Send objects to other applications

The Send to commands in the File menu let you exchange data between Maya and other applications.

When working with other Autodesk applications, the Send to commands establish a connection between Maya and the target application (3ds Max, Softimage, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, or Stingray). While the connection is established, the applications share data. To break the connection, close the scene in one of the applications, exit one of the applications, or use a different Send to command to exchange data with a different target application. Each application can be connected to only one other application at a time. Established connections between Maya and the target applications are indicated in the application status bars.

Note: The Send to command appears only if the application to which you are sending is the same release version. For example, you cannot send files from Maya 2016 to MotionBuilder 2015.

The Send to 3ds Max, Send to Softimage, Send to MotionBuilder, and Send to Mudbox commands are located in the File menu, on the main menu bar. If the target application is not installed on your system, the option is not available.

Note:

If a target application is installed on your system but does not appear in the File menu, you may need to reload the associated plug-in. See Load or unload Maya plug-ins.

Sending objects

Objects shared by Maya and the target application are matched by name. If you change the name of an object in Maya, it's not included when you update the scene unless you add it explicitly, and the object with the old name in the target application is not automatically updated or deleted. Objects are sent from Maya to the target applications using the FBX format. Any application features that are not supported by FBX are not transferred between applications.

If you want to send a custom camera to the target application, you must make this camera the current view or select the camera in addition to the scene objects that you send.

Texture location

Textures in files that use theSend to process are stored in the following location (unless otherwise specified).

Maya Default:

3ds Max Default:

  • C:\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\projects\default\images\myscene-files\
  • C:\Users\<username>\My Documents\3dsMax\sceneassets\images\myscene.max-files\
Note: Unnamed scenes produce an "untitled-files" folder. This untitled-files folder is re-used and overwritten for each unnamed scene.

Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites

If you are using Maya as part of the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites and it is running off a network, you must set two suites specific environment variables to enable the Send to commands. See Suites specific environment variables.

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