Autodesk Maya, a leading 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering software, utilizes several file extensions for various types of data, with the primary ones for scene files being .ma and .mb. Other extensions handle scripts, motion data, and more.
Common Autodesk Maya File Extensions
The following table details some of the key file extensions associated with Autodesk Maya, particularly those supported for data export:
| File Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .ma | Maya ASCII Scene File |
| .mb | Maya Binary Scene File |
| .mel | MEL Script |
| .mov | Move (ASCII Motion) |
Understanding Maya's Core File Types
- Maya ASCII (.ma): These files store scene data in a human-readable, plain text format. This format is beneficial for debugging, version control systems, and making manual edits to the scene data if necessary. It allows users to open and inspect the underlying code that defines their 3D scenes.
- Maya Binary (.mb): These files store scene data in a compressed, binary format. They are generally smaller in file size and quicker to load and save compared to their ASCII counterparts. However, they are not human-readable, making them less suitable for direct text-based editing or version control beyond Maya's internal systems. Most users primarily work with
.mbfiles for efficiency.
Other Significant Extensions
- MEL (.mel): Maya Embedded Language (MEL) is a scripting language used within Maya to automate tasks, create custom tools, and extend the software's functionality. MEL scripts are stored as
.melfiles and can be executed directly within Maya. - Move (.mov): While
.movis broadly known as a QuickTime video format, within the context of Maya's data export capabilities, it can refer to an ASCII motion data format. This specific.movfile type in Maya is used for exporting raw motion capture data or animation sequences as text-based motion curves, which can then be imported and applied to characters or objects in a scene.
For a comprehensive list of supported data export formats in Autodesk Maya, you can refer to the official Autodesk Help documentation.
