Maya Browser Window Documentation

Every menu, button, panel, click command and right-click item in the Maya Browser Window. Hover over an item to see what it does.

Getting Started

What the tool is for, how to install it and how the window is laid out

What it does

The Maya Browser Window is a file browser that runs inside Autodesk Maya. It lists the Maya scenes (.ma, .mb), FBX files, folders and shortcuts in one folder, and lets you open, import, reference, save and export scenes without Maya's own file dialogs. It also lists the references in the open scene, keeps a list of favorite folders, and shows and sets the current Maya project. Slow and network drives don't freeze Maya: deletes, backups and folder scans run in the background.

Installing

Open Maya 2024 or newer, click the shelf tab you want the button on, then drag install.py into the Maya viewport. The tool is copied to Documents/maya/<version>/scripts/Savvy_Maya_Browser_Window and a shelf button with a folder icon is added to the active shelf. A message box confirms the install. If install.py already sits inside the Maya scripts folder, nothing is copied and the button runs the tool from there.

Works with Maya versions built on PySide2 or PySide6.

Updating

Drag the new version's install.py into Maya. It replaces the files and updates every existing Browser Window button on every shelf. A new button is added only if the active shelf has none. Your settings are kept.

Opening the tool

Click the shelf button, labeled Savvy Maya Browser. The window's title reads Maya File Browser. Each click reloads the code from disk and closes any browser window that is already open, so only one window is open at a time. The window's size and position are restored the next time it opens.

To launch it by hand, run run.py from the tool folder in the Script Editor's Python tab: import runpy; runpy.run_path(r"<tool folder>/run.py", run_name="__main__")

Window layout

top to bottom

  • File menu
  • Source folder row
  • Project row
  • Left panel (Favorites, References) | Right panel (Files list)
  • Filter row
  • Scene row: New Scene, Save Scene, Save As, Save Confirm Dialog
  • Action row: Go To Current File, Reopen Current File, Set Project
  • Reference row: Reference, Export Selected
  • Open row: Import, Open File
  • Reload Tool (bottom right)

The divider between the left and right panels can be dragged.

Package files

  • install.py
  • Savvy_Maya_Browser_Window.py
  • Savvy_Maya_Browser_Window.png
  • run.py
  • README.txt

Main Window

The File menu and every row of buttons

File

menu

  • Settings
  • Save Settings
  • About
  • Exit

Source Folder

top row

  • Source folder text box
  • ... browse button

Project

second row

  • Current Project
  • Refresh
  • Open Dir
  • Set Project From Current

Filter

row below the Files list

  • Filter text box
  • Search Sub Folders checkbox
  • Clear

Scene

button row

  • New Scene
  • Save Scene
  • Save As
  • Save Confirm Dialog checkbox

Action

button row

  • Go To Current File
  • Reopen Current File
  • Set Project

Reference

button row

  • Reference
  • Export Selected

Open

bottom button row

  • Import
  • Open File
  • bottom right
  • Reload Tool

Favorites and References

The two lists in the left panel

Favorites

favorite folders, under a Folder Name header

  • Click a favorite
  • right-click menu
  • Add Current Folder
  • Remove Selected
  • Remove All

Favorites whose folder no longer exists are hidden. Changes are saved when the window closes, or right away with File > Save Settings.

References

every reference in the open scene

  • Refresh
  • Click an entry
  • right-click menu
  • Import Selected Into Scene
  • Remove Selected Reference
  • Reload Selected
  • Unload Selected
  • Unload All
  • Remove All

Entries show the file name without its extension. Loaded references are blue; unloaded ones are grey and end in (unloaded). The list updates by itself when references are added, removed, loaded or unloaded. The faint text in the panel's bottom-left corner is a reminder of the Files list click commands.

Files List

The contents of the source folder, its click commands and its right-click menu

What's Listed

only these items appear

  • ..
  • Folder
  • Shortcut
  • Maya ASCII
  • Maya Binary
  • FBX

Columns are Name, Type, Size and Modified (MM-DD-YYYY hh:mm AM/PM). Click a header to sort; folders and shortcuts always stay above files. The list refreshes by itself when files are added, changed or removed, including in network and Google Drive folders, which are checked about every 5 seconds. If the folder disappears, the list moves to a valid folder and Maya shows a warning.

Click Commands

in the Files list

  • Single click ..
  • Single click a folder
  • Single click a folder shortcut
  • Single click a shortcut to a scene
  • Double click any other shortcut
  • Double click a file
  • Triple click a file
  • Click a file four or more times

Mouse and Keyboard

  • Selecting
  • Mouse Back button
  • Mouse Forward button
  • Delete key
  • Arrow keys

Buttons Above the List

  • Open Recent
  • Folder
  • Folder the arrow beside Folder

Right-Click Menu

right-clicking a file selects only that file first

  • Rename File
  • Create Backup From Selected
  • Delete the Selected File
  • Open Containing Folder
  • right-click a folder
  • Delete Folder
  • Add Folder to Favorites

Dialogs

The small windows the buttons open. Enter confirms Save As, Export Selected, Create New Folder and Rename File.

Save As

  • Enter filename
  • Format: mb / ma
  • Save

Export Selected

  • Export filename
  • Format: mb / ma
  • Include these inputs checkbox
    • History
    • Channels
    • Expressions
    • Constraints
  • Include texture info checkbox
  • Check All / Uncheck All
  • Export

Create New Folder

  • Enter folder name
  • Create
  • Cancel

Rename File

  • Enter new filename
  • Rename
  • Cancel

Button Color Settings

File > Settings

  • one row per button: Reference, Export Selected, New Scene, Save Scene, Add Favorite, Remove Favorite, Import, Open File and Save As
  • Color swatch / Pick Color
  • Reset
  • Reset All
  • Cancel
  • Save

Settings and Safety

What the tool remembers, and how it protects your files

Saved settings

Settings are stored in <Maya user prefs folder>/Browser Window Settings/settings.json, for example Documents/maya/2024/prefs/Browser Window Settings/. If Maya can't report that folder, the tool uses %APPDATA%/MayaFileBrowser/settings.json instead. Installing or updating the tool doesn't touch them.

  • Favorite folders
  • Quick folder names (the arrow beside Folder)
  • Last 15 recent files
  • Last source folder
  • Filter text
  • Save Confirm Dialog on/off
  • Window size and position
  • Button colors

Saved when the window closes, with File > Save Settings, and whenever the recent files or quick folders change. The window starts in the last source folder if it still exists, otherwise the current Maya project folder, otherwise your home folder.

Safety

  • The open scene, and any folder that holds it, can't be deleted.
  • Deletes are permanent. Nothing goes to the Recycle Bin.
  • A delete first renames the item to a hidden name, then removes it in the background. If that fails, the item is put back. If it can't be put back, it is renamed <name>_DELETE_RECOVERY_NEEDED so it is easy to find.
  • Save As, Export Selected and Rename File refuse folder paths, characters Windows doesn't allow, and reserved names such as CON or NUL.
  • Save As and Export Selected ask before replacing a file.
  • If Save As fails, the scene keeps its old name.
  • Settings are written to a temporary file first, so a crash during a save can't corrupt them.
  • Deletes, backups and folder scans run in the background, so Maya doesn't freeze on slow or network drives.
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