pymel.core.nodetypes.Joint

class Joint(*args, **kwargs)

class counterpart of mel function joint

The joint command is used to create, edit, and query, joints within Maya. (The standard edit(-e) and query(-q) flags are used for edit and query functions). If the object is not specified, the currently selected object (dag object) will be used. Multiple objects are allowed only for the edit mode. The same edit flags will be applied on all the joints selected, except for -p without -r (set joint position in the world space). An ik handle in the object list is equivalent to the list of joints the ik handle commands. When -ch/children is present, all the child joints of the specified joints, including the joints implied by possible ik handles, will also be included. In the creation mode, a new joint will be created as a child of a selected transform or starts a hierarchy by itself if no transform is selected. An ik handle will be treated as a transform in the creation mode. The default values of the arguments are: -degreeOfFreedom xyz -name “Joint#” -position 0 0 0 -absolute -dof “xyz” -scale 1.0 1.0 1.0 -scaleCompensate true -orientation 0.0 0.0 0.0 -scaleOrientation 0.0 0.0 0.0 -limitX -360 360 -limitY -360 360 -limitZ -360 360 -angleX 0.0 -angleY 0.0 -angleZ 0.0 -stiffnessX 0.0 -stiffnessY 0.0 -stiffnessZ 0.0 -limitSwitchX no -limitSwitchY no -limitSwitchZ no -rotationOrder xyz Those arguments can be specified in the creation mode, editied in the edit mode (-e), or queried in the query mode (-q).

assumePreferredAngles(val=True, **kwargs)

Meaningful only in the edit mode. It sets the joint angles to the corresponding preferred angles.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

children(val=True, **kwargs)

It tells the command to apply all the edit options not only to the selected joints, but also to their descendent joints in the DAG.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

component(val=True, **kwargs)

Use with the -position switch to position the joint relative to its parent (like -relative) but to compute new positions for all children joints so their world coordinate positions do not change.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

connect(*args, **kwargs)

This cmd will connect two skeletons based on the selected two joints. The first selected joint can be made a child of the parent of the second selected joint or a child of the second selected joint, depending on the flags used. Note1: The first selected joint must be the root of a skeleton. The second selected joint must have a parent. Note2: If a joint name is specified in the cmd line, it is used as the child and the first selected joint will be the parent. If no joint name is given at the cmd line, two joints must be selected.

(<function connectJoint at 0x9a29cf8>, <function addCmdDocsCallback at 0xa144b90>, (‘connectJoint’, ‘’), {})

Flags:

Long name (short name)		Argument Types	Properties
connectMode (cm)		bool
	The first selected joint will be parented under the parent of the second selected joint.Flag can appear in Create mode of commandFlag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.
parentMode (pm)		bool
	The first selected joint will be parented under the second selected joint. Both joints will be in the active list(selection list).

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.connectJoint

Example:

import pymel.core as pm

import maya.cmds as cmds

# make joint1 a child of joint4.
#
pm.connectJoint( 'joint1', 'joint4', pm=True )

# make joint1 a child of joint4's parent
#
pm.connectJoint( 'joint1', 'joint4', cm=True )

disconnect(*args, **kwargs)

This command will break a skeleton at the selected joint and delete any associated handles.

(<function disconnectJoint at 0x9a327d0>, <function addCmdDocsCallback at 0xa144b90>, (‘disconnectJoint’, ‘’), {})

Flags:

Long name (short name)		Argument Types	Properties
attachHandleMode (ahm)		bool
	This flag is obsolete and no longer supported.Flag can appear in Create mode of commandFlag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.
deleteHandleMode (dhm)		bool
	Delete the handle on the associated joint.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.disconnectJoint

Example:

import pymel.core as pm

import maya.cmds as cmds

pm.joint( p=(0, 0, 0), name='jointA' )
pm.joint( p=(0, 1, 0), name='jointB' )
pm.joint( p=(0, 2, 0), name='jointC' )
pm.disconnectJoint( 'jointB' )

getAngleX(**kwargs)

Set the x-axis angle. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getAngleY(**kwargs)

Set the y-axis angle. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getAngleZ(**kwargs)

Set the z-axis angle. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getDegreeOfFreedom(**kwargs)

