The Channel Box lets you manipulate the attributes of selected objects or components by entering specific values or using sliders and checkboxes. You can also keyframe and animate attributes directly from the Channel Box, making it a powerful tool for animation and rigging tasks.
This topic explains options in the Channel Box menus along the top of the Channel Box (Ctrl - A).
Creates an animation keyframe for the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) at the current frame in the Time slider. For more information see Keys.
Creates an animation keyframe for all the selected object’s keyable attributes at the current frame in the Time slider.
Creates a breakdown for the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) at the current frame in the Time slider. For more information see Breakdowns.
Creates a breakdown for all the selected object’s attributes at the current frame in the Time slider.
Disables the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) animations during playback. All muted attributes appear gray in the Channel Box. For more information see Muting animation.
Disables all the selected object’s animations during playback. All muted attributes appear gray in the Channel Box.
Enables the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) animations during playback.
Enables all the selected object’s animations during playback.
When on, synchronizes your selections in the Channel Box to also display in the Graph Editor. If no channels are selected in the Channel Box, the Graph Editor displays curves for selected objects as usual.
When on, synchronizes your selections in the Channel Box to the Time Slider so that the Time Slider displays only keys for those selected channels. When you set a keyframe (press S or select Key > Set Key), only channels selected in the Channel Box are keyed. If nothing is selected in the Channel Box, the Time Slider displays keys for selected objects as usual.
Removes the animation of the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) and places it in the keys clipboard. For more information see Cutting, copying, and pasting keys between scenes.
Duplicates the animation of the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s) and places it in the keys clipboard.
Applies the animation present in the keys clipboard to the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s).
Removes the animation of the selected object’s highlighted attribute(s).
Duplicates the highlighted attribute(s) of one object to any number of other objects. To utilize this function, first Shift-select all the objects for which the duplicated values are to apply. Next, shift-select the object which contains the value you wish to duplicate. Highlight the appropriate attributes. Right-click one of the attributes and select Duplicate Values from the marking menu that appears.
Resets the current transformation, rotation, scale, or all three on the selected objects to the objects’ zero position. For more information see Reset and Freeze Transformations Options.
Removes the link between an attribute and its controlling connection. An attribute will be highlighted purple if it has a controlling connection. For more information see Break connections between attributes.
Selects the connection node corresponding to the highlighted attribute for the selected object. You can only select one connection node at a time with this method.
Locks the highlighted attributes for the selected object to their values in the current frame of the Time slider. These values can no longer be manipulated at any frame until the attribute is unlocked.
Unlocks the highlighted attributes for the selected object thereby allowing the modification of their values.
Removes the selected attribute(s) from the Channel Box.
Locks and removes the selected attribute(s) from the Channel Box. The locked attributes cannot be manipulated.
Disables the ability for the highlighted attribute(s) to be keyframed for the selected object.
Enables the ability for the highlighted attribute(s) to be keyframed for the selected object.
Opens the Expression Editor and displays the expression of the highlighted attribute of the selected object. Expressions allow you to assign certain behaviours to attributes. Form more information see Expression Editor.
Opens the Set Driven Key window with the selected object and attribute in the Driven section. Driven keys allow you to manage the attributes of one object through the attributes of a separate object. For more information see Driven keys.
Opens the Graph Editor for the selected object and highlighted attribute. The Graph Editor can be used to modify the animation of an attribute via its graphical representation. For more information see Graph Editor.
Opens the Channel Control editor for the selected object. The Channel Control editor allows you to view a node’s attributes as well as modify its keyable and editable status. For more information see Channel Control Editor.
Opens the Connection Editor for the selected object. The Connection Editor allows you to view and modify the connections between the nodes in the scene. For more information see Connect nodes using the Connection Editor.
Opens the Attribute Editor for the selected object. The Attribute Editor allows you to view the and object’s nodes and modify their associated attributes. For more information see Attribute Editor.
Opens the Material Attributes Editor for the selected object. The Material Attributes Editor allows you to modify the display of the surface of the selected object. For more information see Maya materials.
Opens the Add Attribute window for the selected object. The Add Attribute window allows you to create a new attribute that controls a combination of existing attributes or a variable to store attribute values. For more information see Add Attribute Options.
Opens the Edit Attribute window for the selected object. The Edit Attribute window allows you to edit custom attributes. For more information see Edit Attribute Options.
Opens the Delete Attribute window for the selected object. The Delete Attribute window allows you to delete custom attributes. Select Modify > Delete Attribute.
Publishes the selected attribute(s) to the asset at the closest level above the attribute’s node. For more information see Publish or Unpublish attributes.
Unpublishes the selected attribute(s) from the asset encapsulating it.
Locks all attributes that are not currently published to an asset for all nodes in the Channel Box. For more information see Lock an asset.
Selects the node corresponding to the attribute from which this option was chosen. If the node was already selected then this option unselects it.
Deletes the node corresponding to the attribute from which this option was chosen.
Deletes all history of the node corresponding to the attribute from which this option was chosen.
Contains a number of attribute related settings that affect the way you interact with an object’s attributes in the scene.
Controls the mapping between the mouse move distance and the numeric change when an attribute is adjusted by dragging the mouse. The higher the setting, the farther the object moves when the mouse is dragged (up to four different speeds). This also affects the In-View Editor.
Controls the type of mapping between the mouse move distance and the numeric change when an attribute is adjusted by dragging the mouse.
Toggles the display of an object’s name in the scene. For more information on namespaces see File referencing tips.
Opens the Change Precision window. The Change Precision window allows you to modify the decimal accuracy of the values you can assign to an object’s attributes.
Returns all Settings values to their default configuration.
Contains a number of attribute naming options. Nice displays the most readable attribute names, Long displays the full attribute names and Short displays shortened attribute names.
If you have multiple objects selected in your scene, you can view each of their attributes by selecting them from the Object menu.
Contains options that control the way assets and their attributes display in the Channel Box.
Displays all of an asset’s published attributes.
Displays only those published attributes on an asset that were published from the currently selected object(s).
When on, a selected object’s asset displays above the object in the Channel Box.
Allows you to view a subset of the available attributes, filtered by type. You can toggle various types by clicking them.
Reset the Channel Box to display all types by selecting Clear Below. Any custom entries you create will appear at the bottom.
If you are viewing a subset of the available attributes, this option inverts the filter to show all attributes not currently displayed.
Shows all attributes in the Channel Box for the selected object. Automatically resets all filters.
Shows only attributes of the same type as the attribute(s) currently selected in the Channel Box.
Creates a custom filter for whatever attribute types are currently displayed in the Channel Box. Note that you cannot create a filter type that matches one of the pre-existing filter types (for example, Translate, Rotate, and Scale).
Lets you delete filters you created with the Create Entry option.