Select the file type you are importing from the File Type menu.
If you do know what type of file you are importing, select Best Guess. Best Guess displays various file type-specific options based on the file type you select.
If you select FBX in the File Type menu, the Edit Preset button appears in the File Type Specific Options.
FBX currently has an “Include/Referenced Containers Content” option so that referenced containers and their context are not exported. This option is used for a specific Maya > Games pipeline and is not that same as the Maya “Preserve references” option. The FBX option does not export models and connections of objects in a referenced container. This pipeline uses the DNA template, which is used to transport the connections that are re-assembled in the game. Models are exported separately. This FBX option is different, but will need to override the generic Maya option.
When you activate the FBX option, the Maya Preserve References option behaves normally. When you disable the FBX option, the Maya FBX plug-in ignores the Maya Preserve References option and the exporter excludes the connections and models in the referenced containers. This is currently the case. Disabling the FBX option gives you 3 possible references export: