Create file references

  1. Access the Reference Options window by doing one of the following:
    • Right-click a blank area in the Outliner and select Reference > Create Reference > from the menu that appears.
    • Select File > Create Reference > .
  2. In the Reference Options, set the options that apply to your new file reference.
    Note: If you create a file reference from a scene that includes an XGen Description, you must turn on Use namespaces in the Reference Options. See Reference Options. You cannot create a file reference from Maya scenes that contain assemblyDefinition or assemblyReference nodes. See Scene Assembly nodes.
  3. Click Reference.
  4. In the file browser, navigate to the file you want to reference, click its name and click Reference.

    The reference file and its contents are loaded in the scene and its reference node appears in the Outliner indicated by an icon. Objects belonging to referenced files are indicated by an icon.

Note: If you reference Blue Pencil drawings into another scene using File Referencing, they do not appear. They are meant to be added to the final scene.

File reference creation options

See the table below for options commonly used when creating file references.

To... Do this

Create a reference with a locator.

  1. Access the Reference Options window.
  2. Ensure the Group and Locator options are turned on.
  3. Click Reference.

Defer the loading of a reference.

  1. Access the Reference Options window.
  2. In the General Options, turn on Deferred.

When the reference is created, it is added to the scene in an unloaded state, and only appears when it is manually loaded.

Create a reference with a namespace.

See Namespaces.

Important: After creating a reference with a namespace, never delete the namespace. All referenced objects that use this namespace will be affected and make no longer work as expected. If you no longer want to associate a referenced object with a specific namespace, remove it using the Namespace Editor. See Remove namespaces.
  1. Access the Reference Options window.
  2. In the Namespace Options section, Ensure that Use Namespaces is on.

    See Create namespaces when referencing or importing.

Create a reference with shared display layers.

  1. Access the Reference Options window.
  2. In the Shared Node Options, turn on Display Layers.

When the reference is created, the layers associated with the child scene are integrated into the parent scene.

Create a reference with shared shading networks.

  1. Access the Reference Options window.
  2. In the Shared Node Options, turn on Shading Networks.

When the reference is created, the shading networks associated with the child scene are integrated into the parent scene.

Related topics

Parent topic: File Referencing
Parent topic: Work with File References