Specifies the degrees of freedom for the IK. Valid strings consist of non-duplicate letters from x, y, and z. The letters in the string indicate what rotations are to be used by IK. The order a letter appear in the string does not matter. Examples are x, yz, xyz. When queried, this flag returns a string. Modifying dof will change the locking state of the corresponding rotation attributes. The rule is: if an rotation is turned into a dof, it will be unlocked if it is currently locked. When it is turned into a non-dof, it will be locked if it is not currently locked.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getDegreesOfFreedom()

Get degrees of freedom of this joint

Return type:(bool, bool, bool)

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.getDegreesOfFreedom

getExists(**kwargs)

Does the named joint exist? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getLimitSwitchX(**kwargs)

Use the limit the x-axis rotation? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getLimitSwitchY(**kwargs)

Use the limit the y-axis rotation? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getLimitSwitchZ(**kwargs)

Use the Limit the z-axis rotation? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getLimitX(**kwargs)

Set lower and upper limits on the x-axis of rotation. Also turns on the joint limit. When queried, this flag returns 2 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getLimitY(**kwargs)

Set lower and upper limits on the y-axis of rotation. Also turns on the joint limit. When queried, this flag returns 2 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getLimitZ(**kwargs)

Set lower and upper limits on the z-axis of rotation. Also turns on the joint limit. When queried, this flag returns 2 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getMaxRotateDampXRange()

Get the maximum of the damping range in X. This corresponds to the maxRotateDampXRange attribute on the joint.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.maxRotateDampXRange

getMaxRotateDampXStrength()

Get the minimum of the damping strength in X.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.maxRotateDampXStrength

getMaxRotateDampYRange()

Get the maximum of the damping range in Y. This corresponds to the maxRotateDampYRange attribute on the joint.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.maxRotateDampYRange

getMaxRotateDampYStrength()

Get the minimum of the damping strength in X.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.maxRotateDampYStrength

getMaxRotateDampZRange()

Get the maximum of the damping range in Z. This corresponds to the maxRotateDampZRange attribute on the joint.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.maxRotateDampZRange

getMaxRotateDampZStrength()

Get the minimum of the damping strength in X.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.maxRotateDampZStrength

getMinRotateDampXRange()

Get the minimum of the damping range in X. This corresponds to the minRotateDampXRange attribute on the joint.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.minRotateDampXRange

getMinRotateDampXStrength()

Get the minimum of the damping strength in X.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.minRotateDampXStrength

getMinRotateDampYRange()

Get the minimum of the damping range in Y. This corresponds to the minRotateDampYRange attribute on the joint.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.minRotateDampYRange

getMinRotateDampYStrength()

Get the minimum of the damping strength in X.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.minRotateDampYStrength

getMinRotateDampZRange()

Get the minimum of the damping range in Z. This corresponds to the minRotateDampZRange attribute on the joint.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.minRotateDampZRange

getMinRotateDampZStrength()

Get the minimum of the damping strength in X.

Return type:float

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.minRotateDampZStrength

getOrientation()

Get the joint orientation. This corresponds to the jointOrient attribute on the joint, which is stored internally as a quaternion. It is different from the rotation orientation defined in the transform node. Modifying the jointOrient changes the coordinate axes, which affects how scaling a joint behaves.

Return type:Quaternion

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.getOrientation

getPreferedAngle()

Get the preferred orientation for this joint (in XYZ order)

Return type:(float, float, float)

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.getPreferedAngle

getRadius(**kwargs)

Specifies the joint radius.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getScale(**kwargs)

Scale of the joint. When queried, this flag returns 3 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getScaleCompensate(**kwargs)

It sets the scaleCompenstate attribute of the joint to the given argument. When this is true, the scale of the parent joint will be compensated before any rotation of this joint is applied, so that the bone to the joint is scaled but not the bones to its child joints. When queried, this flag returns an boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getScaleOrientation()

Get the orientation of the coordinate axes for rotation. This is equivalent to calling the MFnTransform::rotateOrientation method, and corresponds to the rotateAxis attribute on the joint node.

Return type:Quaternion

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.getScaleOrientation

getSegmentScale()

Get the local space scale values for the joint segment (bone). This is equivalent to calling MFnTransform::getScale .

Return type:(float, float, float)

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.getSegmentScale

getStiffness()

Get the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for the joint. The stiffness attribute is used by ik solvers to generate a resistance to a joint motion. The higher the stiffness the less it will rotate. Stiffness works in relative sense: it determines the willingness of this joint to rotate with respect to the other joint in the ik chain.

