The Behavior Editor is a design tool for creating and managing a Behavior Graph, by combining multiple Behaviors and Operators inside a Behavior Container.
The Behavior Editor also contains the Trigger Editor, a dedicated tool for creating and managing a Trigger Graph. Please refer to the Trigger Editor page for more informations.
The Behavior Editor is composed of a main workspace to design a Behavior Graph, the Behavior Library, the Trigger Editor and its Trigger Library, the Nodes Outliner, a toolbar and a status bar.
Behavior Editor GUI
The workspace is a node-based graphical interface where you can combine Operators and Behaviors to create a Behavior Graph.
Several workspace tabs can be opened, each one showing the content of a Behavior Container. Without any Behavior Container opened the workspace stays empty, prompting the user to create/open an Entity Types. Opened Behavior Containers tabs are saved with the scene.
Workspace Tabs
After running the simulation, Behavior Graph Feedbacks are shown in the workspace.
The Behavior Library is the toolbox of the Behavior Editor. It contains three views.
This panel is dockable on either side of the Main workspace. If
closed, it can be reopened by clicking the Behavior Library
button
It provides a quick access to built-in behaviors. Behaviors can be added to the workspace by drag-and-drop.
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Go To | used in addition to Navigation Behavior to make an Entity, or a particle reach a target |
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Navigation | provides reactive navigation abilities to an Entity |
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Motion | plays a set of Motion Clips on an Entity |
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Locomotion | follows the particle's position and velocity by dynamically blending motions from a given set |
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Synchronized Motion | plays an animation synchronized with the environment |
Navigation And Locomotion | plays a set of Motion Clips and dynamically blends them together to reach the current target position of the Entity | |
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Physicalize | physicalizes an Entity |
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Force | used in addition to Physicalize Behavior to add dynamics' event on a physicalize Entity |
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Detach | detachs a bone or a bone chain from an Entity |
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Character Controller | uses the physics engine to perform ground adaptation and obstacles navigation on physicalized entities / Crowd Rigid Bodies |
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Look At | makes an Entity limb look at a given target |
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IK | makes an Entity reach a given target with a given body limb |
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Adapt Position | adapts the position of an Entity |
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Adapt Orientation | adapts the orientation of an Entity |
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Adapt Ground | changes the ground adaption mode of an Entity |
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Set Bone | allows to edit a bone orientation (affect a fixed value or add a noise function to an animation) |
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MassSpring | adds inertia to one, or several, bone chain(s), according to some spring and damping coefficients. |
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Channel Operator | allows to process input values and output the results in some channel values through a graph of Channel Operators nodes (ChOps). Check out the Channel Operators documentation for more details about this graph. |
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Activate Sensor | enables a sensor on an Entity for as long as the behavior is active. |
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Cloth | adds a Maya ncloth simulation on an Entity |
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Apex Cloth | adds a NVidia Physx Apex cloth simulation on an Entity |
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UVPin | binds an Entity according to its projected position on source terrain and destination mesh. |
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Set Terrain | used to switch the ground used for adaptation or the ground orient normals / pin mode |
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Geometry Animation | changes the source GCG / FBX Geometry File during a simulation or play a GCG / FBX baked animation Geometry File. |
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Constraint | constraints any Maya object (emitter, locator, light…) to an Entity bone |
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Master Slave | binds a slave entity position and/or orientation to a master entity bone, with optional offsets. |
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Emit | emits new particles, from a bone position of the current character, with an optional offset. |
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Kill | removes the current entity from the simulation immediately |
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Script | applies a script command at each frame |
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Set Formation | enables a formation for a group of Entities |
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Steer | adds a goal to flock Entities in addition to Flock Behavior. |
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Flock | applies flock navigation forces to entities |
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Perch On | defines all surfaces on which a flock boid may land/stop. |
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Traffic | makes an entity present on the traffic system |
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Traffic Goto | adds a target destination, or a wander behavior, to entities already using the Traffic behavior |
This view provides an access to Operators. As the Behavior View, operators can be added to the workspace by drag-and-drop.
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Behavior Container | combination of Behaviors and Operators resulting in a Behavior Graph |
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Loop | process a Behavior several times |
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Parallel | process several Behaviors at the same time |
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No Order | process a sequence of Behaviors in a random order |
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If | selects one connection among several connections and conditions |
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Random | randomly select one connection among several connections |
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Block | blocks the Behavior Graph process until a trigger returns true and then waits a given number of frames to delay |
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Anchor | organize the Behavior Graph |
The Custom Behaviors view is a file browser, pointing on a chosen directory containing Custom Behaviors, i.e Behavior previously saved.
Notice that the browsed directory can be changed in the Crowd Settings Dialog.
The Nodes Outliner is a snapshot of the Entity Types, Behaviors, Operators, Motion Clips and Triggers currently available in the scene. It contains two views.
This panel is dockable on either side of the Main workspace. If
closed, it can be reopened by clicking the
Nodes Outliner button
It contains the Entity Types and Group Entity Types currently available in the scene and mapped to a Behavior Container.
Mapped Dynamic Attributes are visible under Entity Types in the view.
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This view is divided in three tabs. Each tab contains a filter box to perform accurate searches on relative nodes.
Behaviors Tab
This tab contains all Behaviors and Operators of the Maya scene.
Motion Clips Tab
This tab regroup every Motion Clips present in the Maya scene.
Triggers Tab
This tab contains every Triggers present in the Maya scene.
The Triggers Tab filter box allow to search inside the Triggers attributes.
It contains quick access buttons mostly used for changing the display or editing in the main workspace.
Behavior Editor Tool Bar
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Link button, to draw a link between Behaviors/Triggers inside the workspace. It's also possible to drag mouse while holding the middle-button to draw a link |
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Enable button, to make the selected Behavior/Trigger active |
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Disable button, to deactivate the selected Behavior/Trigger without removing it from the Behavior Graph |
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Back to parent button, to get back to the parent of the current Behavior Container. It's also possible to use CTRL+double-click. |
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Expand selected Behavior Containers. If no selection, expand workspace's collapsed Behavior Containers. |
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Collapse selected Behavior Containers. If no selection, collapse workspace's expanded Behavior Containers. |
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Frame all button, to fit the workspace to all Behaviors/Triggers of the current container tab |
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Frame selection button, to fit the workspace to the current selection. Press "F" Key for the same result |
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Real size button, to resize the workspace to the initial size |
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Sticky Notes button, to add Sticky Notes inside the workspace. |
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Trigger Editor button, to show or hide the Trigger Editor |
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Behavior Library button, to show or hide the Behavior Library window |
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Trigger Library button, to show or hide the Trigger Library window |
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Behavior Outliner button, to show or hide the Behavior Outliner window |
Behavior Editor Status Bar
It contains a contextual report relative to the current selection. Behavior Graph Feedbacks are also shown in the Task bar.