Softimage-Maya Bridge: Viewing and Navigation

Cameras and Navigation in View Panels

Watch the following Softimage Learning Channel video to learn about cameras and how to navigate with them in Maya: Softimage to Maya Bridge: Camera Navigation in Maya

In Softimage	...becomes in Maya
Viewport	View panel or view
Viewpoint cameras	Default cameras: Perspective and Orthographic (Front, Side, Top) All cameras in Maya are real cameras, including the default ones. You can set a camera's properties (attributes) in the Attribute editor. To switch to a different camera, choose it from the Panels menu in a view panel.
Camera icon (Navigate) menu	View > Camera Tools menu in a view panel
Orbit: S + right-click or O	Tumble: Alt + left-click You can manually set the Pivot point for a camera in the camera's Attribute Editor.
Track/Pan: S + left-click or Z	Track: Alt + middle-click
Dolly: S + middle-click or P	Dolly: Alt + right-click or use the scroll button
Rectangular Zoom	Rectangle Zoom: Ctrl+Alt+drag
Pixel Zoom mode	View > Camera Tools > 2D Pan/Zoom Tool in a view panel Use the \ hotkey to toggle between enabling and disabling. See also Create Pan and Zoom bookmarks in Panning and zooming in 2D.
Frame Selection: F Frame Selection in all views: Shift+F	In a view panel, View > Frame Selection: F You can also press F in the Outliner to find the selected object there as you do in the explorer in Softimage. From the main menu, Display > Frame Selection in All Views: Shift+F. Note: Sometimes when you change the panels around the view panel (such as switching between the Channel Box and the Attribute Editor), the objects in the view panel are reframed to fit the new size, and you'll notice some zooming in or out. To reduce the amount of zooming, choose View > Camera Settings > Vertical.
Frame All: A Frame All in All views: Shift+A	In a view panel, View > Frame All: A From the main menu, Display > Frame All in All Views: Shift+A.
Center Selection: Alt+C	View > Look at Selection
Reset camera: R	View > Default View: Alt+Home
Memo cams	Bookmarks Click the Bookmark icon in the view panel to create a bookmark, or choose View > Bookmarks > Edit Bookmarks in the view panel's menu. Right-click on the Bookmark icon to select a bookmark from the menu. You can create an unlimited amount of camera bookmarks.
Film gate and resolution gate	Click the Film Gate , Resolution Gate , and Gate Mask icons in the view panel, or toggle these options in the camera's Display Options attributes. You can set up the gates and their masks in the camera's Film Back attributes. Resolution Gates are more similar to what film gates are in Softimage because they mark out the actual rendering boundaries of the camera for a particular rendering resolution.
Safe action and safe title areas	Click the Safe Action and Safe Title icons in the view panel, or toggle these options in the camera's Display Options attributes.

Object Display in View Panels

Watch the following Softimage Learning Channel videos on how to:

• Show and hide objects: Softimage to Maya Bridge: Showing and Hiding Objects in Maya
• Change the appearance of objects in the view panel and select the view panel interface elements to display: Softimage to Maya Bridge: How Objects Look in the Maya Viewport

In Softimage	...becomes in Maya
Hide/show selected objects: H	Display > Toggle Show/Hide in the main menu bars: H Display > Hide > Hide Selection: Ctrl+H Display > Show > Show Last Hidden: Ctrl+Shift+H
Hide/show selected components: H	Display > Hide > Hide Selection: Ctrl+H Press Ctrl+Shift+H to show the last hidden group of components. Display > Show > All Components on selected objects: Ctrl+Alt+H
Eye icon (Show) menu	Show menu in the view panel to control what's displayed in only that view. Note that the settings in the Display > Show and Hide menus in the main menu bar determine what's displayed in all view panels.
Display modes	Shading menu and icons in the view panel Note that there is no Depth Cue display mode equivalent in Maya.
Bounding Box	Shading > Bounding Box
Wireframe	Shading > Wireframe: 4 or click the icon in the view panel. You can also click the icon for Wireframe on Shaded.
Constant	Lighting > Use Flat Lighting
Shaded	Shading > Smooth Shade All: 5 or click the icon in the view panel
Textured	Shading > Hardware Texturing: 6 or click the icon in the view panel
Hidden line removal	Do one of the following: Select Lighting > Use Flat Lighting and enable Shading > Wireframe on Shaded. Select Shading > Use Default Material so you don't see the diffuse color of your material. Select Display > Polygons > Backface Culling. Press 4 for wireframe mode to see the effect. To apply this preference to all objects, disable Display > Polygons > Limit to Selected. Right-click the object and select Assign New Material > Use Background. Also enable Shading > Wireframe on Shaded to keep the object visible when it is not selected. Create an ambient light with a high intensity value and press 7 for Lighting > Use All Lights mode. All objects now appear white. Enable Shading > Wireframe on Shaded to see the wireframe.
XRay mode	Shading > X-Ray or click the icon Shading > X-Ray Joints or click the icon Shading > X-Ray Active Components or click the icon
Viewport background color	Toggle view panel background color: Alt+B To change the background colors, including the gradient colors, open the Colors window (Windows > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings) and set the 3D Views colors on the General tab. To set a preference for the gradient to be on or off, open the Preferences window (Windows > Settings/Preferences > Preferences), select Display, and turn Background Gradient On or Off.
Toggle Grid: G	Toggle grid: Show > Grid in the view panel or click the icon in the view panel. To set up how the grid looks, choose Display > Grid > Options in the main menu and set the options there, such as size, color, and divisions.
Stats options in the Camera Visibility property editor	Show > HUD in the view panel. To determine what's displayed in the HUD, select options from the Display > Heads Up Display menu in the main menu bar. Press Ctrl to keep this menu open while you toggling options in it.
Viewport playback update mode	Update View option: Windows > Settings/Preferences > Preferences and select Time Slider to set this option to be Active or All.