Cut, copy, and paste keys between scenes

You can cut, copy, and paste animations of characters, skeletons, and other objects to objects in another scene. Animation on the keys clipboard is persistent across File > New Scene and File > Open Scene, which means you can load a scene with animation and copy it, and then open another scene with the same character and paste the animation onto it.

Note: For best results, it's recommended that you import and export animation using the .atom format. See ATOM animation file format and Import and export with ATOM file format. You can also export and import animation using the ANIM file format (see Import and export animation curves in .anim format).
You can also copy and paste keys between different editors and windows in Maya. For example, keys cut to the clipboard with a Cut operation in the Graph Editor can be pasted onto an object in the scene view using Edit > Keys > Paste Keys.
Note:
  • If you unintentionally include extra keys when you drag-select keys, shrink the selectable area with the Min key selection size option in the Animation (Settings) preferences.
  • When cutting and pasting keys that include multiple animation curves to multiple attributes, pay particular attention to the order that you select them, as this will impact the order in which they are pasted.
  • When cutting keys from multiple attributes in the Graph Editor or Dope Sheet, select the attributes from the outliner—not the view area—of the respective editor.

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