Learning the Autodesk Maya hotkeys can help you churn out animations or effects faster, making your work more efficient and impressing your clients and team, too. Mastering these shortcuts may take some practice, but it’s worth the time and effort.
So, we created a comprehensive guide of 75+ Maya shortcuts and quick keys to optimize how you work. We also share how to custom map your keyboard and equipment.
79 must-know Maya shortcuts (separated by category)
Known for processes ranging from 3D modeling to game development, Maya comes with a variety of controls. We sorted each Maya shortcut by category, starting with a shortlist of the most popular hotkeys.
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Popular Maya hotkeys and shortcuts
Looking for the basics? Here are some of the most common Maya shortcuts you likely use daily:
Playback
Selecting and snapping
Display settings
Editing
Modeling
Painting
Tumble, track, or dolly
How to add or change shortcuts in Maya
Autodesk’s Maya provides plenty of built-in shortcuts, making it easy to carry out your work. That said, some artists or animators may prefer to create their own custom keyboard shortcuts to build a more personalized workflow or extend their workspace across several pieces of equipment.
You can set up your own Maya shortcuts and open up the hotkey editor using the following steps:
- Start by navigating to Windows > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor.
- Select the gear icon next to the Hotkey Set field in the upper left corner and choose Duplicate.
- In the Edit Hotkeys menu, select the category for your hotkey to find the appropriate command.
- Ensure that On Press or On Release is active in the dropdown menu next to the hotkey selector.
- Once you find the command, select it and then choose the desired key on the Hotkey Editor keyboard layout.
- The adjusted key is now active. You can click the corresponding key on the Hotkey Editor to double-check you successfully assigned the command.
- Select Save to finalize your remappings.
Note that some keys are reserved for essential commands and, as a result, can’t be remapped. For instance, Ctrl + W is a critical operating system hotkey and can’t be adjusted.
How to transfer your Maya hotkeys
When working with dense animation files, switching between workspaces is common. You can transfer your Maya hotkeys using the following export process:
- Save a separate copy of your hotkeys set within the Hotkey Editor by selecting Duplicate and entering the name of your hotkeys set.
- Adjust and save your custom Maya hotkeys set.
- On your new computer or device, click Import to load your Maya hotkeys set into the Hotkey Editor.
This way, you can seamlessly transfer your custom-mapped workspace from any interface.
Final thoughts
Adopting Maya shortcuts into your animation or VFX workflow is just one way to increase your productivity.
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