Keyboard shortcuts every Maya user must know

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Maya is one of the most popular Animation software widely used by studios and hobbyist. It has advanced features and tools sets that other software currently doesn’t offer making it the most preferred software in a pipeline.

Having many tools to work with can be sometimes very painful especially when you have to go through many menus resulting in a slower workflow.

Here are some keyboard shortcuts that can help you speed up your workflow(the keyboard shortcut may very depending on the Maya version you are using).

  1. File Operations
    Ctrl (or Command)nFile > New Scene
    Ctrl (or Command)oFile > Open Scene
    Ctrl (or Command)sFile > Save Scene
    Ctrl (or Command)Shift + sFile > Save Scene As
    Ctrl (or Command)qFile > Exit
    CtrlrCreate file reference
  2. Selecting Objects and Components
    F8Select > Object/Component (Switch between object   and component editing)
    F9Select > Vertex
    F10Select > Edge
    F11Select > Face
    F12Select > UV
    CtrliSelect next intermediate object
    AltF9Select > Vertex Face
    Shrink polygon selection region
    >Grow polygon selection region
  3. Selecting Menus
    CtrlmShow/hide main menu bar
    ShiftMShow/hide panel menu bar
    Ctrl+ShiftMShow/hide panel toolbar
    hWith left mouse button for Menu Set marking menu
    F2Show Animation menu set
    F3Show Polygons menu set
    F4Show Modeling menu set
    F5Show Dynamics menu set
    F6Show Rendering menu set
  4. Tool Operations
    ReturnComplete current tool
    InsertEnter tool Edit mode
    ShiftQSelect Tool, or with left mouse button for  Component marking menu
    AltqSelect Tool, or with left mouse button for Polygon  marking menu
    qSelect Tool, or with left mouse button for Selection  Mask marking menu
    wMove Tool, or with left mouse button for Move Tool  marking menu
    eRotate Tool, or with left mouse button for Rotate  Tool marking menu
    rScale Tool, or with left mouse button for Scale Tool  marking menu
    CtrltShow universal manipulator tool
    tShow manipulator tool
    ySelects the last used tool that is not one of Select,  Move, Rotate, or Scale
    jMove, Rotate, Scale Tool Snapping (press and  release)
    =, +Increase manipulator size
    Decrease manipulator size
    dWith left mouse button move pivot (Move Tool)
    InsertSwitches between move pivot and move object  (Move Tool)
  5. Displaying Objects (Show, Hide)
    CtrlhDisplay > Hide > Hide Selection
    ShiftHDisplay > Show > Show Selection
    Ctrl+ShiftHDisplay > Show > Show Last Hidden
    AlthDisplay > Hide > Hide Unselected Objects
    ShiftlShow > Isolate Select > View Selected (in the  panel menus)
  6. Tumble, Track, or Dolly
    AltLeft mouse buttonTumble Tool (press and release)
    AltMiddle mouse buttonTrack Tool (press and release)
    AltRight mouse buttonDolly Tool (press and release)
  7. 2D Pan/Zoom
    +Middle mouse button2D Pan tool
    +Right mouse button2D Zoom tool
    \Enable/disable 2D Pan/Zoom.
  8. Hotbox Display
    space(When pressed down) Show the hotbox
    AltmDefault Hotbox Style (Zones and Menu Rows)
  9. Edit Operations
    zEdit > Undo (also Ctrl+z/Command+z)
    ShiftZEdit > Redo
    gEdit > Repeat
    ShiftGRepeat command at mouse position
    CtrldEdit > Duplicate
    Ctrl+ShiftDEdit > Duplicate Special
    ShiftDEdit > Duplicate with Transform
    CtrlgEdit > Group
    pEdit > Parent
    ShiftPEdit > Unparent
    Ctrl (or Command)xEdit > Cut
    Ctrl (or Command)cEdit > Copy
    Ctrl (or Command)vEdit > Paste
  10. Modeling Operations
    1Default polygon mesh display (no smoothing)
    2Cage + smooth polygon mesh display
    3Smooth polygon mesh display
    CtrlF9Convert polygon selection to Vertices
    CtrlF10Convert polygon selection to Edges
    CtrlF11Covert polygon selection to Faces
    CtrlF12Covert polygon selection to UVs
    Ctrl`Proxy > Subdiv ProxyDisplays original mesh (proxy) and a smoothed version of the original.
    Ctrl+Shift`Proxy > Subdiv Proxy > (Box icon)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.
    Alt`Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv, Polygons to Subdiv
    Alt+Shift~Displays option window for Modify > Convert > NURBS to Subdiv > (Box icon)or Polygons to Subdiv > (Box icon)  (depending on whether NURBS or Polygons are selected).
    Page UpIncreases Division Levels for Smooth Mesh Preview or Subdiv Proxy.
    Page DownDecreases Division Levels for Smooth Mesh Preview or Subdiv Proxy.
    lLock/unlock length of a curve (press and hold)

    Thank you for reading,

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Darryl Dias

Written by Darryl Dias

The AI guy and founder of Caprycon, building AI-powered tools, exploring emerging technologies, and sharing insights from the world of artificial intelligence