Edit the hierarchy of nodes

To...	Do this
Move one or more nodes under another (parent) node.	In the Hypergraph or Outliner, select the node(s) you want to parent, then do one of the following: Middle-drag the selected node(s) onto the parent node. The mouse cursor appears with a + sign when you drag. Release the mouse button when the cursor appears over top of the parent node to complete the parent operation. or Middle-click on the background region of the Hypergraph, then middle-drag the selected node(s) onto the parent node. The mouse cursor appears with a + sign when you drag. Release the mouse button when the cursor appears over top of the parent node to complete the parent operation. Select the nodes you want to assign to the parent, then shift-select the parent and select Edit > Parent > . For more information, see Parent Options.
Remove a node from the hierarchy under another node (unparent).	In the Hypergraph or Outliner, middle-drag the node away from its parent. or Select the child object you want to remove from under the parent and select Edit > Unparent > . For more information, see Unparent Options.

To...

Do this

Move one or more nodes under another (parent) node.

In the Hypergraph or Outliner, select the node(s) you want to parent, then do one of the following:
Middle-drag the selected node(s) onto the parent node. The mouse cursor appears with a + sign when you drag. Release the mouse button when the cursor appears over top of the parent node to complete the parent operation.

or

Middle-click on the background region of the Hypergraph, then middle-drag the selected node(s) onto the parent node. The mouse cursor appears with a + sign when you drag. Release the mouse button when the cursor appears over top of the parent node to complete the parent operation.
Select the nodes you want to assign to the parent, then shift-select the parent and select Edit > Parent > . For more information, see Parent Options.

Remove a node from the hierarchy under another node (unparent).

In the Hypergraph or Outliner, middle-drag the node away from its parent.
or
Select the child object you want to remove from under the parent and select Edit > Unparent > . For more information, see Unparent Options.

Tips

You can set the options of the Parent menu item to make the command create an instance under the new parent instead of moving the actual object in the hierarchy.
Unparenting an object removes it from under its parent’s transformation node, which can change the object’s position in the scene.
Open the Unparent menu item’s options and turn on the Preserve Position option to apply the transformations to the object as it is unparented so it retains its current position.