Project | View Navigation | Move – Rotate – Scale | Polygon component selection
In Maya, you should always work in a project.
You want to start Maya from the Desktop Icon, Start Menu, Dock, Spotlight or however you find the program. Once the program has loaded, set your project.
- If you already have a project, go to File > Set Project… and choose the project directory
- To create a new project, go to File > Project Window
- Maya Help on creating / using projects
- Make sure to create your project on your own hard / flash drive
Once you project is set, you can open a scene. File > Open will get you directly to the scenes folder of your project. Avoid starting Maya by double clicking on a Maya file.
View Navigation
(LMB = Left Mouse Button, MMB = Middle Mouse Button, RMB = Right Mouse Button)
- ALT + LMB → Rotate view
- ALT + MMB → Move / pan view
- ALT + RMB → Zoom view
- hit a to center everything in view (Frame All)
- hit f to center selection in view (Frame Selected)
Move – Rotate – Scale: QWERTY
The basic tools are accessible though the QWERTY keys on the top left of a standard QUERTY keyboard:
- q – select
- w – move
- e – rotate
- r – scale
- t – Hide manipulator
- y – Repeat last command (not always the one you expect)
Note that when a light or camera is selected t brings up the interactive controls.
Polygon component selection:
Right click on object to bring up selection menu
Or press F9 (vertex), F10 (edges), F11 (faces) or F12 (UV).