pymel.core.general.ls

ls(*args, **kwargs)

The lscommand returns the names (and optionally the type names) of objects in the scene. The most common use of lsis to filter or match objects based on their name (using wildcards) or based on their type. By default lswill match any object in the scene but it can also be used to filter or list the selected objects when used in conjunction with the -selection flag. If type names are requested, using the showType flag, they will be interleaved with object names so the result will be pairs of object, typevalues. Internal nodes (for example itemFilter nodes) are typically filtered so that only scene objects are returned. However, using a wildcard will cause all the nodes matching the wild card to show up, including internal nodes. For example, ls *will list all nodes whether internal or not. When Maya is in relativeNames mode, the lscommand will return names relativeto the current namespace and ls *will list from the the current namespace. For more details, please refer to the -relativeNamesflag of the namespacecommand.

Modifications:

• Returns PyNode objects, not “names” - all flags which do nothing but modify the string name of returned objects are ignored (ie, ‘long’); note that the ‘allPaths’ flag DOES have an effect, as PyNode objects are aware of their dag paths (ie, two different instances of the same object will result in two unique PyNodes)

• Added new keyword: ‘editable’ - this will return the inverse set of the readOnly flag. i.e. non-read-only nodes

• Added new keyword: ‘regex’ - pass a valid regular expression string, compiled regex pattern, or list thereof.

  >>> group('top')
  nt.Transform(u'group1')
  >>> duplicate('group1')
  [nt.Transform(u'group2')]
  >>> group('group2')
  nt.Transform(u'group3')
  >>> ls(regex='group\d+\|top') # don't forget to escape pipes `|`
  [nt.Transform(u'group1|top'), nt.Transform(u'group2|top')]
  >>> ls(regex='group\d+\|top.*')
  [nt.Transform(u'group1|top'), nt.Camera(u'group1|top|topShape'), nt.Transform(u'group2|top'), nt.Camera(u'group2|top|topShape')]
  >>> ls(regex='group\d+\|top.*', cameras=1)
  [nt.Camera(u'group2|top|topShape'), nt.Camera(u'group1|top|topShape')]
  >>> ls(regex='\|group\d+\|top.*', cameras=1) # add a leading pipe to search for full path
  [nt.Camera(u'group1|top|topShape')]
  

  The regular expression will be used to search the full DAG path, starting from the right, in a similar fashion to how globs currently work. Technically speaking, your regular expression string is used like this:

  re.search( '(\||^)' + yourRegexStr + '$', fullNodePath )
  

  rtype:PyNode list

Flags:

Long name (short name)		Argument Types	Properties
absoluteName (an)		bool
	This flag can be used in conjunction with the showNamespace flag to specify that the namespace(s) returned by the command be in absolute namespace format. The absolute name of the namespace is a full namespace path, starting from the root namespace ”:” and including all parent namespaces. For example ”:ns:ball” is an absolute namespace name while “ns:ball” is not. The absolute namespace name is invariant and is not affected by the current namespace or relative namespace modes.
allPaths (ap)		bool
	List all paths to nodes in DAG. This flag only works if -dagis also specified or if an object name is supplied.
assemblies (assemblies)		bool
	List top level transform Dag objects
cameras (ca)		bool
	List camera shapes.
containerType (ct)		unicode
	List containers with the specified user-defined type.This flag cannot be used in conjunction with the type or exactType flag.
containers (con)		bool
	List containers. Includes both standard containers as well as other types of containers such as dagContainers.Flag can appear in Create mode of commandFlag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.
dagObjects (dag)		bool
	List Dag objects of any type. If object name arguments are passed to the command then this flag will list all Dag objects below the specified object(s).
dependencyNodes (dep)		bool
	List dependency nodes. (including Dag objects)
exactType (et)		unicode
	List all objects of the specified type, but notobjects that are descendents of that type. This flag can appear multiple times on the command line. Note: the type passed to this flag is the same type name returned from the showType flag.This flag cannot be used in conjunction with the type or excludeType flag.
excludeType (ext)		unicode
	List all objects that are not of the specified type. This flag can appear multiple times on the command line. Note: the type passed to this flag is the same type name returned from the showType flag.This flag cannot be used in conjunction with the type or exactType flag.
flatten (fl)		bool
	Flattens the returned list of objects so that each component is identified individually.
geometry (g)		bool
	List geometric Dag objects.
ghost (gh)		bool
	List ghosting objects.
head (hd)		int
	This flag specifies the maximum number of elements to be returned from the beginning of the list of items. Note: each type flag will return at most this many items so if multiple type flags are specified then the number of items returned can be greater than this amount.
hilite (hl)		bool
	List objects that are currently hilited for component selection.
intermediateObjects (io)		bool
	List only intermediate dag nodes.
invisible (iv)		bool
	List only invisible dag nodes.
leaf (lf)		bool
	List all leaf nodes in Dag. This flag is a modifier and must be used in conjunction with the -dag flag.
lights (lt)		bool
	List light shapes.
live (lv)		bool
	List objects that are currently live.
lockedNodes (ln)		bool
	Returns locked nodes, which cannot be deleted or renamed. However, their status may change.
long (l)		bool
	Return full path names for Dag objects. By default the shortest unique name is returned.
materials (mat)		bool
	List materials or shading groups.
modified (mod)		bool
	When this flag is set, only nodes modified since the last save will be returned.
noIntermediate (ni)		bool
	List only non intermediate dag nodes.
nodeTypes (nt)		bool
	Lists all registered node types.
objectsOnly (o)		bool
	When this flag is set only object names will be returned and components/attributes will be ignored.
orderedSelection (os)		bool
	List objects and components that are currently selected in their order of selection. This flag depends on the value of the -tso/trackSelectionOrder flag of the selectPref command. If that flag is not enabled than this flag will return the same thing as the -sl/selection flag would.
partitions (pr)		bool
	List partitions.
persistentNodes (pn)		bool
	Returns persistent nodes, which are nodes that stay in the Maya session after a file new.
planes (pl)		bool
	List construction plane shapes.
preSelectHilite (psh)		bool
	List components that are currently hilited for pre-selection.
readOnly (ro)		bool
	Returns referenced nodes. Referenced nodes are read only. NOTE: Obsolete. Please use “-referencedNodes”.
recursive (r)		bool
	When set to true, this command will look for name matches in all namespaces. When set to false, this command will only look for matches in namespaces that are requested (e.g. by specifying a name containing the ‘:’... “ns1:pSphere1”).
referencedNodes (rn)		bool
	Returns referenced nodes. Referenced nodes are read only.
references (rf)		bool
	List references associated with files. Excludes special reference nodes such as the sharedReferenceNode and unknown reference nodes.
renderGlobals (rg)		bool
	List render globals.
renderQualities (rq)		bool
	List named render qualities.
renderResolutions (rr)		bool
	List render resolutions.
renderSetups (rs)		bool
	Alias for -renderGlobals.
selection (sl)		bool
	List objects that are currently selected.
sets (set)		bool
	List sets.
shapes (s)		bool
	List shape objects.
shortNames (sn)		bool
	Return short attribute names. By default long attribute names are returned.
showNamespace (sns)		bool
	Show the namespace of each object after the object name.This flag cannot be used in conjunction with the showType flag.
showType (st)		bool
	List the type of each object after its name.
tail (tl)		int
	This flag specifies the maximum number of elements to be returned from the end of the list of items. Note: each type flag will return at most this many items so if multiple type flags are specified then the number of items returned can be greater than this amount
templated (tm)		bool
	List only templated dag nodes.
textures (tex)		bool
	List textures.
transforms (tr)		bool
	List transform objects.
type (typ)		unicode
	List all objects of the specified type. This flag can appear multiple times on the command line. Note: the type passed to this flag is the same type name returned from the showType flag. Note: some selection items in Maya do not have a specific object/data type associated with them and will return “untyped” when listed with this flag.This flag cannot be used in conjunction with the exactType or excludeType flag.
undeletable (ud)		bool
	Returns nodes that cannot be deleted (which includes locked nodes). These nodes also cannot be renamed.
untemplated (ut)		bool
	List only un-templated dag nodes.
visible (v)		bool
	List only visible dag nodes.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.ls

