outlinerEditor

Go to: Synopsis. Return value. Flags. MEL examples.

Synopsis

outlinerEditor [-allowMultiSelection boolean] [-alwaysToggleSelect boolean] [-animLayerFilterOptions string] [-attrAlphaOrder string] [-attrFilter string] [-autoExpand boolean] [-autoExpandAnimatedShapes boolean] [-autoExpandLayers boolean] [-autoSelectNewObjects boolean] [-containersIgnoreFilters boolean] [-control] [-defineTemplate string] [-directSelect boolean] [-displayMode string] [-doNotSelectNewObjects boolean] [-docTag string] [-dropIsParent boolean] [-editAttrName boolean] [-exists] [-expandAllItems boolean] [-expandAllSelectedItems boolean] [-expandAttribute boolean] [-expandConnections boolean] [-expandObjects boolean] [-feedbackItemName] [-feedbackRowNumber] [-filter string] [-forceMainConnection string] [-getCurrentSetOfItem int] [-highlightActive boolean] [-highlightConnection string] [-highlightSecondary boolean] [-ignoreDagHierarchy boolean] [-ignoreHiddenAttribute boolean] [-ignoreOutlinerColor boolean] [-isChildSelected name] [-isSet int] [-isSetMember int] [-isUfeItem int] [-lockMainConnection] [-longNames boolean] [-mainListConnection string] [-mapMotionTrails boolean] [-masterOutliner string] [-niceNames boolean] [-object name] [-organizeByClip boolean] [-organizeByLayer boolean] [-panel string] [-parent string] [-parentObject] [-pinPlug name] [-refresh] [-removeFromCurrentSet int] [-renameItem int] [-renameSelectedItem] [-renderFilterActive] [-renderFilterIndex int] [-renderFilterVisible boolean] [-selectCommand script] [-selectionConnection string] [-selectionOrder string] [-setFilter string] [-setsIgnoreFilters boolean] [-showAnimCurvesOnly boolean] [-showAnimLayerWeight boolean] [-showAssets boolean] [-showAssignedMaterials boolean] [-showAttrValues boolean] [-showAttributes boolean] [-showCompounds boolean] [-showConnected boolean] [-showContainedOnly boolean] [-showContainerContents boolean] [-showDagOnly boolean] [-showLeafs boolean] [-showMuteInfo boolean] [-showNamespace boolean] [-showNumericAttrsOnly boolean] [-showParentContainers boolean] [-showPinIcons boolean] [-showPublishedAsConnected boolean] [-showReferenceMembers boolean] [-showReferenceNodes boolean] [-showSelected boolean] [-showSetMembers boolean] [-showShapes boolean] [-showTextureNodesOnly boolean] [-showTimeEditor boolean] [-showUVAttrsOnly boolean] [-showUfeItems boolean] [-showUnitlessCurves boolean] [-showUpstreamCurves boolean] [-sortOrder string] [-stateString] [-transmitFilters boolean] [-ufeFilter string string] [-ufeFilterValue] [-unParent] [-unlockMainConnection] [-unpinPlug name] [-updateMainConnection] [-useTemplate string] editorName

outlinerEditor is undoable, queryable, and editable.

Return value

In query mode, return type is based on queried flag.