Return type:(float, float, float)

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.getStiffness

getStiffnessX(**kwargs)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for x-axis. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getStiffnessY(**kwargs)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for y-axis. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

getStiffnessZ(**kwargs)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for z-axis. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

hikJointName()

Get the name that the HumanIK solver uses to identify this joint.

Return type:unicode

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.hikJointName

insert(*args, **kwargs)

This command will insert a new joint under the given or selected joint. If the given joint has child joints, they will be reparented under the new inserted joint. The given joint(or selected joint) should not have skin attached. The command works on the selected joint. No options or flags are necessary.

(<function insertJoint at 0x9a71cf8>, <function addCmdDocsCallback at 0xa144b90>, (‘insertJoint’, ‘’), {})

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.insertJoint

Example:

import pymel.core as pm

import maya.cmds as cmds

# Will insert a new joint under joint2. Child joints of joint2 will be
# under the new inserted joint.
pm.insertJoint( 'joint2' )

orientJoint(val=True, **kwargs)

The argument can be one of the following strings: xyz, yzx, zxy, zyx, yxz, xzy, none. It modifies the joint orientation and scale orientation so that the axis indicated by the first letter in the argument will be aligned with the vector from this joint to its first child joint. For example, if the argument is “xyz”, the x-axis will point towards the child joint. The alignment of the remaining two joint orient axes are dependent on whether or not the -sao/-secondaryAxisOrient flag is used. If the -sao flag is used, see the documentation for that flag for how the remaining axes are aligned. In the absence of a user specification for the secondary axis orientation, the rotation axis indicated by the last letter in the argument will be aligned with the vector perpendicular to first axis and the vector from this joint to its parent joint. The remaining axis is aligned according the right hand rule. If the argument is “none”, the joint orientation will be set to zero and its effect to the hierarchy below will be offset by modifying the scale orientation. The flag will be ignored if: A. the joint has non-zero rotations when the argument is not “none”. B. the joint does not have child joint, or the distance to the child joint is zero when the argument is not “none”. C. either flag -o or -so is set.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

secondaryAxisOrient(val=True, **kwargs)

The argument can be one of the following strings: xup, xdown, yup, ydown, zup, zdown, none. This flag is used in conjunction with the -oj/orientJoint flag. It specifies the scene axis that the second axis should align with. For example, a flag combination of “-oj yzx -sao yup”would result in the y-axis pointing down the bone, the z-axis oriented with the scene’s positive y-axis, and the x-axis oriented according to the right hand rule.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setAngleX(val=True, **kwargs)

Set the x-axis angle. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setAngleY(val=True, **kwargs)

Set the y-axis angle. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setAngleZ(val=True, **kwargs)

Set the z-axis angle. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setDegreeOfFreedom(val=True, **kwargs)

Specifies the degrees of freedom for the IK. Valid strings consist of non-duplicate letters from x, y, and z. The letters in the string indicate what rotations are to be used by IK. The order a letter appear in the string does not matter. Examples are x, yz, xyz. When queried, this flag returns a string. Modifying dof will change the locking state of the corresponding rotation attributes. The rule is: if an rotation is turned into a dof, it will be unlocked if it is currently locked. When it is turned into a non-dof, it will be locked if it is not currently locked.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setDegreesOfFreedom(freeInX, freeInY, freeInZ)

Set the degrees of freedom of this joint by specifying which axes are allowed to rotate.

Parameters :

freeInX : bool

the first degree of freedom

freeInY : bool

the second degree of freedom

freeInZ : bool

the third degree of freedom

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setDegreesOfFreedom

setLimitSwitchX(val=True, **kwargs)

Use the limit the x-axis rotation? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setLimitSwitchY(val=True, **kwargs)

Use the limit the y-axis rotation? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setLimitSwitchZ(val=True, **kwargs)

Use the Limit the z-axis rotation? When queried, this flag returns a boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setLimitX(val=True, **kwargs)

Set lower and upper limits on the x-axis of rotation. Also turns on the joint limit. When queried, this flag returns 2 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setLimitY(val=True, **kwargs)

Set lower and upper limits on the y-axis of rotation. Also turns on the joint limit. When queried, this flag returns 2 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setLimitZ(val=True, **kwargs)

Set lower and upper limits on the z-axis of rotation. Also turns on the joint limit. When queried, this flag returns 2 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setMaxRotateDampXRange(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping range in X

Parameters :

angle : float

the damping range to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMaxRotateDampXRange

setMaxRotateDampXStrength(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping strength in X.

