How to make select command work on button using Python in Maya?

I’m new to Python programming and need help in Maya.

So I’m trying to create a UI with a button that selects an object named "big" in my maya scene, but I cannot get this to work. How do I add select command to my button ball_btn?

I have tried to plug cmds.select("ball") to the button but no luck.

Thank you!

ball_btn = mc.button(label = “”, w = 50, h = 30, bgc = [1.000,0.594,0.064])

Solution

The Maya docs already give you a good example on how to hook up a button to a function.

Once your button triggers a function when it's clicked, you can do a simple check if the object exists in the scene and then select it:

import maya.cmds as cmds


# Define a function that the button will call when clicked.
def select_obj(*args):
  if cmds.objExists("ball"):  # Check if there's an object in the scene called ball.
      cmds.select("ball")  # If it does exist, then select it.
  else:
      cmds.error("Unable to find ball in the scene!")  # Otherwise display an error that it's missing.


# Create simple interface.
win = cmds.window(width=150)
cmds.columnLayout(adjustableColumn=True)
cmds.button(label="Select", command=select_obj)  # Use command parameter to connect it to the earlier function.
cmds.showWindow(win)

You can also connect the button's command directly to cmds.select using lambda:

import maya.cmds as cmds


# Create simple interface.
win = cmds.window(width=150)
cmds.columnLayout(adjustableColumn=True)
cmds.button(label="Select", command=lambda x: cmds.select("ball"))  # Use lambda to connect directly to the select method.
cmds.showWindow(win)

But then you would have zero customization with how it handles errors, or if you want it to do other things. Generally stick with the button triggering a function unless you have a good reason not to. Keep in mind you can use lambda for your own custom function too.