to hang.

Fur

Lowering the Fur Accuracy value for the Fur Feedback hairs significantly increases interactive draw speed, but makes it less easy to preview Scraggle, Curl or Clumping. Since Shadow Maps are expensive to render, dont use more than you need. Autoshading is free and can provide an acceptable alternative for some lights when using the Maya Software renderer.

Miscellaneous

On Windows, fragmented hard drives can cause serious performance issues. We suggest you defragment regularly and thoroughly with a dedicated application. Standard tools offered by the operating system are often not sufficient to gain performance benefits. Take advantage of file referencing. For more information, see About file referencing of the File Referencing book. Become very familiar with Window > Settings/Preferences > Performance Settings. Use File > Optimize Scene Size > to remove unused scene data.

Returning to Maya after a screen saver has been activated can, with some old or low-end graphics cards, cause selection marquees or panel contents to disappear. Press the space bar or use the Panels menu to change the current panel configuration. All panels should now be drawing normally. To return to

Get the most out of Maya | 343

your previous configuration, either press the space bar again, or select the appropriate entry from the Panels menu.

The cycle checking that happens during attribute evaluation may miss a cycle in which incoming connections on a DAG node form a cycle that includes any of the worldspace attributes on its child nodes. The MEL command cycleCheck NODE can be used to detect these cycles if you suspect this to be the case.

Modeling

Use the Reuse Triangles attribute on polygons. Use Poly Reduce to simplify complex geometry. Polygonal models that don't have the following will display faster: unshared normals, unshared texture coordinates, unmapped faces, and faces that are not triangles (not triangulated).

Dynamics

Use the Stand In attribute on rigid body geometry. When starting or setting up a simulation, start with less geometry on particles.

Classic Cloth

Turn off Classic Cloth collisions for the initial setup and testing of a simulation. Animate settings like Frame Samples and Time Step Size to improve solve time. Solve in batch mode.

Rendering

Use Render Diagnostics for hints on improving performance. See Maya render diagnostics for more information. Remove duplicate shading networks.

Artisan

Increase Stamp Spacing if possible (Stroke section of Artisan Tool settings editor).

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Use Screen Projection if possible (Stroke section of Artisan Tool settings editor).

Paint Effects

Lower the Display Quality in the Paint Effects Tool settings editor.

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346

Running Maya in Japanese

11

Japanese Maya overview


A Japanese user interface for Maya is available for users working on computers that support a Japanese environment on Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. (Not available for Linux operating systems.) To run Maya with a Japanese user interface on Windows, ensure that:

the computer is operating using either a Maya qualified Japanese Windows operating system or a Maya qualified Windows operating system with Japanese language support. If you are unsure how your computers operating system is configured, please contact you companys system administrator or Microsoft technical support. the default language for non-Unicode programs is set to Japanese. For more information on setting the default language setting on a Windows operating system, see Run Maya with a Japanese user interface on page 349.

To run Maya with a Japanese user interface on Mac OS X, ensure that:


the computer is operating using a Maya qualified Mac OS X operating system. the personal system language preference is set to Japanese. For more information on setting the default language setting on a Mac OS X operating system, see Run Maya with a Japanese user interface on page 349. NOTE Refer to www.autodesk.com/qual-charts for the most up to date information on qualified hardware and operating systems for running Maya.

347

Be aware of the following issues that relate to the different language user interfaces of Maya:

If Japanese Maya text files (.ma, .mel) are to be used on other hardware platforms and operating systems, you may need to convert them to the text encoding appropriate for the destination platform (for instance, Shift_JIS or UTF 8). For more information, see Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text on page 351. Maya only supports object names entered as single byte characters (ASCII, or plain Western text). Maya user preferences cannot be shared between its two language user interfaces.

Related topics

Run Maya with a Japanese user interface on page 349 Run Maya in English within a Japanese environment on page 350 Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text on page 351

Extended ASCII characters in node and attribute names and scene portability
Maya supports characters in the lower ASCII range (0-127) for node and attribute names. On some platforms, Maya allows these names to contain single-byte characters from the extended ASCII range (for example, Windows under the Latin 1 code page 1252, and Linux in a Latin locale such as en_US.iso88591). These extended ASCII characters include letters with accents and other diacritical marks and digraphs (for example, and ), commonly found in such languages as French or German. Japanese Hankaku characters are not supported. Scene files with node or attribute names containing characters outside the lower-ASCII range may exhibit problems when moved between platforms. In order to properly use these extended ASCII characters on Windows, you must first open the Regional and Language Options Control Panel, and ensure that the Advanced tab's language setting for non-Unicode programs is set to a Latin-compatible language such as English, French, or German. Changing this language setting may require you to reboot your system.

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In order to properly save or open scenes with these characters on Linux, you must set your LANG environment variable to a Latin-compatible locale before running Maya. Depending on your shell, the command to do so will look something like this:
export LANG=en_US.iso88591

Maya does not allow extended ASCII characters in node or attribute names on Mac OS X, or on Linux running under a multi-byte locale such as en_US.UTF-8. Opening a scene file with extended ASCII characters in an unsupported environment may result in data loss. (Maya's user interface on Linux does not support Japanese or any other multi-byte text.)

Run Maya with a Japanese user interface


The Maya user interface automatically appears in Japanese when launched within a Japanese operating system environment. If you wish to run Maya with a Japanese UI on a system that is enabled to run in multiple languages, you must set the operating system preferences for that operating system. The steps for doing this differ depending on the operating system: To run Maya in Japanese on a qualified Japanese Windows operating system 1 From the Start menu, select Settings > Control Panel, and double-click the Regional and Language Options. 2 In the Regional and Language Options window, click the Advanced tab and set the Language for non-Unicode programs setting to Japanese. 3 Click OK. The Windows operating system will indicate it needs to be restarted for the changes to take effect. 4 Once Windows restarts, you can launch Maya and the Maya user interface will appear in Japanese. To run Maya in Japanese on a Mac OS X operating system 1 From the Apple menu, select System Preferences. 2 In the Personal section of the System Preferences, click the International icon.

Run Maya with a Japanese user interface | 349

3 In the Languages list, click-drag the text titled Japanese upwards so it appears at the top of the list. The next time you launch Maya, the user interface will appear as Japanese. NOTE If you want to run the English language user interface of Maya when operating on Mac OS X, you can click-drag the text titled English that appears in the list of languages up to the top of the Languages list. The next time Maya is launched; the English language user interface will appear.

Related topics

Run Maya in English within a Japanese environment on page 350 Japanese Maya overview on page 347 Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text on page 351

Run Maya in English within a Japanese environment


Many existing Japanese users of Maya may already be comfortable working within the English language user interface of Maya. If youre working on a Windows operating system with a Japanese language environment and want to use Maya in English, you can do so by setting the MAYA_UI_LANGUAGE environment variable. To run Maya in English within a Japanese environment (Windows) 1 Right-click on the My Computer icon on the Windows Desktop, and select Properties from the drop-down list that appears. 2 In the System Properties window, click the Advanced tab. 3 Click the Environment Variables button. The User and System environment variables window appears. 4 In the User variables for <userlogin> section, click New. 5 In the Variable Name text field type: MAYA_UI_LANGUAGE 6 In the Variable Value text field type: en_US 7 Launch Maya.

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NOTE If you later want to run Maya in Japanese you can set User Environment Variable Value to ja_JP or remove the variable from the list of User Environment Variables.

To run Maya in English within a Japanese environment (Mac OS X) Temporarily set the language to English within International preferences section of the Systems Preferences.

Related topics

Run Maya with a Japanese user interface on page 349 Japanese Maya overview on page 347 Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text on page 351

Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text


If you are running Maya in the Japanese language user interface and need to share Maya ASCII text files (.ma, .mel) with other users on other hardware platforms and operating systems, youll need to convert your Maya files to the correct text encoding appropriate for the target platform. Use the Save As feature of your favorite text editor or a utility like iconv. Text encoding is platform-dependent and Maya text files cannot be guaranteed to open correctly otherwise. When Maya files are saved from the Maya Japanese language user interface in the .mb (Maya Binary) format, they can be shared between the various supported platforms and operating systems without conversion. If you need to save and work with Maya text files containing Japanese (.ma, .mel), the text files must be saved with the following text encoding depending on the hardware platforms and operating systems: Operating system
Windows Mac OS X

Supported text encoding (.ma .mel)


Shift_JIS (CP932) UTF-8

Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text | 351

Related topics

Japanese Maya overview on page 347

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Basics Tools

12

Status line (toolbar)


Menu set menu

Menus and menu sets on page 6 Select tools and actions on page 12

File buttons

These buttons let you start a new scene file, open an existing scene file, or save the current scene file.

Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139

Selection mask
The Status Line (toolbar) contains several different controls to change the selection mask. The selection mask determines what type of objects or components you can select.

The selection mode menu lets you select common preset selection masks.

353

The selection mode buttons let you switch between Select by hierarchy and combinations mode, Object mode, and Component mode.

The selection mask buttons let you make specific object/component types selectable or unselectable.

Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Select objects or components on page 23 Select only certain types of objects or components (selection masks) on page 27

Selection options

Lock /unlock current selection Click the lock to lock the selection so the left mouse button operates the manipulator instead of selecting. Click the lock again to unlock the selection. Highlight Selection mode When you are selecting components in any component mode, object selection is disabled, so that you can stay in component selection mode; for example, to select multiple components (vertices, faces, and so on). To override this setting, so that clicking on a non-component part of your object selects the entire object (putting you back in object mode), turn Highlight Selection off.

Select objects or components on page 23

Snapping buttons

Snap to grids Snaps a vertex (CV or polygonal vertex) or pivot point to a grid corner. If you select Snap to grids before you create a curve, its vertices snap to the grid corners. Snap to curves Snaps a vertex (CV or polygonal vertex) or pivot point to a curve or curve on surface.

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Snap to points Snaps a vertex (CV or polygonal vertex) or pivot point to a point. This can include face centers. Snap to view planes Snaps a vertex (CV or polygonal vertex) or pivot point to a view plane. Make the selected object live Converts the selected surface to a live surface.

Snap to the grid, a curve, points, or a view plane on page 77 Snapping with live objects on page 77 Modify > Make Live on page 473

Render buttons

Click these buttons to open the Render View window, perform a normal render, perform an IPR render, or open the render settings window.

Input box

Use the Input box to quickly select, rename, or transform objects and components within the Maya scene without having the Channel Box displayed. Click the arrow to the left of the input fields to choose an Input mode; Absolute transform, Relative transform, Rename, or Select by name. The default setting is Absolute transform. The Input mode is saved with your user preferences. Input Mode How to use
Absolute transform Type numbers in the X, Y, Z fields to move, scale, or rotate, based on the currently selected transformation tool. The objects or components are transformed with reference to their original creation position. You can also enter a single value in one field (for example, X) without affecting the other transformation values.

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Input Mode

How to use
Relative transform Type numbers in the X, Y, Z fields to move, scale, or rotate based on the currently selected transformation tool. The objects or components are transformed with reference to their current position. You can also enter a single value in one field (for example, X) without affecting the other transformation values. Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

Rename Edit the name of the currently selected object. When more than one object is selected, Maya increments a number at the end of the name for each object. Change the name of one or more objects on page 153

Select by name Type the name of an object to select it. You can use wildcard characters (* and ?) to select multiple objects. Select objects or components on page 23

Sidebar buttons

Click a button to show a sidebar:


Attribute Editor/notes Settings for the current tool Channel Box/Layer Editor

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Panel toolbar
The panel toolbar rests below the panel menu in each view panel. The toolbar lets you readily access many of the frequently used items that exist within the panel menu. You can toggle view the toolbar by pressing Ctrl + Shift + M.

View buttons
Select Camera Selects the current camera in the panel. You can also perform this operation by choosing View > Select Camera from the panel menu. Right-click on this button to toggle between camera views or create new camera views. Camera Attributes Opens the Camera Attribute Editor. You can also open the editor by choosing View > Camera Attribute Editor from the panel menu. Sets the current view as a bookmark. Right-click on this button to toggle between bookmarks or edit bookmarks with the Bookmark Editor. Image Plane Toggles the display of the existing image plane. If your scene does not contain an image plane, you are prompted to import an image. You can also access the image plane by choosing View > Image plane from the panel menu. Right-click on this button to import an image plane, adjust the display mode of the current image plane, or delete an image plane. For more information about image planes, see: Image Planes Create, edit, or position an image plane

Bookmarks

Panel toolbar | 357

2D Pan/Zoom

Toggles 2D pan/zoom on and off. Right-click on this button to display all 2D bookmarks in the scene. Select Create 2D Boomark to create a new bookmark using your current Pan/Zoom settings. Select Edit 2D Bookmark to open the Bookmark Editor and manage your bookmarks. You can choose between the panned/zoomed view and the full camera view by toggling the Ignore 2D Pan/Zoom option.

Camera Settings buttons


Film Gate Toggles the Film Gate border display. You can also toggle the Film Gate by choosing View > Camera Settings > Film Gate from the panel menu. Toggles the Resolution Gate border display. You can also toggle the Resolution Gate by choosing View > Camera Settings > Resolution Gate from the panel menu. Toggles the Gate Mask border display. You can also toggle the Gate Mask by choosing View > Camera Settings > Gate Mask from the panel menu. Toggles the Field Chart border display. You can also toggle the Field Chart by choosing View > Camera Settings > Field Chart from the panel menu. Toggles the Safe Action border display. You can also toggle Safe Action by choosing View > Camera Settings > Safe Action from the panel menu. Toggles the Safe Title border display. You can also toggle Safe Title by choosing View > Camera Settings > Safe Title from the panel menu.

Resolution Gate

Gate Mask

Field Chart

Safe Action

Safe Title

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Shading buttons
Wireframe Toggles the Wireframe display. Wireframe is the default shading display. You can also toggle the Wireframe display by choosing Shading > Wireframe on page 536 from the panel menu or press the hotkey 4. Toggles the Smooth Shade All display. You can also toggle the Smooth Shade All display by choosing Shading > Smooth Shade All on page 537 from the panel menu or press the hotkey 5. Toggles a wireframe display on all shaded objects. You can also toggle the Wireframe on Shaded display by choosing Shading > Wireframe on Shaded on page 538 from the panel menu. Toggles the Hardware Texturing display. You can also toggle Hardware Texturing by choosing Shading > Hardware Texturing on page 541 from the panel menu or press the hotkey 6. Toggles semi-transparency on all shaded objects. You can also toggle X-Ray display by choosing Shading > X-Ray on page 538 from the panel menu. Toggles the display of active components over top of other shaded objects. You can also toggle X-Ray Active Components by choosing Shading > X-Ray Active Components on page 538 from the panel menu. Toggles the display of skeleton joints over top of other shaded objects. You can also toggle X-Ray Joints by choosing Shading > X-Ray Joints on page 538 from the panel menu.

Smooth Shade All

Wireframe on Shaded

Textured

X-Ray

X-Ray Active Components

X-Ray Joints

Lighting buttons
Use All Lights Toggles the illumination of surfaces by all lights in the scene. You can also toggle Use All Lights by choosing Lighting > Use All Lights from the panel menu or press the hotkey 7.

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Shadows

Toggles hardware shadow maps when Use All Lights is on. You can also toggle Shadows by choosing Lighting > Shadows from the panel menu.

Show buttons
Grid Shows or hides the Grid display of the active view panel. You can also toggle the grid by choosing Show > Grid on page 543 from the panel menu. Right-click on this button to show or hide the grid in all view panels or open the Grid Options window. Display > Grid on page 494

Isolate Select

Limits the view panel to only display the selected objects. You can also isolate selected objects by choosing Show > Isolate Select on page 542 from the panel menu.

Renderer buttons
High Quality Toggles high quality interactive shading. You can also toggle High Quality Rendering by choosing Renderer > High Quality Rendering from the panel menu. Right-click on this button when High Quality Rendering is on to open the Hardware Renderer Display Options window. You can also access this window by choosing Renderer > High Quality Rendering > from the panel menu.

Command line
The command line lets you type single MEL or Python commands without having to open the Script editor. You can switch between MEL and Python mode by clicking the MEL/Python button. The result from the command appears in the output

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Type MEL or Python commands in the command line. The result appears in the colored box to the right of the command line. You can drag the divider between the input and result boxes to resize them. When the cursor is in the command line, press up and down to scroll through the command history. To enter more complex scripts, click the Script Editor button to the right of the result box. For more information, see Script Editor on page 618.

Tool Box
Select Tool
Lets you select objects and components in view panels and the texture editor.

Related topics

Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Select objects or components on page 23

Select Tool options


Use the Tool Settings window to specify reflection and Soft Selection settings. When you work in a texture editor panel, the Select Tool has texture-editor specific options.

Common Selection Options


Camera based selection When on, you can only select components that are not obstructed by other components relative to the current camera.

Selection Style
Determines what happens when you drag the mouse in the scene panel.

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Marquee When you drag the mouse in the scene panel, a marquee appears. When you release the mouse button, components within the marquee are selected. Drag When you drag the mouse in the scene panel, components under the cursor are selected.

Soft Selection
Soft Select Turns Soft Selection mode on and off. Reset Returns all Soft Selection Settings to their default values.

Falloff mode
Sets the shape of the falloff region. Volume When the Falloff Mode is set to Volume, the falloff is based on a 3D volume of a sphere positioned at the center of the region of influence. Surface When the Falloff Mode is set to Surface, the falloff is based on a circular region that conforms to the contours of the surface. Surface mode is useful when you want the Soft Selection falloff to conform to a surface. For example, you can separate the upper lip from the bottom lip on a characters face using the surface-based falloff mode. Global When Falloff Mode is set to Global, the falloff region is determined in the same way as the Volume setting except that the Soft Selection influence will affect any mesh within the Falloff Radius, including meshes that are not part of the original selection. Falloff radius Sets the size of the area of falloff around the selected region. The area defined by the radius depends on the Falloff Mode and whether the Selection Mode is set to Around Selection. You can also adjust this value by turning on Soft Selection and pressing the b + the left mouse button for relative resize or b + the middle mouse button for absolute resize, while simultaneously dragging the mouse left or right. Falloff curve Controls the weighting of the falloff within the area defined by the Falloff Radius. The graph represents the strength of the selections influence versus the distance from the selection.

The default shape of the Falloff Curve specifies more influence close to the selected area and less influence at the outer edges of the Falloff Radius. The

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shape of the Falloff Curve can be manually adjusted by dragging existing points on it. You can add additional points by clicking the graph.

Interpolation
Controls the way values are calculated from point to point on the Falloff curve. The default is Smooth. None There is no interpolation; all components in the Falloff Radius transform with equal weighting. Linear The weighted falloff from components near the selection to components far from the selection is calculated linearly. Smooth The weighted falloff is interpolated along a bell curve, so that each value on the Falloff curve dominates the region around it, then blends quickly to the next value. Spline Takes into account neighboring indices for an effect roughly half way between Linear and Smooth. Curve presets Preset shapes for the Falloff curve. For more information, see Change the shape of the falloff area.

Viewport color Controls whether the Falloff color is displayed in the main view panel or not. Falloff color Defines the appearance of the weighted falloff region for a soft selected area. You can adjust the weighting of each color by dragging the small circles above the ramp left and right. You can add new colors by clicking on the ramp itself. You can remove colors by clicking their corresponding boxes below the ramp. You can adjust each color using the Color slider. Color Allows you to change the color of the currently selected falloff color. You can select these by clicking the circle corresponding to them above the Falloff color ramp. You can select a color by clicking the colored box and then selecting a color from the Color Chooser. You can adjust the shade of the current color by dragging the slider left or right.

Reflection Settings
Reflection Turns reflected selection on and off. Reset Returns all Reflection Settings to their default values.

Select Tool | 363

Reflection Space
Specifies the coordinate system used to reflect your selection. World Reflection using World space ensures your reflection seam is parallel to the world axes. Object Reflection over Object space varies from object to object depending on their individual orientation. Reflection Axis Lets you choose whether to reflect your selection along the x, y or z axis. Tolerance Sets how closely the selected component and the component across the reflection axis have to mirror each other in order to be considered a reflection. It only has an effect when Soft Selection is turned off. When the value is set very low, a component must be almost exactly mirrored across the seam to be considered a reflection. Higher values allow the components position to vary slightly and still be considered a reflection. Increasing the Tolerance is useful when you want to select reflected components on a mesh that isnt quite symmetrical. The Tolerance value should only be a small fraction of the distance between components. For example, if each vertex is 0.1 units from the vertex next to it, then a Tolerance of 0.001 is appropriate.

Preserve Seam When turned on, Maya does not allow operations on the seam that result in a non-symmetrical mesh. For example, if you select a vertex on the seam of a model, you are unable to move it away from the seam. Note that you are still able to move it along the seam since this action still maintains the models symmetry.

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Seam Tolerance Sets the falloff around the reflection seam when Preserve Seam is on. This controls how smooth transformations near the seam appear when components on the seam itself cannot be transformed away from the axis of reflection. Higher values increase the amount of falloff making your transformations near the seam smoother.

Seam falloff Controls the weighting of the falloff within the area defined by the seam tolerance. The graph represents the strength of the seams influence versus the distance from the seam.

The default shape of the curve specifies more influence close to the seam area and less influence at the outer edges of the Seam Tolerance. Areas with high seam influence are more resistant to moving away from the seam. The shape of the curve can be manually adjusted by dragging existing points on it. You can add additional points by clicking the graph.

Lasso Tool
Lets you select objects and components in view panels by drawing a freeform shape around them.

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Lasso Tool options Draw Style


Sets whether the lasso automatically closes itself. Open As you draw the lasso, the shape remains open. Closed As you draw the lasso, Maya connects the end and start points to show the enclosed space.

Component Selection
Sets the accuracy with which Maya chooses components in the lasso region. Fast Uses an approximation of the lasso shape to select components slightly faster when you release the mouse button. Accurate Uses the exact shape of the lasso, but can take slightly longer to select components when you release the mouse button. On modern machines there is very little difference in speed between Fast and Accurate component selection.

Reflection Settings
See Reflection Settings on page 363

Soft Selection settings


See Soft Selection on page 362

Related topics

Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Select objects or components on page 23

Paint Selection Tool

Lets you select components by painting over them with the stylus. See also How Artisan brush tools work in the Artisan and 3D Paint guide.

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Related topics

Select components by painting on page 30

Paint Selection Tool options


The options described below are unique to the Paint Selection Tool. Descriptions of the rest of the options and sections in the Paint Selection Tool settings editor can be found in Common Artisan Brush Tool Settings in the Artisan and 3D Paint guide.

Paint Operations
Select one of the following paint operations. Select Selects painted components. Unselect Unselects selected painted components. Toggle Unselects selected components and selects unselected components.

TIP

To unselect selected components while Select is chosen, press the Control key and paint over them. Similarly, when Unselect is chosen, press the Control key and paint to select unselected components. Press u + the left mouse button and select the paint operation from the marking menu instead of the from the Tool Settings editor.

Add to Current Selection By default, this option is turned on so that each stroke adds to the previous selection. This means you do not have to press the Shift key when you make a brush stroke to select, unselect, or toggle the selection of more components. If you want each stroke to override the previous one, turn Add to Current Selection off. Select All Selects all components on the selected surface(s).

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Unselect All Unselects all selected components on the selected surface(s). Toggle All Selects all unselected components and unselects all selected components on the selected surface(s).

Move Tool
Shows a move manipulator for the selected objects or components.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 The pivot point on page 52 World space, object space, and local space on page 52 Use manipulators on page 55 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

Move Tool options Choosing a coordinate system for the Move Tool
Use the Tool Settings window to specify the coordinate system (Move Axis) for the Move Tool. Object Moves an object in object space coordinate system. Axis orientation includes rotations on the object itself. If several objects are selected, each object moves the same amount relative to its own object space coordinate system.

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Local Aligns the object to the rotation of the parent object. Movement is constrained to those axes in the local space coordinate system. The object is aligned to the rotation of the parent object and does not include the rotations on the object itself. If several objects are selected, each object moves the same amount relative to its own object space coordinate system. World Moves in the world space coordinate system. The object is aligned to the world space axis. This is the default. Normal Moves selected vertices or CVs in the U or V direction of the surface. Typically you would use this option for small sets of CVs. The manipulator indicates the surface Normal, U, and V directions.

When you select Normal, the Update [UVN] Triad check box appears. Turned on, this option causes the manipulator orientation to reflect the moved surface rather than the original surface. This is the default. Turned off, the manipulator retains the orientation for the original surface. Along Rotation Axis Aligns to the Rotate Tools axes on the object. If you have set the Rotate Axis in the objects Transform Attributes to a different value (which offsets the orientation of the object relative to the orientation of the object's local rotation axis) this attribute will have an affect; otherwise, Along Rotation Axis is the same as Object. Normal Average Moves selected vertices or CVs along the average of their combined normals.

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Along Live Object Axis (This setting does not work with Reflection on.) Sets the Move Tool to move objects along the axis of a live object. Most commonly, you would make a construction plane live, but any object can be set live. When you have a live object and select this option, the move arrows of the Move Tool align to the live construction plane. (The geometry of the live object doesnt matter; the move aligns to the axes of the live object.) Custom Axis Orientation Enter the x, y, and z offset of the custom axis in radians. Set to Point You can set the Move Tool to move the selected object along a axis defined by selecting a point. To set a point in order to change the move axis 1 Select an object. 2 Click Set to Point. 3 Select a point in the scene. It can be a point on any object, including the currently selected object. The axis of the Move Tool changes.

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You can see the new axis settings in the three boxes under Custom Axis Orientation. Set to Edge You can set the Move Tool to move the selected object along an axis defined by an edge. To set an edge in order to change the move axis 1 Select an object. 2 Click Set to Edge. 3 Select an edge in the scene. It can be an edge on any object, including the currently selected object. The axis of the Move Tool changes. You can see the new axis settings in the three boxes under Custom Axis Orientation. Set to Face You can set the Move Tool to move the selected object along an axis defined by a face. To set a face in order to change the move axis 1 Select an object. 2 Click Set to Face 3 Select a face in the scene. It can be a face on any object, including the currently selected object. The axis of the Move Tool changes. You can see the new axis settings in the three boxes under Custom Axis Orientation.

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Preserve Child Position When this option is selected, moving a parent object does not move its children. Preserve UVs When this option is selected, moving components in the scene view causes the corresponding UVs to move accordingly in the UV space. The net result is that the texture does not become warped. Discrete Move The Discrete Move setting enables the Relative option and lets you specify the amount an object is moved in increments (determined by the Step Size value). Relative While Maya moves the object, relative spacing is maintained. Turn this option off if you dont want to preserve relative spacing while translating. Step Size Enter a value to determine the amount an object is moved in increments when the Discrete Move option is selected.

Reflection Settings
See Reflection Settings on page 363

Soft Selection settings


See Soft Selection on page 362

Move Snap Settings


The following settings let you snap to polygon face centers and vertices while translating. Retain Component Spacing Turned on by default. This means that while Maya moves the component, relative spacing is maintained. Turn this option off if you dont want to preserve relative spacing while translating and snapping polygonal components. Snap to Live PolygonFace Center or Vertex These settings let you move and snap to a live polygons components (face centers and vertices). To snap to components on a live polygon 1 Select the polygon you want to snap to and click the Make Live icon on the Status Line .

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2 Double-click the Move icon from the Tool Box to open the Tool Settings

window

3 In the Tool Settings window, select a Snap to Live Polygon settingFace Center or Vertex. 4 Click the object you want to move and use the center Move manipulator handle to drag. The movement is restrained to the nearest face centers or vertex locations of the live polygon. NOTE The arrow manipulator handles do not restrain movement.

Rotate Tool
Shows a rotation manipulator on the selected objects or components.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 The pivot point on page 52 World space, object space, and local space on page 52 Use manipulators on page 55 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

Rotate Tool options Choosing a rotate mode


Local Rotates the object about the object space axes. World Rotates the object about the world space XYZ axes. In this mode the rings never change. Gimbal Changes only the X, Y, or Z rotation value. In local and world modes, the XYZ constraint rings may change more than one of the rotation XYZ channels.

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Snap Rotate The Snap Rotate setting enables the Relative option and lets you specify the amount an object is rotated in increments (determined by the Step Size value). Relative While Maya rotates the object, relative spacing is maintained. Turn this option off if you dont want to preserve relative spacing while rotating. Step Size Enter a value to determine the amount an object is rotated in increments when the Snap Rotate option is selected. Component Use Object Pivot Lets you rotate object components about the objects pivot point. Center as virtual trackball If this option is turned on, dragging the area inside the rotation manipulators (the center) rotates the object or component. If this option is turned off, you can only rotate the object or component by dragging directly on the rotation manipulators, also allowing you to select objects or components by clicking in the area bounded by the rotation manipulators. This is useful when you want to add to a component selection. With Center as virtual trackball off, you can immediately add to the component selection even if the component is within the area bounded by the rotation manipulators. Otherwise, you would have to change manipulators to the Select Tool, shift-select to make your selection, and choose the Rotate Tool again. Preserve Child Position When this option is selected, moving a parent object does not move its children. Preserve UVs When this option is selected, moving components in the scene view causes the corresponding UVs to move accordingly in the UV space. The net result is that the texture does not become warped.

Changing the rotation order and axis orientation


In the Transform Attributes section of an objects Attribute Editor, you can change the rotation order of the axes by selecting an order from the Rotate Order pop-up menu. You can also enter values in the Rotate Axis X, Y, or Z boxes to rotate the axes in a specific direction, and to rotate the object around a different axis. Keep in mind that these attributes have a combined effect with the Rotate Mode settings in the rotate Tool Settings.

Reflection Settings
See Reflection Settings on page 363

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Soft Selection settings


See Soft Selection on page 362

Scale Tool

Shows a scale manipulator on the selected objects or components.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 The pivot point on page 52 World space, object space, and local space on page 52 Use manipulators on page 55 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59

Scale Tool options Choosing a coordinate system for the Scale Tool
Use the Tool Settings window to specify the coordinate system (Scale Axis) for the Scale Tool. NOTE Unlike the Move Tool, you can only key scale operations in Object space. NOTE When you scale an object on all 3 axes simultaneously, the transformation always occurs in Object space, regardless of the current setting. NOTE You can only scale objects without components (for example, joints) in Object space. Object Scales an object in object space coordinate system. Axis orientation includes rotations on the object itself. If several objects are selected, each

Scale Tool | 375

object scales the same amount relative to its own object space coordinate system. Local Aligns the object to the rotation of the parent object. Scaling is constrained to those axes in the local space coordinate system. The object is aligned to the rotation of the parent object and does not include the rotations on the object itself. If several objects are selected, each object scales the same amount relative to its own object space coordinate system. World Scales in the world space coordinate system. The object is aligned to the world space axis. This is the default. Normal Scales selected vertices or CVs in the U or V direction of the surface. Typically you would use this option for small sets of CVs. The manipulator indicates the surface Normal, U, and V directions. Along Rotation Axis Aligns to the Rotate Tools axes on the object. If you have set the Rotate Axis in the objects Transform Attributes to a different value (which offsets the orientation of the object relative to the orientation of the object's local rotation axis) this attribute will have an affect; otherwise, Along Rotation Axis is the same as Object. Normal Average Scales selected vertices or CVs along the average of their combined normals. Along Live Object Axis (This setting does not work with Reflection on.) Sets the Scale Tool to move objects along the axis of a live object. Most commonly, you would make a construction plane live, but any object can be set live. When you have a live object and select this option, the move arrows of the Move Tool align to the live construction plane. (The geometry of the live object doesnt matter; the move aligns to the axes of the live object.) Custom Axis Orientation Enter the x, y, and z offset of the custom axis in radians. Set to Point You can set the Scale Tool to scale the selected object along a axis defined by selecting a point. Set to Edge You can set the Scale Tool to scale the selected object along an axis defined by an edge. Set to Face You can set the Scale Tool to scale the selected object along an axis defined by an face.

Choosing a scale mode


You use the Tool Settings window to specify the behavior for the Scale Tool. You can also use the marking menu when scaling. Press the letter r and the

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left mouse button over a selected object to display the following marking menu.

Snap Scale The Snap Scale setting enables the Relative option and lets you specify the amount an object is scaled in increments (determined by the Step Size value). Relative While Maya scales the object, relative spacing is maintained. Turn this option off if you dont want to preserve relative spacing while scaling. Step Size Enter a value to determine the amount an object is scaled in increments when the Discrete Scale option is selected. Component Use Object Pivot Lets you scale object components about the objects pivot point. Preserve Child Position When this option is selected, moving a parent object does not move its children. Preserve UVs When this option is selected, moving components in the scene view causes the corresponding UVs to move accordingly in the UV space. The net result is that the texture does not become warped.

Reflection Settings
See Reflection Settings on page 363

Soft Selection settings


See Soft Selection on page 362

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Universal Manipulator

The Universal Manipulator combines the functions of the Move Tool, Rotate Tool, and Scale Tool. You can also use it to enter precise values to scale and rotate your object directly in the scene view.

Use the Universal Manipulator on page 62

Universal Manipulator options


If you select Tool Help for the Universal Manipulator (Window > Settings/Preferences > Tool Settings), you can set the following options:

Transform Space
Local Universal manipulator respects the objects axes. World Universal manipulator respects the worldspace axes.

Rotate Around
Center Rotates around the center of the object. Pivot Rotates around the pivot point. You must move the pivot point away from the center of the object for this to have any effect. For more information, see Change the pivot point.

Soft Modification Tool (toolbox)


For more information, see Create Deformers > Soft Modification.

Show Manipulator Tool


Shows a manipulator tailored for the selected node or attribute.

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Incremental snap options


Snapping is available for commands that use the Show Manipulator Tool; for example:

Edit Mesh > Extrude Edit Mesh > Poke Face Mesh > Extract Create > Lights (Move only) Create > Cameras (Move only)

Snapping occurs when you move freely as well as when you move along an axis; this can be very helpful when positioning lights and cameras in orthographic views. For those tools that support it, you now have the following snapping options (Window > Settings/Preferences > Tool Settings):

Move Settings
Discrete Move Lets you specify the amount an object is moved in increments (determined by the Step Size value). Relative Sets spacing relative to the current position while translating. That is, if the current position is 0.75, step size is 1 and Relative is on, you snap to 1.75, 2.75, and so on. If Relative is off and step size is 1, you snap to 1.00, 2.00, 3.00, and so on. Only selectable if Discrete Move is on. Step Size Specify the increment size. One unit is the default. (The scale of the unit (mm, cm, inches, feet, and so on) is dependent on your preferences.)

Rotate Settings
Snap Rotate Lets you specify the amount an object is rotated in increments (determined by the Step Size value). Relative Sets spacing relative to the current position while rotating. That is, if the current position is 10 degrees, step size is 15 degrees and Relative is on, you snap to 25, 40, 55, and so on. If Relative is off and step size is 15, you snap to 15, 30, 45, and so on. Only selectable if Snap Rotate is on. Step Size Specify the increment size. 15 degrees is the default.

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Scale Settings
Discrete Scale Lets you specify the amount an object is scaled in increments (determined by the Step Size value). Relative Sets spacing relative to the current position while scaling. That is, if the current size is 1.25, step size is 1 and Relative is on, you scale to 2.25, 3.25, and so on. If Relative is off and step size is 1, you snap to 2.00, 3.00, 4.00, and so on. Only selectable if Discrete Scale is on. Step Size Specify the increment size. One unit is the default. (The scale of the unit (mm, cm, inches, feet, and so on) is dependent on your preferences.) NOTE Changes to the tool settings are shared by all menu items that use this tool. For example, if you change the Snap Rotate value to 45 degrees for the Extrude Face tool, the same value is used for the Move Component tool.

Related topics

Use manipulators on page 55 Show a custom manipulator for the selected node on page 85

Quick layout buttons

The quick layout buttons let you switch to one of a few common panel layouts quickly.

Click one of the layout thumbnails to switch to the pictured layout and panels. Press the right mouse button on one of the layout thumbnails to change the layout/panels the button loads.

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Press the left mouse button on a box in the layout thumbnail at the bottom to change the content of a panel in the current layout. Press the right mouse button on the layout thumbnail to change the current layout.

Related topics

Change the panel layout on page 43 Create a custom panel layout on page 293 Panel editor on page 606

Hotkeys
View hotkeys
Hold + drag
Alt + the left mouse button Alt + the middle mouse button Alt + the right mouse button or Alt + the left and middle mouse buttons

Function
Tumble Track Dolly

Press
a f

Function
Show all Show selected

Press
1 2

Function
Rough display Medium display

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Press
3

Function
Smooth display

Press
4 5 6 7 Ctrl+Space

Function
Wireframe display Shaded display Shaded and textured display Display with lights Switches between the standard view and a full-screen view Changes the background color of the perspective and orthographic panels: standard (light gray), dark gray, or black

Alt+B

Related topics

Create or edit a marking menu on page 304 NO LABEL on page 313 View a list of all assigned hotkeys on page 325

Tool and action hotkeys


Press
q w e r t

Function
Select Tool Move Tool Rotate Tool Scale Tool Show Manipulator Tool

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Press
Ctrl + t y + -

Function
Universal Manipulator Last tool used Change the size of the manipulator

Press
z Shift + z g F8

Function
Undo Redo Repeat last action Switch between object/component selection mode Parent Unparent Set key Key the selected object position Key the selected object rotation Key the selected object scale

p Shift + p s Shift + w Shift + e Shift + r

Press
8 ctrl + a

Function
Paint Effects panel Attribute Editor

Hold
x c

Function
Snap to grids Snap to curves

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Hold
v

Function
Snap to points

Related topics

Create or edit a marking menu on page 304 View a list of all assigned hotkeys on page 325

Transform marking menus


You can access many settings related to the transformation tools by pressing Ctrl + Shift + the right mouse button when different transformation tools are active.

Common menus
The following marking menus are common to the Move Tool, Rotate Tool and Scale Tool. Menu Item
Preserve UVs

Effect
Maya automatically transforms UVs in the UV space relative to the transformations taking place in the scene view.

Reflection
Menu Item
Reflection World / Object X Axis / Y Axis / Z Axis

Effect
Turns Reflection on and off. Sets the reflection space. Lets you choose whether to reflect your selection along the x, y or z axis.

Select
Menu Item
Drag Select

Effect
Turns Drag Select on and off.

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Menu Item
Preselection Highlight Soft Select Surface / Volume / Global Color Feedback

Effect
Turns Preselection Highlight on and off. Turns Soft Selection on and off. Sets the Falloff Mode for Soft Selection. Turns color feedback for Soft Selection on and off. Turns Asset Centric selection on and off.

Asset Centric

Select Tool menus


The following marking menus give you access to options associated with the Select Tool. You can also access these marking menus by holding the Q + th e left mouse button. Menu Item
Marquee/Drag

Effect
Changes the Selection Style. For more information, see Select multiple components on page 24. Changes the selection mode to Paint Select. For more information, see Paint Selection Tool on page 366. Changes the selection mode to Lasso Select. For more information, see Lasso Tool on page 365. Turns on Camera Based Selection. For more information, see Select only unobstructed components on page 25. Deselects all selected components.

Paint Select

Lasso

Camera Based Selection

Clear Selection

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Move Tool menus


The following marking menus give you access to options associated with the Move Tool. You can also access these marking menus by holding the W + the left mouse button. Menu Item
World / Object / Normal Average

Effect
Sets the Move Axis (coordinate system) for the Move Tool. Maintains relative spacing when snap settings are on. Maintains the position of child objects when you move a parent object. Turns Tweak Mode on and off. Determines whether the manipulator is updated during manipulation or when the mouse button is released, when moving components along their normals. Opens the Tool Settings.

Keep Spacing

Preserve Child Position

Tweak Mode Update Triad

Move Options

Axis
Menu Item
Live Object Axis / Normal / Local / Along Rotation Axis / Custom Axis Set to Point

Effect
Sets the Move Axis for the Move Tool.

Sets the Move Axis to a Custom axis orientation based on a specified point. Select Set to Point and then select a point on the scene to set the new Move Axis. Sets Move Axis to a Custom axis orientation based on a specified edge. Select Set to Edge and then select an edge in the scene to set the new Move Axis.

Set to Edge

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Menu Item
Set to Face

Effect
Sets Move Axis to a Custom axis orientation based on a specified face. Select Set to Face and then select a face in the scene to set the new Move Axis.

Snap
Menu Item
Discrete Move

Effect
Lets you move components by specified increments. You can modify the increments in the Tool Settings editor. Lets you move and snap to a live polygons components. Both can be turned on simultaneously. Lets you move components relative to their initial orientation or scale.

Face Center / Vertex

Relative Mode

Rotate Tool menus


The following marking menus give you access to options associated with the Rotate Tool. You can also access these marking menus by holding the E + the left mouse button. Menu Item
Local / World / Gimbal Comp Use Object Pivot

Effect
Sets the Rotate mode. Lets you rotate object components around the objects pivot point. Lets you rotate components by specified increments. You can modify the increments in the Tool Settings editor. Lets you rotate or scale components relative to their initial orientation or scale.

Discrete Rotate

Relative

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Menu Item
Center As Virtual Trackball

Effect
When on, dragging the area inside the rotation manipulators (the center) rotates the object or component. When off, you can only rotate the object or component by dragging the rotation manipulators. Opens the Tool Settings.

Rotate Options

Scale Tool menus


The following marking menus give you access to options associated with the Scale Tool. You can also access these marking menus by holding the R+ th e left mouse button. Menu Item
Comp Use Object Pivot

Effect
Lets you scale object components relative to the objects pivot point. Lets you scale components by specified increments. You can modify the increments in the Tool Settings editor. Lets you rotate or scale components relative to their initial orientation or scale. Opens the Tool Settings.

Snap Scale

Relative

Scale Options

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Basics Menus

13

File
File > New Scene
Clears the current scene and starts a new one. Maya gives you the chance to save the current scene before clearing it.

File > New Scene >


Enable Default Scene Turning on this option allows you to select a file to be loaded into the scene whenever a new scene is created. Default scene Click the folder (browse) icon and select a Maya file.

Default Working Units


You can specify default working units for new scenes: linear units, angular units, and time settings. The units in your preferences (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences) relate only to the current scene; you can change your current scene units without changing the default new scene units. If you select Enable Default Scene in the File > New Scene options, the Default Working Units option is not available since the value of the working units is set by the default scene. The units you specify are not overwritten when you open a scene file with different units. The first time you run Maya, the Default Working Units are set from the Working Unit values in your preferences.

389

For more information, see Settings preferences on page 667.

Default Time Slider Settings


You can set the default Time Slider settings for new scenes here. For more information, see Time Slider preferences on page 685.

Related topics

Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139

File > Open Scene


Opens a saved scene from disk. NOTE When you open a file with File > Open Scene, the working units (mm, degrees, and so on) are changed to those specified in that file. If you want to avoid having the working units changed, use File > Import to read the file.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139 Import files on page 141 File > Import on page 402 File > Create Reference on page 412

File > Open Scene > General options


File type Select the file format you want to use as a default for the next time you open a file. If you have a project set up, when you open a scene, the browser points to the directory containing files of that type. On Windows and Mac OS X, it also sets the filter to display only files of the selected type. Depending on the File Type you select, various File Type Specific Options are displayed.

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Execute Script Nodes Script nodes contain MEL scripts in mayaAscii or mayaBinary files. You can designate a script node to execute its script when the node is read from a file, or before or after rendering a frame. You can and edit the script nodes using the Expression Editor. See the chapter Using Script Nodes in the MEL book for information on creating and editing script nodes. User interface configuration information is stored inside the Maya scene file as an attribute on a script node. If you disable the Execute Script Nodes option, the UI script nodes are not executed. However, we recommend disabling script node execution only if you have an error in your script. Ignore version Disregards the file version when opening a Maya file. The Ignore version setting lets you open a file that was created by a later version of Maya regardless of whether it was saved in ascii or binary format. This eliminates the need to save and then manually edit an ascii version of the Maya file to remove the required version line when you need to open it in an earlier version. NOTE Maya files that are opened in an earlier version of Maya are not supported as feature compatibility to earlier software versions cannot be ensured. The Ignore version feature is primarily provided for users in production environments where multiple versions of Maya are in use simultaneously.

Referencing options
Load Default References Respects the referenced files state in the referencing file when the referencing file was last saved. Whatever references were loaded or unloaded the last time you worked on the file are properly loaded or unloaded when you re-open it. Load All References Opens the file with all references loaded. You can change the state of reference loading after the file is open in Maya by opening the Reference Editor (Reference Editor overview on page 690) and selecting the references you want to unload. Load No References This opens the file without loading any references. You can load references after the file is open in Maya by opening the Reference Editor (Reference Editor overview on page 690) and selecting the references you want to load. Load Top-Level References Only Loads only the top-most referenced files (which may themselves contain many nested referenced files). This is useful in cases where you may be opening a complex nested scene reference hierarchy with many nested references and you want to easily work at the top level of the hierarchy.

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Selective preload Selecting this option opens the Preload Reference Editor before opening any file (Preload Reference Editor on page 614). You can select to load or defer any references in the file.

mayaAscii, mayaBinary, and MEL. File Type Specific Options


Use full names for attributes on nodes Displays the full names of node attributes in the file. For example, if you select the Use Full Names for Attributes on Nodes option, attribute names are listed as, setAttr.translate 0 0 0 when you open the Maya ASCII file in a text editor. If you turn off the Use Verbose Names option, attribute names are listed as setAttr .t 0 0 0.

OBJ File Type Specific Options


Create multiple objects Specifies how shapes are created in OBJ files. Select True to create individual shapes based on grouping information specified in the OBJ file. Select False to create one shape for the entire file, with object sets corresponding to each of the specified groups. You cannot have overlapping groups. If you do, Maya informs you that overlapping groups exist, and re-reads the file as if the option were set to False.

Sound (audio) File Type Specific Options


Sound file offset Specifies the time the sound should start playing. For example, suppose you created an animation of a bird walking a tightrope, and you wanted the sound file to play after the bird reached the end of the rope. If you knew that the bird reached the end of the tightrope at time 108, you would specify a sound file offset of 108.

Move files
You must import move files. See File > Import on page 402.

Anim files
You must import anim files. See File > Import on page 402.

Illustrator and EPS files


You must import Illustrator and EPS files. See File > Import on page 402.

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File > Save Scene


Saves the scene under its current name.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139 Recover data after a crash on page 146 Work with proxy references of the File Referencing book File > Save Scene As on page 393 File > Export All, Export Selection on page 406

File > Save Scene >


Incremental save When Incremental Save is turned on and you save the scene, a backup folder by the same name is created in the scenes\incrementalsave folder and a backup is made of the file that was previously saved to disk. Each time you save, another backup file is created. These backup files are incremental (filename.001.mb, filename.002.mb) so the previous backup is not overwritten. The number of incremental backups created is infinite by default. Limit incremental saves Applies a limit to the number of incremental backup files that Maya creates and stores. The default limit is 20 increments. Number of increments Type a value or drag the slider to specify a limit. NOTE When the Limit Increment Saves check box is turned on, Incremental Save stores only the limited number of incremental backup files. Once the limit is reached, Maya deletes the oldest incremental file and replaces it with the latest incremental backup file.

File > Save Scene As


Allows you to select a new name and location for the scene file.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135

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Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139 Recover data after a crash on page 146 Work with proxy references of the File Referencing book File > Save Scene on page 393 File > Export All, Export Selection on page 406

File > Save Scene As >


File type Sets the file type to mayaBinary or mayaAscii. The default is mayaAscii. Default file extensions Adds the file extension .ma to Maya ASCII filenames and .mb to Maya Binary filenames.

3D Paint Texture Options


These options define how Maya saves file textures created with the 3D Paint Tool when you save a scene. Always Saves different versions of the file textures when you save different versions of a scene. Use this setting if you are working on different iterations or versions of the file texture. Unless referenced Saves file textures only if the painted character is not referenced. When this option is selected, Maya uses the file textures from the referenced file, even if you save the scene with a new name. If the character is not referenced and you save a copy of the scene with this option selected, Maya creates a copy of the file textures. Never Does not save a new file texture. Use this setting if you are no longer changing the file textures and want to continue to use the saved file textures, even if you save the scene with a new name.

Disk cache options


This refers to the jiggle deformer requiring disk cache, which is implemented as a DG node and gets updated during a file save. Always Creates a copy of the jiggle disk cache file when the scene is saved for the first time or saved to a new name. The cache file name corresponds with the scene file name. This is the default. Never Does not save a copy of the jiggle disk cache file. Use this option to prevent the copy from being created and save disk space.

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NOTE In both the New Project and Edit Project windows, there is a Disk Cache option in the list of Project Locations (File > Project > New, File > Project > Edit Current). This allows you to set the default directory in which to store the jiggle deformers disk cache files.

Referencing options
Lock File Prevents the file from being edited whenever it is referenced from other scene files.

File Type Specific Options


Use full names for attributes on nodes Displays the full names of node attributes.

File > Archive Scene


Places the current file into a zip file along with its related dependencies. For a full list of these dependencies, see Archive a scene on page 143.

Related topics

Archive a scene on page 143

File > Save Preferences


Saves your Maya preferences to their default location.

Related topics

Directly modify the settings files on page 329 Preferences overview on page 651

File > Optimize Scene Size


Allows you to remove empty, invalid, or unused parts from the scene to reduce its size and complexity. You can perform a complete scene clean up, or you can choose to run individual optimizations. Select File > Optimize Scene Size > and turn on or off the types of information to remove, or run individual types of optimizations.

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A progress bar displays as Maya optimizes the scene. You can interrupt the operation by pressing Esc. You get a report of all the results of the optimization in the Script Editor.

Optimize Scene Size options


The following information explains the cleanup operations performed by the various options in the Optimize Scene Size Options window.

Remove invalid values


NURBS surfaces + curves Deletes invalid NURBS surface and curve nodes. A node is considered invalid when it has no connections. Specifically, this operation removes the following invalid nodes:

stitchSrf rebuildSurface insertKnotSurface avgNurbsSurfacePoints

Remove empty
Sets Deletes unused (empty) sets. Certain default set nodes are not removed by this operation. These set nodes are:

defaultLightSet defaultObjectSet initialParticleSE initialShadingGroup Partitions Deletes unused (empty) partitions. A partition is considered unused when it does not have any connections to nodes in the rest of the scene. Transforms Removes transform nodes that have no relatives or connections, and are not associated with any referenced nodes. Display layers and Render layers Deletes empty display or render layer nodes that are not locked and are not part of a referenced file. Default layers are not deleted by either the Display layers or the Reference layers operation.