Flags

Long name (short name)	Argument types	Properties
-allowMultiSelection(-ams)	boolean
If true then multiple selection will be allowed in the outliner.
-alwaysToggleSelect(-ats)	boolean
If true, then clicking on an item in the outliner will select or deselect it without affecting the selection of other items (unless allowMultiSelection is false). If false, clicking on an item in the outliner will replace the current selection with the selected item.
-animLayerFilterOptions(-alf)	string
Specifies whether a filter is to be applied when displaying animation layers. If so, the options can be "allAffecting" (no filter), "active" (only the active layers on the object will be displayed) and "animLayerEditor" (the settings will be taken from the animation layer editor).
-attrAlphaOrder(-aao)	string
Specify how attributes are to be sorted. Current recognised values are "default" for no sorting and "ascend" to sort attributes from 'a' to ''z' and "descend" to sort from 'z' to 'a'. Notes: a) this only applies to top level attributes.
-attrFilter(-af)	string
Specifies the name of an itemFilter object to be placed on this editor. This filters the attributes displayed in the editor.
-autoExpand(-xpd)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not objects that are loaded in should have their attributes automatically expanded.
-autoExpandAnimatedShapes(-xas)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not DAG objects that have animated shapes should be automatically expanded to show the shape. This flag is enabled by default and has no effect if autoExpand is disabled.
-autoExpandLayers(-ael)	boolean
If true then when a node with animation layer is displayed, all the animation layers will show up in expanded form.
-autoSelectNewObjects(-as)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not new objects added to the outliner should be automatically selected.
-containersIgnoreFilters(-cif)	boolean
This flag specifices whether or not filters should be ignored when displaying container contents.
-control(-ctl)
Query only. Returns the top level control for this editor. Usually used for getting a parent to attach popup menus. Caution: It is possible for an editor to exist without a control. The query will return "NONE" if no control is present.
-defineTemplate(-dt)	string
Puts the command in a mode where any other flags and arguments are parsed and added to the command template specified in the argument. They will be used as default arguments in any subsequent invocations of the command when templateName is set as the current template.
-directSelect(-ds)	boolean
If true then clicking on an item in the outliner will add or remove just that item from the selection connection. If false then clicking on an item in the outliner causes the selection connection to be reloaded with the currently selected items in the outliner.
-displayMode(-dm)	string
Affects how the outliner displays when a filter is applied. List mode is a non-indented flat list. DAG mode indents to represent the hierarchical structure of the model.
-doNotSelectNewObjects(-dns)	boolean
If true this flag specifies that new objects added to the outliner will not be selected, even if they are active.
-docTag(-dtg)	string
Attaches a tag to the editor.
-dropIsParent(-dip)	boolean
This flag specifies the mode for drag and drop. If the flag is true, dropping items will do a reparent. If it is false, dropping will reorder items. By default, the flag is true (parent).
-editAttrName(-ean)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not attribute names can be edited. By default double-clicking on an attribute will open the expression editor for that attribute.
-exists(-ex)
Returns whether the specified object exists or not. Other flags are ignored.
-expandAllItems(-eai)	boolean
Expand or collapse all items in the outliner.
-expandAllSelectedItems(-eas)	boolean
Expand or collapse all selected items in the outliner.
-expandAttribute(-eat)	boolean
Force the outliner to fill the selection list with only attributes.
-expandConnections(-xc)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not attributes should be expanded to show their input connections. Note: currently the expansion will only show animCurves.
-expandObjects(-eo)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not objects that are loaded in should be automatically expanded.
-feedbackItemName(-fbn)
Returns the outliner item name at the current mouse position, if any.
-feedbackRowNumber(-fbr)
Returns the outliner row number at the current mouse position, if any.
-filter(-f)	string
Specifies the name of an itemFilter object to be used with this editor. This filters the information coming onto the main list of the editor.
-forceMainConnection(-fmc)	string
Specifies the name of a selectionConnection object that the editor will use as its source of content. The editor will only display items contained in the selectionConnection object. This is a variant of the -mainListConnection flag in that it will force a change even when the connection is locked. This flag is used to reduce the overhead when using the -unlockMainConnection , -mainListConnection, -lockMainConnection flags in immediate succession.
-getCurrentSetOfItem(-gcs)	int
Returns the current set of item at the given row. As an item can belong to number of sets, current set is the set to which the item belongs to currently.
-highlightActive(-ha)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not the outliner should highlight objects that are active. Note: if the outliner is driving the contents of another editor, setting highlightActive to true may produce unexpected behavior.
-highlightConnection(-hlc)	string
Specifies the name of a selectionConnection object that the editor will synchronize with its highlight list. Not all editors have a highlight list. For those that do, it is a secondary selection list.
-highlightSecondary(-hs)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not the outliner should highlight objects that are contained in the highlightConnection.
-ignoreDagHierarchy(-hir)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not DAG objects are displayed in their DAG hierarchy. Warning: using this flag without some other form of sensible filtering will lead to a very confusing outliner.
