pymel.core.general.group

group(*args, **kwargs)

This command groups the specified objects under a new group and returns the name of the new group. If the -em flag is specified, then an empty group (with no objects) is created. If the -w flag is specified then the new group is placed under the world, otherwise if -p is specified it is placed under the specified node. If neither -w or -p is specified the new group is placed under the lowest common group they have in common. (or the world if no such group exists) If an object is grouped with another object that has the same name then one of the objects will be renamed by this command.

Modifications
  • if no objects are passed or selected, the empty flag is automatically set
Maya Bug Fix:
  • corrected to return a unique name

Flags:

Long Name / Short Name Argument Types Properties
absolute / a bool ../../../_images/create.gif
  preserve existing world object transformations (overall object transformation is preserved by modifying the objects local transformation) [default]
empty / em bool ../../../_images/create.gif
  create an empty group (with no objects in it)
name / n unicode ../../../_images/create.gif
  Assign given name to new group node.
parent / p unicode ../../../_images/create.gif
  put the new group under the given parent
relative / r bool ../../../_images/create.gif
  preserve existing local object transformations (relative to the new group node)
useAsGroup / uag unicode ../../../_images/create.gif
  Use the specified node as the group node. The specified node must be derived from the transform node and must not have any existing parents or children.
world / w bool ../../../_images/create.gif
  put the new group under the world Flag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.group

Example:

import pymel.core as pm

# create an empty group node with no children
pm.group( em=True, name='null1' )
# Result: nt.Transform(u'null1') #

# create some objects and group them
pm.sphere( n='sphere1' )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'sphere1'), nt.MakeNurbSphere(u'makeNurbSphere1')] #
pm.circle( n='circle1' )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'circle1'), nt.MakeNurbCircle(u'makeNurbCircle1')] #
pm.group( 'circle1', 'sphere1', n='group1' )
# Result: nt.Transform(u'group1') #

# create a group node under another node and move
# the sphere under the new group node.
pm.group( 'sphere1', parent='null1' )
# Result: nt.Transform(u'group2') #