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Remove unused values


Animation curves Deletes animCurve nodes that have no connections to other nodes in the scene, are not locked, and are not from referenced files. Animation clips Deletes source animation clip and animation clip nodes that are not being used in the scene. An animation clip is considered unused when it is not associated with a character set in your scene, and when it is not connected to any other scene nodes. A source clip node is considered unused when there are no used animation clips in the scene linked to that source clip. Poses Deletes all animation poses that are not applied to a character in your scene. NURBS curves Deletes NURBS curves that have no connections to other nodes in the scene, that are not locked, not from referenced files, and whose parents are not in use. If the NURBS curve has a parent with connections to other scene nodes, then the curve will not be deleted. NURBS Surfaces Deletes NURBS surfaces that are identical to their respective input NURBS surfaces. When a NURBS surfaces only input connection is to create, when the surface is input connected to another NURBS surface with the same parent, and when the surface is the same shape as its input, this operation will remove the NURBS surface. For example, if you rebuilt a NURBS sphere, but the settings of the rebuilt surface were identical to the original input surface, the rebuilt sphere would be deleted. Note that in order for this operation to remove a NURBS surface, the surface cannot be locked, or from a referenced file. Cached data Even though dependency graph values are computed or dirty, they may still occupy space temporarily within the nodes. This cleanup operation goes into all of the data that can be regenerated if required and removes it from the caches (datablocks), thus clearing up space in memory. Deformers Deletes unused deformers with no output connections, as well as intermediate objects with no output connections. Unused skin influences Removes any joints or influence objects that have no effect on the skin (i.e. all weights are 0.0). Expressions Deletes all expression nodes which have no direct connections to their output attributes. An expression with a direct connection creates a relationship between an output attribute and input attribute in the scene. In other words, an expression that is part of a connected group of nodes not linked to the rest of the scene will be deleted, because the expression does not reference output attributes associated with the scene. Unit nodes with nothing

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on the other side are not evaluated, and therefore, are not deleted by this operation. This operation only deletes expression nodes, and not dynExpressions, which are built into particle shapes. WARNING If you have an expression that executes MEL commands but has no direct connection to an output attribute (output connection), this operation will delete that expression. GroupID nodes Deletes all GroupID nodes that have no connections to other nodes in the scene, are not locked, and that are not from referenced files. Rendering nodes Deletes all unused Rendering nodes. This procedure progresses through three stages: Stage 1 Deletes empty shading groups, as well as shading groups that have no connected surface, volume, or displacement shaders. Stage 2 Deletes all material nodes (surface, volume, displacement shaders) whose outputs are not connected to anything. Output connections from message attributes do not indicate that the node is in use, so nodes with only this type of output connection will be deleted. Note that this stage will delete shaders that were feeding into empty shading groups. Stage 1 deleted the shadingEngine node for empty shading groups, which leaves the materials that were feeding into empty shading groups disconnected. These disconnected materials will now be deleted. Stage 3 Deletes all unused texture and utility nodes. Nodes are unused if they have no relevant output connections. Note that the textures and utilities feeding into the deleted materials from stage 2 will now be deleted. Locators Deletes locator objects that do not have connections to their shapes or to their transform nodes. If the locator has a parent with connections, or if the locator has a parent node with more than one child, the locator will not be deleted. Only locators that are not locked and not from referenced files will be removed by this procedure. Constraints Deletes constraints that are not constraining any objects. In other words, this procedure removes constraints that are not driving anything, and that do not have any output connections. In order for a constraint to be deleted by this procedure, the constraint cannot be from a referenced file, and it cannot be locked.

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Specifically, this procedure evaluates the following nodes in your scene to determine whether or not they should be removed:

pointConstraint aimConstraint orientConstrain parentConstrain scaleConstraint normalConstraint tangentConstraint geometryConstraint Pair blends Deletes pairBlends that have no outputs, or pairBlends that have no connections to input2. A pairBlends node that is locked or from a referenced file will not be removed by this procedure. Snapshot nodes Deletes all Snapshot nodes that have one connection or fewer to the rest of the scene. A Snapshot node that is locked or from a referenced file will not be removed by this procedure. Unit conversion nodes Deletes all unit conversion nodes that have one connection or fewer to the rest of the scene. A unit conversion node that is locked or from a referenced file will not be removed by this procedure. Referenced items Deletes all referenced nodes not used by the scene or the scenes references. This operation will not delete nodes that are read-only. Brushes Deletes all brushes that are not attached to any strokes. This can be used to clean up default brush nodes that may accumulate when doing a large number of import operations. Unknown Nodes Deletes all of the following node types:

unknown unknownDag

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unknownTransform

Remove duplicate values


Shading networks Compares each shading network to the other shading networks in the scene, and collapses duplicate shading networks into one. Duplicate shading networks will be deleted in alphabetical order, based on shadingEngine node name. To collapse all duplicate networks into a particular network, rename that network so that it is last in the alphabetical ordering of shading networks in the scene.

Customizing the Optimize Scene Size Operation


You can edit the MEL script invoked by the Optimize Scene Size command to add your own cleanup operations to the Optimize Scene Size Options. The script is called cleanUpScene.mel, and you can find it in the /scripts/startup directory of Maya. When you open the script, you will notice that there is a set functions defined near the end of the script to help you add and manage your own scene cleanup operations. These functions are as follows:

Registering a new cleanup operation


cleanUp_AddUserCleanUp() This function registers a new user-defined cleanup operation. This routine can actually be found in the userCleanUp_AddUserCleanUp.mel script, found in the /scripts/startup directory of Maya.

Configuring a cleanup operation


userCleanUp_CreateUI() Called to create the UI for user-defined cleanup operations. Each operation's UI consists of a checkbox to enable and disable the operation, and an Optimize Now button that can be used to execute only that operation. userCleanUp_SetOptionVars( int $forceFactorySettings ) Called when the option variables for cleanup operations are either being initialized from scratch (at startup), or reset to factory settings. You can retrieve the appropriate default values and set the option variables accordingly. userCleanUp_CleanUpSceneSetup( string $parent, string $forceFactorySettings ) Called when the Optimize Scene Size Options dialog is created, to synchronize the check boxes in that dialog with the values of the corresponding optionVars.

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userCleanUp_CleanUpSceneCallback( string $parent, string $doIt ) Called when the current state of the checkboxes in the Optimize Scene Size Options dialog need to be saved as option variables.

Viewing attributes of user-defined cleanup operations


userCleanUp_GetNumCleanUps() Returns the number of user-defined cleanup operations that have been registered. They are identified by numbers from 0..n-1. userCleanUp_GetOptionVarName( int $cleanUpNum ) Returns the option variable associated with the specified user cleanup operation. The value of this variable indicates whether or not that particular operation will be performed the next time an Optimize Scene Size operation is invoked. userCleanUp_GetDefaultValue( int $cleanUpNum ) Returns the default value (on or off) of the specified user-defined cleanup operation. string userCleanUp_GetControlName( int $cleanUpNum ) Returns the name of the checkBox control group in the Optimize Scene Size Options dialog that is associated with the specified user cleanup operation. The state of this checkbox and the corresponding option variable (see userCleanUp_GetOptionVarName()) are synchronized when that dialog is created or destroyed. userCleanUp_GetLabel( int $cleanUpNum ) Returns the text that should be used to label the specified user-defined cleanup operation in the Optimize Scene Size Options dialog. userCleanUp_GetCommand( int $cleanUpNum ) Returns the command string that should be executed to perform the specified user-defined cleanup operation. userCleanUp_ListCleanUps() Prints a list of all registered user-defined cleanup operations. userCleanUp_GetOptionVars() Returns a list of all option variables associated with user-defined cleanup operations.

Running user-defined cleanup operations


userCleanUp_PerformCleanUpScene() Called to actually perform the user-defined optimize scene operations that are currently enabled (via their optionVars). Returns the number of errors (if any) that occur when invoking the operation.

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Related topics

Optimize scene size on page 153

File > Import


Loads data from a scene file into the existing scene.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139 Recover data after a crash on page 146

File > Import > General options


Group Specifies whether the imported objects are grouped under a single transform when you import the file. Grouping makes it easier to work on the nodes of imported objects. The default is off. Remove duplicate shading networks This setting prevents the duplication of geometry and shading networks if you import a file more than once into Maya. File type Select from the drop-down list the file type you are importing. If you arent sure what type of file you are importing, you can select Best Guess. Depending on the file type you select, various file type specific options may be displayed. Ignore version Disregards the file version when opening a Maya file. The Ignore version setting lets you open a file that was created by a later version of Maya regardless of whether it was saved in ascii or binary format. This eliminates the need to save and then manually edit an ascii version of the Maya file to remove the required version line when you need to open it in an earlier version. NOTE Maya files that are opened in an earlier version of Maya are not supported as feature compatibility to earlier software versions cannot be ensured. The Ignore version feature is primarily provided for users in production environments where multiple versions of Maya are in use simultaneously.

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Referencing options
Preserve references If Preserve References is turned on, the references within the imported file are preserved. If it is turned off, all references are imported into or exported within the file; that is, they are no longer references, but are now objects in the scene. The default is off. Load default references Respects the referenced files state in the referencing file when the referencing file was last saved. Whatever references were loaded or unloaded the last time you worked on the file are properly loaded or unloaded when you re-open it. Load all references Opens the file with all references loaded. You can change the state of reference loading after the file is open in Maya by opening the Reference Editor (Reference Editor overview on page 690) and selecting the references you want to unload. Load no references This opens the file without loading any references. You can load references after the file is open in Maya by opening the Reference Editor (Reference Editor overview on page 690) and selecting the references you want to load. Load top-level references only Loads only the top-most referenced files (which may themselves contain many nested referenced files). This is useful in cases where you may be opening a complex nested scene reference hierarchy with many nested references and you want to easily work at the top level of the hierarchy.

Name Clash options


Use namespaces When you import or reference a scene with the Use Namespaces option turned on, Maya creates a new namespace that contains the imported or referenced data. Turning on the Use Namespaces option ensures that all nodes are uniquely named. A namespace is a grouping of objects under a given name. Each item in a namespace is identified by its own name along with the namespace it belongs to. By default, the basename of the imported or referenced file is added to the beginning of the imported or referenced object names, separated by colons. For example, if you are importing a scene named foo.ma that contains an object named ball, after its imported the ball is named foo:ball. You can change the prefix by selecting Resolve clashing nodes with this string and entering a prefix.

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TIP Before importing or referencing a file, make sure that the renaming prefix contains no invalid characters. You can create, name, parent, and remove namespaces using the namespace command. Namespaces do not effect selection, the DAG, the Dependency Graph, or any other aspect of Maya. Resolve options When you import a scene into another scene, naming conflicts occur if the nodes share the same name and parent nodes. To resolve these naming conflicts, you can rename only nodes with the same name and parents (clashing nodes) or you can rename all nodes. You specify whether to use the filename as the prefix (the default) or to create a prefix string. For more information on node hierarchy, see MEL and Expressions. TIP We recommend you use namespaces to resolve naming conflicts instead of using the Name clash options when importing or referencing files.

Move file options


The following file type-specific options apply to importing move files: Attributes Type the name of an attribute in the Attributes box and click Add to add the attribute to the list of attributes to use when importing or exporting. If the attribute is already included in the list, a duplicate is not made. You can add several attributes at one time by separating them with a space. To remove an attribute, type the name of the attribute and click Remove. From Channel Box Click From Channel Box to combine all of the selected objects in Maya, in the order of their selection, with the channels selected in the Channel Box and place them in the list. For example, if sphere and cone are selected, and tx, sx are selected in the Channel Box, sphere.tx sphere.sx cone.tx and cone.sx are added to the list of attribute to import and export. Remove Selected Click Remove Selected to remove all of the attributes selected in the list. Remove All Click Remove All to remove all of the attributes from the list. Precision This is ignored in file export. For file import, this sets the precision of the file. When you click import or export, the move file is written or read and only the attributes in the list are affected.

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Adobe Illustrator and EPS options


The Illustrator importer cannot import Illustrator text objects. Convert any text objects in your file to paths before you import the file into Maya. Scale factor Allows you to control the scale of the curves produced from the import. It is the same operation as using the Scale Tool. Group Turn on this option to group the imported curves. It is the same operation as using the Edit > Group option.

Animation curve options (animImport)


You must have the animImportExport plug-in loaded to see these options.

Time Range
Select a time range option and specify the appropriate settings. Start Imports the animation information to the selected objects so that the animation starts at the time specified in the Start Time field. Start/End Imports the animation information to the selected object or objects, scaling the animation to fit into the time range as specified in the Start Time and End Time fields. Animation information from the keys clipboard is either scaled or clipped depending on the setting of the Clipboard Adjustment option. Current Imports the animation information to the selected objects so that the animation starts at the current time as displayed in the Animation Controls. Clipboard Transfers the animation information to the selected object(s), preserving the duration and timing of the animation information on the keys clipboard. Copies The value specifies the number of copies of the anim curves that are imported. Multiple copies are appended sequentially. Help Images Turn on Help Images to display illustrations of the effects of the various anim import options.

Clipboard Adjustment
Specify an option for how to handle the Clipboard contents. Preserve Pastes the contents of the clipboard into their new positions on the curve without any changes. Scale Becomes enabled when Start/End is selected. The complete contents of the clipboard curves are stretched or compressed to fit into the specified import Time Range.

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Fit Becomes enabled when Start/End is selected. The contents of the clipboard are preserved (that is, not stretched or compressed) and as much as will fit into the specified time range is pasted into the new area.

Paste Method
Specify a paste method. Insert Places the clipboard contents before any existing keys in the specified time range. The keys from the original curve that were after the specified time range are shifted in time by the pasted range times. Replace Becomes enabled when Start/End or Clipboard is selected. The clipboard contents overwrite any existing keys in the specified time range. Merge The clipboard contents are added to any existing keys on the curve. In the case where a clipboard key is at the same time as an existing key, the clipboards key replaces the existing key.

Replace Region
These buttons are enabled when Paste Method is set to Replace. Time Range Replace keys and curve segment information in the specified time range with the contents of the keys clipboard. Entire Curve Is available only when the Time Range setting is Clipboard. The Entire Curve setting replaces the animation curve(s) on the imported attributes with the contents of the keys clipboard, in effect deleting any existing animation curves on these attributes and applying the new curves from the keys clipboard. Connect When turned on, adjusts the keys clipboard curves in value, so theres no discontinuity in the animation at the start of the pasted segment.

File > Export All, Export Selection


Saves all objects or the selected objects to a new scene file.

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139 Recover data after a crash on page 146 File > Save Scene on page 393

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File > Save Scene As on page 393 Default file extensions Defaults to exporting the file with the extension for that file type. Preserve references If Preserve Reference is turned on, the references within the exported file are preserved. If it is turned off, all references are exported within the file; that is, they are no longer references, but are now objects in the scene. The default is off.

Keep only a reference (Export Selection only)


Allows you to turn an object into a reference. If you select nodes from your main scene, choosing this option exports those nodes to the file you choose, then references that file back into your current scene with the specified namespace options. Use namespaces Uses the namespace you specify. Prefix with The file name or a string you enter. Include Options You can enable/disable export of these specific node types by turning on or off the following:

History Channels Expressions Constraints Include Texture Info File Type Specific Options You can turn on or off Use full names for attributes on nodes. NOTE When you export a selection, in addition to the selected nodes themselves, the following associated nodes are also exported:

parents of selected nodes blind data template nodes light linker nodes.

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Maya native file (.ma and .mb) options


For Maya ASCII (.ma) and Maya Binary formats (.mb), the Export All options are the same as the File > Save Scene As options

File > Save Scene As on page 393 NOTE The mayaAscii and mayaBinary file formats are the only ones that preserve all the information contained within your scene. Setting the output format for an export using the Export Options box will change your default export format for the current and subsequent export operations. If you set the output format to something other then mayaAscii or mayaBinary and export using that format and then quit without saving the entire file then you can lose data. Always check the export type in the export file browser to ensure you are writing the file using the expected file format.

mental images (.mi) file options


See File > Export All, Export Selection (mental ray) in the Rendering guide.

Move file options


Attributes Type the name of an attribute in the Attributes box and click Add to add the attribute to the list of attributes to use when importing or exporting. If the attribute is already included in the list, a duplicate is not made. To remove an attribute, type the name of the attribute and click Remove. You can add several attributes at one time by separating them with a space. From Channel Box Click From Channel Box to combine all of the selected objects in Maya, in the order of their selection, with the channels selected in the Channel Box and place them in the list. For example, if sphere and cone are selected, and tx, sx are selected in the Channel Box, sphere.tx, sphere.sx, cone.tx, and cone.sx are added to the list of attribute to import and export. Remove Selected Click Remove Selected to remove all of the attributes selected in the list. Remove All Click Remove All to remove all of the attributes from the list. Precision This is ignored in file export. For file import, this sets the precision of the file.

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When you click import or export, the move file is written or read and only the attributes in the list are affected.

Animation curve options (animExport)


You must have the animImportExport plug-in loaded to see these options.

Precision
Sets the precision of the numbers stored in the file. The choices are: Float Eight digits of precision Double Seventeen digits of precision Custom A setting between 1 and 18.

File Contents
File contents settings: Use node and leaf attribute names When turned on, the node and leaf attribute names in the clipboard are written to the file. When turned off, only the full attribute name is written to the file. Verbose units When the Verbose units check box is selected, long unit names are used in the file, otherwise short unit names are used.

Hierarchy
The Hierarchy setting provides control over which nodes are copied within a hierarchy. Selected Only the selected objects animation copies to the keys clipboard. Below Copies the animation of the selected object and all objects below it to the clipboard.

Channels
This setting is available when you want to copy only attributes selected in the Channel Box. All Keyable All keyable channels of the selected objects animation are copied to the clipboard. From Channel Box Only those channels selected in the Channel Box are copied to the clipboard. Control Points This option enables or disables the copy action for all the CVs, polygon vertices, and lattice points associated with a geometry shape (or transform node hierarchically above the geometry shape).

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Normally, when a control point is copied, only the selected control point is copied. The Control Points option enables the copying for all the control points associated with an object. This is useful when you are doing control point-intensive animation and dont want to select each control point to copy the animation. Shapes This option determines if the animation of a shape attribute of an object as well as the animation of the associated transform attribute are copied, or if only the transform nodes animation is copied. Generally, when an object is selected in a modeling window, the transform node (above the shape hierarchically) is selected. For example, if a camera, NURBS object, or light is selected, the associated transform node is selected for copying. Time Range All Copies all the animation information of the selected object or objects to the keys clipboard. Start/End copies only the animation information in the range specified in the Start Time and End Time fields of the selected object or objects to the keys clipboard. Help Images When checked, this option displays a diagram of the copy action, and in particular represents graphically the two methods of copying animation information. Method Keys Copies only keys within the selected range to the keys clipboard. Segments Copies animation curve segments and any keys in the selected range to the keys clipboard. NOTE The Segments method of copying keys creates keys for the copied animation segment at the start and end times in order to preserve the shape of the animation curve, if keys do not already exist at those points.

File > Export to Offline File


Exports edits in the scene to a new file.

File > Export to Offline File > General Options


Default file extensions Defaults to exporting the file with the extension for that file type.

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Target Options
Export nodes Specifies which objects in the scene to export edits from.

Include Options
Specifies nodes related to the target to include in an export operation.

Reference Options
Include setAttr edits Exports edits made to setAttr attributes.

Filetype Specific Options


Specifies whether to use full names for attributes on nodes. If this is unchecked, Maya will export them as short names instead.

File > Assign Offline File


References the edits from the file you select and applies them to the reference node selected in the Reference Editor. Maya applies edits by matching each nodename.attribute in the edit file to the file its being applied to. For example, you can export a reference edit for pSphere1.translateX in the scene sphere.ma. This edit is saved in the reference file as <main>:sphere_pSphere1.translateX. You can then apply this edit to the scene ball.ma so that ball:pSphere1.translateX is edited.

File > Assign Offline File > General Options


Apply via Allows you to apply edits as either a referenced edit or import the edit straight into your scene. Imported edits are baked into the main scene and cannot be unloaded like referenced edits. Assign offline edits to main scene If turned on, the offline edits are stored in the main scene. Otherwise, the edits are stored as a file reference. File type Select from the drop-down list the file type you are importing. If you arent sure what type of file you are applying, you can select Best Guess. Depending on the file type you select, various file type specific options may be displayed.

Name Clash Options


Use namespaces If turned on, namespaces from the offline file are preserved in the current scene.

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Resolve all nodes with When you import a scene into another scene, naming conflicts occur if the nodes share the same name and parent nodes. To resolve these naming conflicts, you can rename only nodes with the same name and parents (clashing nodes) or you can rename all nodes. You specify whether to use the filename as the prefix (the default) or to create a prefix string.

File > Export Selected to Mudbox

Exports the selected objects to Mudbox. Your copy of Mudbox is automatically opened with the object pre-loaded. In order for this option to become available, you must set the location of your Mudbox executable file in the Maya Settings/Preferences > Preferences in the Applications section. For more information, see Applications preferences on page 688.

File > View Image


By default, uses FCheck to view the image you select. You can change this option in the Preferences. For more information, see Applications preferences on page 688.

File > View Sequence


By default, uses FCheck to view the sequence of images you select.You can change this option in the Preferences. For more information, see Applications preferences on page 688.

File > Create Reference


Imports the contents of a scene (objects, animation, shaders, and so on) into your currently open scene without importing the files into the scene. That is, the contents that appear in your scene are read or referenced from pre-existing files that remain separate and unopened.

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Related topics

About file referencing of the File Referencing book File referencing workflows of the File Referencing book Work with file references of the File Referencing book About the Reference Editor of the File Referencing book Reference Editor overview on page 690 About proxy references of the File Referencing book Work with proxy references of the File Referencing book File referencing tips of the File Referencing book

The following describes the reference options available when creating a file reference.

File > Create Reference > General options


Deferred When this option is turned on, any reference created is added to the scene in an unloaded state, and only appears when it is manually loaded. Lock Locks the file reference when it is loaded into the scene. That is, all of the nodes and attributes for a selected file reference are locked so they cannot be accidentally modified. A lock icon appears beside the listed file reference within the Reference Editor to indicate the locked status. Group Specifies whether the referenced objects are grouped under a single transform when you reference the file. Grouping makes it easier to work on the nodes of imported objects. The default is off. Locator When used with the Group option, groups the contents of the referenced file under a locator, annotated with the reference node name. The reference node has a message connection to the locators transform. File type Select from the drop-down list the file type you are importing. If you arent sure what type of file you are importing, you can select Best Guess. For more information on file type options, see File > Import. Ignore Version Disregards the file version when opening a Maya file. The Ignore version setting lets you open a file that was created by a later version of Maya regardless of whether it was saved in ascii or binary format. This

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eliminates the need to save and then manually edit an ascii version of the Maya file to remove the required version line when you need to open it in an earlier version. NOTE Maya files that are opened in an earlier version of Maya are not supported as feature compatibility to earlier software versions cannot be ensured. The Ignore version feature is primarily provided for users in production environments where multiple versions of Maya are in use simultaneously.

Load options
Load Default References Respects the referenced files state in the referencing file when the referencing file was last saved. Whatever references were loaded or unloaded the last time you worked on the file are properly loaded or unloaded when you re-open it. Load All References Opens the file with all references loaded. You can change the state of reference loading after the file is open in Maya by opening the Reference Editor (Reference Editor overview on page 690) and selecting the references you want to unload. Load No References This opens the file without loading any references. You can load references after the file is open in Maya by opening the Reference Editor (Reference Editor overview on page 690) and selecting the references you want to load. Load Top-Level References Only Loads only the top-most referenced files (which may themselves contain many nested referenced files). This is useful in cases where you may be opening a complex nested scene reference hierarchy with many nested references and you want to easily work at the top level of the hierarchy.

Shared Reference options


Shared Nodes Sets whether anything will be shared between nodes, be it display layers, shading networks or render layers. If you have a render layer, display layer, or shading network in a referenced file that has the same name as the one in the referencing file, turning this option on allows these nodes to be shared between the referencing and referenced file (see the following options). For shared display layers, merging is decided based on name alone. If both layers have the same name, and shared display layers is turned on, the contents are merged. For shared shading networks, merging is done only if the node names and types are the same.

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Display Layers When the reference is created, display layers associated with the child scene are integrated into the parent scene. Maya uses the display layer name to determine how the referenced layer is added to the current scene. If a display layer name already exists in the parent scene, any objects assigned to an identically-named display layer in a child scene are added to the original parent display layer when they are referenced. If a child scene contains a display layer that does not exist in the parent scene, the layer from the child scene appears in the parent scene when the child scene is referenced. If these child scenes are later removed from the parent scene, their associated layers are removed as well. Shared layers are automatically placed in the default namespace. Shading Networks If you reference a file into your current scene with shared shading networks enabled, the shading networks from the referenced scene are combined with those in the current scene (including those of any references). This avoids creating duplicate shading networks when you want the same ones used throughout your scene, including the reference. Shading networks can only be shared if the shading networks are identical. Maya considers two shading networks to be identical only if all the nodes included in it have both the same name and type while traveling upstream from the shading group. While the name and type of each node in the shading network must be identical in order for the shading network to be shared, the actual values in each node are not considered. So, a node in a child scene with one value (for example, blue) is considered identical to a node in the parent scene with a different value (for example, red) as long as its name and type match. However, certain shading networks cannot be shared. They are: networks that include DAG objects (such as those that include the place3dTexture node); networks with animation applied to a node; networks with an expression applied to a node. If any of these items appear in the shading network, the network is not shared when the file is referenced with shared shading networks enabled. Any items that exist downstream of the shading network are also not shared. The only items shared are those items upstream of the shading network. Render Layers When the reference is created, the render layers associated with the child scene are integrated into the parent scene. You can choose to use the render layer by Name or by Number to determine which render layers are merged. If a render layer name or ID already exists in the parent scene, any objects assigned to a render layer with the same name or ID in a child scene are added to the referencing scenes render layer when they are referenced.

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Name Clash options


Use Namespaces When you reference a scene with the Use Namespaces option turned on, Maya creates a new namespace that contains the imported or referenced data. Turning on the Use Namespaces option ensures that all nodes are uniquely named. A namespace is a grouping of objects under a given name. Each item in a namespace is identified by its own name along with the namespace it belongs to. By default, the basename of the imported or referenced file is added to the beginning of the imported or referenced object names, separated by colons. For example, if you are importing a scene named foo.ma that contains an object named ball, after its imported the ball is named foo:ball. You can change the prefix by selecting Resolve all nodes with this string and entering a prefix. You can create, name, parent, and remove namespaces using the namespace command. Namespaces do not effect selection, the DAG, the Dependency Graph, or any other aspect of Maya. Resolve options When you reference a scene into another scene, naming conflicts occur if the nodes share the same name and parent nodes. To resolve these naming conflicts, all nodes will be renamed when the reference is loaded. You specify whether to use the filename as the prefix (the default) or to create a prefix string. Name clash options are ignored when referencing files. The Rename All selection is used throughout. For more information on node hierarchy, see MEL and Expressions. TIP We recommend you use namespaces to resolve naming conflicts instead of using the renaming prefix option when importing or referencing files. Proxy Tag Options Type the text string for the proxy tag you want applied to the proxy reference or select an existing tag from the list in the drop-down menu. When a proxy tag appears in gray in this list, it indicates that the tag is already in use for this specific file reference. The proxy tag appears in the Reference Editor. Maya keeps track of, and can distinguish between, the last proxy tag used for a file reference, and the last proxy tag used for a proxy reference. This ability streamlines the tagging process regardless of your preferred workflow. For example, you may want to tag multiple file references in succession with a tag named hiRes when you first create each one. In this case, you need only type the tag name once and it is automatically assigned to successive file

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reference tags. If you want to tag multiple proxies for those same references, you only need type in the proxy tag name for the proxy once, and the proxy tag will be remembered for successive proxies. Alternatively, you may want to create and tag one file reference named hiRes and then immediately create and tag its corresponding proxy reference named loRes. You can then create the next file reference and it will automatically be assigned the tag hiRes, then create its proxy reference, and it will automatically be assigned the tag loRes. Because Maya can distinguish between the most recent file reference and proxy reference tags specified, this alternating tagging workflow is possible. If a file reference has not been assigned a unique proxy tag prior to the creation of the first proxy in the scene, the file reference will be assigned a proxy tag named original to differentiate the original file reference from the first proxy. Once a tag has been specified for a file reference, it will continue to be used as the default file reference tag until another is specified. That is, Maya only uses the default original tag if the user has not previously explicitly specified a tag for a file reference. If a proxy tag is not specified when the first proxy reference is created in the scene, Maya will automatically apply a unique proxy tag based on the name of the reference node. Once a proxy tag has been specified for a proxy reference, it will continue to be the default tag for proxy references until another is specified. That is, Maya only uses a default proxy tag name when the user has not previously specified an explicit tag name for a proxy reference. Once you create a proxy tag, it will become available for selection within the Proxy Tag Options drop-down menu in both the Proxy Options and Reference Options windows. Proxy tags must be unique within a given proxy set. That is, a proxy tag will be available for a proxy set provided it is not already in use within the same proxy set. You can create your own tags and reuse them in different proxy sets.

File > Reference Editor


Opens the Reference Editor. See Reference Editor overview on page 690.

Related topics

About the Reference Editor of the File Referencing book Work with file references of the File Referencing book

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File > Project > New


Starts a new project. A project lets you group together all the different files needed for a scene or group of related scenes. You can select the paths of directories for each type of file.

Related topics

Organize files into projects on page 145

Options
Project Locations Specifies the directory used to save scene files. You can store files for different aspects of your project to different places by entering a pathname in the corresponding field. NOTE The location directories can be expanded using plug-ins. Each time you add a plug-in, the New Project window displays the addition. You can then specify the path to the plug-ins directory. NOTE If you leave a text box blank, Maya does not create a subdirectory. If you create a scene using an unspecified project setting, Maya saves the information in the project location directory.

File > Project > Edit Current


Lets you edit the paths of the current project. A project lets you group together all the different files needed for a scene or group of related scenes.

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Name and Location determine the location of the root project folder. For example, in the above project the root folder is C:\My Documents\maya\projects\default. You cannot rename a or change the location of a project here, you must do that through your operating systems file managemnt system. Project Locations are a set of rules determining where dependencies for the the scene (textures, templates, shaders, MEL scripts, and so on) are stored. You can change these locations by entering a relative filepath in the text box next to the appropriate rule. For example, in the project above, scene files are stored in C:\My Documents\maya\projects\default\scenes, while shaders are stores in C:\My Documents\maya\projects\default\renderData\shaders. If a rule is not specified, the files are stored in the root project folder.

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Related topics

Organize files into projects on page 145

File > Project > Set


Lets you select a current project to work on. A project lets you group together all the different files needed for a scene or group of related scenes.

Related topics

Organize files into projects on page 145

File > Recent Files


Lists recently saved scene files. Clicking a scene file in this list will load that file, closing the current scene. The list of recently opened files is also available by right-clicking the Open Scene icon on the Status Line.

Related topics

Open recently saved files on page 141

File > Recent Projects


Lists recently opened projects. Selecting a project folder name in this list will set that folder as the current project. By using File/Projects preferences in the Maya Preferences window, you can customize how many projects appear in this list. To open the Maya Preferences window, select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences. For descriptions of the File/Projects preferences, see Files/Projects preferences on page 675.

Related topics

Organize files into projects on page 145

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File > Exit


Exits Maya. If you have saved your scene immediately preceding the Exit command, Maya exits. If you have not recently saved your scene, a message prompt appears on the screen asking if you want to save your changes. Click either Save, Dont Save, or Cancel.

Edit
Edit > Undo, Redo, Repeat

Undo, Redo, and Repeat on page 83

Edit > Recent Commands List


Brings up a list of recently-selected commands. You can click on a command in this list to repeat the command.

Edit > Cut


Cuts the selected item and puts it on the clipboard.

Related topics

Cut, Copy, and Paste on page 87

Edit > Copy


Copies the selected item to the clipboard.

Related topics

Cut, Copy, and Paste on page 87

Edit > Paste


Pastes from the clipboard. This can be an object, text, and so on.

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Related topics

Cut, Copy, and Paste on page 87

Edit > Delete


Deletes the selected items.

Edit > Delete by Type > History


Removes construction history from the selection, baking it in its current state.

Related topics

Construction history on page 53 Edit completed commands (construction history) on page 84 Dependency graph on page 100

Edit > Delete by Type > Non-Deformer History


See Edit > Delete by Type > Non-Deformer History.

Edit > Delete by Type > Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Static Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Non-particle Expressions
Hierarchy To delete the component from the selected object only, select Selected. To delete the component from the selected object and all objects below it in the DAG hierarchy, select Below. Channels To delete all channels attached to all the selected objects keyable attributes, select All Keyable. To delete channels attached to those attributes selected in the Channel Box, select From Channel Box. (Instead of Channels, this same option affects Expressions for Non-particle Expressions.)

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Driven Channels (Disabled unless Channels: All Keyable is turned on.) Turn this option on to delete driven channels attached to the selected objects set driven key attributes. Control Points (Disabled unless Channels: All Keyable is turned on.) Turn this option on to delete channels attached to lattice, polygon, and NURBS curves and surface CVs. Shapes (Disabled unless Channels: All Keyable is turned on.) Removes the object's geometry channels.

Edit > Delete by Type > Motion Paths


Deletes all animation motion paths from the selection.

Edit > Delete All by Type


The items in this submenu let you delete every object of a certain type in the scene.

Related topics

Delete on page 87

Edit > Select Tool


Lets you select objects and components in view panels and the texture editor.

Related topics

Select Tool on page 361 Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Select objects or components on page 23

Edit > Lasso Select Tool


Lets you select objects and components in view panels by drawing a free form shape around them.

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Related topics

Lasso Tool on page 365 Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Select objects or components on page 23

Edit > Paint Selection Tool


Lets you select components by painting over them with the stylus. See also How Artisan brush tools work in the Artisan and 3D Paint guide.

Related topics

Paint Selection Tool on page 366 Select components by painting on page 30

Edit > Select All


Selects all objects in the scene.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23

Edit > Deselect


Deselects all selected objects in the scene.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23

Edit > Select Hierarchy


Selects all parent and child objects of the current selection (all nodes under the currently selected node in the scene hierarchy).

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Related topics

Select objects based on hierarchy on page 30 Scene hierarchy on page 98

Edit > Invert Selection


Selects all unselected objects, and deselects all selected objects.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23

Edit > Select All by Type


The items in this submenu select every object of a certain type in the scene.

Related topics

Select objects or components on page 23

Edit > Quick Select Sets


The items in this submenu correspond to the quick selection sets you create with Create > Sets > Quick Select Set. Use this menu to quickly switch between common selections.

Related topics

Save and reuse a selection on page 28 Create > Sets > Quick Select Set on page 463

Edit > Duplicate


Creates a single copy of the selection.

Related topics

Duplicate on page 88

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Edit > Duplicate Special on page 426

Edit > Duplicate Special


Creates one or more duplicates of the selection, optionally with transformations applied to each duplicate.

Related topics

Duplicate on page 88 Edit > Duplicate on page 425

Edit > Duplicate Special > Geometry Type


Select how you want the selected object(s) duplicated. Copy Make a copy of the geometry being duplicated. Instance Create an instance of the geometry being duplicated. When you create an instance, you do not create actual copies of the selected geometry. Instead, Maya redisplays the geometry being instanced.

Group under
Group objects under one of the following: Parent Groups the selected objects under their lowest common parent in the hierarchy. World Groups the selected objects under the world (at the top level of the hierarchy). New Group Create a new group node for the duplicates. Smart Transform Turn Smart Transform on so that when you duplicate and transform a single copy or instance of the object (without changing the selection), Maya applies the same transformations to all subsequent duplicates of the selected duplicate. Translate, Rotate, Scale Specify the offset values for X, Y, and Z. Maya applies these values to the copied geometry. You can position, scale, or rotate objects as Maya duplicates them.

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NOTE The default for Translate and Rotate is 0.0000. The default for Scale is 1.0000. With the default values, Maya places the copy on top of the original geometry. You can specify offset values (positive or negative floating point) for translation, rotation, and scaling that are then applied to the copied geometry. Number of Copies Specify the number of copies to create. The range is from 1 to 1000. TIP As a shortcut for duplicating with Smart Transform on, use Edit > Duplicate with Transform. Duplicate Input Graph Turn this option on to force the duplication of all upstream nodes leading up to the selected object. Upstream nodes are defined as all nodes with connections feeding into selected nodes. For example, if A, B, and C are the upstream nodes connecting to D... A>B>C>D ...and you select D and use the Duplicate Input Graph option, the resultant graph is as follows: A1 > B1 > C1 > D1 (where A1, B1, C1, and D1 are duplicates of A, B, C, and D respectively). Duplicate Input Connections Turn this option on so that in addition to duplicating the selected node, the connections feeding into the selected node are also duplicated. For example, if A, B, and C are connections feeding into C... A>B>C ...and you select C and use the Duplicate Input Connections option, then the resultant graph is as follows: A > B > C and A > B > C1 (where C1 is a duplicate of C). Instance Leaf Nodes Duplicate entire node hierarchies except for the leaf nodes, which are instanced to the original hierarchy. The new menu item is an improvement over the existing instance menu item, in that all dynamic attributes on the non-leaf nodes are properly duplicated into the new hierarchy. Assign Unique Name to Child Nodes The child node is renamed when the hierarchy is duplicated.

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Edit > Duplicate with Transform


Duplicates the selection and applies the last transformation you did with the current manipulator. If you do a transform and then make the manipulator go away (for example, but deselecting the object), Maya forgets the last transformation.

Related topics

Duplicate on page 88

Edit > Transfer Attribute Values


Populates the attribute values of one object (the target) with the attribute values of another (the source) for for all identically named attributes that the source and target share, over all frames in the timeline.

Related Links

Transfer attribute values between assets on page 242

Edit > Transfer Attribute Values >


Attributes If From channel box is turned on then only attributes currently highlighted in the Channel Box are transferred. Values If this option is on then attribute values are duplicated from the source object to the target object. If it is off, then these values are referenced.

In connections
If this option is on, incoming connections from other external nodes are transferred from the source asset to the target object using either Share with source or Transfer from source. Share with source Maya creates new incoming connections from the external node to the target object. Thus, changing the external node affects both the source object and the target object. Transfer from source Maya deletes the incoming connections to the source asset and creates new connections to the target object. Thus, changing the external node affects only the target object. Out connections If this option is on, then all outgoing connections to other nodes are moved from the source object to the target object.

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Relationships If Transfer parent/child relationships is on and the source and target objects are assets that have identically named published parent or child anchors, then the parent/child relationship is transferred from the source asset to the target asset. Rename If Rename target asset is on, then the target asset is renamed with the source assets name. The source asset is renamed with an -Orig suffix.

Edit > Group


Groups objects together under a new transform node, allowing you to select and transform them all at once.

Related topics

Group objects together on page 157

Edit > Group > Group Under


Group objects under one of the following: Parent Groups the selected objects under their lowest common parent in the hierarchy. For example, selecting a single object and grouping puts the group node immediately above the selected object in the hierarchy. Selecting objects that are in different hierarchies puts the group under the world since they dont share a common parent. Selecting objects in different parts of the same hierarchy puts the objects under their lowest common parent. If you go from each selected object, the new group will be placed under the first node containing all the selected objects. World Puts the new group under the world (at the top level of the hierarchy).

Group Pivot
Select where you want the pivot point for the group to be. Center Puts the new groups pivot point at the center of the bounding box of the grouped objects. Origin Puts the new groups pivot point at the origin of the new groups coordinate system. Preserve Position Turn this option on to modify the selected objects matrix so that Maya preserves the overall world-space position of the object. If turned

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off, the matrix of grouped objects are changed and the objects world-space position changes when grouped.

Edit > Ungroup


Ungroups the objects under a group node.

Related topics

Group objects together on page 157

Edit > Ungroup > Ungroup Under


Ungroup objects under one of the following: Parent Puts all objects under their lowest common parent in the hierarchy. If there is none, then it puts the objects as the world level. World Puts all objects at world level (at the top-level of the hierarchy). Preserve Position When on, Maya preserves the transformation information of the group. If off, the ungrouped objects lose their grouped transformation attributes, therefore changing their position when ungrouped.

Edit > Level of Detail


Lets you associate multiple versions of some geometry to be replaced based on distance in a game engine. This lets you produce a high-quality version of a model for up-close and a low-quality version for far-away, with multiple versions in between. NOTE

Level of Detail doesnt handle instances; instanced geometry will not be displayed consistently if it is added into a Level of Detail. Only use uninstanced geometry when creating levels of detail. Edit > Ungroup should not be used with Level of Detail; the LOD threshold information will not be reset properly on Undo. UseEdit > Level of Detail > Ungroup to properly ungroup an lodGroup node.

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Related topics

Level of Detail group node on page 706

Add and edit levels


To add a new level 1 Create a new object to add to the level of detail group. 2 Do one of the following:

In the Hypergraph, use the middle mouse button to drag the new object onto the lodGroup node. In the Outliner, use the middle mouse button to drag the new object onto the group.

The new object is added to the bottom of the lodGroups hierarchy. TIP You can also re-order a group by selecting Edit > Level of Detail > Ungroup. Re-order the objects and create a new group.

Preview more than one object at the same time


You can preview different objects at the same time to compare them. To view more than one object 1 In the Hypergraph, select the level of detail group node. The nodes attributes are displayed in the Channel Box. Each Display Level has three possible settings: uselod, show, and hide. 2 Use the left mouse button to click one of the Display Levels uselod text. A drop-down menu with the three options is displayed. 3 Select one of the options. You can show or hide any combination of objects. TIP Reset the Display Levels to uselod to return to the regular level of detail behavior.

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Notes about orthographic cameras and level of detail


Level of Detail displays one child of a level of detail group, depending on the groups distance to a camera. For perspective cameras, this means measuring the distance between the camera position to the center of the bounding box of the group. For orthographic cameras, the distance is measured differently. This is because zooming, panning, and dollying in an orthographic view does not change the camera position, but instead changes the cameras orthographic width. So the distance is measured as: distance = (default camera distance) * (cameras orthographic width)/(default orthographic width) Substituting Mayas default values in this equation results in the following: distance = 3.333 * (cameras orthographic width)

Edit > Parent


Makes the selected nodes children of the last node you selected (the key object). Select the objects you want to assign to the parent, then shift-select the parent and select Edit > Parent. That is, if two objects are selected in sequence, the first selected object becomes a child of the second selected object. The child objects remain selected after the parent operation is completed, and the parent object is deselected.

Related topics

View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Edit > Unparent on page 433

Edit > Parent > Parent Method


Select what you want done with the selected object: Move Objects Move the object from its current parent to the new parent (the last selected object). Add Instance Create an instance under the new group instead of moving the object.

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Preserve Position Turn Preserve Position on to preserve the overall world-space position by changing the parented objects transformation matrix.

Edit > Unparent


Related topics

View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Edit > Parent on page 432

Edit > Unparent > Unparent Method


Select how you want to unparent the selected object: Parent to World Remove the object from its current parent and place it under the world. Remove Instance Remove a particular instance instead of moving the object. Preserve Position Turn Preserve Position on to preserve overall world-space position by modifying the parented objects transformation matrix.

Create
Create > NURBS Primitives
Create various geometric primitive shapes using NURBS surfaces or curves. You can create the primitives at the origin or, depending on the primitive options you have set, wherever you click your mouse in the scene view (Interactive Creation). Most of the options are shared between primitive types. When Interactive Creation is turned on and you select a primitive option box, a subset of primitive options appear in a tool window. There are no pivot options in the tool settings. In addition, the Radius/Width/Height/Depth options refer only to single-click creation, not to interactive creation. NOTE When the Maya workspace is set to High Quality Rendering mode, primitives created using the Interactive Creation option do not appear shaded until the primitive creation steps are complete.

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Related Links

Create NURBS primitives of the NURBS Modeling book

Create > NURBS Primitives > Sphere >


You can create a sphere as the starting point for an assortment of rounded objects, for instance, eyeballs, planets, and human heads. Pivot By default, the Pivot is set to Object, and the primitive is created at the origin. Specifically, its rotate and scale pivots are at the origin. If you set Pivot to User Defined, you can enter values in the Pivot Point X, Y, and Z boxes to position the pivots (and the primitive). Axis Select X, Y, or Z to specify a preset axis direction of the object. Select Free to enable the X, Y and Z Axis Definition boxes. Enter new values to select your own axis direction. Select Active View to create the object perpendicular to the current orthographic view. The Active View option has no effect when the current modeling view is a camera or perspective view. Start and End Sweep Angles These options let you create a partial sphere by specifying a degree of rotation. Degree values can range from 0 to 360 degrees. The following example shows the top view of a sphere with an End Sweep Angle of 180 degrees.

Radius Sets the width and depth of the primitive. Surface Degree A Linear surface has a faceted appearance; a Cubic surface is rounded. For details on surface degree, see Degree.

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Use Tolerance You can use this option to improve the precision of the primitives shape. If set to Global tolerance, the Positional tolerance value in the Settings part of the Preferences window is used (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences). Lower values increase surface precision. If set to Local, you can enter a value in the options window to override the Positional tolerance value in the Preferences window. If set to None, tolerance is ignored and the sphere is created with the specified number of sections and spans (see below). Number of Sections Sets the number of surface curves created on the sphere in one direction. Surface curves, also called isoparms, show the outline of the surface shape. The more sections (and spans) a surface has, the more precisely it shows surface deformations. The following figure shows two spheres, the left with 8 sections and the right with 16 sections. A value less than 4 gives a crude sphere.

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Subsequent chapters explain how to use isoparms to create new surfaces. Number of Spans Sets the number of surface curves created on the sphere in the direction that crosses the Section direction. A value less than 4 gives a crude sphere.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Cube >


A cube has six sides, each selectable. You can select a side of the cube in the view, or click its heading in the Outliner. For example, if you select leftnurbsCube in the Outliner, you select a single side of the cube. To select the whole cube, marquee-select the cube and press the keyboards up arrow. Options unique to cubes follow: Width, Length, Height Sets the cube dimensions. U/V patches Sets the number of U and V Patches between the edges that make up the cube. This value changes the number of spans and sections.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Cylinder >


You can create a cylinder with or without end caps. The options unique to cylinders pertain to end caps. You can create caps for either, both, or no ends of the cylinder. You can also create caps as separate transform nodes so you can manipulate them independently of the cylinder.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Cone >


You can create a cone with or without a cap on its base. Its other options are similar to those of other NURBS primitives.

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Create > NURBS Primitives > Plane >


A plane is a flat surface made up of a specified number of patches. Its options are similar to other NURBS primitives.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Torus >


A torus is a 3D ring. It has options similar to other NURBS primitives.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Circle >


A circle is a curve, not a surface. Its options are similar to a sphere.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Square >


A square is a group of four curves, not a surface. A square is useful in various modeling operations, for instance, trimming window shapes from buildings. Its options are similar to other NURBS primitives.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Interactive Creation


You can position and scale primitives as you create them using your mouse, without having to use transformation tools. This option stays on until you turn it off. For more information, see Create NURBS primitives of the NURBS Modeling book.

Create > NURBS Primitives > Exit on Completion


This option interacts with Interactive Creation. When Exit on Completion is turned on, you must select a primitive type again in order to create another

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primitive. When this option is turned off, you can interactively create multiple primitives of the same type, until you select another tool.

Create > Polygon Primitives


Creates a polygon-based geometric primitive at the origin or, depending on the primitive options you have set, wherever you click your mouse in the scene view (Interactive Creation). You can then move, scale, rotate, and reshape the new object using the standard tools and polygon menu items. NOTE When the Maya workspace is set to High Quality Rendering mode, primitives created using the Interactive Creation option do not appear shaded until the primitive creation steps are complete.

Related Links

Create polygon primitives of the Polygonal Modeling book

Create > Polygon Primitives > Sphere >


Radius Specifies the distance from the center of the sphere in all directions. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Cube >


Width Specifies the width of the cube. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Height Specifies the height of the cube. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Depth Specifies the depth of the cube. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446

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Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Cylinder >


Radius Specifies the distance from the center of the cylinder. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Height Specifies the height of the cylinder. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Cone >


Radius Specifies the distance from the base of the cone in all directions. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Height Specifies the height of the cone. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Plane >


Width Specifies the distance along the x axis (by default). (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Height Specifies the measurement along the y axis (by default). (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446

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Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Torus >


Radius Specifies the distance from the center of the torus in all directions. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Section Radius Specifies the size of the sections that make up a torus. Change this value to increase or decrease the radius of these sections.

Twist The Twist option value specifies the twist angle of the torus. Change this value to adjust the distance around the torus in all directions. For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Prism >


A prism is a polyhedron with two polygonal faces lying in parallel planes and with the other faces parallelograms.

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When creating a prism, you can set the following options: Length Enter values or use the slider to specify the length of the prism (the distance between the two polygonal faces). (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Side Length Enter values or use the slider to specify the side length of the prisms polygonal caps. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Number of Sides Enter the number of sides for the ends of the prism. The above example is a triangular prism (3 sides). The size and volume of the prism increases with the number of sides if the edge length and length/height are kept constant. For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Pyramid >


A pyramid is a polyhedron with a polygon base and triangles with a common vertex for faces. Maya creates 3-, 4-, or 5-sided pyramids with equilateral triangles.

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When creating a pyramid, you can set the following options: Side Length Enter values or use the slider to specify the side length of all faces. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Number of Sides in Base Select the number of sides for the base of the pyramid (3, 4, or 5). For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Pipe >

The options are very similar to the options for the cylinder polygonal shape, with the addition of Thickness (which specifies the thickness of the wall).

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Radius Specifies the distance from the center of the pipe in all directions. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Height Specifies the height of the pipe. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Thickness Specifies the thickness of the pipe walls. For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Helix >


A helix is a curve in three dimensional space that lies on a cylinder, so that its angle to a plane perpendicular to the axis is constant.

Coils Specifies the number of coils. Height Specifies the height of the helix. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Width Specifies the width of the helix. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Radius Specifies the radius of the helix coils. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.)

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Direction Specifies the direction of the helixs twist: clockwise or counterclockwise. For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Soccer Ball >


The soccer ball is a truncated icosahedron: thirty-two faces, alternating hexagons and pentagons.

For this shape, you can set the following options: Radius Enter values or use the slider to specify the radius of the soccer ball. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Side Length Enter values or use the slider to specify the side length of the soccer ball. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives > Platonic Solids >


You can create many different types of polygonal platonic solids. Platonic solids are shapes where all sides are equal, all angles are the same, and all faces are identical. These are:

Tetrahedron: four triangular faces Octahedron: eight triangular faces

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Dodecahedron: twelve pentagonal faces Icosahedron: twenty triangular faces

(The cubethe fifth platonic solidhas a separate listing in the primitives.) You can switch between these types by selecting Solid Type in the Attribute Editor or in the option box for Platonic Solids.

For these four shapes, you can set the following options: Radius Enter values or use the slider to specify the radius of the platonic solid. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Side Length Enter values or use the slider to specify the side length of the platonic solid. (For interactive creation, appears as a single-click setting only.) Platonic type You can switch between platonic solid types in the options for these shapes. For more information, see:

Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Common options for all primitives For more information, see:


Divisions on page 446 Axis on page 448 Create UVs on page 449

Create > Polygon Primitives | 445

Create > Polygon Primitives > Interactive Creation


You can position and scale primitives as you create them using your mouse, without having to use transformation tools. This option stays on until you turn it off. For more information, see Create polygon primitives of the Polygonal Modeling book.

Create > Polygon Primitives > Exit on Completion


This option interacts with Interactive Creation. When Exit on Completion is turned on, you must select a primitive type again in order to create another primitive. When this option is turned off, you can interactively create multiple primitives of the same type, until you select another tool.

Divisions
The values you enter in these boxes change the primitive by adding or taking away faces of the polygonal surfaces. Almost all primitives allow you to subdivide along the height axis. The exception is the helix, which subdivides per coil instead. Primitives with radial symmetry allow you to subdivide around the axis. These include spheres, cylinders, cones, tori, pipes, and helixes. Primitives with caps allow you to subdivide the caps. These include cylinder, cones, pipes and helixes. The plane allows subdivisions along the width axis, and the cube allows subdivisions along both the width and depth. Axis divisions This option defines the number of subdivisions there are around the axis. This option is called Subdivisions Axis in the Channel Box and the Attribute Editor.

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Increase or decrease this value to add or take away faces around the axis defined by the Axis option.

Height divisions This option defines the number of subdivisions there are along the axis defined by the Axis option. Height is equivalent to the Y direction by default. This option is called Subdivisions Height in the Channel Box and the Attribute Editor. Increase or decrease this value to add or take away faces in the Axis direction.

Depth / Width, Depth divisions When Axis is set to X or Y, depth is equivalent to the Z direction for polygonal cubes. When Axis is set to Z, depth is equivalent to the Y direction. This option is called Subdivisions Depth in the Channel Box and the Attribute Editor. Increase or decrease this value to add or take away faces along the depth. Cap divisions Caps are the tops, bottoms, or sides of cones, cylinders, prisms, pyramids, pipes, and helixes. This option defines the number of subdivisions around the origin of the primitive caps. This option is called Subdivisions Cap in the Channel Box and the Attribute Editor. Increase or decrease this value to add or take away faces around the caps.

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Round Cap This option allows you to create a round surface for the cap. Your Subdivisions Cap value must be one or greater to see the round cap effect. This option applies to the Cylinder, Cone, Pipe, and Helix primitives.