-ignoreHiddenAttribute(-iha)	boolean
Sets whether or not the outliner ignores the 'hidden in outliner' flag on nodes.
-ignoreOutlinerColor(-ioc)	boolean
Sets whether or not the outliner ignores the 'use outliner color' flag on nodes.
-isChildSelected(-ics)	name
This flag allows you to query if one or more of the children of the specified item is selected in the outliner. The item should be specified using a unique DAG path. Note that if the specified item appears multiple times in the outliner, the result will be true if one or more children of any occurrence of the specified item in the outliner is/are selected.
-isSet(-is)	int
Returns true if the item present at the given row is a set.
-isSetMember(-ism)	int
Returns true if the item present at the given row is a set member.
-isUfeItem(-isu)	int
Returns true if the item present at the given row is a UFE item.
-lockMainConnection(-lck)
Locks the current list of objects within the mainConnection, so that only those objects are displayed within the editor. Further changes to the original mainConnection are ignored.
-longNames(-ln)	boolean
Controls whether long or short attribute names will be used in the interface. Note that this flag is ignored if the -niceNames flag is set. Default is short names. Queried, returns a boolean.
-mainListConnection(-mlc)	string
Specifies the name of a selectionConnection object that the editor will use as its source of content. The editor will only display items contained in the selectionConnection object.
-mapMotionTrails(-mmt)	boolean
Sets whether or not we replace the motion trail in the outliner with the object it is trailing.
-masterOutliner(-mst)	string
This flag is the name of an outliner that this outliner will share the objects and state from. When an outliner is shared, all of its state information comes from, and is applied to, the primary outliner.
-niceNames(-nn)	boolean
Controls whether the attribute names will be displayed in a more user-friendly, readable way. When this is on, the longNames flag is ignored. When this is off, attribute names will be displayed either long or short, according to the longNames flag. Default is on. Queried, returns a boolean.
-object(-obj)	name
This flag is used together with the parentObject flag to get the name of the parent object for the specified object.
-organizeByClip(-obc)	boolean
If true then when a node with Time Editor clips is displayed, attributes will be displayed according to the clip(s) it belongs to. eg: Clip1 Attr1 Attr2 Clip2 Attr1 If it is false then the outliner will be organized primarily by attributes. eg: Attr1 Clip1 Clip2 Attr2 Clip1
-organizeByLayer(-obl)	boolean
If true then when a node with animation layer is displayed, attributes will be displayed according to the layer(s) it belongs to. eg: Layer1 Attr1 Attr2 Layer2 Attr1 If it is false then the outliner will be organized primarily by attributes. eg: Attr1 Layer1 Layer2 Attr2 Layer1
-panel(-pnl)	string
Specifies the panel for this editor. By default if an editor is created in the create callback of a scripted panel it will belong to that panel. If an editor does not belong to a panel it will be deleted when the window that it is in is deleted.
-parent(-p)	string
Specifies the parent layout for this editor. This flag will only have an effect if the editor is currently un-parented.
-parentObject(-po)
-pinPlug(-pin)	name
Pins the named plug, so it always appears in the outliner, irrespective of the incoming selection connection. In query mode, returns a list of the pinned plugs.
-refresh(-rfs)
Causes the outliner to refresh itself.
-removeFromCurrentSet(-rcs)	int
Removes selected members of a set from their current set. Current set is the set to which item at the given row belongs to. If no selected items, the item at the given row is removed from its current set.
-renameItem(-rni)	int
Renames the item at the given row index in the outliner.
-renameSelectedItem(-rsi)
Rename the first selected item in the outliner.
-renderFilterActive(-rfa)
This is a query only flag which returns true if the render setup filter is Active, i.e one of the four render filters (Inside Selected, Outside Selected, Inside All Layers, Outside All Layers) is applied on the outliner currently, false otherwise.
-renderFilterIndex(-rfi)	int
Sets the Render Setup Filter to the index passed. This only works if the filter is visible in outliner and its selection is not locked. Valid indices are: 0 - Scene 2 - Inside Selected 3 - Outside Selected 4 - Inside All Layers 5 - Outside All Layers Default: Scene 0 In query mode returns current index of the filter.
-renderFilterVisible(-rfv)	boolean
Show/Hide the Render Setup Filter in outliner. In query mode returns whether the Render Setup Filter is visible or not.
-selectCommand(-sec)	script
A command to be executed when an item is selected. Only valid Mel commands will be saved when the outlinerEditor will be persisted in a scene or in a JSON layout file. Python commands are never saved.
-selectionConnection(-slc)	string
Specifies the name of a selectionConnection object that the editor will synchronize with its own selection list. As the user selects things in this editor, they will be selected in the selectionConnection object. If the object undergoes changes, the editor updates to show the changes.
-selectionOrder(-sod)	string
Specify how objects are sorted in selection list. Current recognised values are "chronological" for sorting in selection order and "display" to sort objects in the same order that the outliner does.
-setFilter(-sf)	string
Specifies the name of a filter which is used to filter which (if any) sets to display.
-setsIgnoreFilters(-sif)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not the filter should be ignored for expanding sets to show set members (default is true).
-showAnimCurvesOnly(-aco)	boolean
This flag modifies the showConnected flag. If showConnected is set to true then this flag will cause display of only those attributes that are connected to an animCurve. If showConnected is set to false then this flag does nothing.
-showAnimLayerWeight(-saw)	boolean
If true then when a node with animation layer is displayed, the weight of the layer will be displayed if it is keyed.
-showAssets(-a)	boolean