Example:

import pymel.core as pm

# create some objects to operate on and select them all.
# Note that there are two objects named circle1;
pm.circle( n='circle1' )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'circle1'), nt.MakeNurbCircle(u'makeNurbCircle1')] #
pm.group()
# Result: nt.Transform(u'group1') #
pm.circle( n='circle1' )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'|circle1'), nt.MakeNurbCircle(u'makeNurbCircle2')] #
pm.sphere( n='sphere1' )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'sphere1'), nt.MakeNurbSphere(u'makeNurbSphere1')] #
pm.group()
# Result: nt.Transform(u'group2') #
pm.instance()
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group3')] #
pm.select( ado=True )

# list all objects
pm.ls()
# Result: [nt.Time(u'time1'), nt.SequenceManager(u'sequenceManager1'), nt.Partition(u'renderPartition'), nt.RenderGlobalsList(u'renderGlobalsList1'), nt.DefaultLightList(u'defaultLightList1'), nt.DefaultShaderList(u'defaultShaderList1'), nt.PostProcessList(u'postProcessList1'), nt.DefaultRenderUtilityList(u'defaultRenderUtilityList1'), nt.DefaultRenderingList(u'defaultRenderingList1'), nt.LightList(u'lightList1'), nt.DefaultTextureList(u'defaultTextureList1'), nt.Lambert(u'lambert1'), nt.ParticleCloud(u'particleCloud1'), nt.ShadingEngine(u'initialShadingGroup'), nt.ShadingEngine(u'initialParticleSE'), nt.MaterialInfo(u'initialMaterialInfo'), nt.ShaderGlow(u'shaderGlow1'), nt.Dof(u'dof1'), nt.RenderGlobals(u'defaultRenderGlobals'), nt.RenderQuality(u'defaultRenderQuality'), nt.Resolution(u'defaultResolution'), nt.ObjectSet(u'defaultLightSet'), nt.ObjectSet(u'defaultObjectSet'), nt.ViewColorManager(u'defaultViewColorManager'), nt.HardwareRenderGlobals(u'hardwareRenderGlobals'), nt.HardwareRenderingGlobals(u'hardwareRenderingGlobals'), nt.Partition(u'characterPartition'), nt.HwRenderGlobals(u'defaultHardwareRenderGlobals'), nt.IkSystem(u'ikSystem'), nt.HyperGraphInfo(u'hyperGraphInfo'), nt.HyperLayout(u'hyperGraphLayout'), nt.GlobalCacheControl(u'globalCacheControl'), nt.DynController(u'dynController1'), nt.StrokeGlobals(u'strokeGlobals'), nt.Transform(u'persp'), nt.Camera(u'perspShape'), nt.Transform(u'top'), nt.Camera(u'topShape'), nt.Transform(u'front'), nt.Camera(u'frontShape'), nt.Transform(u'side'), nt.Camera(u'sideShape'), nt.LightLinker(u'lightLinker1'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'CustomGPUCacheFilter'), nt.ObjectTypeFilter(u'objectTypeFilter74'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'layersFilter'), nt.ObjectTypeFilter(u'objectTypeFilter75'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'animLayersFilter'), nt.ObjectTypeFilter(u'objectTypeFilter76'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'notAnimLayersFilter'), nt.ObjectTypeFilter(u'objectTypeFilter77'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'defaultRenderLayerFilter'), nt.ObjectNameFilter(u'objectNameFilter4'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'renderLayerFilter'), nt.ObjectTypeFilter(u'objectTypeFilter78'), nt.ObjectScriptFilter(u'objectScriptFilter10'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'renderingSetsFilter'), nt.ObjectTypeFilter(u'objectTypeFilter79'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'relationshipPanel1LeftAttrFilter'), nt.ObjectMultiFilter(u'relationshipPanel1RightAttrFilter'), nt.DisplayLayerManager(u'layerManager'), nt.DisplayLayer(u'defaultLayer'), nt.RenderLayerManager(u'renderLayerManager'), nt.RenderLayer(u'defaultRenderLayer'), nt.MakeNurbCircle(u'makeNurbCircle1'), nt.Transform(u'group1|circle1'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'group1|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.Transform(u'group1'), nt.MakeNurbCircle(u'makeNurbCircle2'), nt.Transform(u'|circle1'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.MakeNurbSphere(u'makeNurbSphere1'), nt.Transform(u'group2|sphere1'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group2|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), nt.Transform(u'group2'), nt.Transform(u'group3')] #