Axis
This option does not appear in Interactive Creation. TIP To set the axis for your primitive during interactive creation, you can use the orthogonal views. Whichever view you create your primitive intop, front, or sideis the way your primitives axis will be aligned (y, z, or x). By default, a primitive is created along the Y axis. You can change a primitives default orientation before you create it by changing the Axis option. You cannot change the orientation for a new primitive from the Channel Box, but you can enter values in the Axis boxes in the Attribute Editor.

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Create UVs
The following table lists the common Create UVs attributes for each type of polygon primitive. Shape
Sphere Cube Cylinder Cone Plane Torus Prism Pyramid Pipe Helix Soccer Ball Platonic Solids Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Normalize

Preserve Aspect Ratio

Other Options
Yes

For details on Create UVs attributes, see:


Create UVs Normalize Collectively and Preserve Aspect Ratio on page 451 UV options for primitive spheres on page 452

Preparing a primitive for texture mapping


UV texture coordinates are assigned for texture mapping by default. If you do not plan to map textures on a polygonal primitive, you can turn off the Create UVs option in the options window.

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Important note about UVs


If UVs are not present on an object, you cannot see mapped textures. This can happen if you inadvertently create a primitive object with the Create UVs option turned off. To correct the problem, select the faces of the primitive and use any of the mapping items in the Edit UVs menu. You can then use the UV Texture Editor to view the created UVs. Select the object and use any of the UV creation or editing Create UVs menu items.

Texture mapping options for primitives with faces or caps


The options window for primitives with faces or caps includes a Create UVs menu where you can select how you want the texture map to cover the primitive when you assign it. This Create UVs menu is also available from the Attribute Editor.

Create UVs
(Default.) This option assigns UV texture coordinates on the primitive for texture mapping. The various normalization settings fit the UVs within the 0 to 1 texture space. Normalize Collectively and Preserve Aspect Ratio is the default setting. Normalization Off No normalization occurs and the texture remains its true size. Normalize Collectively This option maps the texture over each face of the primitive and normalizes it so that it covers the entire object.

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Normalize Each face Separately Only available for Cubes, Soccer Balls and Platonic Solids. If you select this option, Maya maps the texture to each face separately.

Normalize Collectively and Preserve Aspect Ratio (Default.) Normalized UVs maintain the original ratios of the UVs without stretching the UVs to fill the 0 to 1 texture space. This option affects the appearance of the texture map on the primitive.

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UV options for primitive spheres


The options window for a polygonal sphere primitive includes a Create UVs menu where you can select an item to specify how you want the texture map to behave at the poles. This Create UVs menu is also available from the Attribute Editor.

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Pinched at poles Creates a UV texture map where the rings of triangles around the poles are treated as triangles with a single common vertex (the pole).

Sawtooth at poles (Default.) Creates a UV texture map where the rings of triangles around the poles are treated as individual triangles, giving the edges of the UV map a sawtooth look. Often, this looks better in the 3D view; however, it also introduces texture borders, which may not always be desirable.

Adjust primitive after creation


When Interactive Creation is turned on for primitives, you can optionally modify the subdivisions for a primitive using the following options. These options exist only for primitives that possess subdivision attributes. Adjust subdivisions after create Adds additional steps to the Interactive Creation process that let you adjust the subdivisions for the primitive when interactively creating primitives. The number of additional steps is dependent on the primitive type. The default setting is on when Interactive Creation is turned on. Adjust cap subdivisions after create Adds additional steps to the Interactive Creation process that let you adjust the cap subdivisions on primitives that contain caps (Cylinder, cone, pyramid, prism, helix, pipe). The default setting

Create > Polygon Primitives | 453

is off. This option can only be used when the Adjust subdivisions after create option is turned on.

Create > CV Curve Tool


Lets you draw a NURBS curve by placing CVs.

Related topics

Components of NURBS curves Draw curves Create > EP Curve Tool on page 455 Display > NURBS on page 507

Create > CV Curve Tool >


Curve Degree The higher the Curve Degree, the smoother the curve. The default setting (3 Cubic) works well for most curves. You must create at least one more CV than the Curve Degree number. For example, you need at least six CVs to complete a degree 5 curve:

See Degree for more details. Knot Spacing The type of knot spacing sets how Maya assigns U position values to edit point (knots). Chord length knot spacing distributes curvature better. If you use the curve to build a surface, the surface might display textures better. Uniform knot spacing creates curve U position values that are easier for you to predict. See Parameterization of NURBS curves and surfaces for details. Multiple End Knots When turned on, the curves end edit points (knots) are superimposed on the end CVs. Generally, this makes the curves end region easier to control.

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If you create a pair of curves with Multiple End Knots off, you can use Snap to Points to align the second CVs (next to the end CVs) of each curve to create tangent continuity between the two curves. NOTE As with all tools in Maya, you can change the options after you create an object. Select the curve and open the Channel Box or the Attribute Editor.

Create > EP Curve Tool


Lets you draw a NURBS curve by placing edit points.

Related topics

Components of NURBS curves Draw curves Create > CV Curve Tool on page 454 Display > NURBS on page 507

Create > EP Curve Tool >


Curve Degree The higher the Curve Degree, the smoother the curve. The default setting (3 Cubic) works well for most curves. Knot spacing The knot spacing specifies how Maya assigns U positioning values to knots. Chord length knot spacing distributes curvature better. If you use the resulting curve to build a surface, the surface might display texture mapping better. Uniform knot spacing produces curve U positioning values that are easier for you to predict.

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Create > Bezier Curve Tool


Lets you draw a freehand Bezier curve by clicking in the scene to create anchors. You can also click-drag to create anchors and tangents.

Create > Bezier Curve Tool >


Manip Mode Determines the manipulator that appears when you select an anchor and then middle-click.

Select Mode
Determines how you can manipulate anchor tangents. Normal Select When manipulating a tangent, the tangent remains unbroken and both sides of the tangent are weighted equally when one side is scaled. Useful for creating smooth, symmetrical curves. Weighted Select When manipulating a tangent, the tangent remains unbroken, but only the selected side is scaled. Useful for creating smooth curves weighted to one side. Tangent Select When manipulating a tangent, the tangent breaks and only the selected side is scaled. Useful for creating sharp points.

Create > Pencil Curve Tool


Lets you draw a freehand NURBS curve.

Related topics

Components of NURBS curves Draw curves Create > EP Curve Tool on page 455 Create > CV Curve Tool on page 454

Create > Pencil Curve Tool >


Curve Degree The 1 Linear option creates jagged curves known as polylines. The default setting (3) creates smooth curves.

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Create > Arc Tools > Three Point Circular Arc, Two Point Circular Arc
Lets you create arcs by specifying points and then using a manipulator.

Related topics

Create arcs

Create > Arc Tools > Two/Three Point Circular Arc >
Circular Arc Degree 1 Linear creates jagged curves. The default setting (3) creates smooth curves. Sections Sets the number of curve segments of the arc.

Create > Measure Tools > Distance Tool, Parameter Tool, Arc Length Tool
Create measurement objects that let you measure and annotate objects in the scene. As you move the points of the annotations, the listed measurements automatically update.

Related topics

Measure the distance between two points on page 161 Show parameter or arc-length values on a curve or surface on page 161

Create > Text


Adds objects to the scene in the shape of styled text.

Related topics

Create text on page 85 Annotate or document objects on page 160

Create > Text >


Text Specifies the text to be created.

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Font Typographical style for the text. For details on using a character from an expanded character set on Windows, see the steps that follow. Type Curves creates text as NURBS curves you can transform and manipulate. Trim creates text as trim surfaces. You can render the letters. Poly creates text as polygons you can transform and manipulate. A planar trim curve is created between the curve and tessellate nodes, but you see only the polygonal surface, not the planar surface. Bevel creates bevelled text. The standard Bevel Plus options apply. See Surfaces > Bevel Plus in the NURBS Modeling guide for more details.

Create > Adobe Illustrator Object


The Create Adobe Illustrator Object menu item allows you to create 3D animated models from 2D vector data by loading Adobe Illustrator paths into Maya as curves or to generate polygonal surfaces from the Adobe Illustrator file.

You can reload the file if you make changes to it. You can also edit the path to the Adobe Illustrator file in the Attribute Editor after you create the object, and history and bevel information is automatically applied. To use this feature, make sure the following conditions apply:

Text must be converted to outlines in Adobe Illustrator (select the text and then select Type > Create Outlines). Only Adobe Illustrator 8 files are supported. Be sure to delete any guides in Illustrator before saving the file, even hidden guides. These will be loaded into Maya as curves, which will cause problems for the bevel operation.

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To create an Adobe Illustrator Object 1 Select Create > Adobe Illustrator Object. 2 Select an .ai file. 3 Click OK. To update the Adobe Illustrator Object 1 Select the Adobe Illustrator Object. 2 Open the Attribute Editor. 3 In the IllustratorForBevel tab, expand the File Attributes section. 4 Click Reload.

Options
You can choose to import the Adobe Illustrator object as curves or generate polygonal surfaces (bevel). The standard Bevel Plus options are available within the Adobe Illustrator Object options (see Surfaces > Bevel Plus for a description of the options). Once you have imported the Adobe Illustrator object, there is a Tolerance attribute in the Attribute Editors illustratorforBevel tab that can help fixing beveling problems. See Where curve changes direction, the bevel is not correct on page 460.

Troubleshooting The inside of letters or curves appear filled-in


Maya may not know which curves are on the inside and which are on the outside and your bevel results will be incorrect. In this case, you must open the file in Adobe Illustrator and add some more curve information to the file. Here are two possible Adobe Illustrator workflows that may help to correct any problems with incorrect beveling in Maya. Adobe Illustrator workflow #1 1 Select the problematic paths, and select Object > Compound Path > Release.

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2 Select the inside and outside paths for each problematic object and select Object > Group. 3 Select Effect > Pathfinder > Subtract. 4 Save the file. Adobe Illustrator workflow #2 1 Select the problematic paths, and select Object > Compound Path > Release. 2 Select the inside and outside paths for each problematic object. 3 Select Object > Compound Path > Make. 4 Save the file. When you reload the file within Maya, the letters or curves should all appear correctly.

Where curve changes direction, the bevel is not correct


In an imported Adobe Illustrator file, if a curve is next to a line, the line point may be in a slightly different position than its neighbors. This can cause bevel errors where the bevel extends into space away from the main curve. Possible solutions include:

Increase the value of the Tolerance attribute after import

Fixing the curves in Adobe Illustrator and re-exporting. This may be necessary if changing the value of the Tolerance attribute makes the points snap in a way you dont want.

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NOTE If you use Tolerance, CVs may be snapped together. This can cause edges with zero length, which can be removed with the Poly Cleanup Tool.

Create > Construction Plane


Creates a construction plane to which you can snap construction tools.

Related topics

Construction planes on page 54 Snapping with live objects on page 77

Create > Construction Plane >


Pole Axis Sets the orientation of the construction plane. The default is an XY plane.

Size Sets the size of the plane in grid units.

Create > Locator


Creates a locator object in the scene. A locator is a small icon like an x-y-z axis that marks a point in space. They are useful as a user interface for characters; for example, you can parent joints to the locator so moving the locator pushes and pulls the joint. An attribute on the locator shape node allows you to change the locators local scale; that is, you can change the size of the locator (without affecting any objects that are parented or constrained to the locator).

Create > Construction Plane | 461

Create > Annotation


Creates a text label with an arrow pointing to the selected object. Deleting annotations does not remove the corresponding locator node from the scene. To delete the locator node, do one of the following:

After deleting the annotation node, select the locator node and delete it. Select the annotation and press the pick walk up hotkey (default is up arrow key). The locator node will be selected and deleting it will also delete the annotation node. Selecting File > Optimize Scene Size.

Related topics

Annotate or document objects on page 160

Create > Empty Group


Creates an empty group node in the scene hierarchy.

Related topics

Transformations on page 51 Scene hierarchy on page 98 Group objects together on page 157

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Create > Sets > Set, Partition


Create sets and partitions. Sets are loose groupings of objects used for various purposes in Maya. Partitions are groupings of sets that ensure the sets do not share members.

Related topics

Create and edit sets on page 158 Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership on page 159

Create > Sets > Quick Select Set


Creates a new quick select set from the current selection. The new selection set appears in the Edit > Quick Select Setssubmenu. You can edit the membership of an existing quick select set with the Relationship Editor.

Related topics

Save and reuse a selection on page 28 Edit > Quick Select Sets on page 425 Relationship Editor on page 616

Modify
Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, Show Manipulator Tool
These menu items act the same as clicking the Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, or Show Manipulator Tool in the Tool Box.

Use manipulators on page 55 Move, rotate, or scale objects and components on page 59 Move Tool on page 368

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Rotate Tool on page 373 Scale Tool on page 375 Show Manipulator Tool on page 378

Modify > Transformation Tools > Universal Manipulator


This menu items is the same as clicking the Universal Manipulator in the Tool Box.

Use manipulators on page 55 Use the Universal Manipulator on page 62 Universal Manipulator on page 378

Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Normal Tool


Use the Move Normal Tool to move selected CVs on a NURBS surface in the U or V direction of the surface. This is the same as selecting the Normal option for the Move Tool. The Update [UVN] Triad check box is turned on by default. All other settings are the same as the Move Tool.

Move Tool on page 368

Modify > Transformation Tools > Default Object Manipulator


These items let you use the Move, Rotate, or Scale manipulators with the Show Manipulator Tool instead of the custom manipulator for a node. Select None to show the nodes custom manipulator, rather than a transform manipulator. This is the default. This information is saved with the scene. It is also shown in the Attribute Editor in the Display section of the Transform node.

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Related topics

Use manipulators on page 55 Show a custom manipulator for the selected node on page 85

Modify > Transformation Tools > Proportional Modification Tool


Lets you move components based on their distance from a manipulator.

Related topics

Move, rotate or scale components proportionally on page 60

Modify > Transformation Tools > Proportional Modification Tool > Modification type
World Proportional modification happens in XYZ space. Parametric (NURBS) Proportional modification happens in UV space.

Modification Falloff: Linear


This is the default modification falloff. Maya performs the modification in a linear fashion and displays the Distance Cutoff option. Distance Cutoff Objects further away than this value are ignored. The distance is measured in 3D from the manipulator handle. For Parametric (NURBS) modification type, you set Distance Cutoff U and Distance Cutoff V. Distance Based On The distance from the manipulator handle to the object directly influences the modification factor. The distance is computed along the selected axes only. If any of these is turned off, the distance used in the computation of the propmod effect from the handle to the point ignores that component.

Modification Falloff: Power


Using the Proportional Modification Tool, you can set the degree to any value between +5 and -5 and the falloff is non-linear (it forms a logistic curve). However, if you set the degree to 1, the falloff is linear again.

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Distance Cutoff Objects further away than this value are ignored. The distance is measured in 3D from the manipulator handle. For Parametric (NURBS) modification type, you set Distance Cutoff U and Distance Cutoff V. Degree Specifies the degree of effect in the U and V directions. A value of 0 applies the transformation equally over the entire region. A positive value decreases the effect of the transformation for objects further away from the manipulator handle; the greater the degree, the greater this dampening effect. If Degree is negative, the effect of the transformation is increased for objects further away from the manipulator handle. Distance Based On The distance from the manipulator handle to the object directly influences the modification factor. The distance is computed along the selected axes only.

Modification Falloff: Script


This method uses a MEL script to determine the falloff. With the appropriate parameters set, you can select the Script option and type a command for the settings in the User Defined Script box to save the current parameter settings without actually invoking the function. If you want to use these settings again later, you can retrieve the tools script from the Reference Editor. User Defined Script The script should return a modification factor. The inputs to the script are float numbers. The first three represent the position of the manipulator handle. The second three represent the position of the point manipulated. For example, the points for which this script returns 1 moves with the manipulator handle. The points for which this script returns 0.5 move half as fast as the manipulator handle.

Modification Falloff: Curve


This option uses an animation curve to create the falloff. An animation curve profile can be used to produce a modification factor. Anim. Curve Enter the name of an existing animation curve. Its vertical direction maps into the modification factor. The distance maps to the anim curve time axis (in seconds). You can use the drop-down list to the right of the box to list and select all the anim curves with names starting with propModAnimCurve. You can also create one of those by choosing Create New from the same drop-down list. Scale U, Scale V For Parametric (NURBS) Modification type only.

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Distance Based On The distance from the manipulator handle to the object directly influences the modification factor. The distance is computed along the selected axes only.

Modification Falloff: NURBS Curve


For World Modification type only. This option uses a NURBS curve to create the falloff. A NURBS curve profile can be used to produce a modification factor. Enter the name of an existing NURBS curve. Its vertical direction maps into the modification factor. The distance maps to the NURBS curve. You can use the drop-down list to the right of the box to list and select from all the NURBS curves.

Using the PropMod script


The PropMod script is similar to the Move script except that it has additional settings for the move distance. Using the Script option, you can compute each objects factor individually. The user-defined script command considers both the position of the manipulator and the object. The value returned by the script is used as a multiplying factor for a specific object.

Example
Create myPropMove.mel file as:
global proc float myPropMove (float $mx, float $my, float $mz, float $px, float $py, float $pz) { float $value = rand (1.0); return $value; }

...which produces a random value between 0 and 1. If you select myPropMove as the script name, you get a random modification factor for all selected points.

Modify > Transformation Tools > Soft Modification Tool


For more information, see Soft Modification deformer.

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Modify > Reset Transformations, Freeze Transformations


Reset transformations sets the transformations on the selected objects back to zero. This undoes any transformations since the object was created or the last freeze. Freeze transformations makes the current transformations on the selected objects be the objects zero position. TIP Perform a freeze transform before executing operations such as stitch, align, attach, sculpt, wire, and wrinkle; or delete history before doing freeze.

Related topics

Set transformation values to zero on page 76

Modify > Reset Transformations, Freeze Transformations >


Use the options to control which types of transformations (translate/move, rotate, scale, joint orientation) are reset or frozen. NOTE Freeze Transformations does not affect the translation transforms of joints because their translation transforms are required to define the lengths of their bones. Normals The normals on polygonal objects will be frozen. NOTE You only need to turn on Normals if you are applying Modify > Freeze Transformation to an object that has been sheared, skewed or non-proportionally scaled. Turning on Normals will bake the normals so they will not update if you make subsequent tweaks to the objects shape. Normals will not be frozen on a polygonal object that has been negatively scaled. Only for non-rigid deformations The normals on polygonal objects will be frozen only if its a non-rigid transformation matrix (that is, a transformation that does not contain shear, skew or non-proportional scaling). This option is only available when Normals is on.

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Modify > Snap Align Objects > Point to Point, 2 Points to 2 Points, 3 Points to 3 Points
Snap objects together at one, two, or three points.

Related topics

Snap one object to another on page 82

Options Move
The move options. Object Apply the transformation to the object itself. Parent Apply the transformation to the objects parent. Grandparent Apply the transformation to the object two levels up in the scene hierarchy.

Snap Type
Only appears in Snap 2 points to 2 points. You click two pairs of points on the two objects to align them. This option controls what Maya does when the pairs of points are different distances. Left Snaps the first and third points you click, and aligns the second and fourth points in the same direction as the first and third. Middle Snaps the second and fourth points, aligns the first and third in the same direction. Right Snaps the midpoint of the first and third points to the midpoint of the second and fourth, and aligns the other matching points in the same direction.

Modify > Snap Align Objects > Align Objects


Aligns objects in space.

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Related topics

Align objects on page 79

Modify > Snap Align Objects > Align Objects > Align Mode
You can select from one of five different alignment modes according to the objects bounding boxes. Min Aligns objects with the side closest to 0. Mid Aligns centers. Max Aligns objects with the side farthest from 0. Dist Distributes objects evenly along the total distance between them. Stack Lines the objects up so there is no distance between their sides. Align In You can select an axis or multiple axes in which to align the selected objects. For example, to align tops/bottoms turn on World Y.

Align to
You can use this drop-down list to specify how to align objects in the Min, Mid, and Max modes. This drop-down list does not apply to the Dist (Distribute) or Stack modes. Selection Average Uses the average minimum, middle, or maximum value of the objects bounding boxes as the alignment reference. Last Selected Object Uses the minimum, middle, or maximum value of the bounding box of the key object as the alignment reference. This object is highlighted in green.

Modify > Snap Align Objects > Position Along Curve


Repositions a selection of objects evenly along a curve.

Draw a curve in the scene to indicate the path along which you want the objects to be positioned (Alternately you can duplicate or use an existing curve in the scene). Select the objects you want to have evenly positioned as well as the path curve and then select Modify > Snap Align Objects > Position Along Curve.

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NOTE If the objects you are positioning do not appear evenly spaced along the curve, you can try rebuilding the NURBS curve using Edit Curves > Rebuild Curve (Surfaces Menu set) so that the curve has a Uniform parameterization and a parameter range between 0 and 1. Since Position Along Curve uses the curves parameterization to determine the spacing of objects along it, rebuilding the curve in this manner will improve the results. Objects are positioned based on the location of their pivot point. If you have repositioned the pivot point for an object it may appear along the curve in an unexpected position relative to the curve.

Related topics

Align objects on page 79 Convert a curve or surface to uniform parameterization Edit Curves > Rebuild Curve

Modify > Align Tool


Lets you align objects visually by clicking icons representing the planes and positions you want to align. Select the objects you want to align. The other objects align to the last selected (green) object.

Click an icon to align the objects. The icons show how the bounding boxes align. For example:

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Use Edit > Undo or press z to reverse an align.

In the following example, the objects align to the far right of the cube outside the transparent box.

Related topics

Align objects on page 79

Modify > Snap Together Tool


Lets you visually pick the points on two objects to snap together. Click a point on one object, then click a point on the second object. You can drag the selected points to edit them. Then press Enter to snap the points together.

Related topics

Snap one object to another on page 82

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Modify > Snap Together Tool >


Move and rotate object(s) As the tool snaps the points together, it rotates the moving object so the objects snap together along normals. This can help prevent the objects from intersecting. Move object(s) only The tool snaps the points together without rotating the moving object. The objects retain their orientation after the snap. Snap to Polygon Face Constrains the snap points to the centers of polygon faces.

Modify > Evaluate Nodes


The items in this submenu let you turn off evaluation of various animation and modeling nodes to improve performance. The effects of the nodes do not appear in the view panels until you turn them on again.

Modify > Make Live


Converts the selected surface to a live surface. For NURBS surfaces, curves drawn on a live surface become curves-on-surface. All other creation tools automatically snap to the live surface. Make Live works in either wireframe or shaded display mode. Select this item again to turn it off.

Related topics

Snapping with live objects on page 77

Modify > Center Pivot


Moves the pivot to the center of the object (based on its bounding box).

Related topics

Change the pivot point on page 68

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Modify > Prefix Hierarchy Names


Adds a prefix to the name of the selected parent object and all its children. 1 Select the parent. 2 Select Modify > Prefix Hierarchy Names. 3 Type a prefix and click OK.

Related topics

Change the name of one or more objects on page 153

Modify > Search and Replace Names


Searches node names for the string specified in Search For and replaces the named string with the string specified in Replace With. You can choose to search a hierarchy, selected nodes, or all nodes.

Related topics

Change the name of one or more objects on page 153

Modify > Add Attribute


Custom attributes are attributes you optionally add and define from the Add Attribute window. Although custom attributes are dynamically added to an object, we refer to them as custom to distinguish them from the built-in dynamic attributes. Custom attributes have no direct effect on any characteristic of an object in Maya. You can use them to control a combination of other attributes. You might also use a custom attribute as a variablea place to store a value temporarily to be read by other attributes. When you add a custom attribute to an object, it appears in the Extra Attributes section of the Attribute Editor (and in the Channel Box, if you make the attribute keyable).

Related topics

Create, edit, or delete custom attributes on page 116

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Options
Attribute Name Type the name of the attribute you are adding. Make Attribute Keyable Turn this option on to make this attribute keyable. For information about keyable attributes, see Animation.

Data Type
Select the data type for the attribute: Vector Creates a vector attribute consisting of three floating point values. Float Creates a floating point attribute. Integer Creates an integer attribute. Boolean Creates an attribute consisting of an on/off turn. String Creates a string attribute that accepts alphanumeric entries as data entry, such as a filename. Enum Creates an attribute that accepts selections from an enumerated or drop-down list. NOTE If you select Float or Integer, you can also set Numeric Attribute Properties.

Attribute Type
Select a type: Scalar Creates a per object attribute that you can set to a single value that applies to every particle in the object. A vector scalar is considered a single value with three numbers. If you select Scalar, you can specify Minimum, Maximum, and Default values for a Float or Integer attribute. Per Particle (Array) Creates a per particle attribute. You can set this type of attribute to different values for each particle. If you select Per Particle (Array), you can also create a counterpart initial state attribute by turning on Add Initial State Attribute. Add Initial State Attribute Turn on to create a corresponding initial state attribute for the added attribute. Without this corresponding attribute, you cant save a particle objects current attribute values for initial state usage. You must write a creation expression if you decide to initialize the custom attributes value upon rewinding the animation. If you know youre going to write a creation expression for a custom attribute, you can set Add Initial State Attribute to off when you add the attribute. Otherwise, set Add Initial State Attribute to on whenever you add a custom per particle attribute.

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Numeric Attribute Properties For scalar attributes, Minimum and Maximum set the lowest and highest values you can enter for the attribute in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box. Default sets the default value for the attribute. Enum Names When you're adding a new Enum attribute, you need to define the list of acceptable strings. There are two default strings, Green and Blue, in the Enum Names list that you can change. To change, select Green or Blue and then enter the new string in the New Name text box. To add a new string, click the blank entry below the last list item and type the string in the New Name text box. The following list of names are reserved internally for (dynamic) shading attributes. You may use these names for custom attributes, but beware they may produce unexpected results in the shading network. For example, during shading the uvCoord value is provided, therefore ignoring your custom uvCoord attribute value.

blobbySurfaceFactor displacement easMask farPointCamera farPointObj farPointWorld filterSize flippedNormal illuminationIndex infoBits lightData lightTable matrixObjectToWorld matrixWorldToObject mediumRefractiveIndex normalCamera numShadingSamples

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objectId objectType opticalDepth outColor outGlowColor outMatteOpacity outParticleEmission outTransparency particleAge particleAttrArray particleColor particleEmission particleEntryParam particleExitParam particleIncandescence particleLifespan particleOrder particleTransparency particleWeight pixelCenter pixelCoverage pointCamera pointObj pointWorld primitiveId rayDepth rayDirection

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rayOrigin receiveShadows refPointCamera refPointObj refPointWorld renderState shadowAttenuation tangentUCamera tangentVCamera translucenceDepth triangleNormalCamera uvCoord uvFilterSize vertexCameraOne vertexCameraThree vertexCameraTwo vertexUvOne vertexUvThree vertexUvTwo

Modify > Edit Attribute


You can edit custom (or dynamic) attributes from either the main menu (Modify > Edit Attribute) or from the Attribute Editor (Attributes > Edit Attributes).You can perform the following editing operations on custom attributes.

Related topics

Create, edit, or delete custom attributes on page 116

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Options

You can rename a custom attribute. Select it in the Attributes list and modify the name in the New Name text box. In attribute names, all punctuation except for the underscore (_) and the pound sign (#) are illegal characters You can add, remove, or modify minimum and maximum values (for Integer, Float, and Vector type attributes). Select the attribute in the Attributes list and then turn on or off the Has Minimum and Has Maximum check boxes, as well as type values for these in the corresponding Min/Max text boxes. You can control the display of custom attributes in the Channel Box. Select the attribute in the Attributes list and then turn the Keyable check box on or off. When Keyable is turned on, the custom attribute appears in the Channel Box. You can change Enum strings. Select the Enum attribute in the Attributes list and modify the strings in the Enum list the same way you created them. NOTE You cannot key string attributes. NOTE When you create a Vector type custom attribute, three child attributes are created (nameX, nameY, nameZ, where name is the name of the attribute). For example, if you created a vector attribute named Speed, the children would be SpeedX, SpeedY, and SpeedZ. You cant access the Numeric Attribute Properties (Keyable and Min/Max) of the parent vector attribute. You have to select a child attribute and modify its Numeric Attribute Properties.

Modify > Delete Attribute


You can delete custom attributes from the main menu (Modify > Delete Attribute) or from the Attribute Editor (Attributes > Delete Attributes). You cannot delete built-in attributes.

Related topics

Create, edit, or delete custom attributes on page 116

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Modify > Convert > NURBS to Polygons


Converts the selected NURBS objects to polygons.

Related topics

Convert NURBS surfaces to a polygon mesh in the Polygon Modeling guide

Modify > Convert > NURBS to Polygons > Attaching multiple output meshes
Attach Multiple Output Meshes Produces a single mesh, even if the original NURBS object consists of separate surfaces. For example, if you convert a NURBS cube (which consists of six separate faces) with Attach Multiple Output Meshes on, the resulting polygon cube will consist of a single mesh. If Attach Multiple Output Meshes is off, the polygon cube will consist of six separate meshes. Merge Tolerance Controls how close vertices must be in order to be merged into a single mesh (when Attach Multiple Output Meshes is on). Match Render Tessellation When Match Render Tessellation is turned on it uses the existing render tessellation values that are set for the NURBS surface when converting it to a polygon mesh. As a result, the converted polygon mesh will match the rendered version of the NURBS surface. When History is turned on the NURBS to Polygon conversion will update whenever the NURBS render tessellation values are modified. NOTE This feature only supports Maya software NURBS tessellation settings. It does not support mental ray tessellation settings.

Outputting to triangles or quads


Type Select the type of polygons to use when you convert NURBS geometry to polygonal data. If you select Triangle (the default), 3-sided polygons are created. If you select Quads, 4-sided polygons are created.

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NOTE When you tessellate a trimmed NURBS surface, some 3-sided (triangle) polygons may be created along the trim edge even when the option is set to Quads.

Choosing a tessellation method


Tessellation means that you create a set of polygons from NURBS geometry. Each tessellation method provides you with options that let you control the resulting polygonal surface. There are four tessellation methods: Standard fit, General, Count, and Control Points.

Standard fit
Standard Fit is the default tessellation method. It is adaptive tessellation, meaning that the following options are used to determine when to stop the tessellation. For example, the tessellation stops at the Fractional Tolerance value you set. If there is an edge shorter than the Minimal Edge Length, the tessellation stops on that edge. If the surface is flat enough within the edge (the specified chord/height ratio is small enough), the tessellation stops there. Chord Height Ratio The Chord Height Ratio is the ratio between the maximum distance of the curve from the polygon edge used to approximate it and the chord length. The chord length is the linear distance between two polygon vertices.

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Valid values range between 0 and 1, where larger values result in fewer polygon vertices. For example, the default value, 0.1, means that the height must be larger than 1/10 of the chord length before additional edit points are created. Fractional Tolerance The Fractional Tolerance value determines the degree of accuracy maintained between the original surface and the interpolated polygonal surfaces. The default is to be accurate to within 0.01 units, where a unit refers to the current unit of linear measure (the default unit of measure is centimeters). Therefore, at no point will the polygonal surface be more than the tolerance distance away from the original NURBS surface. In this next example, notice how you can enhance the polygonal surfaces accuracy when you change the Fractional Tolerance value from 1 to 0.01.

Minimal Edge Length Enter a value or use the Minimal Edge Length slider to set the minimum length of the edges of the triangles or quads that are created. 3D Delta The 3D Delta value determines the 3D spacing for U and V isoparms on a surface that makes up the initial grid for the tessellation. In the following example, the 3D Delta value is changed from the default 0.1 to 1.0.

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General
Set the Tessellation Method to General to display the following options.

Setting the initial tessellation controls


Unless Use Chord Height or Use Chord Height Ratio is turned on, a uniform tessellation is performed. Each span/surface is split into a number of polygons depending on the Number U and V values you set. U Type/V Type The U Type and V Type pop-up menu items let you specify whether you want to split the surface based on where the spans are (then split each span), or based on the parameterization of the whole surface.

Number U/Number V Each span or surface is split into the number of polygons you specify here.

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Specifying the secondary tessellation controls


If Use Chord Height or Use Chord Height Ratio is turned on, you can set a specific value for both the Chord Height and the Chord Height Ratio. A value greater than 0 results in fewer polygon vertices if the ratio on the curve is greater than the current value. For example, the default value, 0.1, means that the height must be larger than 1/10 of the chord length before additional edit points are created. Turn Edge Swap on to produce triangles with the opposite orientation for the final quadrilateral.

Count
Set the Tessellation Method to Count to display the following slider. Count slider Use the Count slider to determine how many polygons the surface can be tessellated into. See the following examples.

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Control Points
This tessellation method converts the NURBS model to polygons while matching the CVs of the original NURBS surface. There are no other options for this operation.

Notes
When you use the Control Points Tessellation Method:

The Type option you set is ignored and the resulting polygon is in Quads by default. If you convert trimmed NURBS surfaces the surfaces convert as though they were not trimmed.

When you use the Attach Multiple Output Meshes option, the operation may fail to attach surfaces for a variety of reasons:

When attaching a number of surfaces, and some of the surfaces are extremely small, the tolerance must be set to an appropriately small value or the attach operation will fail. When attaching multiple surfaces, all of the surfaces must be contiguous to within the user-defined tolerance. Separated regions cannot be attached in a single operation. Use the attach operation multiple times for this case; once for each contiguous region. The surfaces to be attached must have their normals facing in the same direction or the attach will fail.

Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv, Polygons to Subdiv


Both conversion operations (NURBS to Subdiv and Polygons to Subdiv) have the same options in the options window.

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Maximum Base Mesh Faces Set the maximum number of faces the original surface can have to successfully convert it to a subdivision surface. For example, if the original surface has 900 faces and the Maximum Base Mesh Faces value is 1000, the conversion will succeed, but if the surface has 1200 faces, the conversion will fail. Depending on the complexity of the original object, the resulting surface may be represented with fewer faces. Maximum Edges Per Vertex Set the maximum number of edges each vertex in the original surface can have to successfully convert it to a subdivision surface. Keep Original Keeps the original object when creating the subdivision surface. When Keep Original is turned on, you can select the initial editing mode for the subdivision surface. When this option is off, the original object is replaced by the subdivision surface. Subdivision Surface Mode These options are available only when Keep Original is turned on. Select the initial editing mode for the subdivision surface.

Hotkeys
` (left single quote beside the 1 key) Turns on/off the display of the original surface or the converted subdiv surface. Displays both the original surface and the converted subdiv surface. If a NURBS surface is selected: Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv If a polygonal surface is selected: Modify > Convert > Polygons to Subdiv If a NURBS surface is selected: Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv > If a polygonal surface is selected: Modify > Convert > Polygons to Subdiv > Page Up Increases the Display Level of the subdiv surface (when in subdivision surface standard mode).

Shift + `

Alt + `

Alt + Shift + `

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Page Down

Decreases the Display Level of the subdiv surface (when in subdivision surface standard mode).

Modify > Convert > Smooth Mesh Preview to Polygons


Converts a Smooth Mesh Preview version of a polygon mesh to an actual polygon mesh. The attribute settings for the Smooth Mesh Preview are used when converting to the polygon mesh.

Related topics

Smooth Mesh

Modify > Convert > Polygon Edges to Curve


Form
Sets the type of curve that results once the selected edges are converted. Open Creates a curve with disconnected start and end points. Periodic Creates a curve with connected start and end points. If the selected edges do not form a closed loop, Maya will automatically connect the two open endpoints. Best Guess Creates a Periodic curve if the selected edges form a closed loop. Creates an Open curve otherwise. Degree The higher the Curve Degree, the more control you have over the curves smoothness. The default setting (3 Cubic) works well for most curves.

Modify > Convert > Subdiv to Polygons


Tessellation Method
Select one of the following tessellation methods. Uniform Uniform tessellation produces a polygon with an equal number of faces for each of the subdivision surfaces base mesh faces (faces at level 0). Polygon Count Polygon Count is the same method as Uniform, but with a threshold value beyond which the conversion fails. Use Maximum Number Polygons to set this value. The resulting polygon will have at most this many polygons, but there is no guarantee that the number will be exact.

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Adaptive Adaptive tessellation produces a polygon with an equal number of faces for each of the finest level faces on the subdivision surface. The more refinement youve made to a region of the subdivision surface, the more faces the resulting polygon will have for that same region. Use Divisions Per Face to control the number of faces produced for each finest level face. Vertices Produces a polygon that matches the vertices on the subdivision surface. The polygon matches vertices to the level specified in the Level option. Level If you are using the Uniform option, set the level to determine how many faces are to be used in the tessellation. For example, if Level is 3, the faces at level 3 are used in the tessellation. Divisions Per Face Specify how many times each face should be divided when performing a Uniform or Adaptive tessellation. Increasing this value smooths the polygonal surface. Maximum Number Polygons Sets the threshold number of polygons used by Polygon Count tessellation.

Original Object
Select what you want done with the original selected object after tessellation. Use the Original Object settings to maintain a form of construction history, as these override the global construction history settings. Replace The subdivision surface is deleted when the polygonal surface is created. This is the default. Hide Hide keeps the subdivision surface, but hides it when the polygonal surface is created. The source object can be viewed in the Hypergraph and Outliner (select Input and Output Connections), and made visible in the modeling view by using Display > Show > Show Selection or All. Show Show keeps the subdivision surface and keeps it visible in the modeling view. Share UVs With this option turned on, the resulting polygon will maintain existing UV mesh borders. If this option is off, UV borders are created for each polygonal face.

Modify > Convert > Subdiv to NURBS


Original Object Specifies what happens to the source object after conversion. Replace Deletes the original object, leaving only the original transform node. To maintain the scene hierarchy, maya keeps the original transform node and makes the resulting NURBS patches children of it.

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Hide and Show These options keep the original object. If you have construction history turned on, you can still edit the original subdivision surface to change the resulting NURBS patches. With Hide, the original is hidden from view. If you later want to display and edit the original, select it in the Outliner and choose Display > Show > Show Selection. Output Type Instead of NURBS, you can choose to create a Bezier surface by turning on the Beziers option. You can export Beziers surfaces for use with some game engines. If you perform operations from the Edit NURBS menu, such as inserting an isoparm, the surface will switch from Bezier to NURBS. To switch back to Bezier, use Edit NURBS > Rebuild Surfaces.

Modify > Convert > Texture to Geometry


Texture to Geometry converts an image into geometry by creating a polygonal mesh that is subdivided based on the colors in the image. The subdivided faces on the mesh can be assigned a shading material with a similar color to the original image. The subdivided polygonal mesh can then be used as is, or be made to wrap onto the original polygonal mesh so it appears in the same location as the original texture map. The original texture image is not modified

Related topics

Convert textures to a polygon mesh Convert Texture to Geometry workflow tips

Modify > Convert > Texture to Geometry >


These are the descriptions for the options in the Texture to Geometry Options window. The Texture to Geometry options are divided into four categories based on their related function. Some of these options are also available from the Attribute Editor. This lets you modify the parameters after the initial surface mesh is created and update the resulting mesh through the construction history connection. Input Image Specifies the image you want to convert into geometry. Type the directory path and file name in this text box. Because it is possible to have multiple textures assigned to a surface, you must specify which image you want converted in the Input Image text box.

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Segment Detection Options


These options specify how color features in the input image are detected and then subsequently converted into segments that define the areas for subdivision of the resulting mesh. Quantize Images that contain subtle color changes (color ramps or blends) can be problematic for the detection and segmentation phase of the Texture to Geometry feature. Turning this option on helps the feature determine segments in images that contain gradient color changes. For example, if the image contained a gradient (ramp) background, the gradient region would be divided into equal segments based on the Quantize levels option settings. Turn this option on only if your image contains gradient color changes. Quantize levels Quantize levels uses the color value information in HSV color space to set the number of color levels in the image when the Quantize option is turned on. The level setting affects how the gradient color regions get divided during the detection and segmentation phase. For example, a Quantize Level of 16 indicates that the detection/segmentation of the image would be divided into 16 areas based on the Value parameter in HSV color space for the pixels in the gradient region. This option is only available when the Quantize option is turned on and is specifically useful for images that contain gradient color changes. Search Radius Texture to Geometry uses a search algorithm that looks at neighboring pixels in the image to determine which segment of the image matches a given pixel. Search Radius determines the size of the searching radius in pixels. The valid range for this option is between 3 and 10. The default Search Radius is 7 pixels. The smaller you set the Search Radius value, the less likely the search algorithm will find a segment and the more segments will get produced as a result. Minimum Segment Size Sets the minimum segment size for the image using a percentage value that is based on the total area for the input image. The higher the Minimum Segment Size value the fewer the segments produced during the segmentation phase. For example, a Minimum Segment Size value of 0.5 would indicate that a color segment must occupy at least half of the area of the input image in order to be detected and segmented. While the valid range for this option is between 0.005 and 1.0, useful values range between 0.005 and 0.2. You can determine the actual number of pixels specified by this value by multiplying the total number of pixels by the Minimum Segment Size value. For example, an image that is 256 x 256 would have 65,536 pixels. If a Minimum Segment Size of 0.2 was specified, the minimum number of pixels that could be detected for a segment would be 65,536 x 0.2 = 13,107 pixels.

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Color Range Specifies the size of the palette of colors that may be accepted into a segment during the initial detection of colors in the image. The range is between 1 and 10 colors. Setting the Color Range to a smaller value limits the color range and introduces more segments. Setting the Color Range to a larger value increases the size of the search range and creates less segments. The default value of 4.5 is useful in the majority of situations. Maximum Color Difference When features get detected in an image there are often many segments that share the same color. To reduce the number of shading materials produced, the segments are grouped by the common colors that are shared. Maximum Color Difference specifies the difference in RGB values that can occur between segments for the grouping operation. When the Maximum Color Difference is set to a small value, the less likely segments will be grouped. The default value of 0.125 is optimal in the majority of situations.

Segment Meshing Options


These options specify how the segments that are produced get subdivided in the resulting surface mesh. Max Points to Add Specifies the maximum number of points that can be added to the resulting mesh to reduce thin triangle polygons. Thin polygons can produce visible artifacts when an image is rendered. Increasing this setting increases the number of polygons that result on the mesh. In general, this attribute is adjusted on the texture to geometry node in the Attribute Editor once the resulting mesh is completed and thin polygons are discovered.

Surface Fitting Options


These options specify how the resulting surface mesh is constrained to fit onto a selected surface in the scene. Fit To Selection Specifies that the resulting mesh will be constrained to fit the polygonal mesh currently selected in the scene. As a result, the converted mesh is modified to fit over top of the selected mesh using the Surface Offset specified and the existing UV texture coordinates for the selected mesh, unless an alternate UV Set is specified. When Fit to Selection is off, the resulting surface mesh is positioned at 0, 0, 0 in the scene view along the X,Y plane. Surface Offset Specifies how far the converted mesh will be offset away from the selected surface in centimeters. The range is between 0 and 1, with a default setting of 0.01 cm. The resulting surface mesh is offset perpendicular (normal) to the selected mesh. Offsetting the resulting mesh makes it appear as if it were actually mapped onto the surface when rendered.

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UV Set Lets you specify an alternate set of UV texture coordinates when the resulting mesh is fit to a selected polygonal mesh. The UVs must be non-overlapping and should be within the 0 to 1 texture mapping range as they appear in the UV Texture Editor. The name of the UV set you specify must explicitly match the name of the UV set as it appears in the UV Texture Editor. NOTE Its possible to fit the resulting mesh to a different mesh after the initial creation. To do this you must connect the output mesh attribute from the mesh shape node to the inputMesh on the converter node. For example:
connectAttr -f pSphereShape1.outMesh <n>Converter.inputMesh

Where pSphereShape1 is the name of the mesh you want to fit on, and <n>Converter.inputMesh is the name of resulting mesh, with n being the name of the original input image.

Surface Output Options


These option specify how shading materials are produced for the resulting surface mesh. Generate Shaders Specifies that shading materials get assigned to the resulting mesh based on the various Segment options. The number of shading materials that get produced directly correlates to the maximum number of segments produced in the segmentation phase (maximum = 100). When shading materials are generated for the mesh with this option, they have a connection to the texture to geometry node. For example, if you update parameters for the texture to geometry node in the Attribute Editor, the assignment of shading materials will update automatically. Shader Template Lets you specify an existing shading material type for use as a template for the shading materials that are assigned to the resulting polygon mesh when Generate Shaders is turned on. The drop-down list lets you select shader types from the existing shading materials in the current scene so that the shading attributes for your resulting mesh match the attributes of the selected surface mesh when it gets applied.

Modify > Convert > Displacement to Polygons with History

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Converts the selected displacement to a polygon object that has construction history. Using Convert > Displacement to Polygons with History is useful in Dynamics and nDynamics for creating effects such as colliding nParticles with a Maya ocean, which is a displacement.

Modify > Convert > Fluid to Polygons


Converts a fluid object to a polygon mesh, which you can treat like any other polygon. See Modify > Convert > Fluid to Polygons.

Modify > Convert > nParticle to Polygons


Converts an nParticle object to a polygon mesh, which you can treat like any other polygon. See Modify > Convert > nParticle to Polygons.

Modify > Convert > Instance to Object


Converts the selected instanced object to a duplicate of the original object. A new shape node for the duplicated copy is created. Use the Instance to Object feature when modification of one or more instances would otherwise occur on all of the instanced versions of that object.

Modify > Replace Objects


Replaces one or more objects in the scene with a specified source object. Select the objects you want to replace as well as the object you want to use as the source object. The source object must be the last object in the selection.

Attributes to copy
Attributes copied are copied from the original object being replaced to the new object. Rotate Copies the Rotate attributes from the original object being replaced to the new object. The default setting is on. Scale Copies the Scale attributes from the original object being replaced to the new object. The default setting is on.

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Type of Copy
Specifies how the new objects get created. You can select Copy, Instance, or Reference. Copy The new objects are duplicates of the source object with their own separate shape nodes. This is the default setting. Instance The new objects are instances of the specified source object and share one shape node. When Keep last selected object is on, the new objects are instances of the source object and share its shape node. Reference Use this option only if the source object is a reference. New objects will also be references. Otherwise, use the Copy or Instance options to replace objects with the referenced source object. NOTE If you attempt to replace two or more objects with a reference you will not be able to Undo. Keep last selected object The source object is kept by default. Turn off Keep last selected object if you want the source object to be automatically deleted.

Display
Display > Grid
Shows or hides the grid in all view panels. When the grid is visible, you can turn it off in an individual panel using the panels Show > Grid item.

Related topics

Show, hide, or change the grid on page 45 Show > Grid on page 543

Display > Grid > Size


You can change the size and length of the grid, set the number of subdivision lines, and the increment for the grid lines.

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Length and width Sets the number of units for the length and width of the grid. The default is 12 units. Grid lines every Displays a grid line every n units. The default is 5. Subdivisions Specifies the number of divisions between major grid lines. Setting the Subdivisions option to a value greater than 1 specifies that each main grid interval is subdivided by the amount specified. The default is 5.

Color
You can change the color of the axes, grid lines and labels, and subdivision lines. Axes Specifies a color for the X and Z axes on the grid. The default is dark grey. Grid lines & numbers Specifies a color for the grid lines and the grid line numbers. The default is light grey. Subdivision lines Specifies a color for the subdivision lines. The default is light grey. NOTE You can also change the color of the axes, grid lines and numbers, and subdivision lines in the Colors window (Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings). Go to the Inactive tab and then the Modeling category to find these color options. Here you can also change the color of the X-, Y-, and Z-axis that appear in the Origin and View axes.

Display
You can turn on and off the display of grid elements, including axes, thicker lines for axes, grid lines, subdivision lines, and grid line numbers. Axes Turns on or off the display of the axes. The default is on. Thicker line for axes Turns on or off the display of thicker lines for the axes. The default is on. Grid Lines Turns on or off the display of the grid lines. The default is on. Subdivision lines Turns on or off the display of the subdivision lines. The default is on. Perspective grid numbers In the Perspective view, you can set the grid line numbers to display on the axes, along the edge of the grid, or just hide them.

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Orthographic grid numbers


In the Orthographic views (top, side, front), you can set the grid line numbers to display on the axes, along the edge of the grid, or just hide them. Hide Hides the grid line numbers. This is the default for both Perspective and Orthographic Grid Numbers. On Axes Displays the grid line numbers along the axes. Along Edge Displays the grid line numbers along the edge of the grid. NOTE To restore the default grid option settings, select Edit, Reset Settings in the Grid Options window. However, this does not restore the default grid color settings. To restore the default colors, go to the Colors window (Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings) and select Edit, Reset to Defaults. This restores all color defaults, including the grid colors.

Display > Heads Up Display

This submenu contains a number of readouts you can show or hide over top of the view panel content.

Related topics

Show information over top of a view (heads-up display) on page 45 Create a custom heads-up display readout on page 332

Items
Select Details Displays the current state of reflection and Soft Selection in the bottom-right corner of the scene view. Object Details Displays a list of object details that includes: Backfaces, Smoothness, Instance, Display Layer, Distance From Camera and number of Selected Objects. The details are displayed in the top-right corner of the panel. The default is off.

Poly Count
Displays polygon statistics for the visible objects displayed in the view panel, including Vertices, Edges, Faces, Triangles, and UVs. This feature is useful for games development. The first column on the left lists the total components of all the polygons in the scene. The second column lists the total components

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of the selected polygon(s). The third column lists the total selected components. The default is off. Poly Count > has two options.

Cage Displays the polygon statistics of the cages (the original meshes) for the visible objects in the panel. Smooth Mesh Preview Displays the polygon statistics for the visible objects displayed in the panel. When the display is set to default mode, the cage statistics are shown. When the display is set to Smooth Mesh Preview mode, the statistics for the smoothed objects are shown.

Subdiv Details Subdiv current level: Displays the level setting for the currently selected components of the subdivision surface. This option is particularly useful when subdivision components are displayed as points rather than numbers and the level information is required. Subdiv mode: Displays the mode for the currently selected subdivision surface. That is, Standard or Polygon Proxy mode. Animation Details Turns on or off the display of a list of animation details, which include: Playback Speed, Current Character, and IK Blend. The details

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are displayed above the Frame Rate in the bottom-right corner of the panel. The default is off. FBIK Display Displays the current FBIK Key Type and FBIK Keying Mode for your scene in the bottom-right corner. The default is off. Frame Rate Displays the frame rate in fps for the current view in the bottom-right corner. The default is off. Current Frame Displays the current playback frame number in the bottom-right corner. The default is off.

Scene Timecode Displays the scene timecode in the bottom-right corner of the scene view. Default is off. See also Set and display timecode for the scene. Camera Names Displays the camera name (persp, top, side, front) in the bottom-center of camera views. Also displays the viewport type (High Quality, Viewport 2.0) in the top-center of the viewport. The default is on. Focal Length Displays the focal length of the current camera in the bottom-right corner. The default is off. View Axis Displays the global axis in the bottom-left corner of all views. The default is on. Origin Axis Displays the global axis at the origin (0, 0, 0) within the perspective view. The default is on.

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Tool Message Shows or hides the tool prompts that appear for certain tools. See also Help preferences on page 657.

Display > UI Elements


The items in this menu control the visibility of various user interface elements, including the Status Line, the Shelf, the Time Slider, and so on. Hide All UI Elements Hide all UI parts so only the panels and menus are visible. Show All UI Elements Show all UI parts. Restore UI Elements Restores the visibility of UI parts to their state before you selected Hide All UI Elements. If certain parts were hidden before you selected Hide All UI Elements, they will still be hidden.

Related topics

Main window on page 4

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Display > Hide, Show


Use Display > Hide to hide items you arent working on and reduce visual clutter. This is handy if you want to remove an object from the view, but do not want to delete it or move it. To display items, use the Display > Show submenu, which includes the same selections as Display > Hide.