This flags specifies whether assets should be shown in the outliner.
-showAssignedMaterials(-sam)	boolean
Specifies whether to show assigned materials under shapes.
-showAttrValues(-av)	boolean
This flag specifies whether attribute values or attribute names should be displayed. Note: currently only string attributes can have their values displayed.
-showAttributes(-atr)	boolean
Specifies whether to show attributes or not.
-showCompounds(-cmp)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not compound attributes should be displayed, or just the leaf attributes. Note: if showConnected is true, and the compound attribute is connected, it will still be displayed.
-showConnected(-con)	boolean
This flag modifies the showAttributes flag. If showAttributes is set to true then this flag will cause display of only those attributes that are connected in the dependency graph. If showAttributes is set to false then this flag does nothing.
-showContainedOnly(-sco)	boolean
This flags specifies whether nodes belonging to containers should be show under the container node only. Otherwise, it will show up under the world as well.
-showContainerContents(-scc)	boolean
This flags specifies whether the contents of the container should be shown under the container node in the outliner.
-showDagOnly(-dag)	boolean
This flag specifies whether all dependency graph objects will be displayed, or just DAG objects.
-showLeafs(-laf)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not leaf attributes should be displayed, or just the compound attributes. Note: if showConnected is true, and the leaf attribute is connected, it will still be displayed.
-showMuteInfo(-smi)	boolean
This flag specifies whether mute information will be displayed
-showNamespace(-sn)	boolean
This flag specifies whether all objects will have their namespace displayed, if namespace different than root.
-showNumericAttrsOnly(-num)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not all attributes should be displayed, or just numeric attributes. Note: if showConnected is true, and the attribute is connected, it will still be displayed.
-showParentContainers(-spa)	boolean
This flags specifies whether nodes belonging to containers/assets should show their containers/assets as well in its outliner.
-showPinIcons(-spi)	boolean
Sets whether pin icons are shown for unpinned plugs.
-showPublishedAsConnected(-spc)	boolean
This flags enables attributes that are published to be displayed in italics. Otherwise, only attributes connected as a destination are shown in italics.
-showReferenceMembers(-rm)	boolean
Specifies whether to show reference node members under the reference node in the outliner.
-showReferenceNodes(-rn)	boolean
Specifies whether to show reference nodes or not.
-showSelected(-sc)	boolean
If true then the selected items are expanded in the outliner.
-showSetMembers(-ssm)	boolean
If true then when a set is expanded, the set members will be displayed. If false, then only other sets will be displayed.
-showShapes(-shp)	boolean
Specifies whether to show shapes or not.
-showTextureNodesOnly(-tno)	boolean
This flag modifies the showConnected flag. If showConnected is set to true then this flag will cause display of only those attributes that are connected to a texture node. If showConnected is set to false then this flag does nothing.
-showTimeEditor(-ste)	boolean
If true, all nodes related to the Time Editor will be shown as a hierarchy.
-showUVAttrsOnly(-uv)	boolean
This flag specifies whether or not all attributes should be displayed, or just uv attributes. Note: currently the only attribute which will be displayed is Shape.uvSet.uvSetName.
-showUfeItems(-sui) 2023.3	boolean
Specifies whether to show Ufe (non-Maya) items.
-showUnitlessCurves(-su)	boolean
This flag (in combination with -expandConnections) specifies whether or not connection expansion should show unitless animCurves.
-showUpstreamCurves(-suc)	boolean
Specifies exactly which attributes are displayed when showAttributes and expandConnections are both true. If true, the dependency graph is searched upstream for all curves that drive the selected plugs (showing multiple curves for example in a typical driven key setup, where first the driven key curve is encountered, followed by the actual animation curve that drives the source object). If false, only the first curves encountered will be shown. Note that, even if false, multiple curves can be shown if e.g. a blendWeighted node is being used to combine multiple curves.
-sortOrder(-so)	string
Specify how objects are to be sorted. Current recognised values are "none" for no sorting and "dagName" to sort DAG objects by name. Notes: a) non-DAG objects are always sorted by nodeType and name. b) when sortOrder is set to "dagName", objects cannot be reordered using drag-and-drop, they can however be reparented.
-stateString(-sts)
Query only flag. Returns the MEL command that will create an editor to match the current editor state. The returned command string uses the string variable $editorName in place of a specific name.
-transmitFilters(-tf)	boolean
This flag specifies how the selectionConnection is populated when attribute filters are enabled. If this flag is set to true, then all the attributes that pass the filter will be placed on the selectionConnection. By default this flag is false.
-ufeFilter(-uf)	string string
Specifies what UFE filter attributes should be used for display. This flag must used together with the ufeFilterValue flag to get/set the value of the UFE filter. The first string is the UFE run-time name and the second is the child filter name.
-ufeFilterValue(-ufv)
The value of the UFE filter specified with flag ufeFilter. This flag must used together with the ufeFilter flag.
-unParent(-up)
Specifies that the editor should be removed from its layout. This cannot be used in query mode.
-unlockMainConnection(-ulk)
Unlocks the mainConnection, effectively restoring the original mainConnection (if it is still available), and dynamic updates.
-unpinPlug(-unp)	name
Unpins the named plug.
-updateMainConnection(-upd)
Causes a locked mainConnection to be updated from the orginal mainConnection, but preserves the lock state.
-useTemplate(-ut)	string
Forces the command to use a command template other than the current one.

