Tip of the Week: Copy Tab

From time to time, it's necessary to compare the attributes of two different nodes. You could always select the two objects in question and open up Maya's attribute spreadsheet, but that's not always the fastest or easiest way to find what you're looking for.

One useful method is to use the Copy Tab button at the bottom of the attribute editor. Normally, the attribute editor displays information for one node at a time, and automatically changes every time you select a new object in the outliner or viewport.

When you copy a tab, the copied instance continues to display the information of the node that was displayed when you made the copy. This allows you to select a new node and compare their attributes side by side.





This is useful if you have precise attributes on one node that you want to enter on another node. I find it comes in handy most often for shading, animating, and dynamics - occasions when you might want to make sure that two nodes have the same settings.

It's also a good method of troubleshooting; comparing two nodes side by side can be a thorough way of looking for discrepancies that may be causing a problem.