Related topics

Show or hide objects on page 47

The Hide menu items are:

Items
Hide Selection Hides selected object(s). Hide Unselected Objects Hides all unselected objects. Hide Unselected CVs To control the display of CVs, select the CVs that you want to remain visible, and then useDisplay > Hide > Hide Unselected CVs to hide all the other CVs on that surface. This affects the display of CVs in component selection mode, as well as CVs displayed in object selection mode by the use of Display > NURBS > CVs. TIP It is possible to use selective CV display on more than one surface at a time. The selective CV display function operates exclusively from other Maya Hide and Show commands, and therefore menu selections such as Display > Show > All and others do not effect CVs whose display has been set using selective CV display. All Hides all objects, whether they are selected or not. Hide Geometry Displays a menu that lets you select the type of geometry you want to hide. Hide Kinematics Displays a menu that lets you select the type of kinematics you want to hide. Hide Deformers Displays a menu that lets you select the type of deformers you want to hide. Lights Hides lights. Cameras Hides cameras.

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Texture Placements Hides texture placements. Construction planes Hides construction planes. Fluids, Hair Systems, Follicles, Fur Hides fluids, hair systems, follicles, or fur. nCloths, nParticles, nRigids, Dynamic Constraints Available only if you have Maya Unlimited. Hides nCloth, nParticles, nRigids, or Dynamic Constraints. Animation Markers Hides animation markers. Light Manipulators Hides light manipulators. Camera Manipulators Hides camera manipulators.

Display > Wireframe Color


Lets you set the wireframe color of the selected objects. You can leave the color selection window open and keep selecting and applying colors.

Display > Object Display


The items in this submenu control the display and selectability of the selected objects. Template / Untemplate Makes an object unselectable, for use as a reference in your scene. Templated objects appear slightly dimmed. You cannot select or snap to templated objects. Bounding Box / No Bounding Box Draws a box around the total space occupied by each object. Geometry / No Geometry Shows or hides the actual geometry of the object (for example, the surface or polygon mesh). This lets you turn on the display of components (such as CVs) but turn off the actual object itself. Ignore Hardware Shader / Use Hardware Shader Lets you ignore hardware shaders on multiple polygon or NURBS objects. The objects then appear with their untextured default shaders. Use Hardware Shader lets you show the hardware shaders for multiple polygon or NURBS objects.

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Fast Interaction Improves performance by displaying fewer geometric entities (such as polygons), especially when moving the camera (for example, tumbling the scene view).

Related topics

Make an object unselectable (template) on page 154 Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects on page 46 Show or hide objects on page 47

Display > Transform Display


The items in this submenu let you show or hide object-specific UI in the view windows.

Related topics

Show or hide components on page 48 Show or hide object-specific UI on page 48 Local Rotation Axes Turns on or off the display of the objects local rotation axes. Rotate Pivots Turns on or off the display of the objects rotate pivots. Scale Pivots Turns on or off the display of the objects scale pivots. Selection Handles Turns on or off the display of selection handles on manipulators.

Display > Polygons


Backface Culling
Draw only what is facing the camera in the 3D view in the wireframe mode. You can improve performance on some systems by turning on Backface Culling. Select one of the following options: Off By default, Maya turns backface culling off. All wireframes are shown. On Surfaces appear invisible in areas where the normal points away from the camera.

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Culling Options
Select one of the following culling options. Keep wire Displays wireframe outlines. Keep hard edges Sets backface culling for soft edges only. Keep vertices Displays vertices. Vertices Show vertex points on the selected polygons. Vertex Size Adjusts the size that vertices are drawn in the scene view. The default size is 3. The range is from 0.2 to 10. UVs Show UV texture coordinates (UVs) on the selected polygons. Unshared UVs Show the UV texture coordinates (UVs) on your object. If UVs are shared, they display as single purple dots. If the UVs are not shared, multiple purple dots display close to the vertex to which a given UV belongs. When you select the UV in the UV Texture Editor, a line displays pointing to the face it belongs to. Turn on the Unshared UVs option to display and be able to select unshared UVs.

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UV Size Adjusts the size that UV texture coordinates (UVs) are drawn in the scene view and the UV Texture Editor. The default size is 4. The range is from 0.2 to 10. Component IDs Display index numbers on an objects vertices, edges, faces or UVs, depending on which component types you select. The numbers for UVs only appear in the UV Texture Editor. Face Normals Show perpendicular lines (normals) of each face of the polygon. Vertex Normals Show perpendicular lines (normals) of each vertex of the polygon. Vertex normals only appear on selected objects. Tangents Displays lines on the mesh indicating the tangent and binormal directions. Binormals appear in a blue color. Tangent normals appear in a red color. Normals Size Adjust the length of the normals by entering a value or using the slider to specify a size. The range is from 0.2 to 10. Standard Edges Display all edges in default settings. Soft/Hard Edges Show dotted lines as soft edges and solid lines as hard edges. Hard Edges Show only hard edges (soft edges are invisible). Border Edges Highlights all border edges (only in the Texture Editor). Crease Edges Turn on or off the crease edges on polygons. Texture Border Edges Turn on or off the texture border edges. Edge Width Adjust edge width by entering a numeric value or using the slider to select ranges of 0.02 to 10. Face Centers Show a small square to indicate the face center.

Face Triangles Show all polygon faces as triangles.

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Non-planar Faces Highlight all non-planar faces.

Reset Display Restore default settings. Limit to Selected Limits the changes that you make to the selected polygons. To apply display changes to all polygons, turn off this option.

Custom Polygon Display


Using the Custom Polygon Display window, you can set how specific components of your polygons display. This dialog box provides a way to set multiple options also available in the Display > Polygons menu, and compatibility with previous versions of Maya. Objects affected Determines the objects affected by the settings you apply in this window. Vertices Allows you to display vertices and vertex normals on polygons. Same effect as the Display > Polygons > Vertices and Display > Polygons > Vertex Normals options respectively. Highlight Same effect as Display > Polygons > Crease Vertices. Vertex Size Same effect as Display > Polygons > Vertex Size. Edges Allows you to customize the display of edge hardness. Same effect as Display > Polygons > Standard Edges, Display Polygons > Soft/Hard Edges and Display > Polygons > Hard Edges. Highlight Allows you to highlight Border edges, Texture Edges and Crease edges.

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Same effect as Display > Polygons > Border Edges, Display > Polygons > Crease Edges and Display > Polygons Texture Border Edges respectively. Edge width Same effect as Display > Polygons > Edge Width. Face Allows you to display face centers, face normals and non-planar faces. Same effect as Display > Polygons > Face Centers, Display > Polygons > Face Triangles and Display > Polygons > Non-planar Faces respectively. Show item numbers Allows you to display the ID for each vertex, edge, face and UV. Same effect as the options in Display > Polygons > Component IDs. Normals size Adjusts the length of normals when they are displayed. Same effect as Display > Polygons > Normals Size. UV Size Adjusts the size of UVs. Same effect as Display > Polygons > UV Size. Texture coordinates Allows you to display UVs individually or as a topology on objects at all times. Same effect as Display > Polygons > UVs and Display > Polygons > Unshared UVs respectively. Color operations When Color in Shaded Display is on, you can see the effects of Apply Color, Prelighting, and the Paint Vertex Color Tool while in shaded mode. This option is turned on by default whenever you select these commands. Select a Color Material Channel to refine your application. See Coloring polygons for details about using these options and the Apply Color operation. Backface culling Same effect as Display > Polygons > Backface Culling.

Smooth Mesh Preview


Allows you to quickly see what meshes will look like when they are smoothed. Same effect as pressing 2 on your keyboard. Display Allows you to display both the original mesh (as a cage) and the smooth mesh at the same time, or just the smooth mesh. Edit Allows you to choose whether you want to edit the original version, the smoothed version, or both versions of your mesh simultaneously. Only available when Display is set to Cage + Smooth Mesh. Division Levels Determines the number of concurrent smooth operations shown in the scene panel.

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Extra controls
A number of extra options for Smooth Mesh Preview. For more information on these controls, see Mesh > Smooth.

Display > NURBS


CVs Show control vertex (CV) for the selected NURBS surfaces. Edit Points Display edit points for the selected NURBS surfaces. Hulls Display hulls for the selected NURBS surfaces. Normals (Shaded Mode) Show normals for the selected NURBS surfaces. Normals only appear in Shaded Mode (Hotkey: 5). Patch Centers Display small squares at patch centers. Surface Origins Show the origin curve of the NURBS surfaces.

Custom Allows you to customize your NURBS display options by setting many options at once. You can specify the scope of which NURBS objects display their components using the Scope drop-down list. The scope can be active objects, all objects, new curves, or new surfaces. Hull Shows hulls only. You can apply the setting to active objects or to all objects. Additionally, the options allow you to control the number of hull divisions displayed. Rough/Medium/Fine Displays objects at preset levels of quality. Selecting Medium or Fine slows the display and interactive performance, but improves image precision. The options for these selections allows you to apply the setting to active objects or to all objects. NOTE The hotkeys for these settings are: 1 (Rough), 2 (Medium) and 3 (Fine). Custom Smoothness Lets you customize the display quality.

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In the following figure, an objects smoothness is changed from a default medium level of quality to a custom hull quality level.

NURBS Smoothness (Custom) options


Objects Affected Select from Active objects or All objects. Geometry To display all geometry, select Full. To display hulls only, select Hull.

Wireframe
Surface Div per Span USurface Div per Span V Together, these settings subdivide the NURBS patches for display purposes to give it the appearance of a finer mesh. The range is from 0 to 32. Curve Div per Span Specifies the number of curve divisions per span to give the curves a rougher or smoother appearance. The range is from 1 to 128.

Shaded
Display Render Tessellation Geometry Turn on to see the pattern of tessellation that the renderer will use for the surface. You must be in shade mode to see this pattern. Surface Div per Span Specifies the number of surface divisions per span in shaded mode. The range is from 0 to 32.

Hull
Hull Simplification UHull Simplification V If you have the Geometry set to Hull, you can use these settings to control the number of hull divisions displayed.

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Display > Subdiv Surfaces


Vertices Show vertex points on the selected primitive. Edges Show edges for the selected Subdiv surface. Faces Display points as faces for the selected Subdiv surface. UVs Show UVs for the selected primitive. Normals (Shaded Mode) Show normals for the selected Subdiv surface. Normals only appear in shaded mode (Hotkey: 5). UV Borders (Texture Editor) Highlights the UV borders only in the Texture Editor. Hull/Rough/Medium/Fine Displays objects at preset levels of quality. Selecting Medium or Fine slows the display and interactive performance, but improves image precision. The options for these selections allows you to apply the setting to active objects or to all objects.

Display > Animation


Lattice Points Turns on or off the display of the lattice points if you selected a lattice deformer (an L icon represents a lattice deformer handle). For information on lattices, see Lattices. Lattice Shape Turns on or off the display of the objects lattice shape when you have selected a lattice deformer. The lattice deformer switches between displaying its lattices and the L icon. For information on lattices, see Lattices. Joint Size Adjust joint sizes by entering a value or use the slider for ranges of 0.01 to 10. IK/FK Joint Size Adjust IK/FK joint sizes by entering a value or use the slider for ranges of 0.01 to 10. IK Handle Size Adjust IK handle size by entering a value or use the slider for ranges of 0.01 to 10. Joint Labels Turns on or off the display of joint labels in the scene view for selected joints.

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Display > Rendering


Camera/Light Manipulator Camera
Center of Interest Turns on or off the display of the cameras center of interest manipulator. Pivot Turns on or off the display of the cameras pivot, which is the point that the camera rotates around. Clipping Planes Turns on or off the display of the cameras clipping planes. Cycling Index Turns on or off the display of the cameras cycling index. By clicking on this control, you can cycle through the available manipulator controls one at a time for the selected camera.

Light
Center of Interest Turns on or off the display of a lights center of interest manipulator. Pivot Turns on or off the display of a lights pivot, which is the point that the light rotates around. Cycling Index Turns on or off the display of a lights cycling index. By clicking this control, you can cycle through the available manipulator controls for the selected light on at a time.

Other options
Paint Effects Mesh Display Show the paint effects as a 3D mesh.

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Stroke Display Quality Use this to set a percentage display quality for the selected Paint Effects strokes. For more information, see Modify stroke display quality.

Window
Window > General Editors > Component Editor
Shows the Component Editor window. See Component Editor on page 584.

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Window > General Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet


Shows the Attribute Spread Sheet window. See Attribute Spread Sheet on page 565.

Window > General Editors > Connection Editor


Shows the Connection Editor window. See Connection Editor.

Window > General Editors > Visor


Shows the Visor window. See Visor on page 627.

Window > General Editors > Display Layer Editor


Shows the Display Layer Editor. See Display Layer editor on page 586.

Window > General Editors > Asset Editor


Shows the Asset Editor window. See Asset Editor on page 549.

Window > General Editors > Blind Data Editor


Shows the Blind Data Editor window. See Blind Data Editor.

Window > General Editors > Channel Control


Shows the Channel Control window. See Channel Control.

Window > General Editors > Script Editor


Shows the Script Editor window. See Script Editor on page 618.

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Window > General Editors > Command Shell


Shows the Command Shell window.

Window > Rendering Editors


Contains options for rendering. See Window > Rendering Editors.

Window > Animation Editors


Contains options for animation. See Window > Animation Editors.

Window > Relationship Editors


Shows a list of options. When you select an option, the Relationship Editor opens and displays the current relationships for that option. For more information, see Relationship Editor on page 616.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences


Shows the Preferences window. See Preferences window on page 651.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Tool Settings


Shows the options for the current tool in a window. If the Tool Settings are already visible in the side panel, Maya closes the side panel first.

Related topics

Selection, tools, and actions on page 3 Select tools and actions on page 12

Window > Settings/Preferences > Performance Settings


Lets you select trade-offs between performance and quality, as well as temporarily disable some visual updates to improve interactivity.

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Dependency Graph Evaluation


To set when to refresh (or redraw the screen) when manipulating objects, in the Dependency Graph Evaluation section, select one of the following: Drag Refreshes the display during the drag. Demand Refreshes the display only when you release the mouse button and click the Refresh button that appears in the bottom right of the display window. Release Refreshes the display only when you release the mouse button.

Surfaces options
To control complex operations on surfaces during mouse interaction, in the Surfaces section, select one of the following beside the surface: On Performs complex operations during mouse interactions. Off Completely disables complex operations during mouse interaction. Interactive Suspends complex operations during mouse interaction.

Paint Effects
To control the playback of animated Paint Effects brushes or animated strokes, in the Paint Effects section, select one of the following: On The scene view refreshes whenever something changes, whether during playback or if a parameter is modified. Off A brush won't update until setAttr is run on it. Interactive The scene view refreshes when playback ends, or when a parameter is modified.

Deformers options
To control complex operations on deformers during mouse interaction, in the Deformers section, select one of the following beside the surface: On Performs complex operations during mouse interactions. Off Completely disables complex operations during mouse interaction. Interactive Suspends complex operations during mouse interaction. Per Node For Cluster Resolution and Lattice Resolution only, improves redraw performance for individual cluster or lattice deformations by setting the Use

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Partial Resolution attribute to partial and setting the Percent Resolution on a per node basis. For details, see Character Setup. Global For Cluster Resolution and Lattice Resolution only, improves the redraw performance of all cluster or lattice deformations. (You do not need to set the Percent Resolution for each cluster or lattice.) Set Global Cluster Resolution and Global Lattice Resolution to Full, High, Medium, or Low. A Low setting corresponds to a low percentage, and therefore more improved performance. For more information on surfaces, see NURBS and Polygonal modeling. For more information on deformers, see Character Setup.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor


Shows the Hotkey Editor. See Hotkey Editor on page 593.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings


The Color Settings window has three tabs. Each tab allows you to change the default colors for a different set of components. For more information, see Color Settings on page 583.

Related topics

Change user interface colors on page 291

General tab
Use the General tab to change the default colors for components in these areas: 3D Views, User Defined, Ghosts, IK/FK Blending, Heads Up Display, Animation, Animation Editors, Render View, Hypergraph / Hypershade, and Outliner (Also affects Animation and Relationship Editors).

Active tab
Use the Active tab to change the default colors for components in these areas: General, Objects, Components, Deformers, Manipulators, Animation, Artisan Brushes, and Smooth Mesh Preview.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor | 515

Inactive tab
Use the Inactive tab to set the colors for objects that are not selected. The Inactive tab lets you change the default colors in the following areas or tools: General, Modeling, Objects, Components, Deformers, and Animation, and Smooth Mesh Preview.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Marking Menu Editor


Shows the Marking Menu Editor. See Marking Menu Editor on page 596.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor


Shows the Shelf editor. See Shelf Editor on page 624.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Panel Editor


Shows the Panel editor. This is the same as selecting Panels > Panel Editor in a panel. See Panel editor on page 606.

Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager


Shows the Plug-in Manager window. See Plug-in Manager on page 609.

Window > Attribute Editor


Shows the Attribute Editor window. See Attribute Editor on page 556.

Window > Outliner


Shows the Outliner. See Outliner on page 602.

Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy


Opens a new Hypergraph window with the Scene Hierarchy option selected.

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Also see:

Window > Hypergraph: Connections on page 517

Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy > Open Hypergraph


You have the following options: Create new Hypergraph panel Creates the specified Hypergraph type in a new panel. Use the first one Opens the Hypergraph in a new panel showing the first hierarchy view in the Hypergraph list.

Window > Hypergraph: Connections


Opens a new Hypergraph window with the Scene Hierarchy option selected. Also see:

Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy on page 516

Window > Hypergraph: Connections > Open Hypergraph


You have the following options: Create new Hypergraph panel Creates the specified Hypergraph type in a new panel. Use the first one Opens the Hypergraph in a new panel showing the first input/output view in the Hypergraph list.

Window > Paint Effects


Shows the Paint Effects panel. See Paint Effects panel.

Window > UV Texture Editor


Shows the UV Texture Editor window. See UV Texture Editor.

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Window > Playblast


Creates a playblast of the current scene. See Window > Playblast.

Window > View Arrangement, Window > Saved Layouts


Let you select a layout and layout/contents presets. These are the same as the layouts/presets available using the quick layout buttons or the Panels menu in a panel.

Quick layout buttons on page 380 Panels menu on page 545

Window > Save Current Layout


Saves the current panel layout with the name of your choice. You can then choose this layout from Window > Saved Layouts.

Window > Frame All in All Views, Window > Frame Selection in All Views
Tracks and dollies all view panels to show all objects or the selected objects. To show all objects or the selected objects in a specific view panel, use the panels View menu.

Related topics

Center the view on selected or all objects on page 42

Window > Minimize Application


Minimizes Maya in your operating system.

Window > Raise Main Window


Puts all editor windows behind the main window.

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Window > Raise Application Windows


Puts all editor windows in front of the main window.

Assets
Assets > Create Asset with Transform
Creates an asset and automatically places any currently selected nodes into it. A transform node is also associated with the asset, allowing you to manipulate the asset node in the scene and DAG hierarchy as though it were a group node. If you parent other nodes to the asset, they are automatically placed inside the asset.

Related Links

Create assets on page 201

Assets > Create Asset with Transform > Operation


Determines whether an asset is created or previewed. Create asset with Transform When you select Apply or Apply and Close, an asset is created. Preview contents When you select Apply or Apply and Close, all the objects that would be included in the asset are highlighted. However, an asset is not created. Include Options Determines the nodes related to your selected nodes that are included in your asset.

Assets > Add to Asset


Adds the selected node(s) to the selected asset. If two assets are selected, then the asset selected first is added to the asset selected second. NOTE Maya returns an error if more than two assets are selected.

Window > Raise Application Windows | 519

Related topics

Add nodes to an asset on page 219

Assets > Add to Asset >


Include Connected In addition to the selected nodes, any nodes connected via incoming or outgoing connections are also added to the selected asset. Include Shaders In addition to the selected nodes, any connected shader nodes are also added to the selected asset. Include Hierarchy In addition to the selected node, adds other nodes in the hierarchy based on the selected option.

Assets > Remove from Asset


Removes any selected nodes from their respective assets. If a node is part of a nested series of assets, the nodes will be placed in the level above it.

Related topics

Remove nodes from an asset on page 220

Assets > Remove from Asset >


Include Hierarchy In addition to the selected node, removes other nodes in the hierarchy based on the selected option.

Assets > Asset Editor


Opens the Asset Editor.

Related topics

Asset Editor on page 549

Assets > Export Proxy Asset


Creates a proxy file for the currently selected referenced asset. For more information on proxy assets, see Proxy assets on page 194.

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Assets > Export Proxy Asset >


Name Determines the name of the locator object in the proxy asset. Create from Determines whether the proxy asset is created from the selected asset in your scene, or from that same assets template (assuming one is currently assigned). If created from the template, placeholder attributes are published to the proxy asset. New proxy Determines if the proxy is exported to a new file, or if it appears in the current scene alongside the asset it was created from.

Assets > Publish Attributes


Creates published names on the asset and binds the attributes to those published names according to the options in the Publish Attribute Options.

Related topics

Published attributes and nodes on page 169 Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221

Assets > Publish Attributes > Publish


Specifies the nodes to be published. Selected Channel Box attributes Publishes all currently highlighted attributes in the Channel Box. All Keyable Publishes all animation keyable attributes for the selected node. Incoming Connections Publishes all attributes whose values are currently determined by a connection to another node. Selected Attributes Publishes all currently selected attributes in the selected node to a selected asset.

Attribute name
Specifies the name of the published attribute on the asset. Renaming published attributes does not affect the name of the source attributes on their original nodes and renamed attributes still maintain a connection to these source attributes.

Assets > Publish Attributes | 521

Add a number to make it unique Automatically appends a number to the published attribute name if a published attribute with the same name already exists on the asset. Prefix with node name Automatically prepends the node name followed by an underscore to the published attributes name on the asset. For example, pSphere1_translateX. Prefix with custom string Automatically prepends the text in the Custom string field followed by an underscore to the published attributes name on the asset. Custom name Renames the published attribute to the text in the Custom string field. Custom string The text in this field is used by the Attribute name option when it is set to Prefix with custom string or Custom name. NOTE You cannot publish an attribute with the name note or with a . as they are a reserved keyword and reserved symbol respectively.

Assets > Unpublish Attributes


Unbinds any published attributes selected in the Channel Box and deletes the published name.

Related topics

Published attributes and nodes on page 169 Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221

Assets > Publish Connections


Publishes all attributes connected to a node outside the selected asset(s). This includes both incoming and outgoing connections.

Related topics

Published attributes and nodes on page 169 Publish attributes connected to external nodes on page 227

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Assets > Publish Connections >


Merge common inputs If an attribute of an external node acts as an input to two nodes inside the asset, Maya merges those connections and connects it to a single published attribute on the asset.

Assets > Lock Unpublished Attributes


Locks all unpublished attributes for all nodes within the selected asset.

Related topics

Lock an asset on page 208

Assets > Unlock Unpublished Attributes


Unlocks all locked, unpublished attributes for all nodes within the selected asset.

Related topics

Lock an asset on page 208

Assets > Publish Node


Publishes the currently selected nodes to the asset with a published name you specify. NOTE When publishing shading groups, use the published name mainSG to denote which group Maya should use to shade the asset.

Related topics

Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228

Assets > Unpublish Node


Unpublishes the currently selected node from the asset that encapsulates it. The corresponding published name is also deleted.

Assets > Lock Unpublished Attributes | 523

Related topics

Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228

Assets > Assign Template


Allows you to assign a template to the currently selected asset.

Assets > Assign template >


Autobind Autobinds attributes based on the binding set of the chosen template. Create Stand-in Attributes Creates unbound published names for any attributes defined by the template, but not found in the selected asset.

Assets > Select Asset Contents


Selects all the nodes encapsulated by the selected asset including all hidden nodes.

Related topics

Select asset contents on page 207

Assets > Advanced Assets > Create


Creates an asset with no associated transform. As a result, this asset does not appear in the DAG hierarchy and you cannot transform it in the scene. You can parent nodes external to the asset to it, but you must use parent anchors or child anchors to do so.

Assets > Advanced Assets > Create > Operation


Determines whether the asset is created or previewed. Create asset When you select Apply or Apply and Close, an asset is created. Preview contents When you select Apply or Apply and Close, all the objects that would be included in the asset are highlighted. However, an asset is not created.

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Name The name of your asset. Include Connected Automatically includes any non-shader nodes that the currently selected nodes are connected to into the asset. Include Shaders Automatically includes any shading nodes that the currently selected nodes are connected to into the asset. Include Hierarchy Automatically includes the specified nodes, relative to the selected nodes, into the asset. You can include related shape nodes, hierarchy below, hierarchy above, or all of the above. Selection Transform If a single object is selected, this option automatically publishes it as the selection transform. Transform Attributes If Selection Transform is on, this option automatically publishes the selection transforms Translate, Rotate and Scale attributes to the asset.

Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Publishing


Publish as Selection Transform Determines the node that is the selection transform of the asset for asset centric selection and acts as a possible parent and child anchor. For more information, see Asset centric selection on page 204. Publish Parent Anchor Sets a node to retain its plug information. This allows you to perform hierarchical or name changes to the node without breaking its relationship to future child nodes. For more information, see Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228. Publish Child Anchor Sets a node to retain its plug information. This allows you to perform hierarchical or name changes to the node without breaking its relationship to future parent nodes. For more information, see Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228.

Assets > Advanced Assets > Node Unpublishing


Unpublish Selection Transform Resets the node set as the selection transform for the asset (this returns asset centric selection to the default behavior). For more information, see Asset centric selection on page 204 Unpublish Parent Anchor Resets the node currently published as the parent of the asset to not retain its plug information. For more information, see Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228

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Unpublish Child Anchor Resets the node currently published as the child of the asset to not retain its plug information. For more information, see Publish or unpublish nodes on page 228

Assets > Advanced Assets > Set Current Asset


Lets you set an asset in the scene as the current asset. Only unreferenced assets without a transform can set as the current asset. Once an asset is set as the current asset, any subsequently created nodes are automatically placed inside it.

Related topics

Set the current asset on page 207

Help
Menu Search
The menu search appears in OS X only and allows you to search for menus by typing keywords into the search field. A list of search results appears below the search field. Clicking any of the results in the section named Menu Items section opens the respective menu in Maya. Clicking any results in the section named Help Topics opens a corresponding entry in the Maya Help.

Help > Maya Help


Loads the Maya Help on your default web browser. See Maya Help for further information.

Related topics

Print the Maya Help on page 11

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Help > Learning Path


Launches the Learning Paths webpage from Autodesk Maya Services & Support on your default web browser. This page provides links to helpful resources available as you learn Maya.

Help > Learning Movies


Launches the Essential Skills Learning Movies dialog box. From this dialog box, you can watch short movies that demonstrate skills you need to use Maya.

Related topics

Essential Skills Movies

Help > Tutorials


Loads the Getting Started with Maya tutorials from the Maya Help on your default web browser. The tutorials introduce different areas of Maya in a set of brief lessons. These lessons are designed to let you learn at your own pace.

Related topics

About the Getting Started lessons

Help > Whats New


Loads the What's New book from the Maya Help on your default web browser. The Whats New book introduces the new features added to Maya in this release.

Help > Support Center


Launches the Support webpage from Autodesk Maya Services & Support on your default web browser where you can access links to various levels of support available for Maya.

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Help > Subscription Center


Launches the Subscription webpage from the Autodesk Subscription Center. From here, subscribed customers can access e-Learning, web support, and other benefits and services

Help > Release Note Updates


Launches a webpage on your default web browser that directs you to the Subscription Center where you can find the latest release notes for this version of Maya.

Help > The Area


Launches the Area website on your default web browser. The Area is a free community portal focused on artists and developers using Autodesk 3D products.

Help > Download Bonus Tools


Launches the Bonus Tools page of the Area website on your default web browser. The Bonus Tools are a free collection of useful Maya scripts and plug-ins.

Help > Download Vegetation


Launches the Autodesk Seek Web page on your default Web browser. This page provides a collection of vegetation scene files that you can download.

Help > Report a Problem


Launches the Report a Defect page of the Annex website on your default browser. This page provides a form for you to report an issue with Maya.

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Help > Suggest a Feature


Launches the Suggest a Feature page of the Annex website on your default browser. This page provides a form for you to suggest a feature for Maya.

Help > Customer Involvement Program


Launches the Customer Involvement Program (CIP) dialog box. When activated, CIP collects anonymous information to help Autodesk learn how you use Maya. Your participation in CIP helps us design new features and improve existing features. You can choose whether to participate anonymously, participate with contact information, or not to participate.

Help > Autodesk DirectConnect Help


Loads the Autodesk DirectConnect Help system on your default web browser. Autodesk DirectConnect is a data translator that imports CAD data into Maya.

Help > Autodesk FBX Help


Loads the Autodesk FBX Help system on your default web browser.

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Help > MEL Command Reference


Loads an index of Maya Embedded Language (MEL) commands and scripts on your default browser.

Help > Python Command Reference


Loads an index of Python commands and scripts on your default web browser.

Help > Node and Attribute Reference


Loads an index of Maya nodes and attributes on your default web browser.

Help > Browser Setup Assistant


Launches the Browser Setup Assistant dialog box. You can choose to install the Maya Web browser plug-in automatically or manually.

Maya Web browser plug-in on page 9 Install the Maya Web browser plug-in on page 21

Help > Find Menu


Loads the Find a Menu Item dialog box.

Find Menu

Help > About Maya


Displays copyright and license information about your copy of Maya.

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Panel menus
View
View > Camera Tools > Tumble Tool
Revolves the camera by varying the azimuth and elevation angles in a perspective view. You can also press alt + the left mouse button. Hold Shift to constrain the camera movement.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39

View > Camera Tools > Tumble Tool >


Tumble scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0.01 to 10. The default value is 1. Tumble on object Uses an object as the tumble pivot if the Tumble Tool icon is over the object when you start tumbling.

Tumble about
Controls the point that the camera tumbles around. Center of Interest The camera tumbles about its center of interest. Tumble about is set to Center of interest by default. Tumble Pivot The camera tumbles about its pivot point. This tumble pivot can also be set in the cameras Attribute Editor.These values are stored in world space coordinates. View operations such as Frame Selection, Frame All, Look at Selection, Default Home, and Bookmarks all set the tumble pivot.

Orthographic views
Locked If on, you cannot tumble an orthographic camera. If off, you can tumble an orthographic camera. Locked is on by default. Stepped If on, you can tumble an orthographic camera in discrete steps. The Stepped operation lets you easily return to the Default Home positions. If off, you can tumble an orthographic camera smoothly. Stepped is only available if Locked is off. Stepped is on by default.

Panel menus | 531

Ortho step The angle of steps (in degrees) that you can tumble an orthographic camera when Locked is off and Stepped is on. The valid range is 0.01 to 180. The default value is 5.

View > Camera Tools > Track Tool


Tracks the camera vertically and horizontally. You can also press alt + the middle mouse button. Hold Shift to constrain the camera movement.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39

View > Camera Tools > Track Tool >


Track Geometry If off, as the camera moves an object moves at a speed that may be different than the speed of the cursor. This problem occurs with objects far from the camera. Track Geometry is off by default. If on, as the camera moves, an object moves at the same speed as the cursor. The object selected at the beginning of the Track operation remains under the cursor.Tracking is slower (especially if there are many objects in the scene) if Track Geometry is on. Track Scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0 to 100. The default value is 1.

View > Camera Tools > Dolly Tool


Tracks the camera forward and backward. You can also press alt + the right mouse button (or alt + the left and middle mouse buttons). Use Ctrl + Alt + the left mouse button to drag a marquee around the area you want to dolly in on.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39

View > Camera Tools > Dolly Tool >


Scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0.01 to 10. The default value is 1.

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Local If on, drag in the cameras view to move the camera toward or away from its center of interest. If off, drag in the cameras view to move both the camera and its center of interest along the cameras sight line. Local is on by default. Center of Interest If Center of Interest is on, middle-drag in the cameras view to move the cameras center of interest toward or away from the camera. If off, drag in the cameras view to move the camera toward or away from its center of interest. You can Ctrl+Alt+left-marquee a region to snap the center of interest to the center of that region. Center of Interest is off by default. If Center of Interest (and/or Local) and Bounding box are on, and you are currently in a four panel view, then when you middle-drag in any of the views, a red line with a small x at the end appears to indicate the Center of Interest. Towards center Turning off this option dollies towards the current location of the Dolly Tool icon when you start dollying.

Snap box dolly to


A box dolly moves the center of interest to the marquee region when you use the Ctrl+Alt+drag (Windows and Linux) or Control+Option+drag (Mac OS X) method to dolly the camera. Surface If on, when you perform a box dolly (Ctrl+drag) on an object, the center of interest moves onto the surface of the object. Calculating the surface point is slower if Smooth Shade mode is off (and especially if there are many visible objects in the scene). Bounding box If on, when you perform a box dolly (Ctrl+drag) on an object, the center of interest moves to the center of the objects bounding box. Bounding Box is on by default.

View > Camera Tools > Zoom Tool


Changes the focal length on a camera. Zooming in is like using a telephoto lens. Zooming out is like using a wider angle lens. You can use zoom in both a perspective or orthographic view. To move in or out without changing the viewing angle, use Dolly.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39

View | 533

Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch on page 41

View > Camera Tools > Zoom Tool >


Zoom Scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0.01 to 3. The default value is 1.

View > Camera Tools > Roll Tool


Rotates the display around its horizontal axis.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39 Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch on page 41

View > Camera Tools > Roll Tool >


Roll Scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0.01 to 10. The default value is 1.

View > Camera Tools > Azimuth Elevation Tool


Revolves the camera about the center of interest in the perspective view. The angle of a cameras sight line relative to the ground plane is also referred to as its elevation; the angle of a cameras sight line relative to a plane perpendicular to the ground plane is also referred to as its azimuth.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39 Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch on page 41

View > Camera Tools > Azimuth Elevation Tool >


Scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0.01 to 10. The default value is 1.

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Rotation type Controls whether the camera movement is an Azimuth Elevation movement or a Yaw Pitch movement. TIP Press Shift to constrain the cameras movement.

View > Camera Tools > Yaw-Pitch Tool


Tilting a camera means rotating the camera up or down; panning a camera means rotating the camera left or right. The scene in the cameras view moves in the opposite direction. The angle of rotation up or down is also referred to as pitch; the angle of rotation left or right is also referred to as yaw.

Related topics

Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view on page 39 Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation, yaw or pitch on page 41

View > Camera Tools > Yaw-Pitch Tool >


Scale Scales the speed of the camera movement. The slider range is 0.01 to 10. The default value is 1. Rotation type Controls whether the camera movement is a Yaw-Pitch movement or an Azimuth Elevation movement. TIP Press Shift to constrain the cameras movement.

View > Camera Tools > Fly Tool


Lets you navigate your scene as if you were playing a 3D first-person perspective game. The camera flies through your scene without being constrained by any geometry.

Hold Ctrl and drag up to fly forward or down to fly backward. To change the camera direction, release the Ctrl or Control key and drag the left mouse button. Tumble, track, and dolly are available while the Fly Tool is active.

View | 535

Shading
Shading menu
The Shading menu provides a number of ways to look at your scene. The quality can range from a simple wireframe display to a smooth- shaded view.

Related topics

Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects on page 46 Shading > Wireframe on page 536 Shading > Smooth Shade All on page 537 Shading > Smooth Shade Selected Items on page 537 Shading > Flat Shade All on page 537 Shading > Flat Shade Selected Items on page 537 Shading > Bounding Box on page 537 Shading > Points on page 538 Shading > Wireframe on Shaded on page 538 Shading > Interactive Shading on page 539 Shading > Color Index Mode on page 540 Shading > Backface Culling on page 540 Shading > Smooth Wireframe on page 540 Shading > Hardware Texturing on page 541 Shading > Hardware Fog on page 541 Shading > Apply Current to All on page 541

Shading > Wireframe


Draws edges for polygon meshes and isoparametric curves for surfaces. This is the default shading quality.

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Shading > Smooth Shade All


Displays all surfaces, meshes, and particles as smooth-shaded objects. NOTE Shader plug-ins and textures plug-ins are supported when you use Hardware Texturing. When you use Smooth Shade All mode, only the attributes of the following specific names are used: diffuse, hardwareColor, color, transparency, incandescence, specularColor, shininess.

Shading > Smooth Shade Selected Items


Displays selected items as smooth-shaded objects.

Shading > Flat Shade All


Displays all surfaces and meshes as flat-shaded objects.

Shading > Flat Shade Selected Items


Displays selected items as flat-shaded objects.

Shading > Bounding Box


Displays objects as boxes that represent their bounding volumes. Bounding boxes speed up Maya operations and can make a significant difference for complex models. The bounding box encompasses the hulls as well as the actual geometry. As a result, the bounding box may have dimensions larger than those of the geometry. NOTE To see bounding box coordinates, open the Attribute Editor, click the shape node tab, and open the Object Display section. It shows the read-only minimum and maximum world space boundary coordinates of a surface along the X, Y, and Z axes.

Shading | 537

Shading > Points


Shows objects as groupings of individual points.

Shading > Use default material


Displays the default shading material on objects when displaying in shaded mode regardless of the assigned shading material.

Shading > Wireframe on Shaded


Superimposes a wireframe display on all shaded objects in a view.

Shading > X-Ray


Displays all shaded objects as semi-transparent. This can be useful for seeing hidden parts of a model.

Shading > X-Ray Joints


Displays skeleton joints over top of other shaded objects to aid joint selection.

Shading > X-Ray Active Components


Displays active components over top of other shaded objects. This shaded mode is useful when you want to ensure you dont accidentally select unwanted components. Applies only to polygon objects when in component mode.

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Shading > Object Transparency Sorting


Transparent objects are sorted and drawn from furthest to closest in distance. This option provides faster results but may not render complex transparent objects correctly.

Shading > Polygon Transparency Sorting


Each object's polygons are sorted and drawn from furthest to closest in distance from the viewer. This option provides more accurate transparency representation but may take longer to process.

Shading > Interactive Shading


Controls the display of objects during interactive modes (such as transformations, camera navigation, and playbacks). At the same time the normal display can be in some sort of shaded mode. For example, the normal display can be smooth-shaded while the interactive display is bounding box.

Interactive shading mode


Select an option from the drop-down list: Shaded Wireframe Displays objects in wireframe mode during the interactive mode.

Shading | 539

Bounding Box Displays objects as bounding boxes during the interactive mode. Points Displays objects as points during the interactive mode. High Quality Rendering When High Quality Rendering is turned on, this option shades objects using the hardware renderer, but you can set the following options to quicken the refresh while interacting: Small object culling threshold Enables occlusion culling, determined by a value you specify for the size of an object (or the unobstructed portion of it), relevant to the screen size (in percentage or pixel values). Any object that falls below this level is not drawn. Example: If an object occupies 5000 pixels out of a viewport which shows 10000 pixels, then a tolerance of 50% would make the object fall below tolerance and therefore not be drawn. Disable Shadows During interaction no shadows are drawn. Backface Culling During interaction, all polygon faces that face away from the viewer are not drawn.

Shading > Color Index Mode


On Linux only, lets you manipulate a wireframe object in a complex scene more quickly (for example, if you are using a full-color image plane while working in wireframe mode).

Shading > Backface Culling


For objects displayed in smooth shade or flat shade mode, makes the objects back face transparent which helps speed the display or manipulation of objects.

Shading > Smooth Wireframe


Displays smooth wireframed objects in Mayas 3D views, including the Hardware Render Buffer and the 3D Paint Effects view. NOTE Does not work in 2D views, including the UV Texture Editor.

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Shading > Hardware Texturing


Displays Maya's hardware textured rendered results as if they were being displayed in an external viewer. (See also the Rendering book in the Maya documentation set.)

Shading > Hardware Texturing >


Texture Blend For use with layered textures, the Texture Blend specifies how the selected layer blends with the one below it. For more information, see Use a layered texture in the Shading guide. Texture Filter Select a texture filter for your hardware texture display when you are in High Quality Rendering mode. Select a filter from the drop-down list. High Quality Filtering When high quality filtering is turned on, the scene views are filtered in high quality by the hardware renderer. This lets you see a very good representation of the look of the final render.

Shading > Hardware Fog


Simulates hardware fog effects achievable in programs outside of Maya. Displays how a spotlight's fog is distributed before you render. Used for preview purposes, Hardware Fog only displays in the perspective view. (See also the Rendering book in the Maya documentation set.)

Shading > Apply Current to All


Applies the current 3D view's shading style to all objects in the scene.

Lighting
Lighting menu
Use the items in this menu to select which lights or groups of lights to use in your scene.

Lighting | 541

Related topics

Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects on page 46 Lighting > Use Default Lighting Lighting > Use All Lights Lighting > Use Selected Lights Lighting > Use No Lights Lighting > Use Previously Specified Lights Lighting > Two Sided Lighting Lighting > Shadows Lighting > Specify Selected Lights

Show
Show menu
Use the items in this menu to show or hide specific object types in a panel.

Related topics

Show or hide objects on page 47 Show > Isolate Select Show > Grid

Show > Isolate Select


Lets you limit a panel to show only an isolated subset of all objects in the scene.

Related topics

Show an isolated subset of objects or components in a panel on page 49

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Items View Selected


Activates or deactivates the isolate select feature. When activated, the word Isolate appears at the bottom of the panel and the current selection becomes isolated.

Auto Load New Objects, Auto Load Selected Objects


Turn on to automatically update the isolate select panel when you add new objects or change your selection. If turned off, you must use the Load, Add, or Remove Selected Objects options to update the panel.

Load Selected Objects, Add Selected Objects, Remove Selected Objects


If you dont have auto load on, you can use these options to control the isolate select display. Select items from the isolate panel or another panel and then load, add, or remove them as needed. Note that Load Selected Objects replaces the display with the current selection, while Add Selected Objects adds the current selection to the selections already displaying.

Bookmarks
Enables you to bookmark an isolated selection. To create a bookmark, select Show > Isolate Select > Bookmarks > Bookmark Current Objects. Select the option box if you want to name the bookmark; otherwise, a default name is used. To view bookmarked items, select Show > Isolate Select > Bookmarks > BookmarkName. Select it again to turn it off and return to the previous view. You can view multiple bookmarks at the same time. Bookmarks are saved with the scene as a set. NOTE Isolate Select does not work for subdivision surface vertices, edges, or polygons. Isolate subdivision surface faces instead.

Show > Grid


Allows you to turn the grid off in a single panel.

Related topics

Show, hide, or change the grid on page 45

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Display > Grid on page 494

Panels
Panels > Look Through Selected

Lets you look through a selected camera, object, or light.

Panels > Look Through Selected >


You can set the Near Clip Plane and Far Clip Plane values for the camera you are looking through. Near Clip Plane, Far Clip Plane

For Hardware rendering, Vector rendering, and mental ray for Maya rendering, this represents the distance of the near and far clipping planes of perspective or orthographic cameras. The default setting for Near Clip Plane is 0.1 and for Far Clip Plane is 10000. For Maya Software rendering, by default Auto Render Clip Plane is on (see Auto Render Clip Plane in the Rendering guide), and the Near Clip Plane and Far Clip Plane values do not determine the position of the clipping planes. If the distance between the near and far clipping planes is much larger than is required to contain all the objects in the scene, the image quality of some objects may be poor. Set the Near Clip Plane and Far Clip Plane attributes to the lowest and highest respective values that produces the desired result. TIP The objects you want to render are usually within a certain range from the camera. Setting the near and far clipping planes just slightly beyond the limits of the objects in the scene can help improve image quality.

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NOTE The ratio of far:near clipping planes determines the depth precision. Try to keep that ratio as small as possible for better results. Since most of the depth precision is concentrated around the near clip plane, try to avoid a lot of detail on distant objects. This concept is crucial for hardware rendering because it has only 24 bits of depth precision, as opposed to software rendering which has 32 bits.

Panels menu
The items in this menu let you set the contents of this specific panel as well as the overall layout and panel contents.

Related topics

Change the panel layout on page 43 Control what camera is shown in a view on page 44 Create a custom panel layout on page 293 Quick layout buttons on page 380 Panel editor on page 606

Items
Perspective Lets you change to a perspective view or create a new perspective view. Orthographic Lets you change to an orthographic view or create a new orthographic view. Stereo Lets you change to stereo mode or create a new stereo camera. All stereo cameras that you have created, as well as all custom rigs that you have registered are listed in the sub-menu.

Panel
Displays a menu containing the following: Outliner Opens the Outliner, where you can view objects and their attributes hierarchically. Graph Editor Opens the Graph Editor where you can edit visual representations of keys and animation curves (keysets). See Graph Editor in the Animation guide.

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Dope Sheet Opens the Dope Sheet, where you can edit event and sound synchronization and timing. For more information, see Dope Sheet overview in the Animation guide. Trax Editor Opens the Trax Editor, where you can create and edit time-independent clips of character animation. For more information, see Trax Editor in the Animation guide.

Camera Sequencer Opens the Camera Sequencer, which lets you create and manipulate shots of animation to produce movie clips. See Camera Sequencer in the Animation guide. Hypershade Opens the Hypershade, which you can use to create and edit rendering nodes, and to view and edit rendering (or shading) networks. For more information, see Rendering. Visor Opens the Visor, which you can use to show images of shading nodes you can create, those already in your scene, and those in online libraries, in a visual outline form. For more information, see Rendering. UV Texture Editor Opens the UV Texture Editor window, which you use to map textures to a polygonal model. For more information, see Polygonal Modeling. Render View Opens the Render View window, where you can test render single frames and interactively tune rendering attributes. For more information, see Rendering. Blend Shape Lets you create character deformations. For more information, see Blend Shape deformer in the Character Setup guide. Dynamic Relationships Lets you view or edit connections between dynamics elements such as particle emitters, collisions, and so on. For more information, see About Dynamics in the Dynamics guide. Relationship Editor Opens the Relationship Editor, which you can use to group and manipulate objects as sets and assign shading groups to geometry. Reference Editor Opens the Reference Editor, which you can use to specify settings for importing files by reference. Component Editor Opens the Component Editor, which you can use to edit data assigned to components.

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Paint Effects Opens the Paint Effects Panel, where you can interactively render strokes without rendering the rest of the scene. New strokes render as you paint them in this view. For more information, see Painting. Script Editor Opens the Script Editor Panel, where you can view and enter MEL commands. Stereo Switches the scene view to stereo mode.

Hypergraph Panel
Here are the options for the Hypergraph panel: Hypergraph Hierarchy Opens the Hypergraph, which gives you an overview of your entire scene, all objects it contains, and the relationships between those objects. Hypergraph # You can open multiple Hypergraph at the same time. Each opened Hypergraph is assigned a default name and number, for example, Hypergraph 1. This option appears only if you have opened one or more Hypergraphs. New Scene Hierarchy Opens the Hypergraph with scene hierarchies showing the grouping of child nodes under parent nodes in your current scene. New Input and Output Connections Opens the Hypergraph showing the most recent input and output connections in your scene. Layouts Lets you specify how different camera views are arranged spatially in the Maya window. Saved Layouts Lets you select a panel layout. Tear Off Moves the current camera view into a separate window. The current view is replaced with the next view in the Panels list (to see this list, select Panels > Panel Editor). Tear Off Copy Copies the current camera view into a separate window. Panel Editor Opens the Panel editor window, where you can create new panels, re-label existing panels, rename layouts, and change layout configurations.

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14

Asset Editor
Window > General Editors > Asset Editor

The Asset Editor displays asset information in a two panel window. The left panel shows scene assets in an Outliner view, while the right panel shows published attributes and nodes. The Asset Editor has two modes of operation. In Select Asset mode, you can quickly traverse from asset to asset and show individual assets node contents and attributes. In Pinned Asset mode, you can publish or unpublish attributes in the left panel and bind and unbind attributes in the right panel. You can also create Views and Binding Sets.

549

You can switch between these modes by selecting an asset and clicking the Pin Asset icon .

In the left panel, a selected attribute appears highlighted and. In the right panel, a selected attribute appears with an arrow icon.

Related topics

Asset overview on page 163 The Asset Editor on page 195 Asset templates on page 173

Outline (Select Asset mode)


To...
Switch to Pinned Asset mode

Do this
Select an asset in the left panel, then click the Pin Asset icon . icon next to

Expand or collapse the level under a node

Click the plus or minus the nodes name. Shift + click the plus nodes name.

Expand all levels under a node

icon next to the

Show or hide the attributes on a node

Click the plus ( ) or minus ( ) icon next to the nodes name. You can further expand multi-value attributes. Middle-drag the node to a new place in the hierarchy. Middle-drag the node in one asset onto another asset. Middle-drag the node onto the node you want to be its parent.

Re-order nodes in the hierarchy

Move a node from one asset to another

Make a node a child of another node

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To...
Search for a specific node

Do this
Enter the full or partial name of the node you are sourcing for in the text field and press Enter.

Outline (Pinned Asset mode)


To...
Publish an attribute

Do this
In the left panel, select the attribute you want to publish, then click the Publish icon

or Publish As icon Unpublish an attribute

In the left panel, select the attribute you want to unpublish and click the Unpublish icon .

Assign a template

Select Template > Assign and choose a template from the list that appears or select Assign New Template and select the asset from the file browser. Select Template > Save As and enter a template name and location. Select the attributes name in the left panel, or click the box containing a small arrow next to its name in the right panel.

Save the published names of the pinned asset as a template Select an attribute

Bind/Unbind an attribute or node Click the Bind icon or Unbind icon

next to the attribute or nodes name in the right panel. Rename a published attribute or node Select the attribute or node in the right

panel and click the Rename icon

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To...
Add a view to the current template

Do this
With a template currently loaded, select View > Add. With the template currently loaded, select Template > Create Binding Set. Maya adds a binding set called MayaBinding to the template. With the template currently loaded, select Template > Update Binding Set. With the template currently loaded, select Template > Remove Binding Set. Maya removes the binding set called MayaBinding.

Create a binding set from the current published attributes

Update the current binding set with the current published attributes Remove a binding set

Refresh the left and right panel Click the Refresh icon ( ).

NOTE You can select multiple published names or attributes by Shift + clicking them.

Asset Editor buttons


Asset Editor buttons control how attributes are published or bound. Pin/Unpin Asset Pins a selected asset for editing. The Asset Editor changes to Pinned Asset mode, and only the selected asset displays in the left panel. Its published bound and unbound attributes display for editing in the right panel. Click the icon again to unpin the currently selected asset and return to Select Asset mode. When in Select Asset mode, all assets display in the left panel while the right panel is empty. Select Selects a published name in the right panel. The select icon appears in three colors. Green indicates the published name comes from the assigned template. Yellow indicates there is a template assigned to the asset, but the selected published name does not originate from it.

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Red indicates there is no template assigned to the asset.

Publish Publishes the selected attribute to the lowest level asset that encapsulates it. The attribute is bound to a default published name that matches the attribute name. If an identical published name already exists on the asset, your new published name will have a number appended to it.

Publish As... Publishes the selected attribute to the lowest level asset encapsulating it. The attribute is bound to a published name of your choice.

Unpublish Unbinds the selected attribute from its published name and removes the published name from the asset. You can only unpublish attributes whose names are not derived from an assigned template.

Unbind selected Unbinds all selected published names from their corresponding attributes.

Publish Name an attribute to it. Unpublish Name

Creates a published name on the asset without binding

Removes a published name from the asset.

You can only remove published names that are unbound and do not originate from an assigned template.

Rename Published Name

Renames a published name.

You can only rename published names for attributes and nodes that do not originate from an assigned template.

Refresh

Updates the right panel.

Bind / Unbind Binds or unbinds the selected attribute from its corresponding published name.

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Asset Editor menu bar


For information on the Display and Show menus, see the Outliner on page 602. For information on the Asset menu, see Assets on page 519. For information on Transfer Attribute Values, see Edit > Transfer Attribute Values on page 428.

Template menu
The Template menu in the Asset Editor gives you all of the options for creating and assigning templates to your assets. NOTE The Template menu is only available when you are in Pinned Asset mode. The Template menu contains the following options: Assign Lets you select and assign a template to the currently pinned asset. Unassign Breaks the association between the pinned asset and its assigned template. See Unassign a template from an asset on page 249. Save Saves the published names from the pinned asset to the template file. See Save an asset template on page 257. NOTE To prevent other users of your template from overwriting the template file using Template > Save, it is recommended that you write protect your template files. Save As Lets you create a new template of published names from the pinned asset. See Save an asset template on page 257. Autobind Asset Automatically publishes and binds published names in the template to attributes in the asset based on a binding set. This option is only available if the current template has a valid binding set. By default, Autobind Asset only considers unbound published names. Autobind All When turned on, the Autobind Asset command considers all published names (both bound and unbound). Force When turned on, the Autobind Asset command completely enforces the templates binding set so that the resulting asset matches it. If a match is not found in the binding set for an existing published name, Maya forcibly unbinds it.

