transform

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transform nodes are dagNodes that are used to group and transform other dagNodes. All dagNodes that are not transform nodes in Maya must exist as a child of some transform node.

Transformation Matrix (DAG)

Note: matrices are post-multiplied in Maya. For example, to transform a point p from object-space to world-space you would need to post-multiply by the worldMatrix. (p' = p * wm)

              -1                      -1
   matrix = SP * S * SH * SP * ST * RP * RA * R * RP * RT * T
 

   SP = |  1    0    0    0 |     ST = |  1    0    0    0 |
        |  0    1    0    0 |          |  0    1    0    0 |
        |  0    0    1    0 |          |  0    0    1    0 |
        | spx  spy  spz   1 |          | sptx spty sptz  1 |


   S  = |  sx   0    0    0 |     SH = |  1    0    0    0 |
        |  0    sy   0    0 |          | shxy  1    0    0 |
        |  0    0    sz   0 |          | shxz shyz  1    0 |
        |  0    0    0    1 |          |  0    0    0    1 |


   RP = |  1    0    0    0 |     RT = |  1    0    0    0 |
        |  0    1    0    0 |          |  0    1    0    0 |
        |  0    0    1    0 |          |  0    0    1    0 |
        | rpx  rpy  rpz   1 |          | rptx rpty rptz  1 |


   RA = AX * AY * AZ


   AX = |  1    0    0    0 |     AY = |  cy   0   -sy   0 |
        |  0    cx   sx   0 |          |  0    1    0    0 |
        |  0   -sx   cx   0 |          |  sy   0    cy   0 |
        |  0    0    0    1 |          |  0    0    0    1 |


   AZ = |  cz   sz   0    0 |     sx = sin(rax), cx = cos(rax)
        | -sz   cz   0    0 |     sy = sin(ray), cx = cos(ray)
        |  0    0    1    0 |     sz = sin(raz), cz = cos(raz)
        |  0    0    0    1 |


   Rotate:
                If the rotationInterpolation attribute specifies quaternion
                interpolation, use the following OpenMaya API calls to construct
                the matrix:
                        Mquaternion q( rx, ry, rz, rw )
                        R  = q.asMatrix()


                Otherwise, for Euler-angle rotation use:
                        R  = RX * RY * RZ  (Note: order is determined by rotateOrder)


                        RX = |  1    0    0    0 |     RY = |  cy   0   -sy   0 |
                                 |  0    cx   sx   0 |          |  0    1    0    0 |
                                 |  0   -sx   cx   0 |          |  sy   0    cy   0 |
                                 |  0    0    0    1 |          |  0    0    0    1 |


                        RZ = |  cz   sz   0    0 |     sx = sin(rx), cx = cos(rx)
                                 | -sz   cz   0    0 |     sy = sin(ry), cx = cos(ry)
                                 |  0    0    1    0 |     sz = sin(rz), cz = cos(rz)
                                 |  0    0    0    1 |


   T  = |  1    0    0    0 |
        |  0    1    0    0 |
        |  0    0    1    0 |
        |  tx   ty   tz   1 |
 

Attributes (109)

The following quick index only shows top-level attributes (too many attributes to show them all): displayHandle, displayLocalAxis, displayRotatePivot, displayScalePivot, dynamics, geometry, inheritsTransform, maxRotLimit (3), maxRotLimitEnable (3), maxScaleLimit (3), maxScaleLimitEnable (3), maxTransLimit (3), maxTransLimitEnable (3), minRotLimit (3), minRotLimitEnable (3), minScaleLimit (3), minScaleLimitEnable (3), minTransLimit (3), minTransLimitEnable (3), rotate (3), rotateAxis (3), rotateOrder, rotatePivot (3), rotatePivotTranslate (3), rotateQuaternion (4), rotationInterpolation, scale (3), scalePivot (3), scalePivotTranslate (3), selectHandle (3), shear (3), showManipDefault, specifiedManipLocation, transMinusRotatePivot (3), translate (3), xformMatrix

