User Guide > General > File referencing > 
Work with file references
 
 
 

The table below outlines procedures for common tasks you can perform when working with file references using the Reference Editor. As proxy references are associated with file references, you may want to additionally refer to the Related Topics below.

Related topics

TipSome of the Reference Editor’s menu operations are also available when working within the Maya scene by right-clicking on a referenced object and choosing from the menu.
To... Do this

Reference the contents of a file into a scene.

  1. Select File > Create Reference.
  2. In the file browser, navigate to the file you want to reference, click its name, and then click Reference.

You can load reference files on other systems (including Unix) on your network.

Set file referencing options.

  1. Select File > Create Reference > .
  2. Set the file referencing options you require.

Open the Reference Editor

Select File > Reference Editor.

Import the contents of a currently referenced file directly into the scene.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file then select File > Import Objects from Reference.

Select the contents of a referenced file within a scene.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file then select File > Select File Contents.

Load or unload a referenced file in a scene.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file name and select Reference > Load Reference or Reference > Unload Reference.

Load or unload references based on the selection of one or more objects within the scene.

  • In the scene, +click an object that is in the reference you want to unload and select Reference > Unload Related References.

Save reference edits to the referenced file.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file then select File > Save Reference Edits.

Lock or unlock a file reference.
  1. In the Reference Editor, select the file reference you want to lock or unlock by clicking on its name.
  2. In the Reference Editor, do one of the following:
  • Select Reference > Lock Reference or Reference > Unlock Reference.
  • -click the file reference and select Reference > Lock or Reference > Unlock from the context sensitive menu that appears.

Substitute one referenced file for another without changing existing edits for the reference.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file and select Reference > Replace Reference.
  3. In the file browser, navigate to the new file you want to substitute, click its name then click Reference.

Remove a reference to a file in the currently open scene.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file and select Reference > Remove Reference.

Selectively choose which referenced files to load when opening a file.

  1. Select File > Open Scene > .
  2. Turn on the Selective Load option.
  3. Click Open and select your file.

The Preload Reference Editor appears.

  1. In the Preload Reference Editor, specify which references to load and select Open.

Open a scene with no references loaded.

  1. Select File > Open Scene > .
  2. Turn on Load No References, then click Open.
  3. In the file browser, navigate to the file, clicks its name, then click open.

Open a file with all references loaded.

  1. Select File > Open Scene > .
  2. Turn on Load All References, then click Open.
  3. Click Open and select your file, which is opened with all references loaded.

Create a reference with a locator.

  1. Select File > Create Reference > .
  2. Ensure the Group and Locator options are turned on.
  3. Click Reference.

Defer the loading of a reference.

  1. Click File > Create Reference > .
  2. In the General Options, turn on Deferred.

When the reference is created, it is added to the scene in an unloaded state, and only appears when it is manually loaded.

Remove any unused edits within a reference.

  1. Select File > Reference Editor.
  2. In the Reference Editor, click the referenced file you want to remove the unused edits from, then select File > Clean Up Reference.

Edit the namespace for a file reference.

  1. In the Reference Editor, select the file reference whose namespace you want to edit.
  2. Double-click within the Namespace field to select the text for the current namespace.
  3. Type the text you want for the namespace for the file reference and press .

Edit a reference path and/or specify an environment variable.

  1. In the Reference Editor, select the file reference whose path you want to edit.
  2. In the Unresolved Name text box, type the new path or enter an environment variable, and click Reload to load the reference from that location.

If Maya cannot find the referenced file in the specified location, it looks in several default locations to find the file.

Create a reference with shared display layers.

  1. Select File > Create Reference > .
  2. In the Shared Node Options, turn on Display Layers.

When the reference is created, the layers associated with the child scene are integrated into the parent scene.

Create a reference with shared shading networks.

  1. Select File > Create Reference > .
  2. In the Shared Node Options, turn on Shading Networks.

When the reference is created, the shading networks associated with the child scene are integrated into the parent scene.

Duplicate a reference.

With a reference selected in the Reference Editor, do one of the following:

  1. Click Reference > Duplicate Reference.
  2. Click the Duplicate Reference icon in the Reference Editor toolbar.
  3. Right-click the reference and select Reference > Duplicate Reference from the pop-up menu that appears.

The file associated with the selected reference is duplicated and is automatically named and loaded into the Reference Editor.

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