# List all selected objects
pm.ls( selection=True )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group1'), nt.Transform(u'|circle1'), nt.Transform(u'group2'), nt.Transform(u'group3')] #

# List all hilited objects
pm.ls( hilite=True )
# Result: [] #

# List last selected object
pm.ls( selection=True, tail=1 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group3')] #

# List all objects named "sphere1". Note that since sphere1 is
# instanced, the command below lists only the first instance.
pm.ls( 'sphere1' )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group2|sphere1')] #

# To list all instances of sphere1, use the -ap/allPaths flag.
pm.ls( 'sphere1', ap=True )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group2|sphere1'), nt.Transform(u'group3|sphere1')] #

# List all selected objects named "group*"
pm.ls( 'group*', sl=True )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group1'), nt.Transform(u'group2'), nt.Transform(u'group3')] #

# List all geometry, lights and cameras in the DAG.
pm.ls( geometry=True, lights=True, cameras=True )
# Result: [nt.NurbsCurve(u'|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'group1|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group2|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), nt.Camera(u'frontShape'), nt.Camera(u'perspShape'), nt.Camera(u'sideShape'), nt.Camera(u'topShape')] #

# List all shapes in the dag.
pm.ls( shapes=True )
# Result: [nt.NurbsCurve(u'|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'group1|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.Camera(u'frontShape'), nt.Camera(u'perspShape'), nt.Camera(u'sideShape'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group2|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), nt.Camera(u'topShape')] #

# One thing to note is that it is better to always use the
# -l/long flag when listing nodes without any filter. This is
# because there may be two nodes with the same name (in this
# example, circle1). 'ls' will list the names of all the objects
# in the scene. Objects with the same name need a qualified
# path name which uniquely identifies the object. A command
# to select all objects such as "select `ls`" will fail because
# the object lookup can't resolve which "circle1" object is
# intended. To select all objects, you need the following:
pm.select(pm.ls(sl=True))

# When trying to find a list of all objects of a specific
# type, one approach might be to list all objects and then
# use the nodeType command to then filter the list. As in:
allObjects = pm.ls(l=True)
for obj in allObjects:
   if pm.nodeType(obj) == 'surfaceShape':
     print obj

# The problem with this is that 'nodeType' returns the
# most derived type of the node. In this example, "surfaceShape"
# is a base type for nurbsSurface so nothing will be printed.
# To do this properly, the -typ/type flag should be used
# to list objects of a specific type as in:
allObjects = pm.ls(type='surfaceShape')
for obj in allObjects:
    print obj

# List all geometry shapes and their types
pm.ls( type='geometryShape', showType=True )
# Result: [nt.NurbsCurve(u'|circle1|circle1Shape'), u'nurbsCurve', nt.NurbsCurve(u'group1|circle1|circle1Shape'), u'nurbsCurve', nt.NurbsSurface(u'group2|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), u'nurbsSurface'] #

# List all paths to all leaf nodes in the DAG
pm.ls( dag=True, lf=True, ap=True )
# Result: [nt.Camera(u'perspShape'), nt.Camera(u'topShape'), nt.Camera(u'frontShape'), nt.Camera(u'sideShape'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'group1|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group2|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group3|sphere1|sphere1Shape')] #

# List all nodes below the selected node
pm.ls( dag=True, ap=True, sl=True )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'group1'), nt.Transform(u'group1|circle1'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'group1|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.Transform(u'|circle1'), nt.NurbsCurve(u'|circle1|circle1Shape'), nt.Transform(u'group2'), nt.Transform(u'group2|sphere1'), nt.Transform(u'group3|sphere1'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group2|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), nt.NurbsSurface(u'group3|sphere1|sphere1Shape'), nt.Transform(u'group3')] #

