Maya notes on UI MAYA NOTES - User Interface
Menu of tools and functions - top 4 lines
  • top line: Main menu
  • 2nd line: Menu set - selection by leftmost pull-down menu
  • 3rd line: pulldown menu of menu set
  • 4th line: Shelf: Menu shortcuts for tools including MEL scripts that you write
Left tool panel
Column at left for selection, transformations, quick layout
  • pointer, lasso
  • translate, rotate, scale
  • perspective view, 4 panel view
  • other layouts of info to right (main viewing area)
Main viewing area
For display of:
  • Object views
  • Hypergraph
  • Material properites
  • etc.
Right Panel
Selected by the upper rightmost 3 icons
  • Channel Box & Layers
  • Attribute Editor
  • Tool Editor
Animation Aids
2 lines near bottom (just above last 2 lines at bottom) across width of window
  • Timeline
  • Playback controls
  • Range Slider
  • Character Menu
MEL input
The second to last line at bottom of page:
  • single MEL command input box (left)
  • system feedback to command (right)
  • Icon to pull up the MEL input/output panel (extreme right)
Bottom line: Help Line
Put cursor over an item and this displays a helpful hint about it