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Create Binding Set Creates binding set entries in the current template based on the assets current published attributes. Update Binding Set Updates the binding set entries for the currently assigned template with the assets current published attributes. Remove Binding Set Removes all binding set entries from the current template. Reload Reloads the assigned template. See Reload an asset template on page 256.

View menu
The View menu in the Asset Editor gives you all of the options for creating customized asset layouts. Before working with views, you must create a template for your asset. For more information on creating asset templates, see Create an asset template on page 248. After you add a view to the template, you can edit the template file to change the view layout. For more information on customizing views, see Customize a template view on page 263. NOTE The View menu is only available when you are in Pinned Asset mode. The View menu contains the following options: Mode Lets you select from two default layouts, or use a custom view layout of the assets attributes. Select from the following options: Flat Displays the assets published attribute names in a list. This is a default view that does not use the template. Use Template Displays the assets published attribute names based on its current template. When Use Template is selected, you can select a custom view from the View > Name menu item. Group by Node Displays the assets published attribute names in groups based on the node to which they are bound. This is a default view that does not use the template. Name Lets you select from a list of available template views. This option is only available when the View Mode is set to Use Template. If the template has no views defined, or if you set the Name to None, the published attributes display in the order they are defined in the template.

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Add Adds a new view to the assigned template based on default options. The new view is named viewName by default. See Add a view to an asset template on page 261. Name Lets you enter a name for the view. This is the name that will display in the View > Name list in the Asset Editor and in the View Name field in the Attribute Editor. Sync asset to template When on, Maya adds to the template any published names from the asset that are not yet saved to the template. Any added names are included in the new view. Save Template When on, the template is saved to the template file on disk with the new view included. When off, the new view is added internally, but the template file is not saved. Switch to new view When on, the right panel of the Asset Editor will update to display the asset with the newly created custom view organizing the published attribute names. Expand Compounds Sets whether compound attributes are included in the view definition as individual entries. This affects how the view will display the attributes in Mayas windows and editors. When on, child attributes are included in the view individually, and they display with independent interface controls. For example, individual sliders and value fields will display for translateX, translateY, and translateZ. NOTE If you want only the individual child controls to display (without the parent group controls,) you can edit the view definition in the template file, then reload the template. See Customize a template view on page 263 and Reload an asset template on page 256. When Expand Compounds is off, child attributes are not individually listed in the view. The parent attribute (with its children) is displayed using a group control. Layout Mode Lets you select Flat on page 555 or Group by Node on page 555 as the original layout of published names in the new view. After the view is added to your template, you can edit the template to change its layout. See Customize a template view on page 263.

Attribute Editor
Window > Attribute Editor

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Ctrl + A

Lists attributes on the selected object. Tabs across the top of the Attribute Editor let you select nodes connected to the shown node. While the Channel Box provides a more compact view of keyable attributes, the Attribute Editor gives you full graphical controls to edit attributes rather than just text boxes. There are ramp and graph graphical controls. For more information, see Attribute editor graphical controls on page 564. You can set an option in Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences on page 513 to have the Attribute Editor open in a window instead of the side panel.

Related topics

Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107 Save and reuse attribute presets on page 114 Lock the value of an attribute on page 115 Create, edit, or delete custom attributes on page 116 Open multiple Attribute Editors on page 117 Channel Box on page 566

Loading object attributes into the Attribute Editor


Loading attributes into the Attribute Editor makes them available to view or edit. There are three ways to load object attributes into the Attribute Editor:

automatically when you select the object manually by selecting the object from the Attribute Editor Selected menu by selecting the object from the Focus menu

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Loading attributes automatically


When you select an object, its attributes are automatically loaded into the Attribute Editor where you can view and edit them. Each node of the selected object automatically appears as a tab. This is the default method. To automatically load attributes for selected objects In the Attribute Editor, select List > Auto Load Selected Attributes to turn it on. NOTE If you select more than one item, Maya automatically updates the most recently selected one (that is, the most recent one in the pick list).

Loading attributes manually


If Auto Load Selected Attributes is turned off, after selecting an object, you must manually load the objects attributes into the Attribute Editor to view and edit them. To manually load attributes for selected objects Click the Load Attributes button at the bottom of the Attribute Editor.

Attribute Editor colors


The color of the attribute box changes depending on its state. For more information, see Channel Box colors on page 570.

Menus
List Use this menu to load attributes into the Attribute Editor and to define which items display in the Selected/Object menu. Selected/Object The Selected menu lists objects currently selected in the scene while the Object menu displays all the objects in the scene of a selected type. Focus This menu displays all nodes that have been selected in the scene while the Attribute Editor is open. The most recently selected node is at the top of the list. Attributes Use this menu to add, edit, and delete extra attributes for an object or node. These appear under the Extra Attributes section. You can also add, edit, and delete attributes using the Modify menu.

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Context menu
output connection node If you set a key for the attribute or connect a texture to it, the resulting output connection node name displays as the first menu item. To load the attributes for this node into the Attribute Editor, select it. Create New Expression Select this option to create a new expression for the attribute. Set Key Select this option to set a key for the attribute. This options disappears from the menu if you have already connected a texture to the attribute. Set Driven Key Select this option to link the attribute values. Break Connection Select this option to break the connection between the attribute and a key or texture. Create New Texture Select this option to connect a texture to the attribute. Color Chooser This option displays for color attributes only. Select it to open the Color Chooser. Lock/Unlock Attribute Select the Lock option to lock an attribute value so that it cannot be changed. Use Unlock Attribute to unlock the value. Ignore/Dont Ignore when Rendering This option displays only for attributes that are connected to keys or textures. Select the Ignore when Rendering option to ignore the connection when rendering. If the attribute has a map button, the button changes to indicate that the connection is ignored.

Select the Dont Ignore when Rendering option to render with the set connection. For details, see the Rendering guide.

Attributes > Add Attributes New tab


Long name This is the name of the attribute you are adding. Override nice name Turn on to provide a different/more user-friendly name that will be used when viewing this attribute in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box. (A default nice name will be created if your attribute name is intercapped (that is, setAttributeBlackOrWhite becomes Set Attribute Black Or White).)

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The nice name is only stored in the file if the Override nice name box is checked; otherwise, it's computed from the long name. This may insert multi-byte characters into a .ma (Maya ASCII) file if the nice name is in a multi-byte language such as Japanese. Nice name This is a shorter or more user-friendly name for the attribute. You can only type something in if Override nice name is turned on. Make attribute Defines the following attributes: Keyable Makes the attribute keyable. Displayable Makes the attribute non-keyable but displayed in the Channel Box. Hidden Makes the attribute hidden (and not keyable). For more details on these attribute types, see Channel Control Editor.

Data Type
Select the data type for the attribute: Vector Creates a vector attribute consisting of three floating point values. Float Creates a floating point attribute. Integer Creates an integer attribute. Boolean Creates an attribute consisting of an on/off turn. String Creates a string attribute that accepts alphanumeric entries as data entry, such as a filename. Enum Creates an attribute that accepts selections from an enumerated or drop-down list. NOTE If you select Float or Integer, you can also set Numeric Attribute Properties.

Attribute Type
Select a type: Scalar Creates a per object attribute that you can set to a single value that applies to every particle in the object. A vector scalar is considered a single value with three numbers. If you select Scalar, you can specify Minimum, Maximum, and Default values for a Float or Integer attribute. Per Particle (Array) Creates a per particle attribute. You can set this type of attribute to different values for each particle. If you select Per Particle (Array), you can also create a counterpart initial state attribute by turning on Add Initial State Attribute.

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Add Initial State Attribute Turn on to create a corresponding initial state attribute for the added attribute. Without this corresponding attribute, you cant save a particle objects current attribute values for initial state usage. You must write a creation expression if you decide to initialize the custom attributes value upon rewinding the animation. If you know youre going to write a creation expression for a custom attribute, you can set Add Initial State Attribute to off when you add the attribute. Otherwise, set Add Initial State Attribute to on whenever you add a custom per particle attribute.

Numeric Attribute Properties


For scalar attributes, Minimum and Maximum set the lowest and highest values you can enter for the attribute in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box. Default sets the default value for the attribute.

Enum Names
When you're adding a new Enum attribute, you need to define the list of acceptable strings. There are two default strings, Green and Blue, in the Enum Names list that you can change. To change, select Green or Blue and then enter the new string in the New Name text box. To add a new string, click the blank entry below the last list item and type the string in the New Name text box. WARNING The following list of names are reserved internally for (dynamic) shading attributes. You may use these names for custom attributes, but beware they may produce unexpected results in the shading network. For example, during shading the uvCoord value is provided, therefore ignoring your custom uvCoord attribute value.

blobbySurfaceFactor displacement easMask farPointCamera farPointObj farPointWorld filterSize flippedNormal illuminationIndex infoBits

Attribute Editor | 561

lightData lightTable matrixObjectToWorld matrixWorldToObject mediumRefractiveIndex normalCamera numShadingSamples objectId objectType opticalDepth outColor outGlowColor outMatteOpacity outParticleEmission outTransparency particleAge particleAttrArray particleColor particleEmission particleEntryParam particleExitParam particleIncandescence particleLifespan particleOrder particleTransparency particleWeight pixelCenter

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pixelCoverage pointCamera pointObj pointWorld primitiveId rayDepth rayDirection rayOrigin receiveShadows refPointCamera refPointObj refPointWorld renderState shadowAttenuation tangentUCamera tangentVCamera translucenceDepth triangleNormalCamera uvCoord uvFilterSize vertexCameraOne vertexCameraThree vertexCameraTwo vertexUvOne vertexUvThree vertexUvTwo

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Attribute editor graphical controls


There are two common graphical controls that appear in the Attribute Editor for certain attributes: ramp and graph.

Ramp
Each color entry in a ramp has a circular color handle above the ramp, and a square color icon below the ramp. The active color has a white border around its color handle and icon. Ramps can be used for many types of gradients, including transparency, color, and so on.

For more details about ramps in shading, see Ramp Shader of the Shading guide.

Graph
The graph control has handles which you can drag in the graph area to set position-value pairs. The active point has a white border around its handle and icon. Graphs can be used for many types of attributes where value changes per position, including paint effect settings, fluid settings, and so on.

Opening the ramp and graph controls in a separate window


Click the arrow on the right side of the control to open the ramp or graph control in a larger window.

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For the graph control, you can edit the interpolation method, selected value, and selected position. For the ramp control, you can edit the interpolation method, the selected color, and the color entries. In addition, you can turn on turn off Vertical to switch between a vertical or horizontal layout. Checking the vertical box alters the size of your ramp. Once you check the vertical box, the ramp or graph automatically adjusts to a suitable size. When you save your scene, Maya also saves the layout that you have chosen for your control.

Attribute Spread Sheet


Window > General Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet Lists multiple attributes on multiple objects in a spreadsheet format.

Related topics

View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes on page 112

Menus Names
Names > Nice Attribute Names, Short Attribute Names, Long Attribute Names Select whether to show the short or long attribute names at the tops of the columns.

Layouts
Layouts > Show Selected Columns Only/Show All Columns Hides the attribute columns that are not currently selected. Select Show All Columns to return to the full display. Layouts > Remember This Layout Creates a new tab with only the currently visible attribute columns. Select the columns you want in the new tab, select Show Selected Columns Only, then Remember This Layout. Layouts > Delete Current Layout Deletes a custom tab created with Remember This Layout. Click the tab and select Delete Current Layout to delete the tab.

Key
Key > Key Selected Sets keys at the current frame for the attributes (cells) currently selected in the spreadsheet.

Attribute Spread Sheet | 565

Layer
Layer > Create Override for Selected Creates a Render Layer Override for the selected object. Layer > Remove Override from Selected Removes the Render Layer Override for the selected object.

Tabs
The different tabs show different types of attributes. Use the arrows at the right end of the tabs to show more tabs that are hidden by the windows edge. Use Layouts > Show Selected Columns Only and Layouts > Remember This Layout to create a new custom tab with only the attributes you want.

Spreadsheet

Each object is a row, and each attribute on the object is a column. Click, shift-click, or drag across a cell, column, or row to select it. Type a value to enter it in all selected cells.

Channel Box
Channel Box Overview
Display > UI Elements > Channel Box/Layer Editor

The Channel Box is the primary, fastest, and most streamlined tool for editing object attributes. It lets you quickly set keys, and lock, unlock, or create expressions on attributes.

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Like the Attribute Editor, you use the Channel Box to modify an objects attribute values. The Channel Box is different from the Attribute Editor in the following ways:

It displays only the keyable and nonkeyable displayed attributes for the selected object. This lets you easily access nonkeyable channels from the Channel Box without running the risk of accidentally keying them. You can make a channel keyable or nonkeyable from the Channel Box. You can also make a channel keyable, nonkeyable displayed, or nonkeyable hidden from the Channel Control Editor. See Channel Control Editor in the Keyframe Animation chapter of the Animation guide. You can change multiple attribute values of multiple objects (see View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes on page 112) It takes up much less space in the window. You can control construction history.

The information displayed in the Channel Box varies, depending on what kind of object or component you have selected. If you havent selected an object, the Channel Box is blank.

Channel Box | 567

NOTE The Channel Box will sometimes incorrectly display an enumerated attribute's pull-down menu. Extra menu items can appear that represent the numbers in between non-sequential option values. To fix the problem, specify sequential values for the options of any enumerated attributes that will appear in the Channel Box. For example: solo=1:triplet=2:quintet=3.

Related topics

Nodes and attributes overview on page 95 Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box on page 107 Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box on page 109 Lock the value of an attribute on page 115 To make a channel keyable or nonkeyable Create, edit, or delete custom attributes on page 116 Control the display of attributes in the Channel Box on page 117 Connect attributes with an expression on page 124

Showing the Channel Box


The Channel Box appears in the sidebar when you select Display > UI Elements > Channel Box/Layer Editor, or click the Channel Box/Layer Editor icon in the Status Line (toolbar). You can display either the Channel Box or the Attribute Editor in the sidebar, but not both. If the Show Layer Editor within Channel Box option is off in the Maya Preferences, then the Channel Box and Layer Editor buttons appear separate.

You can resize the Channel Box by dragging the dotted edge.

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Attributes
When you select a geometric object, the Channel Box displays these sections: Section
objectName

Usage
Lists the keyable transform attributes that translate, scale, and rotate the objects absolute position in the world space. Also shows the objects visibility attribute. Lists the names of nodes that define the geometry of the object. Other nodes, such as related particle emitters may be found here. Lists the names of other nodes that affect this one. Typically, these comprise the construction history of the node. Lists the names of the output nodes (nodes that receive data) for this node.

SHAPES

INPUTS

OUTPUTS

If youve selected two or more objects, the Channel Box displays the attributes for the last object selected only. To display the attributes in the Channel Box of another selected object, select Object > objectName. Edits you make in the Channel Box affect all selected objects of the same type as the one displayed.

Component attributes
If you display attributes of an object component, the Channel Box displays only one section for shape attributes that pertain to the component. For example, suppose youve created a NURBS curve with the following CVs:

If you turn on component selection mode (in the main menu bar) and select the CVs, the Channel Box displays this:

Channel Box | 569

You can display the CV values in the Channel Box and enter new values. To display the values, click CVs (click to show) in the Channel Box.

Channel Box colors


The following colors represent the state of channels in the Channel Box:
Locked Nonkeyable Muted Blended Keyed Expression Constrained Connected Gray Light gray Brown Green Light Orange Purple Blue Yellow

Organizing the Channel Box


You can organize the way nodes and their attributes appear in the Channel Box using the Show menu. This is useful for filtering out the attributes you dont need to change, especially in complex scenes that consist of many nodes and attributes.

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Related topics

Channel Box Show menu on page 578

To filter the attributes displayed by type 1 Select Show > Attributes from the Channel Box. 2 Select the attribute type you want to view from the list that appears. A checkmark appears next to the attribute type and the Channel Box hides any attributes that do not match. You can filter by multiple types by toggling them on and off in the Show > Attributes menu. If you require a more granular filter, you can select specific attributes in the Channel Box from the Show > Show Selected Type(s) menu. This reduces the attributes displayed to just those types you have selected. After you have done this, you can also select Show > Invert Shown to display all the attribute types you didnt select. This can be helpful when there are only a few types you want to hide. You can also create your own custom filters and add them to the Show > Attributes menu. To create a custom filter type 1 Select any attributes in the Channel Box whose type(s) you want to include in the filter. 2 Select Show > Show Selected Type(s). The attributes shown in the Channel Box are reduced to only those you have selected and any others of the same type. 3 Select Show > Create Entry. The Create Entry options appear. 4 Turn on Entry name and enter a custom filter name in the text field or turn off Entry name and use the default name suggested above the Entry name label. 5 Click Save. The custom filter is saved to the Show > Attributes menu. You can select it at any time to filter by the same set of attribute types.

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You can undo filtering at any time by selecting Show > Show All.

How do I work with the Channel Box?


To set a key for one attribute 1 Select the object. 2 Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the key.

3 Click the attribute name to select it. For example, click Translate X. 4 Type the value of the attribute and press Enter. For example, enter 10 and press Enter. 5 Do one of the following

In the Channel Box, select Channels > Key Selected.

or

Right-click the attribute name or text box and select Key Selected.

This sets the key for the object attribute value you specified. To set a key for all attributes 1 Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the key. 2 Enter values for the desired attributes in the Channel Box. Press Enter after entering the attributes. 3 Do one of the following

In the Channel Box, select Channels > Key All.

or

Right-click the attribute name or text box and select Key All.

This sets the key for all the object attribute values displayed in the Channel Box.

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You can key the same attribute value for two or more objects. Select the objects, click the frame, enter the value in the text box, then select Channels > Key Selected. You can also key multiple attribute values for multiple objects. Follow the instructions in the previous paragraph, only select several attribute text boxes using Ctrl- or Shift-click before typing the numerical entry. To make a channel keyable or nonkeyable 1 Select the object that has the channel you want to make keyable or nonkeyable. 2 In the Channel Box, select the channel you want to make keyable or nonkeyable. 3 Do one of the following:

Right-click the channel.

The Channel Boxs Channels pop-menu appears.

Select Channels in the Channel Boxs menu bar.

The Channel Boxs Channels menu appears. 4 Do one of the following:

If you want to make the selected channel keyable, select Make Selected Keyable. If you want to make the selected channel nonkeyable, select Make Selected Nonkeyable.

The selected channel now appears light gray in the Channel Box. To copy keyed attribute values 1 Select the object. 2 In the Channel Box, select the desired attributes. (You can select either the attribute name, or the attribute text boxes.) 3 Select Channels > Copy Selected. or Right-click the attribute name or text box and select Copy Selected from the pop-up menu. 4 Select the attributes you want to paste the keyframed values to.

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5 Select Channels > Paste Selected. or Right-click the attribute name or text box and select Paste Selected from the pop-up menu. Breakdowns are a type of key that maintains a proportional relationship with adjacent keys. You can set a breakdown key for an attribute from the Channel Box. To set a breakdown for selected attributes 1 Select the object. 2 Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the breakdown. 3 Select the attributes you want to set breakdowns for. 4 Enter the values of the attributes. 5 Select Channels > Breakdown Selected. or Right-click the attribute name or text box and select Breakdown Selected. To set breakdowns for all attributes 1 Select the object. 2 Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the breakdowns. 3 Enter the values of the attributes. 4 In the Channel Box, select Channels > Breakdown All. or Right-click the attribute name or text box and select Breakdown All.

INPUTS
Use the INPUTS component of the Channel Box to modify an objects construction history.

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Menus Channels
Key Selected Creates an animation keyframe for the selected objects highlighted attribute(s) at the current frame in the Time slider. For more information see Keys. Key All Creates an animation keyframe for all the selected objects attributes at the current frame in the Time slider. Breakdown Selected Creates a breakdown for the selected objects highlighted attribute(s) at the current frame in the Time slider. For more information see Breakdowns. Breakdown All Creates a breakdown for all the selected objects attributes at the current frame in the Time slider. Mute Selected Disables the selected objects highlighted attribute(s) animations during playback. All muted attributes appear gray in the Channel Box. For more information see Muting animation. Mute All Disables all the selected objects animations during playback. All muted attributes appear gray in the Channel Box. Unmute Selected Enables the selected objects highlighted attribute(s) animations during playback. Unmute All Enables all the selected objects animations during playback. Cut Selected Removes the animation of the selected objects highlighted attribute(s) and places it in the keys clipboard. For more information see Cutting, copying, and pasting keys between scenes. Copy Selected Duplicates the animation of the selected objects highlighted attribute(s) and places it in the keys clipboard. Paste Selected Applies the animation present in the keys clipboard to the selected objects highlighted attribute(s). Delete Selected Removes the animation of the selected objects highlighted attribute(s). Duplicate Values Duplicates the highlighted attribute(s) of one object to any number of other objects. To utilize this function, first shift-select all the objects for which the duplicated values are to apply. Next, shift-select the object which contains the value you wish to duplicate. Highlight the appropriate attributes. Right-click one of the attributes and select Duplicate Values from the marking menu that appears.

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Freeze Makes the current transformation, rotation, scale, or all three on the selected objects be the objects zero position. For more information see Modify > Reset Transformations, Freeze Transformations on page 468. Break Connections Removes the link between an attribute and its controlling connection. An attribute will be highlighted purple if it has a controlling connection. For more information see Break connections between attributes on page 125. Select Connection Selects the connection node corresponding to the highlighted attribute for the selected object. You can only select one connection node at a time with this method. Lock Selected Locks the highlighted attributes for the selected object to their values in the current frame of the Time slider. These values can no longer be manipulated at any frame until the attribute is unlocked. Unlock Selected Unlocks the highlighted attributes for the selected object thereby allowing the modification of their values. Hide Selected Removes the selected attribute(s) from the Channel Box. Lock and Hide Selected Locks and removes the selected attribute(s) from the Channel Box. The locked attributes cannot be manipulated. Make Selected Nonkeyable Disables the ability for the highlighted attribute(s) to be keyframed for the selected object. Make Selected Keyable Enables the ability for the highlighted attribute(s) to be keyframed for the selected object.

Edit
Expressions... Opens the Expression Editor and displays the expression of the highlighted attribute of the selected object. Expressions allow you to assign certain behaviours to attributes. Form more information see Expression Editor. Set Driven Key... Opens the Set Driven Key window with the selected object and attribute in the Driven section. Driven keys allow you to manage the attributes of one object through the attributes of a seperate object. For more information see Driven keys. Graph Editor Opens the Graph Editor for the selected object and highlighted attribute. The Graph Editor can be used to modify the animation of an attribute via its graphical representation. For more information see Graph Editor overview.

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Channel Control Opens the Channel Control editor for the selected object. The Channel Control editor allows you to view a nodes attributes as well as modify its keyable and editable status. For more information see Channel Control Editor. Connection Editor Opens the Connection Editor for the selected object. The Connection Editor allows you to view and modify the connections between the nodes in the scene. For more information see Render node connections. Attribute Editor Opens the Attribute Editor for the selected object. The Attribute Editor allows you to view the and objects nodes and modify their associated attributes. For more information see Attribute Editor on page 556. Material Attributes Opens the Material Attributes Editor for the selected object. The Material Attributes Editor allows you to modify the display of the surface of the selected object. For more information see Surface, displacement, volumetric materials. Add Attribute Opens the Add Attribute window for the selected object. The Add Attribute window allows you to create a new attribute that controls a combination of existing attributes or a variable to store attribute values. For more information see Modify > Add Attribute on page 474. Edit Attribute Opens the Edit Attribute window for the selected object. The Edit Attribute window allows you to edit custom attributes. For more information see Modify > Edit Attribute on page 478. Delete Attributes Opens the Delete Attribute window for the selected object. The Delete Attribute window allows you to delete custom attributes. For more information see Modify > Delete Attribute on page 479. Publish to asset Publishes the selected attribute(s) to the asset at the closest level above the attributes node. For more information see Publish or unpublish attributes on page 221. Unpublish from Asset Unpublishes the selected attribute(s) from the asset encapsulating it. Lock Unpublished Attributes Locks all attributes that are not currently published to an asset for all nodes in the Channel Box. For more information see Lock an asset on page 208. Select Node Selects the node corresponding to the attribute from which this option was chosen. If the node was already selected then this option unselects it. Delete Node Deletes the node corresponding to the attribute from which this option was chosen.

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Delete History Deletes all history of the node corresponding to the attribute from which this option was chosen. Settings Contains a number of attribute related settings that affect the way you interact with an objects attributes in the scene. Slow/Medium/Fast Controls the mapping between the mouse move distance and the numeric change when an attribute is adjusted by dragging the mouse. The higher the setting, the farther the object moves when the mouse is dragged. Hyperbolic Controls the type of mapping between the mouse move distance and the numeric change when an attribute is adjusted by dragging the mouse. Show Namespace Toggles the display of an objects name in the scene. For more information on namespaces see File referencing tips. No Manips/Invisible Manips/Standard Manips Toggles the state of the manipulators for the selected object. No Manips removes the manipulators completely for an attribute and disables dragging. Invisible Manips prevents the manipulators from appearing when you select and attribute name. Standard Manip allows the manipulators to appear when you select and attribute name. For more information see Show or hide the manipulator for an attribute in the Channel Box on page 109. Change Precision Opens the Change Precision window. The Change Precision window allows you to modify the decimal accuracy of the values you can assign to an objects attributes. Reset to Default Returns all Settings values to their default configuration. Channel Names Contains a number of attribute naming options. Nice displays the most readable attribute names, Long displays the full attribute names and Short displays shortened attribute names.

Object
If you have multiple objects selected in your scene, you can view each of their attributes by selecting them from the Object menu.

Show
Assets Contains options that control the way assets and their attributes display in the Channel Box. All attributes Displays all of an assets published attributes. Selected object attributes Displays only those published attributes on an asset that were published from the currently selected object(s).

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Show at top When on, a selected objects asset displays above the object in the Channel Box. Attributes Allows you to view a subset of the available attributes, filtered by type. You can toggle various types by clicking them. Reset the Channel Box to display all types by selecting Clear Below. Any custom entries you create will appear at the bottom. Invert Shown If you are viewing a subset of the available attributes, this option inverts the filter to show all attributes not currently displayed. Show All Shows all attributes in the Channel Box for the selected object. Automatically resets all filters. Show Selected Type(s) Shows only attributes of the same type as the attribute(s) currently selected in the Channel Box. Create Entry... Creates a custom filter for whatever attribute types are currently displayed in the Channel Box. Note that you cannot create a filter type that matches one of the pre-existing filter types (for example, Translate, Rotate, and Scale). Delete Entry... Lets you delete filters you created with the Create Entry option.

Color Chooser
The Color Chooser appears when you double-click a color swatch (for example, in the Attribute Editor). The Color Chooser lets you:

Select colors for property or materials from the Color Wheel or Color Palette. Import images and choose colors from them. Blend colors together. Save frequenty used colors in the Color History. Create custom palettes.

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A compact version of the Color Chooser that appears when you single-click a swatch. This version consists of many of the same components as the full Color Chooser, but the overall window is scaled down.

Related topics

Change an objects wireframe color on page 50 Change user interface colors on page 291

Controls Color History


The Color History shows you your current selected color and provides you with ways to quickly pick and re-pick existing colors in the scene.

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Current/Previous color The large colored box in the Color History is split into two sections. The upper section displays your current selected color while the lower section displays the previously selected color. Eyedropper Click the eyedropper icon and then any color in the scene or Color Chooser to change the current color. Persistent color palette Select any of the basic colors and shades by clicking the color palette in the Color History. This palette always contains the same colors. History As you continually set colors on an object, those colors are added to the history so you can select them again in the future.

Color Wheel
The color wheel provides you with a number of ways to select colors.

Ring

1 Drag the cursor around the outer ring to change the color displayed in the center box. 2 Select the shade of your color from the box. This is also available in the compact Color Chooser.

Spectrum

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1 Drag the cursor around the spectrum field to choose a color. 2 Drag the slider at the bottom to adjust the shade.

Image

The Image tab allows you to sample colors directly from an image. 1 Load an image into the box by either:

Dragging an image from a browser into the box. Clicking the load button and navigating to your image from the file browser

2 Drag the mouse over the loaded image to magnify a specific region of it. 3 Release the mouse button to set the current color under the cursor.

Blend

The Blend tab allows you to blend four colors together and choose any shade between them. 1 Drag any color from the Color Palettes to one of the corners to change the colors being blended.

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2 Select a color by clicking it in the region.

Numeric Input
Numerical color values are entered using the Numeric Input section, by:

Typing values into the value fields Dragging the respective sliders. You can adjust colors in either an RGB or HSV color models.

Color Palettes
The Color Palette allows you to store up to 256 colors per palette. It allows you to:

Select a color from the palette at any time by clicking it. Move a palette color by middle-dragging it from one spot to another. Store the current color by right-clicking a spot in the palette. Choose between multiple palettes from the drop-down menu. Load existing palettes or save palettes by clicking the Load and Save buttons.

Color Settings
Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings Lets you adjust the colors used by the Maya interface. You can choose to modify different aspects of the interface by selecting the General, Active, or Inactive tab, then selecting an appropriate category and item. For items marked Index, you can change the item color by adjusting the corresponding color slider or selecting a color from the Index Palette at the top of the Active or Inactive section. You can only choose from the available Index Palette colors. For items that are not marked Index, you can change the item color by adjusting the corresponding color slider or by clicking on the colored box and selecting a color from the Color Chooser.

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Related topics

Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings on page 515

Component Editor
In main menu bar: Window > General Editors > Component Editor In scene view: Panels > Panel > Component Editor A spreadsheet of values contained in the components of an object.

Related topics

Edit component numeric values directly on page 89

Component Editor menus Options


Auto Update Controls whether the editor automatically shows the components of the current selection, or you need to manually update the editor to show the current selection. When Auto Update is off, click the Load Components button to update the editor with the current selection. Hide Zero Columns When this item is turned on, all columns whose values are zero are hidden (for example, a joint with no influence on vertices in the Smooth Skins tab). When this item is turned off, columns whose values are zero are shown. Sort Alphabetically When Sort Alphabetically is turned off, the items that make up the columns are displayed in their order in the hierarchy. When Sort Alphabetically is turned on, the items are sorted in alphabetical order. Show Path Name Shows the path. Change Precision Controls how many decimal places Maya shows for numbers in the cells. Remember This Layout Creates a custom layout in the Component Editor. You are prompted to name this layout. A tab appears with the name and column layout you selected. Delete Current Layout Deletes the current custom layout.

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Layout
Load Selected Components This is the same as the Load Components button at the bottom of the window. Updates the editor with the current selection when Auto Update is off. Show Selected Columns Removes all columns from the view, except those which are selected. This gives you a way to specify a set of influences/joints and view only them. Show Selected Objects Allows you to view only those components which are influenced by a selected object. For example, create a Smooth Skinned object and select all of its CVs. The Component Editor shows all the CVs. If you select one of the influences and select Show Selected Objects, you'll see only CVs for that influence; the others will be hidden. Show All Columns Shows all columns.

Component Editor tabs


Polygons Lists component data of polygonal vertices, including color or normal data in world space coordinates. If color or normal data are not shared at the vertex level, the column displays the word UnShared. These unshared values can be viewed and edited from the AdvPolygons tab. AdvPolygons Lists vertex face component data, including color and normal values for the vertex face. Weighted Deformer Lists component data of CVs, vertices, or lattice points influenced by cluster deformers (cluster weights). Rigid Skins Lists component data of CVs, vertices, or lattice points bound to a skeletons joints by rigid skinning (joint cluster weights). BlendShape Deformers Lists component data of CVs, vertices, or lattice points influenced by a target object. Smooth Skins Lists component data of CVs, vertices, or lattice points bound to a skeletons joints by smooth skinning (skin cluster weights). Springs Lists component data for springs, including stiffness and damping data. Particles Lists component data for particles, including color or velocity data.

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Component Editor spreadsheet area

Each component is a row, and each value or influence on the component is a column. Click, shift-click, or drag across a cell, column, or row to select it. Type a value to enter it in all selected cells.

Display Layer editor


Display > UI Elements > Channel Box/Layer Editor

Lets you organize large-scale pieces of the scene so you can show, hide, or edit them all at once. You can switch between the Display Layer editor, the Render Layer editor, and the Animation Layer editor by clicking the radio button. For more details on the Render Layer editor, see Render Layer Editor in the Rendering guide. For more information on the Animation Layer Editor, see Animation Layer Editor.

Related topics

Organize objects on display layers on page 155 Edit all objects on a layer at once on page 156

Menus Layers menu


Create Empty Layer Creates a new display layer, depending on the selection in the drop-down list, with a default name, for example layer1. Select Objects in Selected Layers Selects the objects contained in the selected layer(s). Remove Selected Objects from Selected Layers Removes all objects from the selected layer(s) and assigns them to the default layer. The selected layer(s) becomes empty so you can assign other objects.

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Membership Opens the Relationship Editor for removing or adding objects to layers. Attributes Opens the Attribute Editor for the selected layer(s). There are some attributes in the Attribute Editor not available through the Edit Layer window. Delete Selected Layers Deletes the selected layer(s), but not the objects in the layer. Delete Unused Layers Delete layers if they have no content. Set All Layers / Set Selected Layers / Set Only Selected Layers You can set all layers or selected layer characteristics. When you set selected layer characteristics, you can specify whether unselected layers will be affected or not. You can set the following characteristics: Visible/Invisible Normal/Template/Reference Full Detail/Bounding Box Shaded/Unshaded Textured/Untextured Playback On/Playback Off The above layer settings menu items are also available when you right-click a Display layer. Sort Layers Alphabetically Sorts layers by name. Sort Layers Chronologically Sorts layers by time of creation.

Options menu
You can set the following binary options:

Make New Layers Current Add New Objects to Current Layer Show Namespace When using namespaces, object names can sometimes get very long. This can make it difficult to differentiate objects by name. Turning off the display of namespaces replaces the namespace portion of a nodes name (if any) with ...:. The shortened name makes it easier to distinguish between different objects in your scene.

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NOTE Namespaces are the preferred method for managing naming when working with file references in Maya. It is not recommended that you employ Maya's renaming prefix convention when using file referencing. While the DAG path or long name of a node may make it unique when using renaming prefixes, they do not work consistently within file referencing and complicate the hierarchical DAG changes, which may cause problems later on.

Context-sensitive menu
The following commands are available when you right-click a layer: Add Selected Objects / Remove Selected Objects / Select Objects Add or remove objects from a display layer. You can also select all objects in the current display layer. Set All Layers / Set Selected Layers / Set Only Selected Layers See above. Empty the Layer Removes all objects from a layer, leaving it empty. Delete Layer Deletes the layer. Membership See above. Attributes displayLayer Type the name of the layer. Enable Overrides Turn this option off to disable the effects of the layer. Objects in the layer appear and behave as though they do not belong to the layer. Display Type Select how the layer appears. Normal Objects in the layer display normally, according to the settings for the layer. You can select objects in the layer and snap to them. Template Objects in the layer become templates. You can see template objects in the workspace, but you cannot select them, nor can you snap them. Reference You can snap to objects in the layer, but you cannot select them or modify them. Level of Detail Select the level of display detail for layer objects: Full Displays full detail for layer objects. Bounding Box Shows objects as boxes that represent their bounding volumes. Bounding boxes speed up Maya operations making a significant difference for complex models. Shading Turn on to make layer objects appear shaded when in shaded display.

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Texturing Turn on to show textures on layer objects when in shaded display. Playback Turn on to animate layer objects during playback. If you have several characters in a scene and want to look at each characters animation separately, you can place each character in its own layer and play back the animation of each character as desired. Visible Turn on to make the objects in the layer visible. Color Select the color of all objects belonging to the layer. Number This is the number assigned to the layer.

Merging display layers when importing files


To facilitate the merging of layers when you read in files, select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences on page 513 click the Files/Projects category, and in the Display Layer section select one of the following options for File Import Merge: None All layers read in are put in a new layer, and renumbered and renamed, if necessary to preserve uniqueness. By Number All layers read in that have the same index number as an existing layer are merged with that layer rather than creating a new layer. By Name All layers read in that have the same name as an existing layer are merged with that layer rather than creating a new layer.

Identifying display layers by color


You can associate each display layer with a different color so that it is easier to identify which objects are in each display layer in the Hypergraph and in the scene view. NOTE If the object or node is selected, it still appears in yellow in the Hypergraph and outlined in green in the scene view. You only see the color for each display layer if the object and node is not selected. To associate each display layer with a color 1 Click Display in your Render Layer Editor (Window > Rendering Editors > Render Layer Editor) to view your display layers. 2 In the Render Layer Editor, select the display layer that you wish to associate with a color. Double-click the color box, which is the box beside the layer name, and the Edit Layer dialog box appears.

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3 Select a color from the Color attribute and click Save. All objects in the selected layer appear in the designated color in the scene view and all nodes in the selected layer appear in the designated color in the Hypergraph.

File Browser

The file browser appears when you save, open, import, export, or otherwise navigate your computers file system from Maya.

Related topics

Create, open, or save a scene file on page 139

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Import files on page 141 Export objects to a new file on page 142

Folder Bookmarks
Click any folder in the Folder Bookmarks to navigate to that folder instantly in the main selection panel. You can customize these bookmarks by dragging and dropping folders into the upper-left panel.

Current Projects
Change the current project by clicking the drop-down box and selecting a project. Maya displays all recently opened projects. You can quickly navigate to the various folders where project files are stored by clicking the appropriate folder in the panel below the Current Project drop-down. This panel contains both folders defined by the projects rules and folders located in the projects root directory. You can return to the root of the project at any time by clicking Workspace Root.

Common options
The options available in the default Maya file browser change depending on the operation you used to open the file browser. However, in all versions you can:

Quickly navigate to recently saved locations by clicking the drop-down menu next to Look in and looking in the Recent Places section. Navigate your computers file system from the file browsing panels or enter file paths directly into the File name path. Navigate your file system relative to your current location with the up, back, and forward buttons, create new folders with the new folder button and adjust how much file details are shown by switching between the List view and Detail view. Preview images by selecting them in the main selection panel. Preview images appear in the Options panel on the right side. Set the current project by clicking the Set Project button and selecting a folder from the mini file browser that appears.

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You can press Alt + middle scroll (Windows and Linux) or Shift + middle scroll (Mac OS) to scroll through the entries in the File Browser window. Filter filenames by typing wildcards in the File name field and pressing Enter. The results are displayed in the main selection panel. Supported wildcards include:

* - Denotes all strings of any length. [] - Denotes a specific or range of characters. For example, inputing *[0-9].ma returns all .ma files ending in a single digit.

Switch to your operating systems native file browser in the Preferences (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences). In the File/Projects section, set File Dialog to OS native.

Operation-specific options can be found in the Options panel on the right side and are identical to those contained in their respective option boxes ( ).

Hotbox customization
The hotbox appears when you hold down the spacebar.

Hotbox Controls > Hotbox Style


Controls what controls are available in the hotbox.

Disabling the viewport toggle


You can use the MEL command:
hotBox -ncc "";

to disable the viewport panel toggle that occurs when you press the space bar. This way, only the hotbox appears when you press the space bar. For more information, see hotBox in the Commands documentation..

Related topics

Customize the hotbox on page 308

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Menu
Zones and Menu Rows Make all of the menu rows visible. Zones Only Display just the five marking menu zones. Menu sets are not available. Center Zone Only Make only the center zone (Maya) active everywhere. North, South, East, and West Zones and menu sets are not available. Center Zone RMB Popups Turn this option on to display menus for the selected menu set when you right-click the center zone. The menu set appears as a pop-up instead of a row. Note that the functional menu sets do not display when this option is on, even if you have selected to show them.

Hotkey Editor
Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor on page 515 Lets you assign predefined commands, MEL scripts, or marking menus to keys and key combinations.

Related topics

Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Maya Hotkeys on page 310 Assign a MEL script to a hotkey on page 323 View a list of all assigned hotkeys on page 325

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Categories and Commands


Maya includes a large number of useful pre-defined hotkey commands. You can use these commands instead of writing your own MEL script. Click a category in the Categories list to see the list of available pre-defined Commands in the category. Click a command in the Commands list to see its current hotkey(s) or assign it to a new key.

Current hotkeys
List box Shows all hotkeys that active the selected command. Remove Select a hotkey and click Remove to unassign the hotkey. List All Opens a window listing every assigned hotkey and its command. In this window you can use the tabs to switch from listing the hotkeys by key, or by category. Restore Defaults Returns all hotkey assignments to their factory defaults (the original commands they were assigned to when Maya was installed).

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Assign New Hotkey


Key Enter the key you want to assign to the selected command. Enter a letter from A to Z (upper and lower case are different keys) or a number from 0 to 9. You cannot use more than one letter or number. Or, select a special key from the pull-down list. For example, if you want the right arrow key to act as the trigger, assign it here. Modifier Select either Alt (Windows and Linux)/Option (Mac OS X) or Ctrl or Command (Mac OS X) for the hotkey modifier. Direction Use Press or Release to associate a command with the press or a release of a key. For example, you can create a hotkey to instruct Maya to snap to a curve when you press a key, then turn off the snapping when you release it. If you added a key to an operation ending with (Press) or (Release), add the same key to the corresponding (Release) or (Press) operation. Add to Recent Command List Turn on so that this hotkey can appear in the Edit > Recent Commands List on page 421 window. Assign Assigns the key in the Key field along with the Modifier and Direction to the select command in the Commands list. If your hotkey combination is already assigned to a command, a prompt appears asking if you would like to overwrite the assignment. Query Click Query to determine whether the specified key settings have already been assigned to a command. Find Click Find to highlight the category and command for the key you enter in the Key field.

Edit area
New Create a new user-defined command which you can then assign to a hotkey. Edit Edit the selected user-defined command in the Commands list. Delete Delete the selected user-defined command in the Commands list. Name The name of the selected command. Description A description of the commands purpose and effect. Category The category in which the command appears (in the Categories list box). Command The script that runs when the command is activated.

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Accept Click to save the command you are creating or editing. This button is only available after you click New or Edit to create or edit a command. Cancel Click to cancel editing a command. This button is only available after you click New or Edit to create or edit a command. Search Lets you search for text in the name or script of all defined commands. Use asterisks as wildcards.

List Hotkeys
This window appears when you click the List All button. No Modifiers Lists only single hotkeys, without Ctrl or Alt (Windows and Linux) or Option (Mac OS X). Ctrl or Control Lists only hotkeys with a Ctrl-key combination. Alt or Option Lists only hotkeys with an Alt or Option-key combination. Command Lists only hotkeys with a Command + key combination. Available for Mac OS X only. List All Lists all hotkeys. Ignore Release Turn on to ignore the hotkeys that activate when you release the key, versus when you press the key. Turn off to see all hotkeys, including the ones activated when you release the key.

Marking Menu Editor


Window > Settings/Preferences > Marking Menu Editor on page 516 Lets you edit the available marking menus. Once you define a marking menu, you must assign it to a hotkey or add it to the hotbox before you can use it.

Related topics

Create or edit a marking menu on page 304 Assign a marking menu to a hotkey on page 306 Add a marking menu to the hotbox on page 307

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Settings
Use Marking Menu in Specify whether the marking menu is linked to the Hotbox or a hotkey. Hotbox Region If you selected Hotbox for Use Marking Menu in, select the Hotbox zone the marking menu occupies: North, South, East, West, or Center. Mouse Button(s) Select the left, middle, or right mouse button used to display the marking menu. You can select one, two, or three mouse buttons.

Create Marking Menu/Edit Marking Menu


In this dialog box, you can set the menu name and test your marking menu. To edit items within a marking menu, right-click on a marking menu icon and select Edit Menu Item.

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Marking menu item editor


This editor appears when you edit a marking menu item. Label Enter the name of the marking menu item. Icon Filename Enter the name of the icon file. For more information, see MEL and Expressions. Command(s) Enter the MEL script used as the command for the menu item. You can drag the MEL script from the Script Editors bottom panel with the middle mouse button. Check Box Displays a check box beside the marking menu item. Radio Button Displays a check box beside the marking menu item. Neither Displays nothing beside the marking menu item. Option Box Turn Option Box on to display the option box beside the menu item so you can change a tools options from the marking menu. NOTE If the tool or action does not have an options window, you must use MEL code to create the box. Once the box is created, you must write MEL code to invoke the option window. For more information on MEL commands, see the MEL and Expressions guide. Option Box Command(s) Enter the MEL script to use as the command for the menu items option box.

Assign hotkey area in the Hotkey editor


For more information, see Hotkey Editor on page 593. Key Enter the key you want to assign to the selected command. Enter a letter from A to Z (upper and lower case are different keys) or a number from 0 to 9. You cannot use more than one letter or number. Or, select a special key from the pull-down list. For example, if you want the right arrow key to act as the trigger, assign it here. Modifier Select either Alt (Windows and Linux)/Option (Mac OS X) or Ctrl or Command (Mac OS X) for the hotkey modifier. Direction Use Press or Release to associate a command with the press or a release of a key. For example, you can create a hotkey to instruct Maya to snap to a curve when you press a key, then turn off the snapping when you release it.

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If you added a key to an operation ending with (Press) or (Release), add the same key to the corresponding (Release) or (Press) operation. Add to Recent Command List Turn on so that this hotkey can appear in the Edit > Recent Commands List on page 421window. Query Click Query to determine whether the specified key settings have already been assigned to a command. Find Click Find to highlight the category and command for the key you enter in the Key field.

Menu Sets
To open the Menu Sets editor, select the Status Line drop-down list and select Customize.

From the Menu Sets editor, you can create, edit, rename, remove, and restore menu sets.

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Menu Sets editor menus Edit menu


New Menu Set Creates a new menu set. Rename Renames the currently selected menu set. Remove Removes the currently selected menu set. Revert Menu Name to Default Restores the menu set to its default state. This option is available if the menu set currently selected in the Menu Sets column is one of the default Maya menu sets (the Animation, Polygons, Surfaces, Rendering, and Dynamics menu sets in Maya, as well as the nDynamics menu set in Maya Unlimited). Restore Default Menu Sets Restores the default Maya menu sets (the Animation, Polygons, Surfaces, Rendering, and Dynamics menu sets in Maya, as well as the nDynamics menu set in Maya Unlimited), while preserving any custom menu sets that have been added.

Namespace Editor
In the main menu bar: Window > General Editors > Namespace Editor.

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Lets you create, delete, and edit namespaces. The left column displays all the current namespaces in your scene. The root namespace is denoted with :, and in general nested namespaces are separated by :.

Related topics

Namespaces Work with namespaces

Outline
To...
Create a new namespace

Do this
Click the New button. The currently selected namespace is extended with a new namespace. Select a namespace and click the Rename button. You must click the Update button for the changes to display in the Namespace Editor. You can only rename the lowest level child if you selected a nested namespace. Select a namespace and click the Delete button. You cannot delete a namespace if it has associated child namespaces. Select a namespace and click the Select Contents button. Select a namespace and click the List Contents button. Select the desired objects in the scene, then select the namespace you want to add them to in the Namespace Editor and click the Add button.

Rename an existing namespace

Delete a namespace

Select the contents of a namespace in the scene List the contents of a namespace in the Script Editor Add selected scene objects to a namespace

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Outliner
In the main menu bar: Window > Outliner on page 516 In scene view: Panels > Panel > Outliner

The Outliner shows a hierarchical list of all objects in the scene in outline form.

Related topics

The Outliner on page 101 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118

Outline
To...
Select an object.

Do this
Select the object node name in the Outliner. Click the square plus to the node name. or minus next

Expand or collapse the level under a node.

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To...
Expand all levels under a node.

Do this
Shift-click the node name. square plus next to the

Change a nodes order in the hierarchy.

Middle-drag and drop it between two other nodes. Middle-drag and drop it on top of the node you want to be its parent. If you cant see both nodes at the same time in the Outliner, use Edit > Parent instead. Select the child node and select Edit > Unparent. Drag the divider bar at the bottom of the window up. When the pointer is over the bar the cursor changes to a up/down drag indicator. To unsplit the window, drag the divider back down to the bottom of the window.

Make a node a child of another node.

Bring a node out from under its parent.

Split the Outliner window.

Rename a node.

Double-click the node name. In node names, all punctuation except for the underscore (_) and the pound sign (#) are illegal characters. Turn on Display > Attributes (Channels). You can also limit the display of attributes with the Outliners Show > Attributes submenu. Click the round plus ( ) or minus ( ) next to the nodes name. You can further expand multi-value attributes. You cannot edit attribute values in the Outliner.

Allow the display of attributes (channels) in the Outliner.

Show or hide the attributes on a node.

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To...
Open a node in the Attribute Editor.

Do this
Double-click the icon next to the nodes name. Double-click the attribute name.

Open an attribute in the Expression Editor.

NOTE The Display and Show menu settings are saved with a scene file. The menu settings are not saved when you open a new or different scene.

Menus Display
DAG Objects Only Shows only transformable nodes. Shapes Shows shape nodes. Attributes (Channels) Allow the display of attributes on nodes. Use the round plus and minus buttons to show a nodes attributes. Set Members Allow the display of members under the sets. Connected Only show attributes that are connected to another node, keyed, or connected (by set driven key, a constraint, a motion path, or an expression). Reveal Selected Expands the outline to show the currently selected node(s). Advanced Asset Contents Select how nodes encapsulated in an advanced asset appear in the Outliner. You can select from the following options. Under Asset only shows the node as a child of its asset while Under Parent only shows the node in the hierarchy. Both displays the same node under both its asset and in the hierarchy. None hides encapsulated nodes completely. Channel Names Select what attribute names to show when Attributes (Channels) is on. Nice names are more readable. Long and Short names are the actual names of attributes, which you can use in expressions and MEL. Sort Order Select Scene Hierarchy to show the hierarchy. Select Alphabetical Within Type to show flat alphabetical lists of each node type. Attribute Order Changes the order in which the attributes are displayed in the Connection Editors list. Attributes can be sorted in ascending or descending alphabetical order.

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Select Set Members Selects the members of the highlighted set.

Show

Objects Select which object types to show in the Outliner. Select Clear Below to turn off all filters. Attributes Select which attribute types to show in the Outliner. Select Clear Below to turn off all filters. Hidden Hidden attributes. Keyable Keyable attributes. Scale, Rotate, Translate Scale, Rotate, or Translate attributes. Driven by Anim Curve Attributes with an animation curve. This includes attributes animated with keys, set driven keys, constraints, and motion paths. Driven by Expression Attributes controlled by expressions.

Driven by Driven Key Attributes driven by driven keys. User Defined User-defined attributes. For more information, see Create, edit, or delete custom attributes on page 116. Published Attributes published to assets. Invert Shown Reverse the filters so visible objects are hidden and hidden objects are visible. Show All Turns off all filters in the Show menu.

Select Attributes Opens the Select Attributes window, which lets you filter which attributes display for a selected object. The Select Attributes window displays a grid of checkboxes for the Translate, Rotate, and Scale XYZ attributes, as well as a list of any other attributes for the selected object. Use these checkboxes to turn the display of each attribute on and off. (For example, see Filter curve display in the Graph Editor.) Show Selected Type(s) Shows only object types of the same type as the current selection. This option lets you create a filter that limits the types of objects

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and attributes displayed in the Outliner to the same type of object or attribute as the current selection. For example, if you select an objects Translate X, Y, and Z attributes in the Outliner, then select Show Selected Type(s). All non-translation attributes will be filtered and only translation attributes will appear in the Outliner. The Show Selected Type(s) filter remains active until you select another Show menu option (such as Show All). Create Entry Lets you save and name the current Show menu filter. Create Entry is only available when the objects and attributes displayed in the Outliner have been filtered by the Show Selected Type(s) menu option. Delete Entry Lets you delete a saved Show menu filter. Show Auxiliary Nodes Shows node types that the Outliner normally does not show because they are rarely needed (such as underworld nodes). Auxiliary Nodes Lets you set which nodes are considered auxiliary.