# List all dag nodes that are read-only (i.e. referenced nodes)
pm.ls( dag=True, ro=True )
# Result: [] #

# List all ghosting objects
pm.ls( ghost=True )
# Result: [] #

# List reference nodes associated with specific files
pm.ls( references=True )
# Result: [] #

# List all reference nodes, including unknown and shared reference nodes
pm.ls( type='reference' )
# Result: [] #


# Select some components and then get the list in both selected and numeric order
obj1 = pm.polySphere( sx=20, sy=20 )
pm.select( clear=True )

pm.selectPref( trackSelectionOrder=1 )

pm.select( obj1[0]+".f[100]" )
pm.select( (obj1[0]+".f[50:55]"), add=True )
pm.select( (obj1[0]+".f[0]"), add=True )
pm.select( (obj1[0]+".f[56:60]"), add=True )

# regular -selection flag returns the components in compacted numeric order.
pm.ls( selection=True )
# Result: [MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[0]'), MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[50:60]'), MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[100]')] #

# -orderedSelection flag returns the components in the order that we selected them.
pm.ls( orderedSelection=True )
# Result: [MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[100]'), MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[50:55]'), MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[0]'), MeshFace(u'pSphereShape1.f[56:60]')] #

# turn off tracking when we are done
pm.selectPref( trackSelectionOrder=0 )

# init some namespace
pm.namespace( add="A:B:C" )
# Result: u'A:B:C' #

# add object into namespace
pm.namespace( set=":A:B" )
# Result: u'A:B' #
pm.polySphere( name="obj1" )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'A:B:obj1'), nt.PolySphere(u'A:B:polySphere1')] #
pm.namespace( set=":A:B:C" )
# Result: u'A:B:C' #
pm.polySphere( name="obj1" )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'A:B:C:obj1'), nt.PolySphere(u'A:B:C:polySphere1')] #
pm.polySphere( name="obj2" )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'A:B:C:obj2'), nt.PolySphere(u'A:B:C:polySphere2')] #


# The current Namespace is ":A:B:C" and relative mode is off
# List all objects and their namespace in the scene
# If the object is in the root namespace, then return root ":"
# Note that the results shown below have been elided (...) for documentation purposes.
pm.ls( showNamespace=True )
[u'time1', u':', u'sequenceManager1', u':', u'renderPartition', u':', (...), u'A:B:obj1', u'A:B', u'A:B:C:obj1', u'A:B:C', u'A:B:C:obj2', u'A:B:C']

pm.select( ":A:B:obj1", r=True )
pm.select( ":A:B:C:obj2", add=True)


# List namespace of all objects named "obj1"
pm.ls( "obj1", showNamespace=True, recursive=True )
[u'A:B:obj1', u'A:B', u'A:B:C:obj1', u'A:B:C']

# List both name and namespace of each selected object
pm.ls( showNamespace=True, selection=True )
[u'A:B:obj1', u'A:B', u'A:B:C:obj2', u'A:B:C']

# set current Namespace
pm.namespace( set=":A:B" )

# enable relative mode
pm.namespae( relativeNames=True )

# Now the current Namespace is ":A:B" and relative mode is on
# Note that the name of the current namespace is "" in relative mode
# List both name and namespace of each selected objects
pm.ls( showNamespace=True, selection=True )
[u'obj1', u'', u'C:obj2', u'C']

#make a new scene modify the transform of the camera perspective, play with the timeline and modified the camera's shape
pm.file(force=True, new=True)
pm.setAttr('persp.translateX', 10)
pm.currentTime(8)
pm.setAttr('perspShape.horizontalFilmAperture', 16)

#list all modified objects of type camera and type time
allObjects=pm.ls(type=['camera','time'], modified=True)
print allObjects
# Result: [u'perspShape', u'time1']

pm.ls(modified=True)
# Result: [u'persp', u'perspShape', u'time1']

pm.ls(modified=True, excludeType='camera')
# Result: [u'persp', u'time1']