Interface preferences

This determines which menu set displays in the main Maya menu bar on start up. The default is Polygons.

Hides or displays the main menu bar (Windows and Linux). Hides or displays the Panels menu bar (all platforms).

Hides or displays the title bars in the main window and the Script Editor (Windows and Linux). The title bar includes window control buttons for expanding and collapsing the application.

Turn on Remember Size and Position so that Maya restores the size and position of all windows when closed and re-opened. If turned off, the Maya windows always display in the center of the screen upon opening.

Turn on Hold focus if you want the cursor to stay in the Command Line after you press (Windows and Linux) or (Mac OS X). Otherwise, the cursor returns to the current window.

Use this option to specify how the Attribute Editor displays when you open it (such as pressing +a (Windows and Linux) or +a (Mac OS X)). To open the Attribute Editor in a separate window, select In Separate Window. To open the Attribute Editor in the main Maya window, select In Main Maya Window. By default, the Attribute Editor opens in Maya’s main window.

Use this option to specify how the Tool Settings display when you open them. To open the Tool Settings in a separate window, select In Separate Window. To open the Tool Settings in the main Maya window, select In Main Maya Window. By default, the Tool Settings window opens in Maya’s main window.

Use this option to specify how the Layer editors display when you open them. (Window > General Editors > Display Layer Editor or Window > Rendering Editors > Render Layer Editor). To open the Layer editors in a separate window, select In Separate Window. To open the Layer editors in the main Maya window, select In Main Maya Window. By default, the Layer editors window opens in Maya’s main window.

Select an Expression Editor for editing text.

Lets you set whether or not Maya’s scroll bars can be moved by your mouse’s scroll wheel. When on, you can scroll through various lists and windows in Maya using your mouse’s scroll wheel (for example, you can use your mouse’s scroll wheel to scroll through a long list of attributes).

On Mac OS X, Maya gives you the option of using either a three button mouse, a two button mouse, or a single button mouse. (All documentation assumes the use of a three button mouse).

The following table shows the functional equivalents of two or one button mouse clicks to three-button mouse clicks.

When you use tumble, track, dolly, or select zoom with a one or two button mouse, the command controls are different from the controls described in the documentation for the three button mouse. Below is a table that specifies the control changes.