Channel Box

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Channel Box

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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.

Like the Attribute Editor, you use the Channel Box to modify an object’s 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 .
You can change multiple attribute values of multiple objects (see View and edit multiple attributes on multiple nodes)
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 haven’t selected an object, the Channel Box is blank.

NoteThe 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

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.

Attributes

When you select a geometric object, the Channel Box displays these sections:

Section	Usage
objectName	Lists the keyable transform attributes that translate, scale, and rotate the object’s absolute position in the world space. Also shows the object’s visibility attribute.
SHAPES	Lists the names of nodes that define the geometry of the object. Other nodes, such as related particle emitters may be found here.
INPUTS	Lists the names of other nodes that affect this one. Typically, these comprise the “construction history” of the node.
OUTPUTS	Lists the names of the output nodes (nodes that receive data) for this node.

If you’ve 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 you’ve 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:

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	Gray
Nonkeyable	Light gray
Muted	Brown
Blended	Green
Keyed	Light Orange
Expression	Purple
Constrained	Blue
Connected	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 don’t need to change, especially in complex scenes that consist of many nodes and attributes.

Related topics

Channel Box Show menu

To filter the attributes displayed by type

Select Show > Attributes from the Channel Box.
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 didn’t 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

Select any attributes in the Channel Box whose type(s) you want to include in the filter.
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.
Select Show > Create Entry.
The Create Entry options appear.
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.
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.

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

Select the object.
Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the key.
Click the attribute name to select it.
For example, click Translate X.
Type the value of the attribute and press Enter.
For example, enter 10 and press Enter.
Do one of the following
- In the Channel Box, select Channels > Key Selected.
or
- -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

Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the key.
Enter values for the desired attributes in the Channel Box. Press Enter after entering the attributes.
Do one of the following
- In the Channel Box, select Channels > Key All.
or
- -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.

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

Select the object that has the channel you want to make keyable or nonkeyable.
In the Channel Box, select the channel you want to make keyable or nonkeyable.
Do one of the following:
- -click the channel.
The Channel Box’s Channels pop-menu appears.
- Select Channels in the Channel Box’s menu bar.
The Channel Box’s Channels menu appears.
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

Select the object.
In the Channel Box, select the desired attributes. (You can select either the attribute name, or the attribute text boxes.)
Select Channels > Copy Selected.
or

-click the attribute name or text box and select Copy Selected from the pop-up menu.
Select the attributes you want to paste the keyframed values to.
Select Channels > Paste Selected.
or

-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

Select the object.
Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the breakdown.
Select the attributes you want to set breakdowns for.
Enter the values of the attributes.
Select Channels > Breakdown Selected.
or

-click the attribute name or text box and select Breakdown Selected.

To set breakdowns for all attributes

Select the object.
Click the Time Slider frame number where you want to set the breakdowns.
Enter the values of the attributes.
In the Channel Box, select Channels > Breakdown All.
or

-click the attribute name or text box and select Breakdown All.

INPUTS

Use the INPUTS component of the Channel Box to modify an object’s construction history.

Menus

Channels

Key Selected: Creates an animation keyframe for the selected object’s 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 object’s attributes at the current frame in the Time slider.
Breakdown Selected: Creates a breakdown for the selected object’s 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 object’s attributes at the current frame in the Time slider.
Mute Selected: Disables the selected object’s 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 object’s animations during playback. All muted attributes appear gray in the Channel Box.
Unmute Selected: Enables the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) animations during playback.
Unmute All: Enables all the selected object’s animations during playback.
Cut Selected: Removes the animation of the selected object’s 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 object’s highlighted attribute(s) and places it in the keys clipboard.
Paste Selected: Applies the animation present in the keys clipboard to the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s).
Delete Selected: Removes the animation of the selected object’s 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. -click one of the attributes and select Duplicate Values from the marking menu that appears.
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.
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.
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.

Channel Control

Opens the Channel Control editor for the selected object. The Channel Control editor allows you to view a node’s 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 object’s nodes and modify their associated attributes. For more information see Attribute Editor.

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.

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.

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.

Publish to asset

Publishes the selected attribute(s) to the asset at the closest level above the attribute’s node. For more information see Publish or unpublish attributes.

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.

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.

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 object’s 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 object’s 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.
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 object’s 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 asset’s published attributes.
Selected object attributes: Displays only those published attributes on an asset that were published from the currently selected object(s).
Show at top: When on, a selected object’s 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...

Let’s you delete filters you created with the Create Entry option.