The Maya 2011 Interface - Introducing Maya 2011 - page 75

in your scene and you're having difficulty selecting a certain type of object with your
mouse pointer, you can use these filters to single out the object(s):

Icon name DescrIptIon

Set Object Selection Mask Turns on or off all selection icons

Select by Handles Allows selection of object handles

Select by Joints Allows selection of joints

Select by Curve Allows selection of curves

Select by Surfaces Allows selection of surfaces

Select by Deformations Allows selection of lattices and other deformers

Select by Dynamics Allows selection of particles and dynamic objects

Select by Rendering Allows selection of rendering nodes and objects such as lights and

cameras

Select by Miscellaneous Allows selection of miscellaneous objects such as locators and

dimensions

Lock Selection Keeps selected objects locked in as selected

Highlight Selection Mode Turns off the automatic display of components when selecting in a

selection mode

You'll work with these ilters throughout the topic. For a quick preview, hover your
cursor over each of the icons to see a tool tip that gives the icon's name and describes its
function. As you gain experience, you'll find these masks helpful in your workflow.

Snapping Functions or Snaps
The icons with the magnets are called snaps . They allow you to snap your cursor or object
to specific points in the scene. You can snap to other objects, to CVs or vertices, and to
grid intersections and other locations by toggling these icons. Therefore, you can place
your objects or points precisely. You made good use of the snapping functions in the pre-
vious chapter in making the Solar System:

Icon name DescrIptIon

Snap to Grids Lets you snap objects to intersections of the view's grid.

Snap to Curves Lets you snap objects along a curve.

Snap to Points Lets you snap objects to object points such as CVs or vertices.

Snap to View Planes Lets you snap objects to view planes.

Make the Selected Object Live This icon has nothing to do with snapping but is grouped with

the Snap To icons. It lets you create objects such as curves
directly on a surface.