Parameters :

angle : float

The new damping strength value

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMaxRotateDampXStrength

setMaxRotateDampYRange(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping range in Y

Parameters :

angle : float

the damping range to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMaxRotateDampYRange

setMaxRotateDampYStrength(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping strength in Y.

Parameters :

angle : float

The new damping strength value

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMaxRotateDampYStrength

setMaxRotateDampZRange(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping range in Z

Parameters :

angle : float

the damping range to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMaxRotateDampZRange

setMaxRotateDampZStrength(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping strength in Z.

Parameters :

angle : float

The new damping strength value

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMaxRotateDampZStrength

setMinRotateDampXRange(angle)

Set the minimum of the damping range in X

Parameters :

angle : float

The damping range to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMinRotateDampXRange

setMinRotateDampXStrength(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping strength in Z.

Parameters :

angle : float

The new damping strength value

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMinRotateDampXStrength

setMinRotateDampYRange(angle)

Set the minimum of the damping range in Y

Parameters :

angle : float

the damping range to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMinRotateDampYRange

setMinRotateDampYStrength(angle)

Set the maximum of the damping strength in Y.

Parameters :

angle : float

The new damping strength value

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMinRotateDampYStrength

setMinRotateDampZRange(angle)

Set the minimum of the damping range in Z

Parameters :

angle : float

the damping range to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMinRotateDampZRange

setMinRotateDampZStrength(angle)

Set the minimum of the damping strength in Z.

Parameters :

angle : float

The new damping strength value

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setMinRotateDampZStrength

setOrientation(quaternion)

Set the jointOrient value. This corresponds to the jointOrient attribute on the joint, which is stored internally as a quaternion. It is different from the rotation orientation defined in the transform node. Modifying the jointOrient changes the coordinate axes, which affects how scaling a joint behaves.

Parameters :

quaternion : Quaternion

the joint orientation

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setOrientation

setPreferedAngle(rotation)

Set the preferred orientation for this joint (in XYZ order)

Parameters :

rotation : (float, float, float)

the array into which we will store the angles

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setPreferedAngle

setPreferredAngles(val=True, **kwargs)

Meaningful only in the edit mode. It sets the preferred angles to the current joint angles.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setRadius(val=True, **kwargs)

Specifies the joint radius.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setScale(val=True, **kwargs)

Scale of the joint. When queried, this flag returns 3 floats.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setScaleCompensate(val=True, **kwargs)

It sets the scaleCompenstate attribute of the joint to the given argument. When this is true, the scale of the parent joint will be compensated before any rotation of this joint is applied, so that the bone to the joint is scaled but not the bones to its child joints. When queried, this flag returns an boolean.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setScaleOrientation(quaternion)

Set the orientation of the coordinate axes for rotation. This is equivalent to calling the MFnTransform::setRotateOrientation method, and corresponds to the rotateAxis attribute on the joint node. The matrix equations used to combine the rotateAxis with the other transformation attributes of the joint are described in the description for the MFnIkJoint class.

Parameters :

quaternion : Quaternion

the rotate orientation

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setScaleOrientation

setSegmentScale(scale)

Set the local space scale values for the joint segment (bone). This is equivalent to calling Ttransform::setScale.

Parameters :

scale : (float, float, float)

the new scale values to set

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setSegmentScale

setStiffness(stiffness)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for the joint. The stiffness attribute is used by ik solvers to generate a resistance to a joint motion. The higher the stiffness the less it will rotate. Stiffness works in relative sense: it determines the willingness of this joint to rotate with respect to the other joint in the ik chain.

Parameters :

stiffness : (float, float, float)

the X, Y, and Z stiffness values

Derived from api method maya.OpenMayaAnim.MFnIkJoint.setStiffness

setStiffnessX(val=True, **kwargs)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for x-axis. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setStiffnessY(val=True, **kwargs)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for y-axis. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

setStiffnessZ(val=True, **kwargs)

Set the stiffness (from 0 to 100.0) for z-axis. When queried, this flag returns a float.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint

zeroScaleOrient(val=True, **kwargs)

It sets the scale orientation to zero and compensate the change by modifing the translation and joint orientation for joint or rotation for general transform of all its child transformations. The flag will be ignored if the flag -so is set.Flag can appear in Create mode of commandFlag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.joint