Selecting
Maya provides various ways to select objects and components,
including ways to precisely select an object or group of objects in a
complex scene. You can select objects with the Select tool (shortcut
Q) or with a Lasso Selection tool. The Select tool individually
selects the objects by clicking on them. The Lasso Selection
tool creates a freehand marquee selection and selects every-
thing inside the marquee.
There are a number of selection options available in the Edit
menu:
Select All: Selects everything.
Select Hierarchy: Selects lower nodes of the current selected
node in the scene hierarchy.
Invert Selection: Inverts the selection. This will unselect the ob-
jects that are selected and select everything that was
unselected.
Select All by Type: Selects all objects of specific types such as
polygons, NURBS, joints, etc.
Quick Select Type: Shows the options to quick select the sets
you’ve created.
Paint Selection Tools: Activates the paint selection for compo-
nents.
Selection Sets: As in 3ds Max, you can create selection sets
when working with complex scenes or objects that require you
to select a large number of specific objects instead of selecting
them one by one. To create a selection set, select Create |
Sets|CreateSelectionSetsandtypeinthenameyouwant.
To recall that set, select Edit | Quick Select Sets | <created
sets>.
The following sections discuss other methods Maya provides for
selecting and managing objects.
The Outliner
The Outliner is similar to the Select by Name option in 3ds Max.
It’s a list where you can view and manage the scene files with ease.
The object’s name is preceded by an icon that shows you the type of
object.
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Appendix B – Maya Polygonal Modeling Quick Start Guide