Marking menus appear at the mouse pointer when you use certain key and mouse button combinations. They allow you to quickly select an action from a small list.

Marking menus are common in the Maya interface:

• When you press on an object Maya shows a context-sensitive marking menu of actions you can apply to the object.
• The hotbox provides five customizable marking menus you can show by clicking inside, above, below, left, or right of the hotbox menus.
• You can assign marking menus to hotkeys. Hold the key and press the mouse button to show the marking menu.

  The q, w, e, and r keys have default marking menus attached to them.

• Marking menu items can show additional marking menus, allowing you to pack more commands onto the marking menu.

To select an item from a marking menu

1. Show the marking menu through one of the methods listed above (for example, hold q and press the left mouse button).
2. With the mouse button held, drag in the direction of the item you want to select.

   It doesn’t matter how far you drag or if you hit the item exactly. This allows you to make the drag very quickly with a little practice.

   Dragging over an item with a submenu attached shows the submenu.

3. Release the mouse button to select the item.