File > Assign Offline File

References the edits from the file you select and applies them to the reference node selected in the Outliner or 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.

See Assign an offline file.

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 aren’t 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.

Namespace Options

Use namespaces: When you reference or import a scene with Use namespaces on, Maya creates a new namespace that contains the referenced data. Turning on Use namespaces ensures that all nodes are uniquely named. See What are namespaces? and Create namespaces when referencing or importing.

Tip
Before referencing a file, make sure that the renaming prefix contains no invalid characters.

The currently set namespace is indicated in the Namespace Options section by the icon. Namespaces that are parents of the currently set namespace are indicated by an icon. You can set the current namespace in the Namespace Editor by clicking Set Current. See Namespace Editor Overview and Edit namespaces.

Namespaces do not effect selection, the DAG, the Dependency Graph, or any other aspect of Maya.
Use selected namespace as parent and add new namespace (file name): Specifies that the referenced file name is added to the beginning of object namespace.

For example, if you are referencing or importing a scene named foo.ma that contains an object named ball, its namespace is foo:ball.
Use selected namespace as parent and add new namespace string:: Specifies that a text string is added to the beginning of the object namespace. Type the string in the field that appears.
Merge into selected namespace and rename incoming objects that match: Merges the object's namespace with an existing, selected namespace.

If duplicate namespaces occur, the namespaces are merged and duplicate object names are incrementally suffixed with a number. Use this option to avoid an accumulation of new namespaces each time your referenced or imported objects have the same namespace.

Node Name Substitutions

Lets you perform text substitutions on the offline edits file as it is applied to the scene. One or more sets of replacement text can be specified and are applied to the file in the order that they appear in the list.

For example, if you wanted to replace all the edits applied to an object named sphere1 and apply them instead to an object named sphere2 , you would type sphere1 in the Search for field and sphere2 in the Replace with field, and click Add.

Search for: Type the node name you want to search for and click Add. The node name is added to the list area. To remove the node name, select it in the list area and click Remove.
Replace with: Type the node name you want to use as a substitute, then click Add. The node substitution rule is added to the list. To remove the substitution from the list, select it, then click Remove.