One of the things I'd like to do on this blog from time to time is share tools or scripts that I use as a part of my workflow, a lot of which I set up as hotkeys. Rather than assume everyone knows how to set up hotkeys (I know quite a few senior animators that don't - some people just don't use them in their workflow) I thought I'd create this tutorial that I can link to whenever I post anything that might require it.
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If you've never opened the Hotkey Editor before, it's pretty easy to find. In the top Maya menu just look for
Window->Settings/Preferences->Hotkey Editor
The Categories list in the left panel is there to help you find a lot of Maya commands by sorting them into descriptive subheadings. You are able to create your own hotkeys in any of these categories if you like; I tend to create all of mine in the 'User' category so they are easy to find and modify later on.
Once you choose a category, press the 'New' button.
Pressing 'New' now activates several fields. The first is 'Name:'. This is where you put the name of your command that you want to display in the upper-middle 'Commands' window.
The second thing you'll want to do is look at the radio buttons next to 'Language:' and make sure to select the appropriate coding language for your script - MEL or Python.
The larger window at the bottom is where you type/paste your code. Once finished, press 'Accept'.
You should now see your command name show up in the 'Commands' window. If you select it, you'll be able to set the key you want assigned to call it.
'Key:' is where you type the keyboard key you want to use.
Directly below that is a couple of checkboxes called 'Modifiers'. These can be used to allow for more unique hotkeys. For instance, if 'y' is already assigned to something, you could check 'Ctrl' to see if 'Ctrl+y' is available, or 'Ctrl+Alt+y'.
Directly above the 'Assign' button you should see a line or two of text that notifies you of what is assigned to your current selection. You can look for something that says 'Nothing' or you can see if the command currently assigned to what you want to use is something you actually use. If not, feel free to overwrite it.
After clicking 'Assign', a window may pop up warning you that your hotkey selection is currently assigned to something else. Click 'Assign' again and you are done!
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That's it! Now you can set up any hotkey you want! Start writing some scripts or keep checking out the blog for tools and scripts that I use in my workflow. I hope this helps!
Photo Credit: Kolin Toney via Compfight cc