Flag can appear in Create mode of command	Flag can appear in Edit mode of command
Flag can appear in Query mode of command	Flag can be used more than once in a command.

MEL examples

// Create a new regular outliner in its own window
//
window;
frameLayout -labelVisible false;
string $panel = `outlinerPanel`;
string $outliner = `outlinerPanel -query -outlinerEditor $panel`;
outlinerEditor -edit
    -mainListConnection "worldList"
    -selectionConnection "modelList"
    -showShapes false
    -showReferenceNodes false
    -showReferenceMembers false
    -showAttributes false
    -showConnected false
    -showAnimCurvesOnly false
    -autoExpand false
    -showDagOnly true
    -ignoreDagHierarchy false
    -expandConnections false
    -showNamespace true
    -showCompounds true
    -showNumericAttrsOnly false
    -highlightActive true
    -autoSelectNewObjects false
    -doNotSelectNewObjects false
    -transmitFilters false
    -showSetMembers true
    -setFilter defaultSetFilter
	-ignoreHiddenAttribute false
	-ignoreOutlinerColor false
    $outliner;
showWindow;


// The following creates a special filter which consists of the union of the DefaultCamerShapesFilter and the
// DefaultAllLightsFilter and invokes this new filter on the outlinerEditor.
string $special =`itemFilter -union DefaultCameraShapesFilter DefaultAllLightsFilter`;
outlinerEditor -edit -filter $special outlinerPanel1;