Create and edit sets

You can create two different types of sets: sets and quick select sets. Both of them can contain any type of object, component, or group, but a quick select set can't be added to a partition (see Sets and partitions). You can also create nested sets so that one set contains other sets.

Create sets from the Maya Create menu or the Outliner contextual menu, then see and edit your sets in the Outliner or the Relationship Editor.

Creating sets

To create a set

Select multiple objects, components on an object, or groups.
From the Maya main menu, select Create > Sets > Set > .
If all your set members are objects, you can also right-click in the Outliner to display its contextual menu, then select Sets > Create Set > .
(Optional) Enter a name for the set and add the set to a partition.

To create a quick select set

Select multiple objects, components on an object, or groups.
From the Maya main menu, select Create > Sets > Quick Select Set.

If all your set members are objects, you can also right-click in the Outliner to display its contextual menu, then select Sets > Create Quick Select Set .
Enter a name for the set.
You also click the Add to Shelf button to add it as an icon to the current active shelf for easy access.

Selecting set members

Selecting set members highlights them in the viewport and in the Outliner. A set member can be the object, component, or group that is part of a set, or it can be a set that is nested within another set.

Do any of the following to select the set members:

Click the set member's name within its set node in the Outliner.
When you select an object that is a set member (either in the viewport or in the Outliner), the set's name is highlighted in a dark gray in the Outliner to indicate the membership.
Right-click a set node or set member's name in the Outliner and choose Select Set Members to select all members of that set.
The objects are highlighted in the Outliner and in the viewport.
In the Relationship Editor (Windows > Relationship Editor > Sets), select a set in the Sets panel and its members are selected in the Objects panel.
For quick select sets, choose Select > Quick Select Sets from the Maya main menu, and then choose the set, or click the set's icon in a shelf, if you created one.

To automatically select set members whenever you select a set, enable Preferences > Selection > Modifiers > Auto-select set members in the Outliner.

Showing or hiding set members in the Outliner

To show or hide a set's members in the Outliner, right-click a set in the Outliner and toggle the Show Set Members option, or choose Display > Set Members from the Outliner menu.

This toggles the display of set members in all sets in the Outliner.

You can also show or hide specific sets by toggling their Hidden in Outliner attribute in the Attribute Editor.

Adding members to sets

You can add other objects, components, or groups to an existing set. You can also create nested sets by adding a set to another set.

Do one of the following to add members to a set:

In the Outliner, middle-drag and drop any node or set onto a set node, or drop it within the set members in a set.
The new member goes to the bottom of the list.

Note: If you middle-drag a set member to another set, it is copied to that set, and not removed from its original set. This is because the same object can be a member of multiple sets.
(For objects only) In the Outliner, right-click the object and select Sets > Add Selection to Set.
In the Relationship Editor, select a set in the Sets panel, then select the item that you want to add to the selected set in the Objects panel.

Removing members from sets

You can remove a member from a set, or a nested set from its parent set, by doing one of the following:

Middle-drag one or more set members to anywhere outside of the current set in the Outliner.
Right-click one or more set members or its set node in the Outliner and choose Remove from Current Set.
(For objects only) In the Outliner, right-click the object and select Sets > Remove Selection from Set.
In the Relationship Editor, select a set member in the Sets panel and choose Edit > Remove Highlighted from Set.

Deleting sets

Deleting the set deletes only the set node, but not its members. To delete a set, do either of the following:

Select the set in the Outliner and press Delete.
In the Relationship Editor, select a set in the Sets panel and choose Edit > Delete Highlighted.