Panel editor
In main menu bar: Window > Settings/Preferences > Panel Editor In scene view: Panels > Panel Editor

Tabs Panels
Displays existing panels you can rename or delete.

Select a panel and edit the Label field to rename it. You cannot rename the Top View, Side View, Front View, or Persp View panels. Select a panel and click Delete to remove it from the list.

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New Panel
Contains controls for creating a new panel type.

Add a new panel to the list of available panels on page 294

Layouts
Displays existing panel layouts.

Click New Layout to add an item to the list. Click a layout and click the Edit Layouts tab to edit it. To delete a layout, click it in the list, then click Delete.

Edit Layouts
Displays the current panel layout for editing.

Create a custom panel layout on page 293

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Configurations Use this tab to change the configuration and proportions of the layout. From the drop-down list, select the panel layout you want. Resize the panes by dragging the borders in the thumbnail view of the layout. The main window changes to reflect your changes.

Contents Use this tab to change which panel contents appear in the layout. Scene Independent Scene independent layouts are available for all scenes. Their contents are defined by panel types. If you have multiple panels of the same type in a scene, it is not certain which panels show up when you select your layout. This is not a problem in most cases; however, if you are working in a particular scene a great deal, then develop layouts that you can save specifically with that scene. Associated with Scene These layouts are only usable with the current scene. You can specify a particular panel if you have more than one of the same type.

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History
Displays the history of the panels you used. Maya keeps a record of panel layout changes. This lets you step forward or back through each view. This is helpful if you are moving between two layouts and cannot remember their names.

History Depth Specify the number of configurations you want stored in the history. Wrap History Toggle this on to return you to the first view or the most recent view configuration when you reach the end of recorded history. Clear History Click this button to delete the record of all the panels you have used. Previous Layout Click this button to browse back through the panel layouts. Next Layout Click this button to browse forward through the panel layouts.

Plug-in Manager
Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager A plug-in is an add-on module that extends Mayas capabilities. File translators are plug-ins you use to import and export various file formats. You can create or purchase specialty plug-ins to customize Maya for a specific job. Some features that can be added through plug-ins are:

file translators tools objects (nodes)

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MEL commands device drivers

Related topics

Supported file formats on page 135 Load or unload Maya plug-ins on page 328

The Plug-in Manager identifies which plug-ins are loaded into Maya. If you have a plug-in that you use frequently, you can make sure it is always there. The Plug-in Manager automatically scans all the directories in the plug-in path and lists available plug-in features. loaded Turn on loaded to load the plug-in for the current Maya session. auto load Turn on auto load to load the plug-in so that the next time you start Maya the plug-in loads automatically.

Information window
To view information about a particular plug-in, you must first load it, then click the i button beside the plug-in.

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Maya caches the list of current plug-ins. If you have added a new plug-in, click Refresh to update any changes. Maya displays the following information for a selected plug-in: Name The name of the plug-in. On Linux, plug-ins have the extension .so. On Windows, they have the extension .mll. On Mac OS X, the extension is .lib. Path The location of the file. On Linux, the default plug-in location is:
/usr/autodesk/maya2011/bin/plug-ins

On Windows, the default plug-in location is:


drive:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2011\bin\plug-ins

On Mac OS X, the default locations are:


/Applications/Autodesk/maya2011/Maya.app/Contents/MacOS/plug-ins

and
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/2011

Maya will check both of these locations for valid plug-ins. Vendor The manufacturer of the plug-in.

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Plug-in Version The version number of the plug-in. For API Version The version of the Maya API (Application Programmer Interface) the plug-in was compiled for. NOTE You cannot load a plug-in for any version of Maya that predates or post-dates the version it was compiled for. That is, if a plug-in was created for Maya version 7, it will not work with either Maya 6.5 or Autodesk Maya 8. Dot releases (minor version upgrades) are compatible with their major version and vice versa; for example, a plug-in compiled for Maya 7.0 works with Maya 7.0.1. Auto Load Indicates whether the plug-in has been marked for auto load. Is Loaded Indicates whether the plug-in is loaded. Plug-in Features Displays a list of the features added by the plug-in (for example, commands, dependency nodes, file translators). To display additional plug-ins, click the triangle to open the Other Registered Plug-ins section.

List of plug-ins included with Maya


The following is a list of default plug-ins that are included with Maya. animImportExport.mll Allows you to import or export anim curves to the API clipboard. For more information, see Animation curves. AutodeskPacketFile.mll Allows Maya to recognize the Autodesk Packet File (.apf) file extension. cgfxShader.mll Allows you to create hardware shaders. For more information, see CgFx Shader. cleanPerFaceAssignment.mll Does the following: 1 Traces material connections. 2 if multiple connections to one material is found, it combines them 3 changes the assignment order 4 returns a string array that can be executed as a MEL command clearcoat.mll Allows you to apply fresnel reflections to shaders. For more information, see Clear Coat. DCExport.mll Allows you to use the Direct Connect exporter.

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ddsFloatReader.mll Reads either half (16-bit) or IEEE 32-bit floating point .dds images. For more information, see Display a high dynamic range image. decomposeMatrix.mll Converts MMatrix into individual transformation matrix components. By default, solves assuming pivots and pivot translates are 0. DirectConnect.mll Enables file compatibility with Autodesk CAD products. For more information, see Maya Translators. fbxmaya.mll Allows Maya to recognize the FBX (.fbx) file extension. For more information, see FBX file translator. fltTranslator.mll Enables file compatibility with OpenFlight. For more information, see Maya OpenFlight Importer/Exporter. Fur.mll Enables the Fur menu in the Rendering menu set. ge2Export.mll Allows you to export scenes in the GE2 file format. For more information, see Game Exchange 2 Translator. hlslShader.mll Allows you to use the HLSL Shader material. For more information, see Work with HLSL shaders. Iges.mll Enables file compatibility with IGES. For more information, see IGES Translator plug-in. ik2Bsolver.mll Enables the 2 bone IK solver. For more information, see IK solvers. ikSpringSolver.mll Enables the IK spring solver. For more information, see IK Spring Solver Attributes. MayaMuscle.mll Enables the Muscle menu in the Animation menu set. MayaToAlias.mll Uses OpenMaya API to retrieve scene data, then exports using OpenModel. For more information, see MayaToAlias export plug-in. Mayatomr.mll Allows you to access mental ray for maya functionality, including .mi export, batch rendering, preview rendering, network rendering, and shader management. nearestPointOnMesh.mll Allows you to access the closestPointOnMesh node. objExport.mll Allows Maya to export scenes to the Object (.obj) file extension. OpenEXRLoader.mll Enables file compatibility with OpenEXR. For more information, see Display a high dynamic range image. openInventor.mll Enables file compatibility with Inventor and ivray.

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ribExport.mll Allows Maya to export scenes to the RIBexport (.RIB) format. For more information, see RenderMan (RIB) export plug-in. rotateHelper.mll Allows you to access the rotateHelper node. rtgExport.mll Allows you to output Maya scene information generically. For more information, see RTG Utility and File Format. stereoCamera.mll Allows you to use the stereoscopic camera type. For more information, see Using a stereoscopic camera. stlImport.mll Allows you to import STL files. studioImport.mll Allows you to import Alias Studio wire files. For more information, see StudioImport Plug-in and Translator. tiffFloatReader.mll Reads IEEE 32-bit floating point .tif images. For more information, see Display a high dynamic range image. VectorRender.mll Enables Mayas hardware renderer. For more information, see .Maya Hardware renderer vrml2Export.mll Allows you to export scenes to the VRML2 format. For more information, see VRML2 Translator.

Preload Reference Editor


File > Open Scene > The Preload Reference Editor is used when you want to select specific file references to be loaded or unloaded when the scene is opened. The Preload Reference Editor appears when you open a file when the Selective Preload option is turned on.

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To selectively load file and proxy references using the Preload Reference Editor 1 Select File > Open Scene > .

The Open Options window appears. 2 In the Referencing options section, turn on Selective Preload, then click Open. The file browser appears, listing the default scene directory for your project. 3 Select the file that contains the file references you want to load, then click Open. The Preload Reference Editor appears. The Preload Reference Editor lists all available file references for the scene. Depending on how the Referencing options were set, some file references will appear loaded or unloaded in the Preload Reference Editor. When an icon appears beside a particular file reference it indicates that one or more proxy references exist for that reference. 4 Select one or more items in the Preload Reference Editor by doing one of the following:

Click the check box next to a reference to indicate that you wish the reference to be loaded. Right-click an item and select Bring in Reference Loaded or Bring in Reference Unloaded from the menu that appears.

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Right-click an item and select Set Active Proxy To from the menu that appears. When a file reference contains one or more proxy references, the Set Active Proxy To option appears. Set Active Proxy lets you select which proxy reference you want to load into the scene by displaying the list of available proxy references (by their proxy tags) in the Set Active Proxy To submenu. TIP It is possible to set the load or active state for multiple proxies simultaneously when using the Preload Reference Editor. The list of proxy tags that appear in Set Active Proxy To submenu (when multiple file references are selected) is generated from all of the proxy tags currently in use for the proxy sets associated with the selected file references. NOTE Loading and unloading references works hierarchically; that is, switching the top-level load status of a parent to unloaded means that all child references are also not loaded.

Relationship Editor
In main menu bar: Window > Relationship Editors In scene view: Panels > Panel > Relationship Editor Use the Relationship Editor to edit relationships in Maya, where a relationship is a collection or grouping of objects or components. These relationships include:

Sets Deformer Sets Character Sets Partitions Display Layers Render Layers Render Pass Sets Animation Layers Dynamic Relationships

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Light Linking (Light-centric and Object-centric) UV Linking (Texture-centric, UV-centric, Paint Effects/UV, Hair/UV, and Fur/UV) Hair/Fur Linking NOTE The Relationship Editor is separate from the Dynamic Relationships Editor, which is used to control relationships of particle objects.

Related topics

Organize objects on display layers on page 155 Create and edit sets on page 158 Keep a collection of sets from having overlapping membership on page 159 Add and remove attributes from animation layers

Relationship Editor menus List


Auto Load All Sets Turn this on to automatically display all relationships of the selected type in the scene. This is the default. Manual Load Sets Turn this on to display relationships by choosing one of the following options: Load Set from Selection Display only the relationships associated with the objects selected in the scene. Add Set from Selection Add to the display the relationships associated with the objects selected in the scene. Remove Set from Selection Remove from the display the relationships associated with the objects selected in the scene. To display objects In the right side panel, select one of the following options from the List menu. Auto Load All Turn this on to automatically display all objects in the scene.

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Auto Load Selection Turn this on to automatically display objects in the relationships associated with the objects selected in the scene. Manual Load Turn this on to display objects by choosing one of the following options: Load List from Selection Display only the selected objects. Add Selection to List Add to the display the objects selected in the scene. Remove Selection from List Remove from the display the objects selected in the scene.

Relationship Editor toolbar


Drop down menu Controls which type of relationship to edit. This is the same as the items in the Window > Relationship Editors submenu. Plus and Minus icons When you are editing an asset-like relationship, such as sets, partitions, or characters, the plus and minus icons add or remove the current selection from the highlighted asset in the editor. For example, if you are editing sets, you can highlight a set on the left side of the editor and click the Plus icon to add the currently selected objects to the set.

Panels

Type text in the text boxes at the top of each panel to only show items with that text in their names. Click the icon to the left of the text boxes to switch the filter on or off. Click a set on the left side, then click items on the right side to highlight or unhighlight them. Highlighted items on the right side are connected to the item on the left side.

Script Editor
In main menu bar: Window > General Editors > Script Editor In scene view: Panels > Panel > Script Editor The Script editor lets you type in single or multi-line scripts in either MEL or Python and see their output in the history pane.

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Related topics

Create and run a MEL script

Panes
The top pane shows the history of commands and their results. Type MEL or Python commands and scripts in either the MEL or Python tab in the bottom pane. To execute the script in the bottom pane, do one of the following:

Press the Enter key on the numeric keypad Select Command > Execute. Select the text you want to execute and press Ctrl+Enter TIP On Windows, you can change the font size of the text in the top or bottom panes of the Script editor.

Select the top or bottom pane of the Script editor (click in the window), then hold the Ctrl key and scroll with your middle-mouse wheel.

The text gets larger or smaller as you scroll.

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Toolbar
You can access most Script editor commands directly from this toolbar.
Load script.

Source script.

Save script.

Save script to Shelf.

Clear history.

Clear input.

Clear all.

Show history.

Show input.

Show both.

Echo all commands.

Show line numbers.

Execute all.

Execute: executes selected text.

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Search down: searches for the text specified. Search up: searches for the text specified.

Go: enter the line number in the text box and click this icon.

Menus File
Load script Loads the contents of a text file into the Script editor. Source script Executes the contents of a text file. MEL does not allow you to forward reference locally scoped procedures. Locally scoped procedure definitions must appear before they are called. For example, in a file called noForwardRef.mel, define the local procedures before they are referenced.
proc myLocalProc() { print "In myLocalProc()\n" ; } proc anotherLocalProc() { print "In anotherLocalProc()\n" ; myLocalProc; } global proc noForwardRef() { print "Calling anotherLocalProc()\n" ; anotherLocalProc; }

If you change a script after sourcing it, the change is not automatically picked up by Maya. You need to re-run the script with File > Source Script. Save script Saves the selected text to a text file. Save script to shelf Adds a button to the current shelf which executes the selected text.

Edit
The edit menu includes standard editing commands and their associated hotkeys: Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Select All, as well as the following commands: Go to line Goes to the specified line number. Search and replace Opens a search dialog where you can search for a string and replace it with a different string. You can choose the search direction and choose whether your search is case-sensitive.

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Indent Selection / Unindent selection You can indent or clear the indent of selected text. Clear History Clears the top pane of the Script editor. Clear Input Clears the bottom pane of the Script editor. Clear All Clears both the top and bottom panes of the Script editor.

History
Batch render messages Shows batch rendering messages in the Script editor. Echo all commands When this item is on, all MEL commands executed by Maya appear in the top pane of the Script editor. For example, if you select Create > Polygon Primitives > Sphere, the corresponding MEL command (polySphere) that Maya executes is printed in the top pane. Line numbers in errors Shows line numbers in errors. Show stack trace Opens another window which lists errors and their line numbers in external script files. This is very useful for debugging scripts in external files. Suppress command results When turned on, the Script editor does not show the result of commands. Result messages start with // Result:. Suppress info messages When turned on, the Script editor does not show informational messages. Informational messages are of many different types and do not have a set prefix (except for //). Suppress warning messages When turned on, the Script editor does not show warning messages. Warning messages start with // Warning:. Suppress error messages When turned on, the Script editor does not show error messages. Error messages start with // Error:. NOTE Suppressing Script editor messages does not suppress messages from appearing in the Help Line. Suppress stack window When turned on, the Script editor suppresses the stack window. If stack trace is enabled, results are returned to the output window instead of a separate stack window. The Script editor menu items can also be controlled through the scriptEditorInfo command (-sr/suppressResults, -si/suppressInfo, -sw/suppressWarnings, -se/suppressErrors, -ssw/suppressStackWindow).

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Command
The following commands allow you to create, delete, and rename new tabs in the input area of the Script editor. New Tab Creates a new tab. You must choose whether the tab is for MEL or Python. Rename Tab Renames the current tab. Select Tab You can step through the tabs using the Previous and Next commands. Delete Tab Deletes the current tab. Show line numbers Shows line numbers in the Script editor. Command Completion Auto-completes command names as you type them. If Show Tooltip Help is on, command names appear automatically as you type. If Show Tooltip Help is off, you must press Ctrl + spacebar to make them appear. Object Path Completion Auto-completes object path names as you type them. If Show Tooltip Help is on, command names appear automatically as you type. If Show Tooltip Help is off, you must press Ctrl + spacebar to make them appear. Show Tooltip Help Displays auto completed commands and object paths as you type them. Show Quick Help Displays the Quick Help panel. You can search for commands and the panel displays all valid flags for that command. Execute Runs the MEL script in the bottom pane of the Script editor. You can also press Enter on the numeric keypad.

Command highlighting
All MEL and Python commands are highlighted as you enter them into their respective tabs in the Script Editor.

Saved MEL Scripts

MEL scripts are automatically saved when Maya exits and restored in the Script editor when Maya is restarted.

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In the event that Maya shuts down unexpectedly and is able to write a backup scene file, the current contents of each tab are written to text files and saved in the same directory as the scene file. These filenames match that of the backup scene file with the suffix -ScriptEditor-.

Additional notes
When Python requests input through stdin (for example, the Python raw_input command), a dialog box appears where you can type your input.

Shelf Editor
The Shelf Editor provides a dialog box with which you can create and edit shelves.

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Related topics

Shelves on page 8 Select actions on a shelf on page 15 Add a tool, action, or Maya script to a shelf on page 297 Edit the contents of a shelf on page 298 Use a custom name or icon for a shelf item on page 299 Change the display of shelves on page 300

Tabs and controls


Shelves The Shelves section displays existing shelves. Select a shelf name here to display its contents in the Shelf Contents section. You can rename a shelf by typing a name in the Rename field. You can also create, delete, and reorder shelves using the appropriate icons in the upper-right corner of the section. Shelf Contents The Shelf Contents section displays the items contained in the shelf selected in the Shelves section. You can rename shelf items by typing a name in the Rename field. You can also create, delete, and reorder shelf items using the appropriate icons in the upper-right corner of the section.

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Icon Preview Displays the current image assigned as the selected shelf items icon. Icon Name Displays the name of the current image assigned as the selected shelf items icon. You can choose an image for an icon by clicking the folder icon next to the Icon Name field and navigating to the file you want to use. Alternatively, you can choose from existing Maya icons by clicking the Maya icon and choosing from the list of available files. Tooltip Specify a brief description of the tool. This description appears with the icon in the icon or text modes, as well as in the tooltip (the pop-up description when the mouse hovers over the icon). Icon Label Type a label for the icon. This text appears over top of the icon to distinguish it from other items that use the same icon. Icon Label Color Select a color for an Icon Label text by clicking the colored box and selecting a color from the Color Chooser. You can adjust the shade by moving the slider. Label Background Select a background color for the Icon Label. This background appears over top of the icon, but behind the Icon Label. You can use it to make the Icon Label more legible over the icon itself. Background Transparency Allows you to adjust the transparency of the Label Background. Custom Background Color Turn this on to customize the background of the selected shelf items icon. Button Background Select a background color for the selected shelf items icon in the Shelf. This option is only available if Custom Background Color is on. Repeatable Turn this on to allow the command to be repeated from Edit > Repeat on page 421. Command / Double Click Command Click the Command or Double Click Command tab to view and edit the MEL code that is activated when the shelf item is clicked or double-clicked respectively. Save All Shelves Click Save All Shelves to save all changes immediately and write the information to the user shelves directory. The file name for a shelf file has the prefix shelf_. Close Click Close to accept your changes but not write them to the disk immediately. If your UI preference is to save shelf changes only when explicitly

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requested, the changes stay in effect only for the current session. Otherwise your changes are saved the next time you save a file or quit the application.

Options menu
Icon Only Displays only the icon. This is the default. Text Only Displays only the shelf item names. Icon/Text Below Displays the label below the icon. Icon/Text Beside Displays the label beside the icon. Save Automatically When this option is on, your changes to the shelves are saved when you exit Maya. This is the default. Save Only on Request When this option is on, your changes to the shelves are only saved when you select Save All Shelves in the Shelves window. If you dont save your changes, then they are lost when you exit Maya.

Visor
Window > General Editors > Visor In scene view: Panels > Panel > Visor The Visor displays textures, images, and shading nodes in the project directory. Visor tabs contain a collection of items in the scene, or directories and files on disk. You can customize the way you view files, and create and customize tabs.

You can also middle-drag items from the Visor into Hypershade to create a new node, or onto a swatch in Hypershade to connect nodes.

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To view an image Double-click an image file in the images directory to view the image in fcheck.

To create a new tab 1 Select Tabs > Create New Tab. 2 Enter a new tab name. 3 Select a Tab Type and specify the corresponding options. 4 Click Create. Scene Displays a collection of nodes in the current scene. Disk Displays files on disk, such as a texture library. Paint Effects Displays Paint Effects files, such as brush settings. Show Nodes Which Are For Scene tabs, select to display only certain nodes types within a specified tab. Root Directory For Disk and Paint Effects tabs, either type the path name if you know it, or click the folder icon to browse through directories to select the directory where the items are stored. Only Show Files (Hide Directory Tree) For Disk and Paint Effects tabs, turn this on or off to hide or show the directory tree. This is especially helpful if you find you routinely work with files located in one specific directory. You can switch between viewing directory folders or just the files within that directory.

Menus File menu


Import Opens the Import dialog box so you can select a Maya scene file (such as a file containing a shader) to import into Maya. Import Selected Scene Files Reads information from another file and loads it into the current file. Import Selected Image Files Select an item from the pull-out menu to select how to import image files. Include Placement is on by default.

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As Normal For normal textures, Maya applies a texture map according to the geometry characteristicstextures are placed onto polygons based on UV information or placed onto NURBS surfaces based on parametrized information. As Projection To create projection textures, Maya applies a texture map to the surface of a 3D object by projecting a 2D texture into 3D spacein other words, Maya projects the texture maps independently of the geometry characteristics. TIP For textures created with As Projection turned on, you need to explicitly connect the texture to the bump so the texture is visible in the bump map. As Stencil Lets you place an image file or texture on a surface and manipulate its placement and size to look like a label. You can use masking techniques to hide unwanted parts of the image. Include Placement When on, Maya automatically creates a texture placement node when you create a texture render node. The default setting is on. Export Selected Network Exports the selected item into a new file. The file browser opens to its best guess directory, but can browse to any directory, or cancel, before exporting.

View menu
Frame Selected Frames only the selected nodes in the current Visor layout. Frame All Frames all the nodes displayed in the current Visor layout.

Tabs menu
Each tab contains the nodes that make up the current scene. These options let you create new tabs and customize the default tabs. Create New Tab You can create and name tabs to help you organize a scenes rendering elements. Move Tab Left/Right Select a tab then select one of these options to re-arrange the tabs. Rename Tab Select a tab then select this option to rename it. Remove Tab Select a tab then select this option to remove it. Revert to Default Tabs Removes new tabs and reverts to the default organization.

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Current Tab Options Select a tab, then select one of these options to control the display: Show Directories Only, Show Files Only, Show Both, Refresh File Listing.

Hypergraph
Hypergraph overview
Window > Hypergraph: Hierarchy on page 516 Window > Hypergraph: Connections In scene view: Panels > Hypergraph Panel > Hypergraph Hierarchy Presents a graphical view of the scene hierarchy or dependency graph, with boxes representing nodes and lines representing relationships.

Related topics

The Hypergraph on page 102 View and edit the hierarchy of nodes on page 118 Change the order of nodes on page 121 Change the visual layout of nodes in the Hypergraph on page 120 Show inputs and outputs (dependency graph) on page 122 Connect input and output attributes on page 123 Connect attributes with an expression on page 124 Break connections between attributes on page 125 Show or hide nodes on page 126

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Toolbar

Enter text to filter listing You can enter syntax to limit the node listing in your Hypergraph panel. The syntax is case-sensitive. Every listed child node is displayed with its corresponding parent node even if the parent node would not otherwise be shown because of the filter. For example, P* shows only the nodes beginning with the letter P.

Graph area
The graph area shows the network of boxes representing nodes, and lines connecting them representing relationships. You can use the Hypergraph to view and edit hierarchical relationships or dependency relationships (input and output connections between attributes). Use the camera move keys (Alt + the middle mouse button and alt + the right mouse button) to move around the graph the same way you move around in view panels.

Hypergraph menus Edit Menu


Rename Rename the selected node. Expand Expand a node to one level below. Collapse Collapse the selected node. Expand All Expand all subnodes below a node.

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Show Selected Display and expand a node that is currently not visible in the graph. Asset Contains options to manage assets. Create Asset with Transform Adds a new asset with Transform node to the graph area and adds any selected nodes to it. For more information see Assets > Create Asset with Transform on page 519. Advanced Assets > Create Adds a new advanced asset node to the graph area and adds any selected nodes to it. For more information, see Assets > Advanced Assets > Create on page 524. Advanced Assets > Publish Parent Anchor Sets a node to retain its plug information. This allows you to perform hierarchical or name changes to the node without breaking its relationship to future child nodes. Advanced Assets > Publish Child Anchor Sets a node to retain its plug information. This allows you to perform hierarchical or name changes to the node without breaking its relationship to future parent nodes. Advanced Assets > Unpublish Parent Anchor Resets the node currently published as the parent of the asset to not retain its plug information. Unpublish Child Anchor Resets the node currently published as the child of the asset to not retain its plug information. Set Current Asset Lets you set an asset in the scene as the current asset. For more information see Assets > Advanced Assets > Set Current Asset on page 526. Transfer Attribute Values Transfers the values of any identically named published attributes from the first asset selected to the second. Publish Connections Publishes all attributes connected to a node outside the selected asset(s). This includes both incoming and outgoing connections. Remove Asset Deletes the selected asset node from the Hypergraph. Any nodes within the selected asset are moved out of the asset before it is deleted. When the asset node is nested within one or more other asset nodes, the nodes within the asset are moved one level up in the hierarchy. To delete an asset node and its contents, press the Delete key. Collapse Asset Reduces the selected asset node to the size of one node. The asset node is easily differentiated from other nodes in the Input/Output connections graph via its thick, rounded border. Expand Asset Increases the display size of the selected asset node(s) to display all of its encapsulated nodes.

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Reset Freeform Layout Display the Hypergraph hierarchy as the last saved freeform layout. Clear View Clear the current hierarchies and return an empty Hypergraph panel. Attributes Open the attribute editor showing information of a selected node.

View Menu
Previous View Show the previous view. Next View Show the next view. Frame All Zoom in to view the entire Hypergraph within the frame of the panel. Frame Selection Zoom in to view only the selected nodes. Frame Hierarchy Zoom in to view only the hierarchies of the selected nodes Frame Branch Zoom in to view only the branches of the selected nodes. Set Background Image Lets you import and adjust the position of an image that displays behind the nodes within your Hypergraph panel when displaying in either the dependency graph mode (input/output connections) or for scene hierarchy mode when set to Freeform display. Background images can be displayed in both scene hierarchy and input and output connections display modes. You can only use image formats accepted by Maya. For more information, see Supported file formats on page 135. Background images are saved when using the Bookmarks feature. Image Lets you specify the background image to load. Click the Load button to select an image from either your local drive or network. Horizontal position Adjust the horizontal position of the currently loaded image by using the slider or typing a number into the text field. Vertical position Adjust the vertical position of the currently loaded image by using the slider or typing a number into the text field. Scale Adjust the scale of the currently loaded image uniformly by using the slider or typing a number into the text field. Fit to width Scales the background image to fit exactly within the entire width of the current Hypergraph panel while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the image.

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Fit to height Scales the background image to fit exactly within the vertical region of the current Hypergraph panel while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the image. NOTE Resizing the Hypergraph panel may require readjustment of the Horizontal, Vertical, and Scale settings in order to match your node layout. Show Background Image Toggles the display of the currently loaded background image on or off.

Bookmarks Menu
Create Bookmark Store the current node arrangements as a quick reference. Select options to name the bookmark, otherwise the bookmark is assigned a default name. Bookmark Editor Edit the stored bookmark.

Graph Menu
Scene Hierarchy The scene hierarchy is the grouping of child nodes under parent nodes. For more details, see Scene hierarchy on page 98. Input and Output Connections/Input Connections/Output Connections You can show Input and Output connections to a selected node. An Input connection is a node that provides input to the selected node. An Output connection is a node that receives input from the selected node. To see connections to most objects, you must select the shape node of the object rather than the transform node. When you display output connections for a node, you see the chain of nodes that output to each other, all the way through to the end receiving node. Example You create a wine glass surface by revolving a NURBS curve. The following dependency graph appears when you select the revolved surfaces shape node and select Graph > Input and Output Connections:

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NOTE This graph is shown vertically. By default, a dependency graph displays horizontally. The connection lines between nodes show connection direction. The connection line originates at a node that outputs data, and the line points to a node receiving the data as input. The example graph shows that a curve provides input to the revolve operation node. The revolve operation generates a revolved shapethe wine glass. The revolved shape is connected to initialShadingGroup, which sets the default color of all geometric shapes created in Maya. If you move your mouse pointer over a connection line, small white boxes appear next to the input node and output node. The white box next to an input node shows the nodes name and attribute that receives the input. The white box next to an output node shows the nodes name and attribute that provides the output. Each node name and attribute is separated by a period. In many cases, you must be familiar with Mayas internal operation details to understand the node and attribute names you see in the white boxes. NOTE The dependency graph and scene hierarchy display animated nodes as slanted boxes. If you animate a node with an expression, it displays a regular rectangle rather than a slanted box. All other animation techniques display a slanted box. Specifically, a slanted box indicates Ball has a param curve connected to it. Example Keyframe the translateX attribute of a NURBS sphere named Ball. If you select Balls transform node and display all Input and Output Connections, this graph appears:

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The slanted box indicates Balls transform node has been animated. The graph doesnt indicate which type of animation technique controls the attribute. Connection line colors The connection lines are color-coded to indicate the type of attribute that is connecting the nodes. In this case, attribute types are single, double, triple, data, and array. See the following table for an explanation. Default Color
Blue Cyan Green Magenta

Attribute Type
Single Double Triple Data

Example Attributes
transform.translateX, makeNurbsSphere.radius file.repeatUV, cameraShape.cameraAperature transform.translate, lambert.color nurbsSurface.create, makeNurbsSphere.outputSurface particleShape.position, particleShape.velocity

Red

Array

You can change these default colors in the Colors window (Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings). TIP A dotted line in the scene hierarchy indicates a connection to an underworld node or an instanced object. Layout Restores the hierarchy arrangement to the original Input and Output Connections layout. Rebuild Update your scene hierarchy or dependency graphs when it does not update automatically. For example, if you add an object to a scene and it doesnt appear in the scene hierarchy, rebuild the graphs to make the scene hierarchy aware of the objects presence. Increase/Decrease Depth Traversal You can limit the number of nodes graphed in the connection mode of the Hypergraph. By default, depth traversal is unlimited (set to -1). Use the Hypergraph > Graph > Increase Depth Traversal and Hypergraph > Graph > Decrease Depth Traversal to increase or decrease the depth traversal.

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You can also use the arrows or enter an integer into the numeric field of the Hypergraph menu bar to change the depth traversal value. Click the Unlimited button or set the number to -1 to remove the depth traversal limit.

NOTE Use the MEL command Hypergraph, -lgt/limitGraphTraversal, to limit the number of nodes only in connection mode. The flag takes a single integer value.
hyperGraph -e -lgt 0 [HyperGraphControlName];

This sets the traversal limit to 0 for the specified Hypergraph. The default value is set to -1 (no depth limit).

Rendering Menu
Show ShadingGroups/ Show Materials/ Show Textures/ Show Lights You can show connections to shading groups, materials, textures, and lights. See Rendering for details.

Example
Suppose you create a NURBS sphere, then use the Hypershade to create and assign a Phong shading group to it. Next you use the Hypershade to create a 2D checker texture and assign it to the Phong node. The Hypershade displays the following contents:

The following dependency graph appears when you select Rendering > Show Shading Groups in the Hypergraph.

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The connection lines between nodes show connection direction. The connection line originates at a node that outputs data, and the line points to a node receiving the data as input. The example above shows that the flow of output goes from the phong1SG shading group to the renderPartition. Although you can see most of the same nodes in the Hypershade, the dependency graph shows the nodes in a flow diagram. This makes it easy to see the connections between the nodes that make up a shading group. If you glide the mouse pointer over a connection line, small white boxes appear next to the input node and output node. The white box next to an input node shows the nodes name and attribute that receives the input.

The white box next to an output node shows the nodes name and attribute that provides the output. Each node name and attribute is separated by a period, for example, checker1.outColor and phong1.color. In the preceding figure, the outColor attribute of checker1 is output to the color attribute of phong1. In many cases, you must be familiar with Maya internal operation details to understand the node and attribute names you see in the white boxes. Create Render Node Create a render node with a texture map in the Hypergraph.

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Options Menu
Display > Shape Nodes, Hidden Nodes, Underworld Nodes By default, the scene hierarchy does not display shape nodes, hidden nodes, or underworld nodes. It displays only transform nodesnodes that hold attributes and other information on an objects transformation and parent-child relationships. Shape nodeholds an objects geometry attributes or attributes other than the objects transform node attributes. A shape node is a child of a transform node. A transform node has only one shape node. Hidden nodeany object hidden using Display > Hide from Mayas menu bar. The default cameras top, front, side, and persp are also hidden nodes. Underworld nodea pair of nodes below a shape node. When you create a curve on a NURBS surface, Maya generates an underworld transform node and shape node below the shape node of the surface. The CV positions of underworld nodes have UV coordinates on the surface rather than coordinates in world or local space. A dotted line in the scene hierarchy indicates a connection to an underworld node. Connections to instanced objects are also indicated by dotted lines. NOTE Hypergraph option settings are saved with a scene file. The options are not saved for Maya globally.

Example 1
If you selectCreate > NURBS Primitives > Sphere to create a sphere, Maya creates a transform node and a shape node. The spheres shape node holds the mathematical description of the spheres shape. The spheres transform node holds the spheres position, scaling, rotation, and so on. The shape node is the child of the transform node. If you select Options > Display > Shape Nodes in the Hypergraph, the scene hierarchy shows these nodes for the sphere:

Maya gives the nodes the default names shown in the preceding figure. The transform node is nurbsSphere1, the shape node is nurbsSphereShape1. If you rename the transform node, for example, to Bubble, Maya renames the shape node to BubbleShape. If you rename the shape node, Maya does not rename the transform node. Maya doesnt transmit a childs attribute changes up to its parent.

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Example 2
If you select Create > NURBS Primitives > Sphereto create a sphere, Maya creates a transform node and a sphere node. If you then select Modify > Make Live, then use the Create > CV Curve Toolto draw a curve on the surface of the sphere and turn on the display of shape nodes and underworld nodes, the scene hierarchy appears as follows:

Maya gives the nodes the default names shown. The transform node is nurbsSphere1, the shape node is nurbsSphereShape1. The curve1 and curveShape1 nodes are underworld nodes for the curve created on the spheres surface. When a curve-on-surface is hard to select in the workspace because of crowding or complex geometry, you can select it easily in the scene hierarchy with underworld nodes displayed. Display > Expression Connections/Constraint Connections/Deformer Connections You can display color-coded lines in the scene hierarchy that illustrate nodes connected by an expression, constraint, or deformer.

Example
Create a NURBS sphere named Ball and a NURBS cone named Cone. Write an expression to assign the value of Balls translate Y attribute to Cones translate Y attribute. The expression links the two values. When you move Ball up or down in the view (in a Y-axis direction), Cone moves up or down the same amount. If you select Options > Display > Expression Connections, the scene hierarchy displays this:

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TIP You can change the color-coding of the connection lines and other important entities by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings from Mayas main menu bar and expanding Hypergraph/Hypershade. Background Image (In Freeform Layout) Show a background image in the Hypergraph panel. Show Cached Connections Show cached connections. Graph Layout Style The Graph Layout Style lets you rearrange the layout style of nodes to suit your needs. This option is only available in the Connection View. Rearranging the layout can make the connections and their relationships more meaningful. Circular Layout Displays the Hypergraph connections in a circular fashion by placing nodes in circular cluster arrangements. Hierarchical Layout Displays precedence relationships in the graph by placing nodes at different levels. Orthogonal Layout Aligns nodes within the graph vertically and horizontally. Symmetric Layout Displays the Hypergraph nodes symmetrically when the topology of the nodes allows for it. Tree Layout Displays the Hypergraph hierarchy as parent/child relationships with the root nodes at the top and child nodes further down the hierarchy. Orientation Select one of the following orientation options. Horizontal Display the Hypergraph hierarchy horizontally. Vertical Display the Hypergraph hierarchy in a vertical arrangement. Schematic Display the Hypergraph hierarchy in a schematic arrangement where nodes are spaced evenly apart and children appear under their respective parents.

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Layout Select one of the following layouts. Freeform Layout Place nodes or groups of nodes in any location without conforming to structured hierarchy layouts. Automatic Layout Automatically groups the nodes into default hierarchies. Transitions > Animate Transitions, 5/10/15/20 frames By default, Maya dollies from one view to another instantaneously when you change the panel view of a graph. (For example, by selecting View > Previous View.) You can slow Mayas transition speed between views to make the view change action easier to see. 20 Frames dollies slowest, 5 Frames dollies fastest. Update > On Nodes Creation, On Selection The Hypergraph automatically updates the scene hierarchy when you add or delete an object, rendering node, or other item in the scene When you select an object in the scene hierarchy or dependency graph, the object is also selected in the workspace, Outliner, and elsewhere in Maya. Also, when you select an object in the workspace, Outliner, and elsewhere in Maya, the object becomes selected in the scene hierarchy or dependency graph. These updates slow Maya operation when you work with a complex scene or when youre examining nodes or dragging nodes to new positions in a free-form hierarchy. You can turn off the updating option to improve operation speed. Node Display Override Color Display layer colors on the nodes. Coloring the nodes helps you organize and distinguish the nodes in their respective layers. Show Cached Connections Shows any connections that are cached.

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Heat Map Display Colors nodes in the Hypergraph based on their timed performance. Nodes with a 0 timing value appear grey, while nodes with a positive timing value are displayed in increasing shades from blue to red. While you can set Heat Map Display on or off for individual Hypergraph windows, all Hypergraph windows are subject to the same set of Heat Map Display options. For more information about the Heat Map Display, see Performance monitoring with the Heat Map Display on page 645. Metric Determines timing metric for the nodes. Type Determines the timing type. Threshold Determines how custom thresholds affect the Heat Map Display. Remap colors adjusts the color scheme relative to the current threshold instead of the highest/lowest timing value node. Hide nodes automatically hides all nodes whose timing values are higher or lower than the Upper threshold and Lower threshold respectively. Upper threshold / Lower threshold Lets you set a custom boundary for the upper (red) and lower (blue) thresholds of the Heat Map Display. Selection cutoff Allows you to add nodes over the cutoff value relative to the threshold measured in percentage. Timing Turns global node timing on and off. Reset timers Reset all node timers to 0. Redraw HyperGraph(s) Regenerates and redraws all Hypergraph windows currently with Heat Map Display mode enabled. Show Relationship Connections Shows connections that do not represent data flow. Merge Connections Displays multiple connections between two nodes as a single, bold line. For more information, see Merge connections on page 644. Opaque Assets Displays expanded assets nodes with an opaque background.

Hypergraph tips
Use the following tips to define an easier and faster workflow when using the Hypergraph.

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Upstream and downstream connections


To show a shapes upstream and downstream connections, select it before you go to the DG view. It is not enough to select the transform parent.

Selecting multiple nodes


If you select multiple nodes in the DAG view, the DG graph containing all selected nodes is displayed when you go to the DG view.

DG node display
The node type for a given DG node is displayed in the pop-up window only during mouse-over feedback.

Connection lines in the DAG view


Connection lines in the DAG view may clip when you scroll one node out of view. (This includes DG connections and IK handle joint span lines.)

Improve performance when viewing large graphs


To improve performance when viewing large graphs, DAG connections are not drawn while the view changes.

Bookmark
The Bookmark remembers your node arrangements and background images.

Asset nodes
Use the Create Asset node feature to create logical groupings within the dependency graph. Asset nodes simplify the display of the dependency graph display by letting you organize nodes into groupings that are meaningful to your production pipeline. For more information, see Create assets on page 201.

Merge connections
You can condense multiple connections from one node to another using Merge Connections on page 643. This displays all parallel connections as a single bold connection. If you mouse over a bold connection line, the Hypergraph displays the names of all connections that line represents.

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NOTE This option does not change the connections. Only the Hypergraph display is changed. Merged connections originating from asset nodes are drawn with a small box attached. A solid box indicates that all the merged connections are published attributes. An empty box indicates that one or more of the merged connections are from unpublished internal attributes. For more information on assets, see Asset overview on page 163.

Performance monitoring with the Heat Map Display


You can visually review the performance impact of various nodes in your scene using the Heat Map Display option in the Hypergraph. When Heat Map Display is on, Maya colors the nodes in the Hypergraph according to the nodes timed performance. You can monitor many different metrics using Heat Map Display, including the number of callbacks, computational calculations, dirty updates or draw times. Nodes that take longer to perform in the specified metric are colored from blue to red as they pass various thresholds. This allows you to quickly identify expensive or inexpensive nodes.

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By default, the color scheme of the Heat Map Display is as follows:


Grey represents a timing value of 0. Blue represents a low timing value. Red represents a high timing value.

Colors are measured by percentage. By default, the node with the highest timing value in the network is red while the node with the lowest non-zero timing value in the network is blue. Values between the low and high timing value appear in a spectrum from blue to red. You can customize the upper or lower threshold or remove nodes above or below a certain performance threshold in the Heat Map Display options. The heat map is recalculated at the end of each playback, or when you click Redraw HyperGraph(s) in the Heat Map Display options. You can customize the colors used in the Heat Map Display by selecting Windows > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings, then selecting the Hypergraph setting and adjusting the various Heat Map colors.

Related topics

Heat Map Display on page 643

Hypergraph limitations
The following limitations and workarounds relate to the Hypergraph. Hiding or collapsing shapes in the Hypergraph A transform node displays the icon of its child shape when you hide or collapse the shape. Depending on the order the graph was built in, the icon may still occasionally show the transform icon, even if it has a shape child. Workaround Use Graph > Rebuild to update the icon.

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Deleting connections in the DG view of the Hypergraph Connections in the DG view can be deleted only when you single-select them. You cannot delete a multiple selection of connections with a single delete action. Workaround Delete each connection individually while you are in the DG view. Using the IK Handle Tool in the Hypergraph The IK Handle Tool behaves differently in the Hypergraph than it does in a model view. In a model view you can select the start joint and then select the end joint to add an IK handle. However, in the Hypergraph after you select the first joint you must hold down the Shift key to extend the selection for the end joint.

Maya Help
Maya Help overview

The Maya Help is accessible from the Help menu of Maya. The Maya Help appears in your Web browser and gives you complete access to the online documentation of Maya, including Whats New, User Guide, Learning Resources, complete Commands, Nodes, and API documentation, as well as documentation supplied by mental images on mental ray for Maya.

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The left-hand navigation frame gives you tabbed access to Contents, Index, Search, and Favorites. Help information appears in the right-hand frame. When you first open the Maya Help, a legend appears in the right side frame, showing the various information types of the Maya Help. To navigate to a topic 1 In the left column, in the Contents section, select the book with the topic you want. 2 Click the + icons to navigate down to the topic. 3 Click the topic name. The topic appears in the right column. Navigation buttons are available on the top of the right-hand frame. These include:

Show in Contents : opens the navigation in the left-hand frame, if necessary, and highlights the current topic. Add to Favorites Home : adds the current page to the Favorites list.

: reloads the home page of the Maya Help

Previous Page, Next Page Up one level : opens the parent topic of the current topic.

You can click Please send us your comment about this page at the bottom of each page, to send an email to Maya documentation about the current page. There are also Index, Search, and Favorites pages that you can access by clicking the appropriate button in the left panel.

About the web browser


The HTML Help is best viewed using Firefox 3 or Internet Explorer 7. Javascript must be enabled.

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The following browser features can be useful in navigating the Maya Help:

Ctrl + F in most browsers can be used to search for text within a page. The Back and Forward buttons can be used to navigate from/to pages youve visited recently. Ctrl + T or Ctrl + N can be used to open new tabs or windows to view multiple places in the Help at once. Use the browser menus to change font sizes if the default size is too large/small.

NOTE The Maya Help system uses Javascript, which Microsoft Internet Explorer blocks by default for HTML pages on My Computer. As a result, it displays a warning message asking if you want to show active content. Clicking on the message and selecting Allow Blocked Content allows the page to load. However, you can turn off the message permanently by doing the following: To turn off this message permanently 1 Open Microsoft Internet Explorer. 2 Select Tools > Internet Options. The Internet Options window appears. 3 Click the Advanced tab and scroll down to the Security section. 4 Turn on Allow active content to run in files on My Computer.

Index
The index provides you with an alphabetical list of key points in the documentation. Clicking any of the keywords in the index displays the appropriate subject in the right panel. You can search the index by typing a query into the textbox at the top of the left panel. When you click the View button, the left panel automatically scrolls to the first instance of the queried keyword, whose page is then displayed in the right panel. You can click the Next button to move to subsequent instances.

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Search

You can search through the documentation for words or combinations of words using the search menu. Type your query into the textbox and click the Search button. Matches are ranked according to the number of occurrences of the keyword(s) and are listed from the highest rank to the lowest. Search also has a number of options. Search Method Defines whether to find topics containing any of the keywords (or), all of the keywords (and), or phrases built using combinations of the keywords (phrase). Match case Considers upper or lower case when searching. Highlight When on, all instances of the keyword(s) are highlighted in the result pages. Find whole words only When on, the search does not consider partial matches. For example, when Find whole words only is on, if you search for the keyword model, modeling does not match.

Favorites
Displays a list of pages youve designated as favorites using the Add to Favorites button( ). You can remove a favorite page at any time by selecting the page and clicking the Remove selected from Favorites button.

Viewing PDF Documentation


The documentation set is available in PDF for online viewing or printing. They are located in the Extras > PDF directory on the Maya DVD.We recommend Adobe Acrobat Reader or Xpdf for best results when viewing PDF files.

Contacting Customer Support


For a list of contact information for Autodesk Media and Entertainment Customer Support, consult your release notes, or visit

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http://www.autodesk.com/support.Customer support is also available through your Autodesk reseller. To find a reseller near you, consult the reseller look-up database at http://www.autodesk.com/resellers.

Preferences window
Preferences overview
The Preferences window lets you set preferences for many functional elements of Maya, detailed in the following sections:

Interface preferences on page 652 UI Elements preferences on page 655 ViewCube preferences on page 656 Help preferences on page 657 Display preferences on page 658 Kinematics preferences on page 661 Animation (Display) preferences on page 662 Manipulators preferences on page 662 NURBS preferences on page 664 Polygons preferences on page 665 Subdivs preferences on page 667 Settings preferences on page 667 Animation (Settings) preferences on page 669 Cameras preferences on page 674 Dynamics preferences on page 674 Files/Projects preferences on page 675 Modeling preferences on page 677 Rendering preferences on page 678 Selection preferences on page 681

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Snapping preferences on page 683 Sound preferences on page 684 Time Slider preferences on page 685 Undo preferences on page 688 Save Actions on page 688 Modules preferences on page 688 Applications preferences on page 688

Interface preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Interface category of the Preferences window.

Interface
Menu set This determines which menu set displays in the main Maya menu bar on start-up. The default is Animation. Show menubar Hides or displays the main menu bar (Windows and Linux). Hides or displays the Panels menu bar (all platforms). TIP To hide or display the main menu bar of Maya on Mac OS X, press the asterisk button (*) three times. Show title bar Hides or displays the title bars in the main window and the Script Editor (Windows and Linux). The title bar includes window control buttons for expanding and collapsing the application. Windows Turn on Remember Size and Position so that Maya restores the size and position of all windows when closed and re-opened. If turned off, the Maya windows always display in the center of the screen upon opening. Command Line Turn on Hold focus if you want the cursor to stay in the Command Line after you press Enter (Windows and Linux) or Return (Mac OS X). Otherwise, the cursor returns to the current window. Open Attribute Editor Use this option to specify how the Attribute Editor displays when you open it (such as pressing Ctrl+a (Windows and Linux) or Command+a (Mac OS X)). To open the Attribute Editor in a separate window, select In Separate Window. To open the Attribute Editor in the main Maya

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window, select In Main Maya Window. By default, the Attribute Editor opens in Mayas main window. Open tool settings Use this option to specify how the Tool Settings display when you open them. To open the Tool Settings in a separate window, select In Separate Window. To open the Tool Settings in the main Maya window, select In Main Maya Window. By default, the Tool Settings window opens in Mayas main window. Open Layer Editor Use this option to specify how the Layer editors display when you open them. (Window > General Editors > Display Layer Editor or Window > Rendering Editors > Render Layer Editor). To open the Layer editors in a separate window, select In Separate Window. To open the Layer editors in the main Maya window, select In Main Maya Window. By default, the Layer editors window opens in Mayas main window. Expression Editor Select an Expression Editor for editing text.

Devices
Mouse Scroll Wheel Lets you set whether or not Mayas scroll bars can be moved by your mouses scroll wheel. When on, you can scroll through various lists and windows in Maya using your mouses scroll wheel (for example, you can use your mouses scroll wheel to scroll through a long list of attributes). Mouse Tracking On Mac OS X, Maya gives you the option of using either a three button mouse, a two button mouse, or a single button mouse. (All documentation assumes the use of a three button mouse). The following table shows the functional equivalents of two or one button mouse clicks to three-button mouse clicks. Three Button
the left mouse button the middle mouse button

Two Button
the left mouse button command + the left mouse button

One Button
the left mouse button command + the left mouse button ctrl + the left mouse button ctrl + option + the left mouse button

the right mouse button option + the right mouse button or command + the right mouse button

the right mouse button option + the right mouse button

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When you use tumble, track, dolly, or select zoom with a one or two button mouse, the command controls are different from the controls described in the documentation for the three button mouse. Below is a table that specifies the control changes. Function Three button
option + the left mouse button

Two button
option + the left mouse button

One button
option + the left mouse button

Tumble option + the middle mouse button option + command + the left mouse button option + command + the left mouse button

Track option + the right mouse button option + the right mouse button option + ctrl + the left mouse button

Dolly Select zoom option + ctrl + the left mouse button option + ctrl + the left mouse button not available

NOTE For select zoom, hold the corresponding buttons for select zoom and draw a box around the part of the view where you want to dolly in and out. If you drag the box out from left to right, you dolly in. If you drag the box out from right to left, you dolly out.

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UI Elements preferences
You can set the following preferences in the UI category of the Preferences window.

Visible UI Elements
Hides or displays UI elements. You can also control this display from the Display > UI Elements menu. Turns on any elements you want displayed in the Maya main window.

Editor in Main Window


You can select to show or hide the Editor. The Editor can be one of the Attribute Editor, Tool Settings, or Channel Box/Layer Editor. You can also control this display from the Display > UI Elements menu or the three icons on the far right of the Status Line.

Panel Configurations
When saving When Save panel layouts with file is turned on, the panel layouts are saved with the scene file. The default is on. (This replaces the former Save File options.) TIP Turn this option off when making objects/sub-scenes to use as referenced files. By default, Maya remembers everything about every editor youve opened, such as location, size, window-specific options, etc., in every scene file (.ma/.mb). This is saved as a attribute on a script node named uiConfigurationScriptNode that displays as MEL code added into a node's string-valued attributes. When opening When turned on, this restores saved layouts from the file. The default is on. (This replaces the former Open File options.) Starting new scenes You can specify a layout for new scenes. Keep current layout Keeps the current layout for new scenes. Use layout specified Below Creates new scenes based on the layout selected from the drop-down menu. Single Perspective View is the default.

File Browser Environment variables


Controls if the Maya File Browsers expand environment variables in pathnames.

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Retain Environment variables typed into Maya File Browser pathname textfields are displayed unexpanded. When accepting the selected filename in a Maya File Browser, the unexpanded pathname is passed to the recipient in unexpanded form. For example, if the file browser were invoked on a file texture node and a pathname such as $IMAGES/sgi/mandrill.gif is entered, the unexpanded name $IMAGES/sgi/mandrill.gif is displayed in the file textures Image Name textfield. Should the recipient field be exportable, that field is output in unexpanded form. Expand Environment variables are automatically expanded by the Maya File Browser. This is the default setting for the preference and also the behavior consistent with previous Maya releases. For example, if the environment variable $IMAGES is set to /usr/images, and the pathname $IMAGES/sgi/mandrill.rgb is typed into the pathname textfield of a Maya File Browser and the user accepts the current selection, the typed pathname changes to the expanded name; that is, /usr/images/sgi.mandrill.rgb.