Long name (short name)	Type	Default	Flags
displayHandle (dh)	bool	false
Boolean indicating whether the selection handle for this transform should be displayed.
displayLocalAxis (dla)	bool	false
Boolean indicating whether the local rotation axis for this transform should be displayed.
displayRotatePivot (drp)	bool	false
Boolean indicating whether the rotate pivot point for this transform should be displayed.
displayScalePivot (dsp)	bool	false
Boolean indicating whether the scale pivot point for this transform should be displayed.
dynamics (dyn)	bool	false
When connected, this attribute indicates that this transform is part of a dynamics simulation.
geometry (g)	Generic	n/a
Geometry attribute used for positional constraints.
inheritsTransform (it)	bool	true
Attribute that controls whether this transform inherits transformations from its parent transform. If this value is false then the transform will act as though it is in world-space. In other words, transformations to its parent will not affect the world-space position of this transform and the parentMatrix attribute on this transform will return the identity matrix. This is primarily used when grouping objects with their construction history to prevent double transformations on the output object.
maxRotLimit (mxrl)	double3
Rotate maximum. Rotation values greater than this value will be clamped to this value.
maxRotXLimit (xrxl) angle (double) 45deg Maximum rotation X.
maxRotYLimit (xryl) angle (double) 45deg Maximum rotation Y.
maxRotZLimit (xrzl) angle (double) 45deg Maximum rotation Z.
maxRotLimitEnable (xrle)	compound	n/a
Enable rotate maximum.
maxRotXLimitEnable (xrxe) bool false Enable rotate maximum X.
maxRotYLimitEnable (xrye) bool false Enable rotate maximum Y.
maxRotZLimitEnable (xrze) bool false Enable rotate maximum Z.
maxScaleLimit (mxsl)	double3
Scale maximum. Scale values greater than this value will be clamped to this value.
maxScaleXLimit (xsxl) double 1 Scale maximum X.
maxScaleYLimit (xsyl) double 1 Scale maximum Y.
maxScaleZLimit (xszl) double 1 Scale maximum Z.
maxScaleLimitEnable (xsle)	compound	n/a
Enable scale maximum.
maxScaleXLimitEnable (xsxe) bool false Enable scale maximum X.
maxScaleYLimitEnable (xsye) bool false Enable scale maximum Y.
maxScaleZLimitEnable (xsze) bool false Enable scale maximum Z.
maxTransLimit (mxtl)	double3
Translate maximum. Translation values greater than this value will be clamped to this value.
maxTransXLimit (xtxl) distance (double) 1cm Maximum translation X.
maxTransYLimit (xtyl) distance (double) 1cm Maximum translation Y.
maxTransZLimit (xtzl) distance (double) 1cm Maximum translation Z.
maxTransLimitEnable (xtle)	compound	n/a
Enable translate maximum.
maxTransXLimitEnable (xtxe) bool false Enable translate maximum X.
maxTransYLimitEnable (xtye) bool false Enable translate maximum Y.
maxTransZLimitEnable (xtze) bool false Enable translate maximum Z.
minRotLimit (mnrl)	double3
Rotate minimum. Rotation values less than this value will be clamped to this value.
minRotXLimit (mrxl) angle (double) -45deg Minimum rotation X.
minRotYLimit (mryl) angle (double) -45deg Minimum rotation Y.
minRotZLimit (mrzl) angle (double) -45deg Minimum rotation Z.
minRotLimitEnable (mrle)	compound	n/a
Enable rotate minimum.
minRotXLimitEnable (mrxe) bool false Enable rotate minimum X.
minRotYLimitEnable (mrye) bool false Enable rotate minimum Y.
minRotZLimitEnable (mrze) bool false Enable rotate minimum Z.
minScaleLimit (mnsl)	double3
Scale minimum. Scale values less than this value will be clamped to this value.
minScaleXLimit (msxl) double -1 Scale minimum X.
minScaleYLimit (msyl) double -1 Scale minimum Y.
minScaleZLimit (mszl) double -1 Scale minimum Z.
minScaleLimitEnable (msle)	compound	n/a
Enable scale minimum.
minScaleXLimitEnable (msxe) bool false Enable scale minimum X.
minScaleYLimitEnable (msye) bool false Enable scale minimum Y.
minScaleZLimitEnable (msze) bool false Enable scale minimum Z.
minTransLimit (mntl)	double3
Translate minimum. Translation values less than this value will be clamped to this value.
minTransXLimit (mtxl) distance (double) -1cm Minimum translation X.
minTransYLimit (mtyl) distance (double) -1cm Minimum translation Y.
minTransZLimit (mtzl) distance (double) -1cm Minimum translation Z.
minTransLimitEnable (mtle)	compound	n/a
Enable translate minimum.
minTransXLimitEnable (mtxe) bool false Enable translate minimum X.
minTransYLimitEnable (mtye) bool false Enable translate minimum Y.
minTransZLimitEnable (mtze) bool false Enable translate minimum Z.
rotate (r)	double3
Rotation.
rotateX (rx) angle (double) 0.0deg Rotate X.
rotateY (ry) angle (double) 0.0deg Rotate Y.
rotateZ (rz) angle (double) 0.0deg Rotate Z.
rotateOrder (ro)	enum	0
This attribute controls the order in which rx, ry, rz are applied in the transformation matrix. Valid values for this attribute are 0=xyz, 1=yzx, 2=zxy, 3=xzy, 4=yxz, 5=zyx.
rotateAxis (ra)	double3
Extra rotation to adjust the local axis prior to applying the rotate attribute.
rotateAxisX (rax) angle (double) 0.0deg Rotate axis X.
rotateAxisY (ray) angle (double) 0.0deg Rotate axis Y.
rotateAxisZ (raz) angle (double) 0.0deg Rotate axis Z.
rotatePivot (rp)	double3
Point about which to rotate.
rotatePivotX (rpx) distance (double) 0.0cm Rotate pivot X.
rotatePivotY (rpy) distance (double) 0.0cm Rotate pivot Y.
rotatePivotZ (rpz) distance (double) 0.0cm Rotate pivot Z.
rotateQuaternion (rq)	double4
Quaternion-based rotation (q=Xi+Yj+Zk+W).
rotateQuaternionX (rqx) double 0.0 X channel of quaternion-based rotation (q=Xi+Yj+Zk+W). This attribute is only valid if the object is driven by quaternion animation curves. It is not used to control the object's rotation, but can be used to query the rotation in quaternion space. To use this attribute, connect it to rotateX's associated paramCurve's ".rawValue" attribute.
rotateQuaternionY (rqy) double 0.0 Y channel of quaternion-based rotation (q=Xi+Yj+Zk+W). This attribute is only valid if the object is driven by quaternion animation curves. It is not used to control the object's rotation, but can be used to query the rotation in quaternion space. To use this attribute, connect it to rotateY's associated paramCurve's ".rawValue" attribute.
rotateQuaternionZ (rqz) double 0.0 Z channel of quaternion-based rotation (q=Xi+Yj+Zk+W). This attribute is only valid if the object is driven by quaternion animation curves. It is not used to control the object's rotation, but can be used to query the rotation in quaternion space. To use this attribute, connect it to rotateZ's associated paramCurves ".rawValue" attribute.
rotateQuaternionW (rqw) double 0.0 W channel of quaternion-based rotation (q=Xi+Yj+Zk+W). This attribute is only valid if the object is driven by quaternion animation curves. To use this attribute, connect it to one is the rotation animCurve's ".quaternionW" attributes.
rotatePivotTranslate (rpt)	double3
Rotate pivot correction. Used when moving the rotate pivot point without affecting the overall transformation matrix.
rotatePivotTranslateX (rptx) distance (double) 0.0cm Rotate translation X.
rotatePivotTranslateY (rpty) distance (double) 0.0cm Rotate translation Y.
rotatePivotTranslateZ (rptz) distance (double) 0.0cm Rotate translation Z.
rotationInterpolation (roi)	enum	1
This attribute is deprecated and not being used at all.
scale (s)	double3
Scale.
scaleX (sx) double 1.0 Scale X.
scaleY (sy) double 1.0 Scale Y.
scaleZ (sz) double 1.0 Scale Z.
scalePivot (sp)	double3
Point around which to scale.
scalePivotX (spx) distance (double) 0.0cm Scale pivot X.
scalePivotY (spy) distance (double) 0.0cm Scale pivot Y.
scalePivotZ (spz) distance (double) 0.0cm Scale pivot Z.
scalePivotTranslate (spt)	double3
Scale pivot correction. Used to moving the scale pivot point without affecting the overall transformation matrix.
scalePivotTranslateX (sptx) distance (double) 0.0cm Scale translation X.
scalePivotTranslateY (spty) distance (double) 0.0cm Scale translation Y.
scalePivotTranslateZ (sptz) distance (double) 0.0cm Scale translation Z.
selectHandle (hdl)	double3
Selection handle position for this node in object-space coordinates.
selectHandleX (hdlx) distance (double) 0.0cm Selection handle X.
selectHandleY (hdly) distance (double) 0.0cm Selection handle X.
selectHandleZ (hdlz) distance (double) 0.0cm Selection handle Z.
shear (sh)	double3
Shear.
shearXY (shxy) double 0.0 Shear XY.
shearXZ (shxz) double 0.0 Shear XZ.
shearYZ (shyz) double 0.0 Shear YZ.
showManipDefault (smd)	enum	0
This attribute indicates the default manipulator that should be shown when this object is selected and the show manipulator tool is active. Valid values are 0=no default manipulator, 1=translation, 2=rotation, 3=scale. 4=transform, 5=global default, 6=smart, 7=specified
specifiedManipLocation (sml)	generic typed data	NULL
When showManipDefault is set to specified, the node that is connected to this attribute will be used to determine the type of manipulator to show
transMinusRotatePivot (tmrp)	double3
Attribute to extract the offset of the translation from the rotate pivot. The offset is in the same transformation space as the translate attribute which is parent-space. This value is typically used in expressions where it is subtracted from a position before setting the translation attribute. This causes the object to move so that the rotate pivot point is positioned at the desired position.
transMinusRotatePivotX (tmrx) distance (double) 0.0cm Translation minus rotate pivot X.
transMinusRotatePivotY (tmry) distance (double) 0.0cm Translation minus rotate pivot Y.
transMinusRotatePivotZ (tmrz) distance (double) 0.0cm Translation minus rotate pivot Z.
translate (t)	double3
Translation.
translateX (tx) distance (double) 0.0cm Translate X.
translateY (ty) distance (double) 0.0cm Translate Y.
translateZ (tz) distance (double) 0.0cm Translate Z.
xformMatrix (xm)	matrix	identity
Local transformation matrix. Contains the same information as the matrix attribute on dagNode but it is stored in a format that can be interpolated easily.