ViewCube preferences
The ViewCube is on by default in the scene views. You can turn off the ViewCube and edit options for the ViewCube by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences, and then selecting the ViewCube category. Show the ViewCube Controls whether the ViewCube is shown or hidden in the scene view. When the setting is on, the ViewCube appears as a heads-up display over top of the 3D workspace.

Display
On-screen position Controls the placement of the ViewCube within the scene view. The ViewCube can be set to appear in any corner of the view by selecting a preset from the drop-down menu: Top Right, Bottom Right, Top Left, or Bottom Left. The additional controls (Home Button, Roll Arrows) are automatically repositioned depending on the corner that the ViewCube occupies. The default setting is Top Right. ViewCube Size Controls the size of the ViewCube. Setting options are Small, Normal, and Large. The Small setting is useful when multiple views are displayed. The default setting is Normal. The ViewCube does not change size as the scene view is resized. Inactive Opacity Controls the opacity level of the ViewCube and the additional controls whenever the mouse cursor is not in the vicinity of the ViewCube.

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Setting options are 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. When set to 0% the ViewCube will disappear when the mouse cursor is moved away from it. When set to 100% the ViewCube appears regardless of the mouse cursor position. The default setting is 50%.

When Dragging on the ViewCube


The following settings control the behavior of the ViewCube whenever you click and then drag on it to change the scene view. Snap to closest view Controls whether or not the ViewCube automatically snaps to any of the pre-defined viewing angles whenever it is click-dragged to a position within proximity of a fixed view. The default setting is on.

When Clicking on the ViewCube


The following settings control the behavior of the ViewCube whenever you click on it to change the scene view. Fit-to-view on view change Controls whether or not the scene view is automatically re-framed to fit the contents of the 3D scene within the new view whenever the view changes. The default setting is on. When turned off, the view change and animated transition occurs without an automatic re-framing of the view. Use animated transitions when switching views Controls whether or not an animated transition occurs whenever the view is changed. The animated transition setting animates the camera position during the view change to visually aid in determining the relationship between the existing view and the new one. The default setting is on. When the contents of your 3D scene is large you may wish to turn off this setting in order to improve the speed of view changes when using the ViewCube. Preserve scene up during transitions Controls whether or not the scene view automatically maintains an upright position whenever the view changes. The default setting is on. When turned off, the view change will not preserve default upright positions.

Related topics

Using the ViewCube on page 35

Help preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Help category of the Preferences window.

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Heads Up Display
You can show, hide, or change the display of the heads-up display text that appears for certain tools. Tool messages Shows or hides the tool messages. Display time Sets how long the tool message appears on screen, in seconds. Offset display vertically Sets the vertical position relative to the view center, in pixels. Offset display horizontally Sets the horizontal position relative to the view center, in pixels.

Popup Help
Tooltips You can enable or disable tooltips. Display time Specify a display time for pop-up help. The default is four seconds.

Help System
English / Japanese / Other For each of these three options, Maya displays online help locally. Select the documentation language set Maya loads when you use the help. If you have another documentation language set installed you can click Other and type a language/dialect code in the Specify language box. The code that you enter must match the documentation folder name. For example, if you have Korean documentation installed in <drive>:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2011\docs\Maya2011\ko_KR, you must type ko_KR exactly in the Specify language box. Otherwise, an error is returned. Remote Location / Remote URL Maya displays online help from the URL specified in the Remote URL box. This can be a help system on an accessible network drive. For more information, see Maya Help overview on page 647.

Display preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Display category of the Preferences window.

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Performance
Fast interaction Turns Fast Interaction on to improve performance by displaying fewer geometric entities (such as polygons). The default is off. Max. texture display res If you find a large slowdown in performance when editing images larger than 1K by 1K, this can be due to insufficient video card memory to display textures at that resolution. This option allows you to set the maximum size of textures used for display. It is recommended that you restart Maya for these settings to take effect. Baked viewport textures You can set the slider to display scene view textures in a trade-off between fast and high quality. NOTE

If the scene has only hardware textures, this slider has no effect. The scenes textures are not automatically updated with any changes; you'll need to force an update; for example, by reloading the scene. The only textures affected are the ones set to use the default texture quality but whose 2d texture placement options are not handled in hardware (for example, use stagger or some other option the card/drivers don't support in hardware).

Max res. for swatches You can now set a maximum resolution for your Material Sample swatches. If your file texture size exceeds the specified resolution, a swatch will not be created until explicitly requested: in the Hypershade, right-click the swatch and select Refresh Swatch from the marking menu; or, in the Material Sample swatch in the Attribute Editor, click on the swatch to refresh the display. This reduces memory consumption and improves conversion time, increasing performance especially when dealing with many large textures. This is most useful for initial load of scenes with many large file textures. Once a swatch is created, it will always be displayed. Select the maximum resolution from the drop-down list. You can also select the Custom option and enter the resolution that you like. File textures of a resolution above this value are not displayed in the Material Sample swatch in the Attribute Editor or in the Hypershade. The default is 2Kx2K. Custom Resolution Select Custom from the drop-down list under Max res. for swatches and enter the resolution for your file textures in this field.

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View
Axes Displays one or both of the XYZ coordinates (view and origin axes). If you disable both choices, no XYZ coordinates appear. View Axis Displays the XYZ coordinates in the bottom left corner of the view. The default is on. Origin Axis Displays the XYZ coordinates at coordinates 0, 0, 0. The default is off. Grid plane Displays or hides the grid plane. The grid is a 2D plane that represents 3D dimensions in the view. It is useful when you want to animate motion relative to a solid surface. Select Hide to hide the grid. The default is Show. This setting overrides the Display > Grid setting. Active object pivots Specify whether to display pivot points. The default is off. Affected highlighting Turns highlighting display on or off. An object associated with or affected by a selected object is highlighted in a different color. The default is on. NOTE You can edit this highlight color by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings, clicking the Active tab, expanding General, and modifying Active Affected. Wireframe on shaded Select how you want to display the wireframe on shaded objects. Full Displays normal resolution wireframes on shaded objects. This is the default. Reduced Displays fewer wires on shaded objects. None Displays no wires on shaded objects. Performance is enhanced if you select None. Region of effect This option lets you turn on or off the region of effect display. Region of effect is the part of an object that potentially changes as a result of moving selected CVs. Note that curves show the region of effect as well as surfaces. The default is on.

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Shade templates If on, template objects appear shaded in shaded view. If off, the templated objects appear as wireframes while all other objects appear shaded. The default is off. Background gradient When on, the main viewport displays with a gradient background color. The default is on. See also Change the scene view background color on page 292.

Kinematics preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Kinematics category of the Preferences window.

Inverse Kinematics
Joint size Changes the display size of skeleton joint sizes. The range is from 0.01 to 5.0.

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IK/FK joint size For skeletons with blended IK/FK animation, this option sets the display size for the joints and bones in your IK and FK skeletons. This option does not affect the display size of the joints and bones in the IK/FK Blend skeleton. IK handle size Changes the display size of IK handles. The range is from 0.01 to 5.0. Ik/Fk blending display For skeletons with blended IK/FK animation, this option specifies which skeletons appear in the scene view. None Only the IK/FK Blend skeleton appears in the scene view. IK Only the IK skeleton appears in the scene view. FK Only the FK skeleton appear in the scene view. Both The FK, IK, and IK/FK Blend skeletons appear in the scene view. NOTE By default, joints and bones appear dark navy blue. But when a skeleton has both IK and FK, each skeleton appears as a different color (FK is Black, IK is a Dark Red/Brown, and Blend appears pink/magenta.

Animation (Display) preferences


You can set the following preferences in the Animation sub-category of the Display preferences in the Preferences window. (There are also Animation preferences in the Settings category. See Animation (Settings) preferences on page 669.)

Ghosts
Steps before current frame Specifies how many ghosted images are drawn at frames before the current frame. The default is 3. Steps after current frame Specifies how many ghosted images are drawn at frames after the current frame. The default is 3. Frames per step Specifies the number of frames between drawing the ghosts. The default is 1.

Manipulators preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Manipulators category of the Preferences window.

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Manipulator sizes
Global scale Specifies the size of the manipulators. The range is from 0.10 to 10.00.

Handle size Specifies the size of the handle. The range is from 4 to 100.

Line size Specifies the line thickness size of the rotate manipulators rings.

Line pick size Determines the line thickness used when picking the rotate manipulator rings. The pick size should be the same as line size, so you can identify which handle will be picked by the size of the ring.

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Previous state size Controls the size of the points drawn for a previous feedback. For example, for the Move Tool, an axis is drawn to indicate the previous position, with square points at the end of the axes. This controls the size of the squares. Rotate and scale manipulators also have previous state feedback. This type of feedback is shown only when you drag; it disappears as soon as you release the mouse.

Show Manipulator
Default manipulator You can specify a Default Manipulator option in the Show Manipulator section to control what manipulator, if any, appears when you select the Show Manipulator Tool. The Default Manipulator options include: None Does not display a manipulator. Translate Displays the Move Tools manipulator. Rotate Displays the Rotate Tools manipulator. Scale Displays the Scale Tools manipulator. Transform Displays the Transform (triple) manipulator. Smart Checks the first child and if it is a shape displays the history manipulator for the shape. Otherwise displays the Transform (triple) manipulator. This is the default.

Component Manipulators
Reposition using middle mouse button Reposition the move, rotate, and scale manipulators using the middle mouse button in component mode. This moves the pivot point and manipulator in a single action. When you middle-click on an area of the screen, the manipulator moves to that location and immediately is active. This is useful with the Rotate Tool as the pivot point and the manipulator move in a single action.

NURBS preferences
You can set the following preferences in the NURBS category of the Preferences window.

NURBS Display
New curves, New surfaces Select whether you want Edit Points, Hulls, CVs, or origins on new curves or new surfaces:

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NOTE These options work only on new curves or surfaces, not existing items. Surface divisions Controls the smoothness of an object in a view. It also affects the rendering of newly created surfaces. Enter a value or use the slider. The range is from 0 to 64. The higher the value, the smoother the surface. Curve divisions Controls the smoothness of a curve in a view. Enter a value or use the slider. The range is from 1 to 128. The higher the value, the smoother the curve. Shaded divisions Controls how smooth your smooth-shaded object looks. Enter a value or use the slider. The range is from 1 to 64. The higher the value, the smoother the smooth-shaded object. Surface precision Controls how NURBS primitives are displayed. When you create or move NURBS objects far from the origin or when you scale NURBS objects to extreme sizes, you may experience jitter during animation, problems selecting objects, or problems with an objects display. Setting Surface Precision to High can help these situations.

Polygons preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Polygons category of the Preferences window.

Polygon Display
Vertices Specify how you want vertices to display: Display Turns the display of vertices on or off. Normals Displays vertex normals on or off. Backculling Makes vertices invisible in areas where the normal is pointing away from the camera. Edges Specify how you want edges to display: Standard Displays all edges the same (hard or soft). Soft/Hard Displays soft edges as dotted lines and hard edges as solid lines. Only hard Displays hard edges only (makes soft invisible). Highlight Specify how you want to highlight polygons: Border edges Displays thicker outside edges to make them more visible for certain operations.

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Texture borders Displays a thick border to highlight the area a texture affects per polygon or per vertex. Crease edges Show polygon crease edges highlighted (thicker and bold) or with no highlight. You can turn this option on and off in the Display > Polygons > Custom Polygon Display options dialog box (where it affects the currently selected object) as well as here. This preference affects any new polygon objects you create, not existing objects. Edge Width Specify the width of the polygon edge. The range is from 1 to 10. Faces Specify how you want faces to display: Centers Displays a small square to indicate the face center. Normals Shows the normals at the center of each polygon. Triangles Displays all polygons as triangles. Non-planar Displays non-planar faces with a tinted color for easy identification. A non-planar face has vertices that lie outside the plane of the face. By identifying and eliminating non-planar faces, you can avoid unexpected results from reshaping the surface later. Show item numbers Specify where you want item numbers displayed: at each vertex (Vertices), at each edge (Edges), on each face (Faces), or at each UV (UVs). Normals size Specifies the display size of the normals. The range is from 0.1 to 10. UV Size Specifies the size that UVs are displayed in the main panel and UV Texture Editor. Color Turn Colored Shading on to use the Apply Color operation (Color > Apply Color). Color material These menu options override any existing material channels and replace them with the vertex colors you assign. For all options other than None, lighting affects the objects shading. None None of the material properties of the shader(s) assigned to the object are used. In this case lighting is also disabled. Ambient The ambient material channel of the assigned shader(s) is overridden by the vertex color. Ambient + Diffuse The ambient and diffuse material channels of the assigned shader(s) are overridden by the vertex color.

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Diffuse The diffuse material channel of the assigned shader(s) is overridden by the vertex color. Specular The specular material channel of the assigned shader(s) is overridden by the vertex color. Emission The emission material channel of the assigned shader(s) is overridden by the vertex color. Material blend Renders material blends in hardware. For details of how Material Blend operates, see Color > Material Blend Setting. Display Alpha as Grey Scale if Color Set Contains Only Alpha Displays an alpha-only color set as greyscale in the Scene view. Backface culling Specify the display for backface culling: Off No backface culling occurs. This is the default. On Surfaces become invisible in areas where the normal is pointing away from the camera. Keep wire Displays wireframe outlines, but any areas where the normal is pointing away from the camera are hidden. Keep hard edges Sets backface culling for soft edges only. See Polygonal Modeling for more information on polygonal modeling.

Subdivs preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Subdivs category of the Preferences window.

Subdivs Display
Component Display Maya draws components (vertices or faces) by default as points to indicate finer levels of the base mesh. You can switch back to the previous behavior (drawing components as numbers). Points Draw components as points. Numbers Draw components as numbers.

Settings preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Settings category of the Preferences window.

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World Coordinate System


Up axis Sets the up axis to Y or Z. The default is Y.

Working Units
The units in your preferences relate only to the current scene; you can change your current scene units without changing the default new scene units. You can now specify default working units for new scenes (File > New Scene > ). You can specify linear units, angular units, and time settings.

The units you specify are not overwritten when you open a scene file with different units. The first time you run Maya, the Default Working Units are set from the Working Unit values in your preferences. Linear Sets the unit of measure for operations that use linear values, for example, moving and scaling. The default is centimeters. Angular Sets the unit of measure for operations that use an angular value, for example, rotation. The default unit is degrees. Time Sets the working time unit for animation. The Time Slider displays time values in the unit chosen. The Time Slider values update when you change the time units. You can specify the time unit as frames or as clock values. Frame selections include: 15 fps, Film (24 fps), PAL (24 fps), NTSC (30 fps), Show (48 fps), PAL Field (50 fps), NTSC Field (60 fps), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 40, 75, 80, 100, 120, 125, 150, 200, 240, 250, 300, 375, 400, 500, 600, 750, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000, and 6000 frames per second. Clock values include: milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours The terms frame and time refer to working time units as displayed in the Time Slider. Technically the term frame applies only when Time is specified in frames per second (fps). In general, time can refer to frames or to clock values. Keep keys at current frames By default when you change the current time unit, the times for any existing keys are modified so that playback timing is preserved. For example, a key set at frame 12film changes to frame 15ntsc when the current time unit is changed to NTSC, since they both represent a key at 0.5 seconds. When this option is on, it leaves the key at 12ntsc that was originally at 12film. The default setting for this option is off. The option turns on once the current time unit is changed.

Tolerance
The Tolerance value determines the degree of accuracy that is maintained between the original and fit (or interpolated) curves. This setting applies

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globally to Maya. You can change it on a case-by-case basis. Set the following tolerance options: Positional Set the degree of accuracy between the actual positions of the original and interpolated curves. Tangential Set the degree of accuracy required to determine if two NURBS objects are to be made tangent across a shared edge or point.

Animation (Settings) preferences

You can set the following preferences in the Animation sub-category below the Settings category in the Preferences window. (There are also Animation preferences under the Display category. See Animation (Display) preferences on page 662.)

Auto Key
Auto key Specifies whether Maya will automatically set keys on a previously animated objects attributes when you change the values of those attributes. This preference has the same effect as the Animation Controls Auto Keyframe Toggle button next to the Animation Preferences button. This option is off by default.

On character sets
These options are available only when Auto Key is on. For more information, see What are character sets? in the Character Setup guide. Key Modified Attributes Sets keys only for attributes that have been modified. Key All Attributes Sets keys for all attributes, whether they have been modified or not.

Rotation Interpolation
To set the rotation interpolation options, see Set rotation interpolation for curves in the Keyframe chapter of the Animation guide.

New curve default

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Specifies the type of rotation interpolation used when creating curves. These options are the same as those available in the Change Rotation Interp menu item in the Graph Editor. For more information on rotation interpolation, see Animated rotation in Maya. Independent Euler-Angle Curves Calculates the rotation using three angles representing rotations about the X, Y, and Z axes, and an order or rotation. In this mode, the curves that define the rotation for a given node are represented in Euler-angles, interpolation is performed on each curve independently in Euler space, and keyframes may occur at your discretionthey are not synchronized with the other sibling rotation curves at the node. You can also animate a single rotation ordinate. This is the default setting. Synchronized Euler-Angle Curves Creates curves that have keyframes on sibling curves locked together as in Synchronized Quaternion Curves but the interpolation between keyframes is performed in Euler-space. Its useful to keep rotation keyframes synchronized because rotation is a composition of the three separate rotate values. Deleting just one key on a curve can have a dramatic and unexpected effect on the interpolation. Synchronized Quaternion Curves Calculates the rotation interpolation using three orientations about the X, Y, and Z axes, and an angle of rotation. The interpolation between keyframes is defined using quaternion interpolation. Keyframes on related curves are locked together. When you add, delete, or move a keyframe on one curve, the corresponding key is also updated in the sibling curves. For example, if you drag a keyframe on the X curve to frame 14, the corresponding keys on the Y and Z curves also move to frame 14. The Graph Editor displays a quaternion key as a solid diamond shape.

Tangents
Tangents determine the status of curve segments when they enter and exit from a key. Weighted tangents Weighted tangents represent the amount of influence a tangent has on an animation curve segment. When on, all new tangents are automatically weighted. Weighted Tangents is off by default. See Edit tangents in the Keyframe chapter of the Animation guide.

Default in tangent
Specifies the default in tangent type. The In Tangent setting controls the shape of the animation segment before a key. Spline A spline tangent rounds the animation curve smoothly before the key. If the keys Out Tangent is also a spline, the tangents of the curve are

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then co-linear (both at the same angle). This ensures that the animation curve smoothly enters and exits the key. Linear A linear tangent creates an animation curve as a straight line before the key. Clamped The clamped tangent smoothly rounds the animation curve (like the Spline selection) before a key unless the next key is very close. If so, the In Tangent and the previous keys Out Tangent are both straight (like the Linear selection), making the animation curve between the keys straight. Clamped is the default In tangent type. Flat A flat tangent type sets the tangents before the key to be horizontal with a slope of 0 degrees (flat). Plateau A plateau tangent type eases animation curves in and out of their keyframes, flattens curve segments that occur between equal-valued keyframes, flattens keyframes at the points in their curves where hills and valleys occur, and flattens the first and last keyframes on their curves.

Default out tangent


Specifies the default out tangent type. The Out Tangent setting controls the shape of the animation curve right after a key. Spline A spline tangent rounds the animation curve smoothly after the key. If the keys In Tangent is also a spline, the tangents of the curve are then co-linear (both at the same angle). This ensures that the animation curve smoothly enters and exits a key. Linear A linear tangent creates an animation curve as a straight line after a key. Clamped Specifies the animation curve is smoothly rounded (like the Spline selection) after a key unless the next key is very close. If so, the Out tangent and the previous keys In tangent are both straight (like the Linear selection), making the animation curve between the keys straight. Clamped is the default Out tangent type. Flat A flat tangent type sets the tangents after the key to be horizontal with a slope of 0 degrees (flat). Stepped A stepped tangent type forces the animation curve to hold its value from the one key to the next key. Plateau A plateau tangent type eases animation curves in and out of their keyframes, flattens curve segments that occur between equal-valued keyframes, flattens keyframes at the points in their curves where hills and valleys occur, and flattens the first and last keyframes on their curves.

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Animation Blending
The Animation Blending preferences let you specify the types of blends that can occur between object connections. For example, when you turn on the Always Blend with Existing Connections Animation Blend preference, you can then both animate and constrain a single object.

Always blend with existing connections


When this preference is on:

You can move or key objects that have existing connections such as animation and constraints. When you key or constrain an object, Maya inserts a pairBlend node between the objects existing connections and the new keys or constraints. The Lock Output attribute is off by default for all new constraints.

Always Blend with Existing Connections is on by default.

Blend with all except constraints


When this preference is on:

You can only key objects that are not constrained. When you key an object, Maya inserts pairBlend nodes between the objects existing connections and the new keys. Objects with connections cannot be constrained. The Lock Output attribute is on by default for all new constraints.

Never blend with existing connectionsi


When this preference is on:

You can only key objects that have no existing connections. Maya does not insert pairBlend nodes to blend object connections. The Lock Output attribute is on be default for all new constraints.

Camera Sequencer preferences

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Shot Double Click


This preference lets you set what you want to occur when you double-click a camera shot in the Camera Sequencer. Set Maya Frame Range Set the frame range in the Time Slider to match the Maya start frame and Maya end frame of the selected shot. (See Camera shot overview.) Select Camera Select the camera assigned to the selected shot. Frame Sequencer to Shot Frame the selected shot in the shot view area. Solo Track Turn on the Solo option for the track containing the selected shot. Don't Modify Sequence Time Select to keep the Sequence Time indicator at the current time, regardless of where you double-click. Set Sequence Time To Cursor Select to have the Sequence Time indicator jump to where you double-click. Set Sequence Time To Shot Start Select to have the Sequence Time indicator jump to the start of the selected shot.

Related topics

Camera Sequencer overview Manipulate camera shots in a sequence

Assets preferences

You can set the following preferences in the Assets category of the Preferences window.

Assets
Outliner When turned on, the selection transform of the asset is automatically selected in the scene when you select the asset in the Outliner. Channel Box Allows you to set the maximum number of published attributes that can appear in the Channel Box when a template is applied or not applied to a asset. 400 is the recommended setting for optimal performance.

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Cameras preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Cameras category of the Preferences window.

Default Cameras
Sets the default Near clip and Far clip values for cameras. For more information, see Clipping planes.

Animate Camera Transitions


By default, the view Camera now animates the transition between camera positions. Turn any of the animation transitions on or off:

Fit view Fit all view Go to bookmark Next/Last camera view

To select the amount of time the transition takes, use the slider to set a value or type one in the box provided. You can choose a value from one-tenth of a second up to five seconds. NOTE To increase performance, Maya animates fewer frames when animating camera transitions in large scenes.

Dynamics preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Dynamics category of the Preferences window.

Dynamics
Auto create rigid body Turn this option on to automatically create active rigid bodies when you connect an object to a field (apply a fields influence to geometry). Run up to current time If you click a frame in the Time Slider, the correct state of all dynamic objects in the scene is displayed only if Maya performs

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run-up to calculate each frame prior to that frame. Turn this option on if you want to click frames in the Time Slider. Note that run-up also occurs for hidden objects. Leave run-up turned off if you want to prevent Maya from calculating dynamics when you click in the Time Slider. This is useful in a scene that has both nondynamic objects and complex dynamic objects, where you want the state of nondynamic objects to appear promptly after you click the Time Slider. If you are keying dynamic objects, its also useful leave run-up turned off to avoid waiting for run-up calculations that are irrelevant to your keying activities. Run up from Select one of the following options: Previous Time If you click a frame higher than the current frame, run-up starts from the prior current time and ends at the frame you click. Select this option if you wont be changing any attributes of a dynamic object in the scene. This setting lessens the time youll spend waiting for run-up. If you click a frame lower than the current frame, run-up starts from the beginning of the animation. Start Time Run-up starts from the start frame regardless of where you click in the Time Slider. Select this option if you plan to change any attributes of a dynamic object in the scene. This ensures that you see the correct object states when you click in the Time Slider after modifying an objects dynamics. Save startup cache for particles When this option is turned on (the default), Maya automatically saves the start-up cache for all your particles every time you save the file. Unlike particle disk caches, you don't have to create the start-up cache explicitly every time. See Dynamics for more information. Echo collision commands When you have a particle collision MEL callback specified, every time a collision happens, Maya echoes the command that it is running, then runs it. In a scene with thousands of particles, that produces a great deal of unnecessary output to the Script Editor. This preference enables and disables echoing of the collision commands before they are run.

Files/Projects preferences

You can set the following preferences in the Files/Projects category of the Preferences window.

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Projects Settings
Default projects directory, Always start in this project Use these settings to set up a default projects directory when you create new projects and on startup.

Recent History Size


Files, Increments, Projects Specify how many files, increments, and projects you want to have listed in each of the File > Recent submenus.

Autosave
Enable When turned on, Autosave automatically saves your scene at timed intervals. The files are saved according to the Autosave options with the name AUTO-SAVE followed by an incrementing numerals. Prompt before save Prompts the user with a dialog box before autosaving. Limit autosaves Limits the number of times a file can be autosaved. Number of autosaves Determines the number of times a file can be autosaved if Limit autosaves is turned on. Interval (minutes) Determines the amount of time between each autosave (the default is 10 minutes). Autosave destination Determines where the autosave file is stored. Project stores it in the current project under the folder autosave, while Named folder stores it in a folder you specify. Env Var stores the autosave file based on the value of the environment variable MAYA_AUTOSAVE_FOLDER.

Ascii File Compression Mode


On file save Specify the compression mode you want to use when saving an ASCII file: Compressed Saves files in compressed mode. File compression reduces the sizes of large files so they do not occupy as much space on your hard drive. Uncompressed Saves files in uncompressed mode. As Is Keeps files in their original compression mode rather than compressing or decompressing them. As Is is the default. NOTE To use compression modes, please ensure that a zip utility is installed and in the path on your machine.

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Display Layer
File import merge Specify how you want the Display Layer merged when you import a file. None All layers read in are put in a new layer, renumbered, and renamed, if necessary to preserve uniqueness. By Number Rather than creating a new layer, all layers read in that have the same index number as an existing layer are merged with that layer. By Name Rather than creating a new layer, all layers read in that have the same name as an existing layer are merged with that layer.

Render Layer
File import merge Specify how you want the Render Layer merged when you import a file. None All layers read in are put in a new layer, renumbered, and renamed, if necessary to preserve uniqueness. By Number Rather than creating a new layer, all layers read in that have the same index number as an existing layer are merged with that layer. By Name Rather than creating a new layer, all layers read in that have the same name as an existing layer are merged with that layer.

File Dialog Dialog style


OS native Uses the current operating systems native file browser when performing save, open, import, and export operations. Maya default Uses Mayas built-in file browser when performing save, open, import, and export operations.

Modeling preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Modeling category of the Preferences window.

Output Geometry Type


Output geometry as These settings determine the type of geometry created from modeling actions such as Revolve, Loft, Extrude, Fillet Blend, and so forth. Setting it here affects all applicable modeling actions. Otherwise, select Mixed to use the individual settings of each modeling action.

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NURBS Interaction
Interaction mode Specify whether you want certain NURBS modeling commands to behave like actions or tools. An action performs a discrete function on selected objects. A tool lets you manipulate objects until you complete the operation. You may want to change actions to tools as you become proficient at Mayas NURBS modeling. To globally change the applicable modeling tools, select Everything is a Tool or Everything is an Action. To individually set each command, select Mixed.

Polygons
Convert component selection Turn on Convert component selection to have Maya automatically convert an object selection to the appropriate component selection mode if an action works only on components. For example, if you select a polygonal object and try to extrude faces, Maya automatically selects all the faces on the object and proceed. Create meshes single sided When this is turned on, new polygonal meshes (for example, created by the polygon primitive tools or by polygonal operations) automatically have their Render Stats > Double Sided attribute turned off. Smart command settings Modifies polygon settings based on the kind of action being performed: You have the following options.

Sets display attributes to show polygon components relevant to the action (for instance, displaying normals or border edges). Sets the selection mask to objects/components appropriate for the action. Sets selection constraints that make sense for the action.

Polygon Tangent Space


You can control how Maya sets tangent space for all the meshes in your scenes. For more information on Polygon Tangent Space, see Tangent Space.

Rendering preferences

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You can set the following preferences in the Rendering category of the Preferences window.

Rendering
Preferred renderer You can select your preferred renderer. This is the renderer that Maya resets to when you create a new scene (File > New Scene) or when you start Maya. This can be one of Maya Software, Maya Hardware, Maya Vector (if loaded), or mental ray (if loaded). Render view image format

Select between 8-bit integer and 32-bit floating-point (HDR) image buffers in the Render View. Select this option if you are using an output device that can display HDR color values, or if you want to apply color management inside the Render View window. For more information, see Displaying HDR images in the Render View.

Mental Ray Preferences


Use Maya-style alpha detection on file textures If a file texture is mapped to the transparency attribute of a shader, and there is no alpha channel in the texture, then, if you render with mental ray, your final rendered image will contain no transparency. This behavior is unlike that of the Maya Software Renderer, which, when there is no alpha present, calculates the luminance in lieu of transparency. If you are using the mental ray for Maya renderer, and you would like to use luminance as your alpha channel, enable this option. NOTE

Enable this attribute for backwards compatibility. This is a global setting and affects all file textures in the scene. In order to control the alpha for each texture, enable Alpha is Luminance under the Color Balance section of the file node in the Attribute Editor.

Delete history on render proxy updates Select this option to delete the construction history when you update your render proxy file.

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NOTE When this option is enabled, all construction history for the node is deleted. This includes the transformGeometry nodes that are created when your render proxy is updated, as well as any construction history on your placeholder object, for example, a polySplit node or a polyExtrudeFace node. Use optimized textures (auto-conversion) Enable this option to convert textures in your scene to an optimized format (.map) to increase rendering efficiency. This feature converts all textures referenced in the Maya scene to an optimized file as a pre-render process. The original textures are substituted with the new tileable files during the render process. The file texture nodes in the scene remain untouched and still use the original textures such as bmp and tga. This feature is off by default. Optimized textures location By default, the textures are stored in the cache at sourceimages/cache in the current project directory. However, you can also choose to save textures to a custom location. NOTE The conversion process only occurs once for each scene file, unless the time and date of the source image has changed, in which case, the conversion process occurs again. Custom Location You can add the <scene> flag to append the scene name to your directory path or file name. This field also supports environment variables. For example, if you have an environment variable $MYCACHE=C:\mycache, then $MYCACHE/<scene> causes Maya to expand both $MYCACHE and <scene> to create the custom location. If the expanded customer location does not exist, Maya automatically creates it. Conversion Mode Select between two modes: converting only assigned textures or all textures. Only assigned textures are texture nodes which are connected to a shading network that is assigned to at least one object in the scene. Update optimized cache textures now In most cases, conversion to optimized format occurs at render time. However, if there are a large number of files, or, if you are working with a render farm, then you can convert all textures at once by using the Update optimized cache textures now button. WARNING The set local flag for textures is ON when using optimized textures. Therefore, if you are using standalone or satellite rendering, converted images must be accessible from every machine. For best performance, it is recommended that you copy the images to every machine.

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Selection preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Selection category of the Preferences window.

Modifiers
Modifiers control Maya selection operations. They work with masks to control what is displayed when you select items. You can turn on one or more of the following: Single marquee select Selects the first object in a hierarchy. Click drag select Lets you perform one-step click-dragging with the transformation tools. You can move one object using the Move Tool, then click a second object and the Move Tool displays. This means you do not have to select the object and the Move Tool againyou can keep using the Move Tool on any subsequent selected object. The default is off. Affects active If you change from object to component selection mode, the selected object is not affected. This option lets you select objects and components at the same time. The default is on. Pick chooser When objects overlap in the view, lets you display a pop-up list of the objects so you can select them. Left-click the overlap area to display the menu. The default is off. Your selection is highlighted in the scene view as you select an item in this list. Currently-selected items are marked with a box when the list appears. (This was formerly called Popup Menu selection.)

NOTE You must hold down the left mouse key on Linux to select an item in this list. Ignore selection priority Treats all objects with the same priority. The selection order does not matter. The default is off.

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Expand popup list If you turned on Expand Popup List, displays all the pop-up list of objects and everything underneath it in the hierarchy. The default is off.

Preselection Highlight Highlights components in a different color as the mouse cursor passes over them. Click box size This option controls the size of the selection area around the mouse pointer, or click box. If you are having problems with selecting objects or components, try adjusting this option. For example, a higher click box size might make it easier to select curves. Increasing the click box size is also useful if you have a high resolution screen display. Display pick chooser for components Choose to have pop-up selection on for objects, and off for components. This is useful to prevent the following situation: you have the Pick Chooser menu turned on and youre in component mode, you can accidentally select faces or vertices on the opposite side of an object when you dont want to (this is most obvious when Select faces with whole face is on).

This behavior is a consequence of the Pick Chooser menu. To make sure that only the clicked-on components are selected, turn on Disable Pick Chooser for Components. Asset centric selection This option allows you to select an asset by selecting any object it encapsulates.

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Camera based selection When on, you cannot select components obscured by the cameras point of view in shaded mode (for example, back facing components or components hidden behind foreground components).

Polygon Selection Select faces with


Specify how you want to select polygonal faces: Center Select polygonal faces at their center. In other words, you must click the box at the center of the face to select the entire face. Whole Face Select the entire face. You can click anywhere on the face, even any face edge, to select it.

Priority
You can specify a selection priority for objects and components. By default, NURBS curves have a higher selection priority than surfaces. This means that Maya selects the NURBS curve before the surface when you select geometry that contains both NURBS curves and surfaces.

Snapping preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Snapping category of the Preferences window. With these options, you can control the size region around the mouse pointer that is used for the snap operation.

Snapping
Use snap tolerance When on, the snap region is restricted to a square area around the cursor, defined by the Snap Tolerance option. When off, the snap region is unlimited; you can snap to anything viewable.

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Snap tolerance Controls the size of the snapping area around the cursor when Use Snap Tolerance is on. For example, if you have two curves close together and you try snapping to one of the curves, the object may snap to the wrong curve. To avoid this, try using a small Snap Tolerance value.

UV Texture Editor Snapping


UV snap tolerance This preference defines how close UVs are together before they snap when moving and using the v hotkey (snap to points).

Edge Snapping
Snap magnets Controls the number of magnet points inside edges. For example, 3 means there are magnet points at each end and in the middle. Magnet tolerance Controls how sticky each magnet is; that is, how close the point must be to a magnet before the point snaps to it. Set this to 100 to constrain points to always be at magnet points.

Sound preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Sound category of the Preferences window.

Sound
Waveform display Controls how much of a sounds waveform (amplitude representation) is displayed in the Time Slider. Default is All. Top Displays only the top half of the sound.

Bottom Displays only the bottom half of the sound.

All Displays the full waveform.

Repeat on hold Specifies that a sound continuously repeats at the current time as you hold down the mouse button until you drag the Current Time

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Indicator to the next time in the Time Slider. Useful for locating a particular sound in a soundtrack. Default is off. Repeat size

Specifies how much sound is repeated when you hold down the mouse button with Repeat on Hold turned on. Select the number of frames of sound you want to repeat. (Default is 1.) Only available if Repeat on Hold is on.

Time Slider preferences


You can set the following preferences in the Time Slider category of the Preferences window.

Time Slider
Playback start/end Specifies playback range start and end times. The playback start and end times specify the Time Slider playback range. The playback range is always within the animation range. You can also specify the time units. See Edit animation preferences in the Animation Basics chapter of the Animation guide. Animation start/end Specifies animation range start and end times. The animation start and end times specify the Range Slider range. The playback range always stays within the animation range, so changing the animation start and end times can also change the playback start and end times. Default animation start time is 0.00. Default animation end time is 40.00. You can also specify the time units. See Edit animation preferences in the Animation Basics chapter of the Animation guide. Height Specifies the Time Slider height (the vertical space it occupies). Increasing the height is especially useful when you are working with sound. Double or quadruple the height for a better display of sound waveforms. Click 1x (normal height), 2x (double height), or 4x (quadruple height). Default is 1x. Key ticks Specifies how the line markers that indicate keys appear on the Time Slider. Click None, Active, or Channel Box. Default is Active. None Specifies that key ticks are not displayed. Selecting None is useful if you have a lot of keys and want to improve workspace selection performance.

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Active Specifies that key ticks are displayed, with associated keys available for selection and editing. Channel Box Specifies that key ticks appear only for the currently selected channels in the Channel Box. This is useful if you are using the Time Slider to edit keys on particular channels of an animated object. Key tick size Change the thickness of ticks that represent keyframes in the Maya Time Slider. Key thickness is measured in pixels. The minimum key thickness is 1 pixel and the maximum is 63 pixels. Options Options include Timecode and Snapping. Timecode When on, Maya displays the current time in video standard timecode. The current time is displayed next to the Current Time Indicator in the Time Slider. Default is off. Snapping When on, Maya steps through animation times by integer values, snapping to the nearest integer. Default is on. If working with sound or small time ranges, you can turn off Snapping for smoother scrubbing.

Playback
Update view If your workspace layout includes several views (for example, selected from Panels > Layouts), you can improve performance by having the scene play in only the currently active view. Click Active or All. Default is Active. Active Scene plays only in the current, active view. All Scene plays in all the workspace views. Looping Specifies what happens when the scene plays forward and then reaches the playback end time (or if playing backwards, the playback start time). Click Once, Oscillate, or Continuous. Default is Continuous. Once Specifies that the scene plays once and then stops. Oscillate Specifies that the scene plays forwards (or backwards) and then plays backwards (or forwards) until you stop playback. Continuous Specifies the scene plays forward to the playback end time (or plays backward to the playback start time) and then begins again at the playback start time (or playback end time) until you stop playback. Playback speed Specifies the speed at which your scene plays. Select Play Every Frame, Real-time (24 fps), Half (12 fps), Twice (48 fps), or Other. Default is Play Every Frame. You can also specify the playback time units. See Edit animation preferences in the Animation Basics chapter of the Animation guide.

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Play every frame When selected, all the frames in your scene play, updating each before displaying the next. The speed depends on how long it takes your workstation to compute and draw each frame. You can specify the playback frame increment in the Playback by field. For example, a Playback value of 2.0 will cause only every other frame to play. Real-time When selected, your scene plays in real-time or 24 frames per second (fps). Maya may not display all frames, depending on your workstations capabilities, the scenes complexity, and the display mode (for example, wireframe or smooth shading). Half When selected, your scene plays at half the speed of real-time or 12 frames per second (fps). Twice When selected, your scene plays at twice the speed of real-time or 48 frames per second (fps). Other When selected, your scene plays at the custom playback speed set in the Other Speed field. Other Speed Specifies a custom playback speed (in frames per second) for your scene. For example, if you specify an Other Speed value of 72, then your scenes animation will play back at 72 fps. This field is only available when you select Other from the Playback Speed drop-down list. Playback by Specifies playback increments if Playback speed is set to Play Every Frame. For example, if you enter 4, Maya will play only every fourth frame (or time). Default is 1.000. You can also specify the playback time units. Max Playback Speed Max Playback Speed clamps the playback speed of your scenes animation by specifing the speed that your scenes animation playback is not allowed to exceed. This is useful when working with scenes that have fluctuating levels of heavy CPU activity, such as a scene with a complex particle effect. Free Specifies no Max Playback Speed. Real-time (24 fps) Specifies that the overall playback speed of your scenes animation is as fast as possible, but it does not exceed 24 fps. Half (12 fps) Specifies that the overall playback speed of your scenes animation is as fast as possible, but it does not exceed 12 fps. Twice (48 fps) Specifies that the overall playback speed of your scenes animation is as fast as possible, but it does not exceed 48 fps.

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Undo preferences
You can set the following preferences in the Undo category of the Preferences window.

Undo
Undo Select On if you want to be able to undo operations. This is the default. Queue Select Infinite to perform an unlimited number of undo operations. This option can use a lot of memory. Select Finite to limit the number of undo operations you can perform (specified in the Queue Size box). The default is Finite. Queue size If Finite is the selected Queue setting, specify here the number of undo operations you can perform. The default is 50.

Save Actions
Set whether or not to save preferences when you exit Maya.

Modules preferences
Maya includes a number of different software modules. Each time you start Maya, the software loads all the available licensed modules. Loading several modules can use a lot of RAM and thus increase the start-up time. To avoid this, you can disable one or more of the modules. You can still load a disabled module by selecting it from the main menu bar. You can also disable various modules based on the specific tasks you are performing. For example, if you are only rendering, you can improve system response time by disabling Dynamics.

Applications preferences
There are two groups of options you can set. Application Path for Viewing Images / Application Path for Viewing Sequences Select your own image viewer or image sequence viewer to be launched from within Maya instead of using FCheck. This program is used when you select File > View Image or File > View Sequence; this also applies to Playblast and Hypershade > Edit > Render Texture Range.

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Type in the path to your image viewer, or browse for it by clicking the folder icon. In the Optional Flags section, use the following syntax to set up your image viewer: Identifier
%f %s %e %b %r

Meaning
File name Start frame End frame Jump by frames Frame rate

When Maya invokes this command, these identifiers are replaced by proper values specified in Maya. Application Path for Editing Adobe Photoshop Files Specifies the application used for editing Adobe Photoshop files from PSD file texture nodes, using the View or Edit buttons, or when creating or editing PSD networks. This setting is useful when you have more than one version of Adobe Photoshop installed. Application Path for Editing Other Image Files Specifies the application used for editing images from file texture nodes, using the View or Edit buttons. For more information, see File textures. For both of these options, type in the path to the application you want to use in the field provided, or browse to the applications executable.

Export to Mudbox
Maya uses the following values to determine where to export geometry to Autodesk Mudbox. Application Path Specifies the application used for editing Autodesk Mudbox files. Export Folder Specifies where a file goes when the user selects the File > Export selected to Mudbox option.

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External Communication
This section sets options that control the command port of Maya. These settings are generally used to facilitate communication with the Maya Web browser plug-in. For more information, see Maya Web browser plug-in on page 9. Default command port Enables or disables the default command port. Name The name of the command port. You can change the name (for security reasons, for example).

Reference Editor
Reference Editor overview

File > Reference Editor In scene view: Panels > Panel > Reference Editor

See the following sections:

Reference Editor toolbar on page 691

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Reference Editor Layouts on page 692 Reference editor menus on page 694

Reference Editor toolbar


The Reference Editor toolbar contains shortcuts to frequently used items that exist within the Reference Editor menus.

Create Reference

Imports the contents of a scene into your currently open scene without importing the files into the scene. See File > Create Reference. Right-clicking this button displays the Reference Options menu. This menu is also located at File > Create Reference > the Reference Editor. in

Remove Reference

Removes the currently selected reference from the scene. Duplicates the currently selected reference.

Duplicate Reference

Select File Contents

Selects all items in the selected reference file. Updates the selected reference. This is useful when the reference file is being edited simultaneously. Unloads the selected reference.

Reload Reference File

Unload Reference File

Add Proxy Reference File

Adds a proxy reference to the currently selected file reference. Right-clicking this button brings up the Proxy Options menu. This menu is also

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located at Proxy > Add Proxy > Reference Editor. Display Only File List

in the

Displays a list of the references in the current scene in the Reference Editor. Displays a list of the references in the current scene and the Outliner in the Reference Editor. Displays a list of the references in the current scene, the Outliner, and the Viewport in the Reference Editor.

Display File List and Outliner Display

Display File List, Outliner, and Viewport Display

Reference Editor Layouts


The Reference Editor has three layouts, which are accessible from the Reference Editor toolbar. The layouts are File List, File List/Outliner, and File List/Outliner/Viewport.

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A Text Filter field appears in the File List and Outliner views in the Reference Editor. To filter the items that are displayed in each of these views, type text into the field.

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The icon to the left of the Text Filter field indicates if the Text Filter is currently active. If the Text Filter is active, click the icon to turn the filter off.

For more information about using the Text Filter field, see Control which objects or attribute types appear in an editor on page 127.

Reference editor menus


This section describes the menu items and options for the Reference Editor.

File menu on page 694 Reference Menu on page 698 Proxy Menu on page 698 File Particulars on page 702

File menu
Create Reference See File > Create Reference on page 412. Import Objects from Reference Imports the selected references objects directly into the current scene.

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Export Selection Exports the selected objects as a reference and links that reference into the current scene. You can set options here (see File > Export Selection). A file browser opens to save the file with the name and location you specify. Save Reference Edits Saves edits that were made within the parent scene for a selected file reference to the corresponding referenced file on disk. The edits get transferred so they no longer reside within the parent scene.

Notes on Save Reference Edits


Saving the edits to the referenced file is useful if you want the edits to permanently exist in the referenced file. In this way, the edits are propagated to all users of the reference. Some additional items to consider when saving reference edits:

Edits that are applied in the parent scene, specifically setAttr, deleteAttr, and addAttr, as well as commands that create and remove connections within the same referenced file, specifically connectAttr and disconnectAttr, are saved as part of the Save Reference Edits operation. Nodes and connections from the parent scene that affect only nodes from the referenced file will be saved to the reference file. For example, animation curves, construction history, and textures that affect only the reference file will be saved into the reference file. DAG nodes such as shapes from the main scene will never be saved to the reference file, with the exception of new construction history shapes that are parented beneath transforms from the reference file. Saving reference edits is not possible if the file reference is unloaded. You must first load the file reference before saving the edits. Saving reference edits is not possible if the file reference is locked. You must first unlock the file reference before saving the edits. For more information, see Locking a file reference of the File Referencing book. Just like any file input/output operation, you cannot undo the Save Reference Edits command. Nodes that are automatically created for a scene (such as default cameras and default shaders) are written to the child file during the Save Reference Edits operation. If you require new DAG nodes to be written out as part of the save reference edits operation, you can import the referenced file so all of the items reside in the scene, and then select only those imported items as well as any new nodes, and export the selection as a reference again. In this way, all of the

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edits to the nodes and attributes will get written to the exported file reference.

Importing and then exporting a reference has the potential to introduce namespace conflicts for other scenes that subsequently reference the exported reference. It is recommended that you remove any recently imported nodes from their old namespace prior to exporting a reference. For more information, see Removing a namespace in the Basics guide.

Export to Offline File Exports changes made to objects in a scene (i.e. connected nodes) to a file you specify. You can then apply these edits to other scenes with the Assign Offline File option.

General Options
File type Sets the file type to mayaBinary or mayaAscii. The default is mayaAscii. Default file extensions Adds the file extension .ma to Maya ASCII filenames and .mb to Maya Binary filenames.

Target Options
Target Sets which scene objects edits to export. Selected objects exports all selected objects edits. Referenced file exports edits for all references selected in the Reference Editor.

Include Options
Sets the types of edits to include in the export.

Reference Options
Include setAttr edits Exports edits made to setAttr attributes.

File Type Specific Options


Use full names for attributes on nodes Displays the full names of node attributes. Assign Offline File References the edits from the file you select and applies them to the reference node selected in the Reference Editor. Maya applies edits by matching each nodename.attribute in the edit file to the file its being applied to. For example, you can export a reference edit for pSphere1.translateX in the scene sphere.ma. This edit is saved in the reference file as <main>:sphere_pSphere1.translateX. You can then apply this edit to the scene ball.ma so that ball:pSphere1.translateX is edited.

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General Options
Apply via Allows you to apply edits as either a referenced edit or import the edit straight into your scene. Imported edits are baked into the main scene and cannot be unloaded like referenced edits. File type Select from the drop-down list the file type you are importing. If you arent sure what type of file you are applying, you can select Best Guess. Depending on the file type you select, various file type specific options may be displayed.

Name Clash Options


Resolve all nodes When you import a scene into another scene, naming conflicts occur if the nodes share the same name and parent nodes. To resolve these naming conflicts, you can rename only nodes with the same name and parents (clashing nodes) or you can rename all nodes. You specify whether to use the filename as the prefix (the default) or to create a prefix string.

File Type Specific Options


Use full names for attributes on nodes Displays the full names of node attributes. List Reference Edits Displays a current list of edits on the selected reference. You can refresh this window manually by clicking the Refresh Edit List button or remove specific edits by selecting them and clicking Remove Selected Edits. List Unknown Edits When you reference a file from Maya 6.5 or earlier, some edits may not be recognized by the conversion process. These unknown edits are listed here. You can refresh this window manually by clicking the Refresh Edit List button or remove specific edits by selecting them and clicking Remove Selected Edits. Clean Up Reference Removes all edits from the target reference node. NOTE Using Clean Up Reference should be done only if you are certain that you will no longer require the edits it will remove. Using Clean Up Reference on a loaded reference removes all edits which could not be applied. Using Clean Up Reference on an unloaded reference will remove all edits, whether they could be applied or not, and so should be used with care to avoid unwanted data loss. Select File Contents Selects all items in the selected reference file.

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Reference Menu
Reload Reference/Unload Reference Loads or unloads the selected reference. If the current reference is already loaded, reload updates the loaded reference. This is useful when the reference file is being edited simultaneously. Load Related Reference/Unload Related Reference Loads or unloads references related to selected objects. For example, if you want to unload an object and the reference to which it belongs without having to open the Reference Editor and figure out which reference should be unloaded, you can simply right-click the object and choose Unload Related Reference. As well, you can select a locator or annotation, and then load its related references (you must select both the locator/annotation and the foster parent node for this to work). Duplicate Reference Duplicates the file associated with the selected reference. Replace Reference Opens a file browser to replace the current reference with the one you select. The group node and/or locator remains the same. Recently Replaced Files Lists recently-replaced reference files. Remove Reference Removes the selected reference and associated reference nodes from the scene file. This is the preferred method for removing a reference and its associated nodes. Lock Reference/Unlock Reference Locks or unlocks all of the nodes and attributes for a selected file reference. A lock icon appears beside the listed file reference within the Reference Editor to indicate the locked status.

Proxy Menu
Add Proxy > Adds a proxy reference to the currently selected file reference. When you select Proxy > Add Proxy > you can specify the file type to add and set the Proxy Tag Options within the Proxy Options window that appears. NOTE The Proxy Options menu items are also available from the context sensitive menu in the Reference Editor. To display this menu, select a file reference and right-click the item. If a proxy reference does not exist for the file reference, a proxy set is created for the proxy references for that file reference. If a proxy reference exists, the new proxy becomes a member of the existing proxy set for that reference. When a proxy reference is created, the listed file reference updates to display a icon to indicate that one or more proxy references exist for that reference.

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For information on how proxy references are tagged, see Proxy Tag options below. The Proxy Options ( ) window is used to set the following options:

General Options
File type Select the file format you want to use as a default for the next time you add a proxy reference. If you have a project set up, when you open a scene, the browser points to the directory containing files of that type. On Windows and Mac OS X, it also sets the filter to display only files of the selected type.

Proxy Options
Shared Edits Edits made to the proxy in the scene automatically update the proxys source file. Set proxy tag to Type the text string for the proxy tag you want applied to the proxy reference or select an existing tag from the list in the drop-down menu. When a proxy tag appears in gray in this list, it indicates that the tag is already in use for this specific file reference. The proxy tag appears in the Reference Editor. Maya keeps track of, and can distinguish between, the last proxy tag used for a file reference, and the last proxy tag used for a proxy reference. This ability streamlines the tagging process regardless of your preferred workflow. For example, you may want to tag multiple file references in succession with a tag named hiRes when you first create each one. In this case, you need only type the tag name once and it is automatically assigned to successive file reference tags. If you want to tag multiple proxies for those same references, you only need type in the proxy tag name for the proxy once, and the proxy tag will be remembered for successive proxies. Alternatively, you may want to create and tag one file reference named hiRes and then immediately create and tag its corresponding proxy reference named loRes. You can then create the next file reference and it will automatically be assigned the tag hiRes, then create its proxy reference, and it will automatically be assigned the tag loRes. Because Maya can distinguish between the most recent file reference and proxy reference tags specified, this alternating tagging workflow is possible. If a file reference has not been assigned a unique proxy tag prior to the creation of the first proxy in the scene, the file reference will be assigned a proxy tag named original to differentiate the original file reference from the first proxy. Once a tag has been specified for a file reference, it will continue to be used as the default file reference tag until another is specified. That is, Maya only uses the default original tag if the user has not previously explicitly specified a tag for a file reference.

Reference editor menus | 699

If a proxy tag is not specified when the first proxy reference is created in the scene, Maya will automatically apply a unique proxy tag based on the name of the reference node. Once a proxy tag has been specified for a proxy reference, it will continue to be the default tag for proxy references until another is specified. That is, Maya only uses a default proxy tag name when the user has not previously specified an explicit tag name for a proxy reference. Once you create a proxy tag, it will become available for selection within the Proxy Tag Options drop-down menu in both the Proxy Options and Reference Options windows. Proxy tags must be unique within a given proxy set. That is, a proxy tag will be available for a proxy set provided it is not already in use within the same proxy set. You can create your own tags and reuse them in different proxy sets.

File Type Specific Options


Depending on the File Type you select, various File Type Specific Options are displayed here. See File > Open Scene in the Basics guide for more information. Remove Proxy Removes the proxy reference that is selected from the list of proxy tags that appears within the Remove Proxy submenu. The proxy reference is deleted from the proxy set. The list of available proxy references is displayed in the menu based on their proxy tags. The list of proxy tags is generated from all of the proxy tags currently in use within the proxy sets selected. When a proxy tag appears in gray, it indicates that it is currently loaded.

When a proxy reference is removed from a proxy set, and only a single file reference remains, the proxy set is removed and the reference returns to a normal reference state. In the Reference Editor, the icon is removed from the listed file reference, and the listed name of the file reference is updated.

700 | Chapter 14 Basics Windows and Editors

NOTE It is not possible to remove a loaded proxy. To remove the currently loaded proxy you must first reload any other proxy reference from the list so that the proxy you want to remove becomes available within the list for removal. Reload Proxy As Loads the proxy reference that is selected from the list of proxy tags that appears within the Reload Proxy As submenu. The list of proxy tags is generated from all of the proxy tags currently in use for the proxy sets selected. When a proxy tag appears in gray, it indicates that it is currently loaded. Reload Proxy As is used to switch between proxy references for a given file reference. The list of available proxy references is displayed in the menu based on their proxy tags. When a proxy tag appears in gray, it indicates that it is currently loaded. NOTE A proxy for a specific proxy set is only reloaded when the selected proxy tag matches one of the available tags for that set. For example, if multiple proxy sets are selected and the high proxy tag is chosen for reload, only those proxy references that have the high tag will be reloaded. Any proxy set that does not include the high tag will remain unchanged. Export Proxy Asset > Exports a proxy asset for the selected asset (referenced or non-referenced). For more information about proxy assets, see Proxy assets on page 194. For proxy asset options, see Assets > Export Proxy Asset on page 520. Switch tag for Active Proxy to Allows you to change the Proxy Tag of the active Proxy. You can either select from a list of all Proxy Tags in the scene, or define a new one (Define New). When selecting from the list of pre-existing Proxy Tags those tags that are used in the currently active proxy set are grayed out. Switch Tag for Proxy Allows you to change the Proxy Tag of any proxy in the currently selected proxy set.

View menu
View Selected References Displays only the selected references. Selecting this option also creates a new Reference View Set, which can be found in the View menu. This Reference View Set acts as a bookmark; selecting the created Reference View Set in the future filters the references in the Reference Editor and only displays the references that were selected when the Reference View Set was created. See Reference View Sets of the File Referencing book.

Reference editor menus | 701

View All Reference Displays all of the references in the current scene.

File Particulars
The following file information displays when a referenced file is selected in the Reference Editor. You can select to show or hide this information by clicking on the disclosure triangle. Unresolved Name Displays a relative or absolute path including name of the referenced file, without locations where Maya searches for the file. Resolved Name Displays the filename and path where Maya found the file. Namespace Displays the current namespace for the selected file reference. The namespace for a file reference can be edited within the text field. (This field appears when namespaces are the selected name clash option.) NOTE

The file reference must have been created using the namespaces option for its namespace to be editable. That is, you cannot edit references that were created using the older file renaming prefix convention. A namespace cannot be edited if the file reference is unloaded. The new namespace you enter cannot already exist. The namespace for a reference can only be edited for references that are made from the currently open scene. That is, you cannot edit namespaces for references that are nested within other file references.

Rename Prefix Displays a prefix that can be applied to object names in the event of name clashes. (This field appears when namespaces are not the selected name clash option.)

702 | Chapter 14 Basics Windows and Editors

Basics Nodes

15

Camera node
For camera node attributes, see View > Camera Attribute Editor.

General attributes for nodes


General attributes
General attributes consist of the following:

the name of the node (for example, nurbsSphere1 or lambert1) Input Connection button Click the Input Connection button to display the first input connection node for the currently displayed node. Right-click the Input Connection button to display a list of all input connection nodes. You can then select a node from this list to display in the Attribute Editor. Output Connection button Click the Output Connection button to display the first output connection node for the currently displayed node. Right-click the Output Connection button to display a list of all output connection nodes. You can then select a node from this list to display in the Attribute Editor. Focus button Click this button to set the Attribute Editor focus to this node. a sample image or icon that represents the node (where appropriate)

703

Select button Click this button to select the node that is currently displayed in the Attribute Editor. Load Attributes button Click this button to manually load the attributes of the selected object or node. Copy Tab button Click this button to create a new window containing the selected tab.

Transform attributes
Translate Specifies the objects translation (Translate X, Y, and Z) attribute values in world space. Rotate Specifies the rotation (Rotate X, Y, and Z attribute values) of the object in world space. Scale Specifies the objectss scale (Scale X, Y, and Z) attribute values in world space. Rotate Order Specifies the objects rotation order. You can set the rotate order when you want a specific final rotation for an object, because each rotate order option produces a different end orientation. For example, if the rotation order for an object is set to xyz, the object first rotates about its X-axis, then its Y-axis, and finally its Z-axis. Default is xyz. Rotate Axis Offsets the orientation of the object relative to the orientation of the objects local rotation axis. Inherits Transform When this attribute is on, the current object inherits the transformations (Translate, Rotate, Scale, and Shear values) of its parent object.

Display
Sets the overall display settings for the current object. Display Handle When this attribute is on, the display handle for the current object is displayed. Display Local Axis When this attribute is on, the local axis of the current object is displayed. Selection Handle (xyz) Lets you offset the selection handle in the X, Y, and Z axes from the object relative to the handles current position.

704 | Chapter 15 Basics Nodes

Show Manip Default Sets the current objects default manipulator shape. Manip History Node Sets the specified shape as the default manipulator, instead of using one of the defaults. Visibility When this attribute is on, the current object is visible in the scene view. When this attribute is off, the current object is hidden in the scene view. Template When this attribute is on, the current object is appears a template. See Display > Object Display on page 501 and Make an object unselectable (template) on page 154. LOD Visibility If the current object is connected to a lodGroup node, then this check box displays the Hide/Show status of the objects display level. Also, this attribute is read-only. If the current object is not connected to a lodGroup node, this attribute turns off the objects visibility in the scene view.

Node behavior
To change node behavior, select the node and expand the Node Behavior section of the Attribute Editor.

Caching Turn Caching on to temporarily store input node evaluations in the cache. When Maya needs these evaluations (as input to the node), it uses the information stored in the cache rather than re-evaluating the input node. If no changes have been made to the node, it redraws more quickly. The cache is destroyed when you edit an attribute. Note that caching uses more memory, which could affect Mayas performance.

Node State
Changing the node state can improve performance. There are six possible node states: Normal Causes the node to behave normally, according to the defined settings and effects. This is the default. HasNoEffect Disables any effects on the node so that fewer calculations are necessary at the time of redraw. The effect does not render until you reset the Node State back to Normal. Maya evaluates the nodes in the nodes history, but not the node itself.

Node behavior | 705

For example, if you translate a cluster to deform a geometry, then set the Node State of the cluster node to HasNoEffect, the geometry appears undeformed, as though the translation had not occurred. To view the effect, change the Node State back to Normal. Blocking Temporarily hides the node and does not display the results of any input (input evaluations) to the node. This can speed the redraw. It is also useful when you have complex scenes and want to edit only one aspect of a node. Blocked nodes do not render. For example, if you have a complex revolved surface and want to edit the curve, but dont want to wait while the curve redraws, select Blocking and edit the curve. To display the modified revolved surface, reset the Node State to Normal.

Notes

The HasNoEffect state has a different meaning for each node type. Some node types do not implement the state, in which case the state acts just like Normal. The Waiting node states are used internally by Maya to keep track of nodes that are waiting for a view update in the Hypergraph. You should not normally set nodes to a Waiting state.

Level of Detail group node


In the Level of Detail (LOD) groups Attribute Editor, you can modify the following LOD Attributes: World Space When on, the switch between LOD occurs based on the world origin. Otherwise, the switch occurs according to the LOD groups origin. Min Max Distance If the minMaxDistance is turned off (default) there is no change in behavior. If it is turned on, the minDistance and maxDistance attributes define the visibility range for the object. Min Distance The minimum distance at which the group is displayed. Max Distance The maximum distance at which the group is displayed.

Changing the Threshold distances


You can change the distances at which the levels are switched using the Channel Box.

706 | Chapter 15 Basics Nodes

To change a Threshold distance 1 Select the level of detail group node in the Hypergraph. Its level of detail attributes are displayed in the Channel Box. 2 Edit the Threshold value for the object whose distance you want to change, and press Enter (Windows and Linux) or Return (Mac OS X).

Re-ordering the levels


You can re-order the levels after you create a level of detail group. To re-order the levels in the Outliner In the Outliner, use the middle mouse button to drag the object you want to move into its new position within the group. This is the easiest way to re-order the levels.

To re-order the levels in the Hypergraph 1 In the Hypergraph, use the middle mouse button to remove the object you want to re-order from the group. The other objects in the group move up the group hierarchy. 2 Use the middle mouse button to drag the removed object onto the lodGroup node. The object is added to the bottom of the lodGroups hierarchy. TIP You can also re-order a group by selecting Edit > Level of Detail > Ungroup. Re-order the objects and create a new group. NOTE If you reorder the children of a level of detail node from the Hypergraph, the threshold values change unexpectedly. Use the outliner to reorder the children.

Level of Detail group node | 707

708

Mac OS X and Linux Specific Notes

16

Appendix
Using Maya with Mac OS X
Notes and Procedures
The following topics describe some procedures and notes specific to using Maya with Mac OS X. These topics describe the variations to features and to common procedures when using Maya for Mac OS X.

Features for Mac OS X not available for Windows or Linux


The following features are available in Mac OS X but not Windows or Linux versions of Maya.

Tear-off menus in Hot Box Posting menus in Hot Box QuickTime integration Threaded sound playback in time line during scrubbing AppleScript executes Maya MEL commands with results returned. (See also Calling MEL from AppleScript and vice-versa of the MEL and Expressions guide.)

709

3rd party programs not available for Mac OS X

Motion capture drivers

Transferring files between platforms


Mac OS X files use different line endings than UNIX or Windows files. Mac OS X programs accommodate this by accepting any line ending, but Windows and UNIX programs require only their own form of line endingincluding the UNIX-like programs run from the Mac OS X Terminal window. Two UNIX utilities, which you run from the Terminal window, are included in the Maya bin folder to help you easily transfer files from one platform to another: tounix and tomac. The following table describes what you need to do to transfer files between specific platforms. From
mayaBinary on OS X

To
Any platform

Requires
Put as a binary file using ftp from the Terminal window, the Fetch application in binary mode, or any other Mac OS binary mechanism; or Use AppleShare IP on the non-Macintosh platform to transfer as a binary file from the Mac OS. (Using ftp from the non-Macintosh platform corrupts the file.) Get as a binary file using ftp from the Terminal window, the Fetch application in binary mode, or any other binary mechanism; or Use AppleShare IP on the nonMacintosh platform to transfer as a binary file from the Mac OS. (Using ftp from the nonMacintosh platform corrupts the file.) No special handling

mayaBinary on UNIX or Windows

Maya

mayaAscii or mel files on UNIX or Windows Maya mayaAscii or mel files

Maya

Maya 5.0+ on UNIX or Windows

No special handling

710 | Chapter 16 Mac OS X and Linux Specific Notes

From
Maya mayaAscii or mel files

To
Mac OS X applications that read text files Mac OS X UNIX applications (for example, vi or grep) Maya 3.0 on UNIX or Windows

Requires
No special handling

Maya mayaAscii or mel files

Use the tounix utility. From the Terminal window, enter: tounix scene_file.ma a) From the Terminal window, use the tounix utility: tounix scene_file.mathen ftp as an ascii file. or b) Use the interactive Macintosh application Fetch, in ascii transfer mode. Use the tomac utility. From the Terminal window, enter: tomac scene_file.ma

Maya mayaAscii or mel files

mayaAscii or mel files that have been run through tounix utility mayaAscii or mel files that have been run through tomac utility mayaAscii or mel files that have been run through tounix utility

Mac OS X applications that read text files

Maya

No special handling

Maya

No special handling

Troubleshooting Maya for Mac OS X


The following section explains some issues unique to Maya for Mac OS X, and suggests workarounds.

Using Maya with Mac OS X | 711

Folders in the project folder beginning with a bullet character cause Maya not to start
If you have a folder in your /Users/username/Documents/maya/projects folder that has a bullet character (option 8) in its name, Maya will not retain the project as it is set. It will return to the default the next time Maya is run.

Workaround
Remove the problem folder or rename it and restart Maya.

Maya may not find the shader library


The name of the Shader Library changed in Maya 7 and subsequent versions of Maya. There are a couple of circumstances where you may find a mismatch between the location of the Shader Library and the shader library location environment variable that is set for you. This may result in an error when you open Hypershade. If you installed the Shader Library before Maya 7 and did not migrate your old preferences to Maya 7 or Autodesk Maya 8, Maya is looking for shaderLibrary when the old name is Maya Shader Library. If you installed the Shader Library in Maya 7 or Autodesk Maya 8, and did migrate your old preferences (pre-Maya 7), Maya is looking for Maya Shader Library when the new name is shaderLibrary.

Workaround
Rename the Shader Library to shaderLibrary or Maya Shader Library as needed. The shader library is located in:
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/

Using Maya with Linux


Notes and Procedures
The following describe some procedures and notes specific to using Maya with Linux. These topics describe the variations to features and to common procedures when using Maya in Linux.

712 | Chapter 16 Mac OS X and Linux Specific Notes

Changing system font display settings


You cannot edit the font display in Maya Linux using the system font settings. Instead, edit the MayaScheme file in /usr/autodesk/maya/app-defaults/ to modify the additional resources used by Maya to change the system font display settings. This file is searched in the following location order:
$HOME/app-defaults/MayaScheme /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/MayaScheme $MAYA_LOCATION/app-defaults/MayaScheme

To list available fonts, use the xlsfonts command. Alternatively, you can use the xfontsel command to generate a font string. NOTE You must have root permission to edit the MayaScheme file when it is located in the /usr/lib/X11 or $MAYA_LOCATION directory.

Troubleshooting Maya for Linux


The following section explains some issues unique to Maya for Linux, and suggests workarounds.

Snapping gets stuck


When holding down any key to enable snapping (for example, v, c, or x) snapping may remain active after the hotkey is released.

Workaround
Click the middle-mouse button again without the hotkey held down.

Display problem when selecting isoparm of NURBS surface


A strange pattern may display when you select an isoparm of a NURBS surface.

Workaround
Select the isoparm again to remove the pattern.

Putting menu items or option windows on the shelf


When you post a menu in Maya, then press Shift+Ctrl+Alt and click a menu item or option window to put it on the shelf, nothing happens.

Using Maya with Linux | 713

Workaround
Use the Shift+Alt-right mouse button instead.

Menu items do not seem to be selected


If you click an extended tab panel to show the pop-up menu on a tab panel (as in the Attribute Editor), the cursor appears just inside the left edge of the menu but no menu items are highlighted. The item beneath the cursor is actually selected, but it is not highlighted.

Workaround
Move the cursor slightly to the left to deselect the menu, then go back to the menu and select a menu item.

Option sub-menus not always visible


Sometimes file placement dialog boxes do not display option sub-menus in a readable or visible form.

Workaround
Try manually resizing the dialog boxes so the option sub-menu is completely visible.

Linux and GNOME


The following are some issues that you might encounter when using Linux and GNOME with Maya.

Mouse pointer appears as a black X


Sometimes when you right-click and the mouse pointer becomes a black X it remains so for the Maya session and even after restarting Maya.

Workaround
Set the environment variable MAYA_MMSET_DEFAULT_XCURSOR; the value does not matter. If this variable is set, Maya will set the cursor to the left pointing arrow Cursor on exiting the Marking Menu/Hotbox. When exiting the hotbox with the workaround already in place, the cursor may remain as the right-pointing red arrow. To remedy this, right-click the scene after exiting the hotbox. The cursor becomes the default left-pointing black arrow. However, the red arrow wont show up again when you enter the hotbox until you log out and log in again.

714 | Chapter 16 Mac OS X and Linux Specific Notes

Marking Menu/Hotbox
When using GNOME window manager on Linux, on exiting from the Marking Menu/Hotbox the cursor may be reset to the default desktop "X" cursor.

Workaround
Set the environment variable MAYA_MMSET_DEFAULT_XCURSOR; the value does not matter. If this variable is set, Maya will set the cursor to the left pointing arrow Cursor on exiting the Marking Menu/Hotbox. When exiting the hotbox with the workaround already in place, the cursor may remain as the right-pointing red arrow. To remedy this, right-click the scene after exiting the hotbox. The cursor becomes the default left-pointing black arrow. However, the red arrow wont show up again when you enter the hotbox until you log out and log in again.

Using Maya with Linux | 715

716

Index
3D coordinates, about 2 3D Delta tessellation method 482 3D Paint Texture options 394 Animation Start/End 685 Annotation (Create menu) 462 Apply Current to All option 541 Arc Tools 457 Arc Tools (Create menu) 457 arc-length values, show 161 Archive scene 143 archiving 143 As Tool NURBS action or tool option 327 Asset Editor about 195, 549 assets add node 219 asset centric selection 204 Asset Editor 195, 549 assign custom command 247 assign custom menu 247 autobind 240 background 216 bind attribute 238 binding set, create 259 binding set, customize 260 Black Box mode 173, 210 collapse 214 connect attributes 241 create 201 create proxy 287 custom icon 212 customize treatment 219 encapsulation 167 example - Duplicating animation on non-matching hierarchies 244 expand 214 file referencing 193 hide unpublished 210 layout 215 localize interface 270 lock referenced 286 locking 208 menus 519

A
Absolute transform 355 actions about 4 changing to tools 326 using 12 Active Object Pivots 660 adaptive tessellation 481 Adaptive tessellation method when converting to polygons 488 Add Attribute (Modify menu) 474 Add Instance when parenting 432 Add Proxy 700 Add Proxy options 698 Add to Current Selection brush option 367 Adobe Illustrator Object creating 459 description 458 options 459 troubleshooting 459 updating 459 Affected Highlighting 660 Affects Active option 681 align objects 79 Always Blend with Existing Connections 672 animated nodes 635 animation curves using to create falloff 466 details, Heads Up Display 497 key options 669 markers, hiding 501 transitions (of view) 642

717 | Index

parts 164 parts of a template 178 prepare for referencing 281 preview contents 203 proxy 194 publish attribute to 221 publish connection to 227 publish multiple attributes to one name 227 publish node 228 publish parent/child anchor 230 publish ramp attribute 224 publish selection transform 230 publish swatch 226 published attribute values, edit 228 published attributes 169 published nodes 170 referencing 282 remove 203 remove node 220 rename published attribute 241 replace reference example 283 replace referenced 283 select 204 select contents 207 set current 207 template binding sets 177 template file format 191 template views 176 template, assign 249 template, change search path 257 template, create 248 template, edit 252 template, example 271 template, reload 256 template, save 257 templates 173 transfer attribute values 242 types of 167 unassign template 251 unbind attribute 238 unpublish attribute 224 unpublish node 228 view, customize 263 view, set active 262 views, add 261

workflows 196 Attach Multiple Output Meshes 480 Attribute Editor about 557 loading attributes into 557 Attribute spreadsheet viewing multiple attributes 113 attributes Attribute Editor 557 connect input and output 123 customize 116 description 95 filter information 127 general, for nodes 703 ignoring when rendering 559 keyable 98 lock value 115 open multiple editors 117 presets 114 transferring 91 use full names 395 view and edit 107 Auto Completion tool option 327 Auto Create Rigid Body dynamics option 674 Auto Key animation option 669 settings 669 Autobind 240 auxiliary nodes 104 Axes 660 choosing for transformations 70 orientation 374 rotation order 374 Axis primitive, change direction of 434 setting orientation for polygonal primitives 448 azimuth control with mouse 41 description 534

718 | Index

B
backfaces culling, display options 667 Based on distance option 465466 Bevel text type 458 Bezier Tool (Create Menu) 456 bind attribute 238 binding set create 259 customize 260 binding sets 177 Black Box mode 210 Blend With All Except Constraints 672 Bounding Box Dolly camera setting 533 option 537 bounding volumes of objects 588 buttons File 353 quick layout 380 Render 355 Sidebar 356 snapping 354

C
camera based selection 25 Camera Sequencer preferences 673 Camera Tools (View menu) 531 cameras azimuth 534 center of interest 534 control which one is shown 44 elevation 534 hiding 500 manipulators, hiding 501 node 703 pitch 535 revolving 531 revolving about center of interest 534 rolling 534 tracking 532

yaw 535 zooming 533 caps for cones 436 for cylinders 436 Center Pivot (Modify menu) 473 center the view 42 Change Precision 584 Channel Box 566 colors 570 Channel Control option 567 Channels 422 Check Box option 598 check boxes in marking menus 598 Chord Height Ratio (tessellation) 481 Chord Length knots for CV curves 454 knots for edit point curves 455 circle create 437 Clamped animation option 669 Click Box Size option 682 cloth hiding 501 collapsing shapes in Hypergraph 646 Color editor 579 Color Index Mode option 540 color management 679 Color Range 491 Color Settings 583 Color Shading option 666 colors change 291 change wireframe 50 Channel Box 570 display wireframe 501 Colors window tabs 515 command line 360 focus, default 652 command port default 690 Command(s) option 598 commands assign to hotkeys 322

Index | 719

edit completed 84 repeat 83 complex manipulators 58 models, displaying 537 complex scene management 147 Component Editor custom layouts 584 editing numeric values 89 Component Use Object Pivot 374, 377 components about 3 numeric values, edit directly 89 selecting 23 selection mode 681 show isolated subset 49 show or hide 48 compression mode 676 cones creating 436 connection lines in dependency graph 638 connections direction of 638 hide 215 lines in dependency graph 638 of nodes, show 122 construction history 53 about 96 edit 84 construction plane about 54 snapping creation tools 78 Construction Plane (Create menu) 461 container nodes creating and removing 632 container templates views 261 Control Points 423 Control Points tessellation method 485 Conversion Mode 680 Convert Instance to Object 493 NURBS to Subdiv 485 Polygons to Subdiv 485

Smooth Mesh Preview to Polygons 487 Subdiv to NURBS 488 Subdiv to Polygons 487 Texture to Geometry 489 convert selection 31 coordinate systems 52 copies of objects 54 Copy geometry type 426 Count, tessellation method 484 Create menu Annotation 462 Arc Tools 457 Construction Plane 461 CV Curve Tool 455 Empty Group 462 EP Curve Tool 455 Locator 461 Measure Tools 457 NURBS Primitives 433 Sets 463 Text 457 Create Menu Bezier Tool 456 Create Reference (File menu) 412 cubes creating 436 Cubic primitive sphere option 434 culling display options 667 cursor display problems 714 Curve Div per Span option 508 Curve Divisions option 664 curve segments change for Arc Tools 457 curves change degree, for edit point 455 circles 437 divisions per span 508 interpolated, setting tolerance 668 modification falloff 466 multiple end knots 454 new, display options 664

720 | Index

NURBS 467 show parameter or arc-length values 161 smoothness, controlling 664 snapping to 354 square 437 text type 458 uniform knot spacing 454 custom attributes reserved names 561 custom icon for assets 212 custom layouts Component Editor 584 Custom Location 680 custom menu sets 7, 301 managing 301 Custom Polygon Display Display menu 505 customizing menus to tools 326 CV Curve Tool (Create menu) 455 CVs displaying on new curves or surfaces 664 hiding 500 matching when tessellating 485 select region of 33 selecting 367 cylinders create 436

D
DAG view connection lines 644 default command port 690 Default In/Out Tangent animation options 669 Default Manipulator 664 Default scene 389 default shelves, load 15 deformers hiding 500 degree change for Arc Tools 457 change for curves 454 change for edit point curve 455

change for pencil curve 456 Degree option 465 degree type geometry, changing 434 Delete (Edit menu) 422 Delete All by Type (Edit menu) 423 Delete Attribute (Modify menu) 479 Delete by Type (Edit menu) 422 Delete history on render proxy updates 679 delete objects 87 dependency graph 54 about 100 displaying lights 637 displaying textures 637 materials 637 shading groups 637 show inputs and outputs 122 dependency view 98 DG node display 644 direct manipulation 97 directory setting default 676 Discrete Move 372 Discrete Scale 377 disk cache options 394 display layers 156 import options 677 index number 677 Display menu Custom Polygon Display 505 Display NURBS 507 Grid 494 Heads Up Display 496 Hide 500 Object Display 501 Show 500 UI Elements 499 UV Size 504 Vertex Size 503 Wireframe Color 501 Display NURBS Display menu 507 display of objects change 46

Index | 721

display performance improving 537 Display Render Tesselation Geometry NURBS Smoothness option 508 Display Time 658 displaying input and output connections 634 Distance Cutoff option 465 Divisions Per Face tessellation option 488 divisions per span, curve 508 dodecahedron 445 Dolly about 39 Bounding Box camera setting 533 camera settings 532 Local camera setting 533 Snap box dolly to camera settings 533 Surface camera setting 533 Dont Ignore when Rendering option 559 drag select 25 Driven Channels 423 Duplicate 89 Duplicate (Edit menu) 426 Duplicate command 54 Duplicate Input Connections 427 Duplicate Input Graph 427 Duplicate with Transform 426 Duplicate with Transform (Edit menu) 428 duplicating objects 88 dynamics rigid bodies, options 674

E
edges display options 665, 667 hard, displaying 665 soft 665 Swap tessellation 484 Edit Attribute (Modify menu) 478 Edit Curves menu customizing tools 326

Edit menu Delete 422 Delete All by Type 423 Delete by Type 422 Duplicate 426 Duplicate with Transform 428 Group 429 Invert Selection 424 Level of Detail 430 Paint Selection Tool 366 Parent 432 Quick Select Sets 425 Select All 424 Select All by Type 425 Select Hierarchy 424 Ungroup 430 Unparent 433 Edit NURBS menu customizing tools 326 edit points displaying on new curves or surfaces 664 editors asset 549 Attribute 557 attribute, open multiple 117 Channel Box 566 Color 579 component 89 hotkey 593 Hypergraph 102, 630 Outliner 101, 602 plug-in manager 609 Relationship 616 shelf 296 elevation control with mouse 41 description, for azimuth elevation tool 534 Empty Group (Create menu) 462 Enable Default Scene 389 encapsulation what is 167 EP Curve Tool (Create menu) 455 EPS file import 405 Evaluate Nodes (Modify menu) 473

722 | Index

exact transformation values, typing 60 Exit Upon Completion Tool option 327 Expand Popup List modifier option 682 Export All (File menu) 406 export objects to a new file 142 Export Selection (File menu) 406 Expression Editor interface 623 expressions connect attributes with 124 External Communication 690 ExternalWebBrowser directory 22

files formats, supported 135 setting default projects directory 676 Fit To Selection 491 Flat animation option 669 Flat Shade options 537 flat tangents 671 flip objects 70 focal length of camera, changing 533 focus, command line 652 Font text object 458 fonts changing 713 Fractional Tolerance tessellation method 482 Frame All in All Views (Window menu) 518 frame rate Heads Up Display 498 Frame Selection in All Views (Window menu) 518 Frames Per Step 662 Free change axis definition 434 Freeze Transformations (Modify menu) 468 ftp file transfer 710

F
faces display options 666 snap to center 373 factory settings, resetting 1213 falloff curve modification 466 linear modification 465 power modification 465 script modification 466 Far Clip Plane attribute 544 File browser 590 File buttons 353 File menu Create Reference 412 Export All 406 Export Selection 406 Import 402 New Scene 389 Open Scene 390 Optimize Scene Size 395 Project 418 Reference Editor 417 Save Scene 393 Save Scene As 393 file referencing Lock file 395 Save Reference Edits 695 file transfer 710 File Type option 390

G
General tessellation method 483 Generate Shaders 492 geometric primitives, creating 85 geometry hiding 500 type 426 Geometry NURBS Smoothness option 508 Gimbal rotate mode 373 Global Scale 663 GNOME 714 graph control 564 Graph Layout Style 641

Index | 723

graphs rebuilding 636 graphs, large improve performance 644 grid show, hide, change 45 snapping to 354 Grid (Display menu) 494 Grid (Show menu) 543 Grid Plane 660 Group (Edit menu) 429 group objects 157 Group Pivot 429 Group under 426 Group Under 429 groups nodes 100

H
Handle Size 663 handles size, specifying 663 hard edges displaying 665 Hardware Fog option 541 Hardware Texturing option 541 HDR images 679 HDRI 679 Heads Up Display (Display menu) 496 heads-up display 45 customize readout 332 heat map display 645 Height 685 cube option 436 help get 10 Help System 658 hidden nodes 104 Hide (Display menu) 500 Hide and Show option 489 hide connections 215 hierarchy of nodes, view and change 119 parenting 99 select objects by 30

view 98 High Quality Filtering 541 Hold Focus command line option 652 horizontal layout of graph 635 hotbox add marking menus 307 choose actions 14 controls 592 customize 308 default files 331 hotkeys 310 assign command 322 assign marking menus 306 assign MEL script 323 assigning areas 598 editor, about 593 list 6 tumble, track, dolly 39 view list 325 Hull Simplification NURBS Smoothness options 508 options 508 hulls displaying on new curves or surfaces 664 Hypergraph 630 change the visual layout of nodes 121 collapsing shapes in 646 deleting connections 647 Graph Layout Style 641 heat map display 645 IK Handle Tool 647 Set Background Image 633 Show Background Image 634 streamline connections 644 window 102

I
Icon Filename option 598 icons create for shelves 299 icosahedron 445 Ignore when Rendering option

559

724 | Index

Ignore Selection Priority modifier option 681 Ignore version 391, 402 IK Handle Size 662 IK handles display size, setting 661 Ik/Fk Blending Display 662 IK/FK Joint Size 662 Illustrator file import 405 image formats 132 Import (File menu) 402 importing merging layers 589 In Tangents, default 669 increasing virtual memory 337 Independent Euler-Angle Curves 670 Information window, for plug-ins 610 Inherits Transform attribute 704 input connections 634 nodes 638 Input box 355 Absolute transform 355 Relative transform 356 Rename 356 Select by name 356 installing web browser plug-in 21 Instance Leaf Nodes 427 Instance to Object 493 instances create 426 objects, copying, instancing 54 interactive display 539 interactive primitive creation 437, 446 subdivisions 453 Interactive Shading option 539 interactivity, improve 329 interface for Maya 1 interpolated curves tolerance, setting 668 Invert Selection (Edit menu) 424 Isolate Select (Show menu) 542 isolated subset of objects or components, show in a panel 49

isoparms definition

435

J
Japanese Maya interface running on Mac OS X 349 running on Windows 349 text encoding 351 Joint Size 661 joints display size, setting 661

K
Keep Original option 486 key ticks 685 keyable attributes 98 keys options 669 kinematics hiding 500 knot spacing chord length 454 uniform 454

L
Label option 598 Lasso Select Tool (Edit menu) 423 Lasso tool 365 layers display 150 editing relationships 616 import merge options 677 index number 677 merge options 589 organize objects 156 layout customize 293 saved 547 Layouts option 547 Length cube option 436 Level of Detail (Edit menu) 430

Index | 725

Level tessellation option 488 Lighting menu 541 lights dependency graph 637 hiding 500 linking 616 manipulators, hiding and showing 501 line endings 710 Line Pick Size 663 Line Size 663 linear animation option 669 modification falloff 465 Linear primitive sphere option 434 lines thickness, manipulators 663 Linux 714 GNOME 714 platform-specific notes 712 troubleshooting Maya 713 Load All References 391, 403, 414 Load No References 391, 403, 414 Load Selected Components 585 local dolly camera setting 533 rotate mode 373 rotation axes, displaying and hiding 502 space 52 space, Move tool 368 space, Scale tool 375 Locator (Create menu) 461 Lock option 413 lock value of an attribute 115 Locked Tumble camera setting 531 locking assets 208 Looping 686

M
Mac OS X platform-specific notes 709 troubleshooting Maya 711

main window 4 Make Live (Modify menu) 473 Make selected object live 355 managing custom menu sets 301 Manip Mode (Bezier Tool) 456 manipulators about 97 camera, hiding 501 customize 85 handles, displaying and hiding 502 light, hiding 501 lock to the current selection 58 move 368 Move tool 369 rotate 373 scale 375 show 378 show or hide in the Channel Box 109 thickness 663 universal 378 using 55 manipulators, missing 94 manipulators, troubleshooting 93 markers hiding animation 501 marking menu Move 386 Rotate 387 Scale 388 Select 385 transform 384 Marking Menu Editor 596 marking menus about 8 add to hotbox 307 assign to hotkeys 306 customize 304 displaying checkboxes 598 displaying radio buttons 598 marquee select 25 Match Render Tessellation 480 materials dependency graph 637 Max Points to Add 491 Max res. for swatches 659

726 | Index

Maximum Base Mesh Faces option 486 Maximum Color Difference 491 Maximum Edges Per Vertex option 486 Maximum Number of Polygons tessellation option 488 Maya customizing 326 Error report 9 interface, about 1 Maya Help navigation buttons 648 overview 647 Maya Hotkeys 310 Maya web browser plug-in examples 22 preferences 690 MayaScheme file changing fonts 713 measure distance between points 161 Measure Tools (Create menu) 457 MEL commands add to shelf 297 adding to marking menu 598 start-up 332 MEL protocol commands 9 examples 22 MEL scripts adding to marking menu 598 assign to hotkey 323 propMod script 466467 MEL, about 98 menu nothing happens when posting 713 Menu set menu 353 menu sets custom 7, 301 Menu Sets 599 Menu Sets editor 301 menu_ChangePanelLayout.mel 331 menu_ChangePanelType.mel 331 menu_ChangeSelectionMask.mel 331 menu_CommonModelingPanes.mel 331 menu_ControlPaneVisibility.mel 331 menus about 6

add to shelf 297 creating tools from 326 Lighting 541 Menu set 353 Panels 545 Shading 536 using 12 merge connections 644 Merge Tolerance 480 merging display layers 589, 677 Minimal Edge Length tessellation method 482 Minimum Segment Size 490 models, complex 537 Modify menu Add Attribute 474 Center Pivot 473 Delete Attribute 479 Edit Attribute 478 Evaluate Nodes 473 Freeze Transformations 468 Make Live 473 Prefix Hierarchy Names 474 Reset Transformations 468 Search and Replace Names 474 Snap Align Objects 469 Transformation Tools 463 modules options 688 mouse use to control camera 41 move objects 59 when parenting 432 Move tool 368 coordinate system 368 Move Tool marking menus 386 move, in increments 372 multi component selection 26 multiple attribute editors 117 Multiple Knots CV curves option 454 multiple nodes, selecting 644

Index | 727

N
Namespace Editor 600 namespaces 403, 416 navigation buttons Maya Help 648 Near Clip Plane attribute 544 Never Blend with Existing Connections 672 New Curves option 664 New Group create for instances 426 New Scene (File menu) 389 New Surfaces option 664 Node Display Override Color 121 nodes add to asset 219 animated 635 attribute names in dependency graph 635, 638 camera 703 change the order 121 containing param curves 635 customize manipulator 85 description 95 general attributes 703 group 100 hidden 632 hierarchy, view and change 119 input 638 output 638 remove from assets 220 script, execute 391 set update state 125 show and hide 126 show connections 122 slanted boxes 635 types 104 use full names 395 visual layout 121 normalize each face separately 451 the whole object 450 normals change display 295 Freeze Transformations option 468

size on polygons 666 Number of Copies 427 Number of Sections primitive sphere option 435 Number of Spans sphere primitive option 436 Number U tessellation 483 Number V tessellation 483 numeric values, edit directly 89 NURBS convert to polygons (options) 480 curves, using to create falloff 467 CVs, select region of 33 display options 664 surface precision 665 tessellation methods 481 NURBS Primitives (Create menu) 433 NURBS Smoothness Custom Options 508 NURBS to Subdiv options 485

O
Object pivot point option, primitives 434 Object Display (Display menu) 501 object space 52 objects about 3 align 79 bounding volumes 588 change name 153 change the look 46 change wireframe color 50 deleting 87 duplicating 88 export to new file 142 filter information 127 group 157 make unselectable (template) 154 move, rotate, scale 59 organize on display layers 156 parenting 99 selecting 23

728 | Index

selection mode 681 show isolated subset 49 show or hide 47 smoothness, controlling 664 snapping 82 space coordinate system, Move tool 368 space coordinate system, Scale tool 375 viewing more than one at the same time 431 octahedron 444 Only for non-rigid deformations 468 Open Scene (File menu) 390 Optimize Scene Size customizing 400 explanation of options 396 Optimize Scene Size (File menu) 395 Optimized textures location 680 option submenus display problems 714 orientation setting for polygonal primitives 448 origin, about 2 Original Object Subdiv to NURBS conversion option 488 tessellation option 488 Ortho step Tumble camera setting 532 Orthographic views camera settings 531 Out Tangents, default 669 Outliner editor 101, 602 output connections 634 nodes 638 Output Type Subdiv to NURBS option 489

P
packages options 688 Paint Selection Tool (Edit menu) 424

366,

painting select components by 30 paletteColors.mel 331 pan the view 39 Panel Editor 606 Panel option 545 panel toolbar 357 panels add 294 add layout to shelf 297 deleting 295 layout, change 43 layout, customize 293 tear off as window 44 Panels menu 545 panes of Script editor 619 param curves 635 parameter values, show 161 Parent 426 Parent (Edit menu) 432 parent node 53 Parent to World, unparenting 433 parented objects 94 parenting objects 99 partial curve manipulators 58 partitions about 151 editing 616 grouping sets 159 path of preferences files 329 performance improving 329 options 513 Pick Chooser Selection modifier option 681 pitch 535 control with mouse 41 pivot points 52 change 68 displaying 502 primitive 434 planes create 437 hiding 501 NURBS 437

Index | 729

view 355 platonic solids description 444 dodecahedron 445 icosahedron 445 octahedron 444 tetrahedron 444 Playback by 687 playback speed 686 Playback Start/End 685 plug-ins load or unload 328 manager 609 translators 135 points about 2 measure distance between 161 option 538 snapping to 355 Pole Axis construction plane 461 Poly text type 458 Poly Count tessellation method when converting to polygons 487 polygonal primitives setting subdivisions for 446 polygons convert NURBS to (options) 480 display options 665 select region of 33 selection options 683 set polygon count 484 tessellation methods 481 Polygons to Subdiv options 485 Popup Help 658 Position Along Curve options 470 using 81 position manipulator 56 Positional tolerance option 668 power modification falloff 465 pre-loading file references 615

preferences Animation Working Units 668 files 331 files, path 329 Preferences window 651 Preferred renderer 679 Prefix Hierarchy Names (Modify menu) 474 preselection highlight 34 Preselection Highlight option 682 Preserve Child Position 372, 374, 377 Preserve Position 429430 parenting 433 unparenting 433 Preserve Reference 403, 407 Preserve UVs 75 preset attributes 114 Previous State Size 664 previous views return 42 primitives circle curves 437 cones 436 creating 85 cubes 436 cylinders 436 interactive creation 437, 446 interactive setting of subdivisions 453 plane 437 planes 437 polygonal, setting axis (orientation) for 448 polygonal, setting texture mapping for 449 setting texture mapping 449 spheres 434 square curves 437 torus 437 priority selection preference 683 prism primitive description 440 Project (File menu) 418 projects directory, default 676

730 | Index

organize files 145 propMod script 466467 proportional transformation proxy asset about 194 proxy references adding a proxy reference Reload Proxy As 701 Remove Proxy 700 proxy tag options 416, 701 published attributes description 169 pyramid primitive description 441

60

700

Q
quadrangles converting NURBS to 480 quality, performance 329 Quantize 490 Quantize Levels 490 Queue option 688 Queue Size option 688 quick layout buttons 380 Quick Select Set (Create > Sets) 463 Quick Select Sets (Edit menu) 425

R
Radio Button option 598 radio buttons in marking menus 598 Radius primitive sphere option 434 ramp control 564 rebuilding graph 636 redo 83 Reference Editor 690 Reference Editor (File menu) 417 reflection 65 region selection, change size of 33 Region of Effect 660 region of effect display 660

Relationship Editor interface 616 Relative transform 356 Reload Proxy As 701 Remove Duplicate Shading Networks 402 Remove Instance unparenting 433 Remove Proxy option 700 Rename 356 rendering buttons 355 nodes 104 repeat last command 83 Repeat on Hold 684 Repeat Size 685 Replace Object options 493 Replace option 488 Reposition Using Middle Mouse Button 664 reset tools or actions 1213 Reset Transformations (Modify menu) 468 return to previous views 42 revolved surface 94 revolving cameras 531 right mouse button menu 8 rigid bodies dynamic options 674 ring, 3D 437 Roll Scale setting 534 rolling cameras 534 rotate axis 374 in increments 374 modes 373 objects 59 order 374 pivots, displaying 502 tool 373 Rotate attributes 704 Rotate Axis attribute 704 Rotate Order attribute 704 Rotate Tool marking menus 387

Index | 731

rotation interpolation New Curve Default 670 settings 669 rotation manipulator 56 Rotation type setting 535 Run Up From dynamics option 674 Run Up To Current Time dynamics option 674

S
Save Reference Edits 695 Save Scene (File menu) 393 Save Scene As (File menu) 393 Saved Layouts 547 Saved Layouts (Window menu) 518 scale in increments 377 manipulator 57 objects 59 pivots, displaying 502 setting 532 tool 375 Scale attributes 704 Scale setting (Azimuth Elevation) 534 Scale setting (Yaw Pitch) 535 Scale tool coordinate system 375 Scale Tool marking menus 388 scene 143 file 139 hierarchy 98 layout for new 655 size, optimize 153 scene segmentation 147 Scenes 418 Script Editor 618 script nodes about 105 execute 391 scripts add to shelf 297 modification falloff 466 on marking menus 598 propMod 466467

storing in scene files 105 Search and Replace Names (Modify menu) 474 Search Radius 490 secondary tessellation controls 484 Sections option for Arc Tools 457 Segment Detection Options 490 Segment Meshing Options 491 select drag 25 marquee 25 multiple components 24 Select (Edit menu) 423 Select All (Edit menu) 424 Select All button 367 Select All by Type (Edit menu) 425 Select by name 356 Select Hierarchy (Edit menu) 424 Select Mode (Bezier Tool) 456 Select paint operation 367 Select tool 361 Select Tool marking menus 385 selecting 23 CVs 367 edges 367 faces 367 priority of 683 vertices 367 selection about 3 handles, displaying 502 options 354 selection masks about 353 actions 27 Selective Preload 392, 614 sending MEL protocol commands 9 sets defined 151 editing 616 partitions 159 Sets (Create menu) 463 settings files, modify 329

732 | Index

Shade Templates 661 Shaded Divisions option 664 shaded objects smoothness, controlling 664 wireframe on 660 Shader Template 492 shading applying to all objects 541 interactive 539 shading groups display example 637 displaying in dependency graph 637 Shading menu 536 shape nodes 104 Shapes 423 shapes option 410 shelf editor 296 shelves about 8 add an item 297 custom names or icons 299 customize 296 default 15 edit 299 options 624 path 330 Shift-Ctrl-Alt Linux substitution for 713 shortcuts tools and actions 383 tumble, track, dolly 39 view 381 Show (Display menu) 500 Show in Contents 648 Show Manipulator tool 378 Show menu Grid 543 Isolate Select 542 Show Nodes Which Are Visor 628 Show Selected Columns 585 Show Selected Objects 585 Sidebar buttons 356 simplification, hull 508 size construction plane 461

handles 663 manipulators 663 of scene, optimize 153 slanted boxes 635 Smooth Mesh Preview options 487 Smooth Shade options 537 smoothness change 46 setting 664 Snap Align Objects (Modify menu) 469 Snap box dolly to camera settings 533 Snap Rotate 374 snapping all creation tools to a surface or construction plane 78 buttons 354 move settings 372 one object to another 82 to a view plane 355 to polygonal components 372 to View Planes option 355 tolerance options 683 soccer ball primitive description 445 soft edges displaying 665 sound options 392 spaces 52 spans change number for primitives 436 NURBS Smoothness options 508 Spline animation option 669 square, create 437 stack trace show 622 Standard Fit tessellation method 481 Start and End Sweep Angles primitive sphere option 434 Start Maya from the command line 18 Status Line, about 5 Step Size rotating 374 scaling 377

Index | 733

Stepped animation option 669 Tumble camera setting 531 Steps after Current Frame 662 Steps before Current Frame 662 Subdiv to NURBS options 488 Subdiv to Polygons options 487 Subdivision Surface Mode option 486 Subdivisions setting for polygonal primitives 446 supported image formats 132 Suppress Command Results 622 Suppress Error Messages 622 Suppress Info Messages 622 Suppress Warning Messages 622 Surface Degree primitive sphere option 434 Surface Div per Span NURBS Smoothness option 508 NURBS Smoothness options 508 Surface Div per Span options 508 Surface Divisions option 664 Surface Fitting Options 491 Surface Offset 491 Surface Precision 665 surfaces Dolly camera setting 533 flat plane 437 new, display options 664 show parameter or arc-length values 161 smoothness, controlling 664 snapping creation tools 78 Surfaces menu customizing tools 326 sweep change start and end sweep angle, primitives option 434 Synchronized Euler-Angle Curves 670 Synchronized Quaternion Curves 670

T
Tangential tolerance option 668

tangents default in 670 default out 671 flat 671 settings 670 tangents, weighted 669 tear off a window 44 Tear Off Copy option, Panels menu 547 Tear Off option, Panels menu 547 tear-off menus 7 template objects 154 template views using 263 tessellation NURBS Smoothness options 508 tessellation methods 3D Delta 482 about 481 Chord Height Ratio 481 Control Points 485 Count 484 Edge Swap toggle 484 for conversion to polygons 487 Fractional Tolerance 482 General 483 Minimal Edge Length 482 Number U and Number V 483 secondary controls 484 Standard Fit 481 U and V Type 483 tetrahedron 444 Text (Create menu) 457 text, creating 85 texture displaying in dependency graph 637 placements, hiding 501 Texture Blend 541 Texture Filter 541 texture mapping for primitive planes 452 options for polygonal primitives 450 setting for polygonal primitives 449 Texture to Geometry Color Range 491 Fit To Selection 491

734 | Index

Generate Shaders 492 Max Points to Add 491 Maximum Color Difference 491 Minimum Segment Size 490 options 489 Quantize 490 Quantize Levels 490 Search Radius 490 Segment Detection Options 490 Segment Meshing Options 491 Shader Template 492 Surface Fitting Options 491 Surface Offset 491 Surface Output Options 492 UV Set 492 Three Point Circular Arc (Create > Arc Tools) 457 threshold distances, changing 706 tilt the view 39 title bar, show 652 Toggle All button 368 Toggle paint operation 367 toggling CV selection 367 edge selection 367 face selection 367 vertices selection 367 Tolerance curves, setting 668 primitive sphere option 435 tomac 710 Tool Box 4, 373 Lasso 365 Select 361 Show Manipulator 378 summary 361 Tool Settings window 368, 375 tools about 4, 326 add to shelf 297 changing to actions 326 creating from menus 326 using 12 top of a view show information 45

torus create 437 tounix 710 Track Geometry setting 532 Track Scale setting 532 track the view 39 track tool 532 Transfer attribute values 91 transform marking menus 384 transform marking menus 384 transform node 104 transform, with multiple surfaces 94 transformation about 51 along axes 70 rotate attributes 374 set values to zero 76 type exact values 60 Transformation Tools (Modify menu) 463 transformations, troubleshooting 94 transition speed, changing 642 Translate attributes 704 translators 135 triangles converting NURBS to 480 Trim text type 458 troubleshooting Maya for Linux 713 Maya for Mac OS X 711 Tumble about 39 camera settings 531 Locked camera setting 531 Ortho step camera setting 532 Orthographic views camera settings 531 pivot camera setting 531 Stepped camera setting 531 Tumble camera about camera settings 531 Tumble pivot camera setting 531 Tumble scale camera setting 531 Tweak mode 64

Index | 735

Two Point Circular Arc (Create > Arc Tools) 457

U
U Type tessellation method 483 U/V patches, cube option 436 UI Elements (Display menu) 499 unbind attribute 238 underworld nodes 104 undo change history 83 option 688 setting number of 688 Ungroup (Edit menu) 430 Ungroup Under 430 Uniform knots for CV curves 454 uniform knots for edit point curves 455 Uniform tessellation method when converting to polygons 487 universal manipulator 378 interface 62 using 62 UNIX transferring files to 710 Unparent (Edit menu) 433 Unselect All button 368 Unselect brush option 367 unselecting CVs 367 vertices 367 Update optimized cache textures now 680 Update View 686 upstream and downstream connections 644 Use Maya-style alpha detection on file textures 679 Use Namespaces 416 Use optimized textures (auto-conversion) 680 User Defined pivot point, reposition 434

User defined anim curve option 466 User defined script option 466 user interface about 1 customize 290 hide elements 655 object-specific, show or hide 49 preferences files 331 userColors.mel 331 userHotkeys.mel 331 userNamedCommands.mel 331 userPrefs.mel 331 userRGBColors.mel 331 utility nodes 105 Update 369 UVs displaying 503 linking 616 preserve 75 size 666

V
V Type tessellation 483 Vertex snap to 373 vertical layout of graph 635 vertices display options 665 selecting 367 Vertices tessellation method when converting to polygons 488 view center 42 changing transition speed 642 hierarchy and dependency 98 planes, snapping to 355 return to previous 42 View Arrangement (Window menu) 518 View menu Camera Tools 531 ViewCube overview 35 preferences 39, 656 using 36

736 | Index

virtual memory increase 337 Visor 627

W
Waveform Display 684 web browser plug-in installing 21 preferences 690 Weighted Tangents key option 669 white boxes in dependency graph 635, 638 Width cube option 436 window tear off from panel 44 Window menu Frame All in All Views 518 Frame Selection in All Views 518 Saved Layouts 518 View Arrangement 518 windowPrefs.mel 331 Windows transferring files to 710 wireframe color, change 50 display 667 displaying on shaded objects 660 option 536 Wireframe Color (Display menu) 501 Wireframe on Shaded 660 Working Units 668

World group under, instances world rotate mode 373 world space 52 Move tool 368 Scale tool 375

426

X
X resources modifying 713 X-Ray Active Components X-Ray Joints 538 xfontsel command 713 xlsfonts command 713

538

Y
Y-up about 3 switch to Z-up 329 yaw control with mouse 41 of camera 535

Z
Z-up about 3 switch to Y-up 329 zoom about 39 cameras 533 scale setting 534

Index | 737

738

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