thanks for the quick replies . I know how to apply textures in Maya, but I do it in my world editor (3d world studio) because when imported from maya the item isn't textured. The reason I need to do this is because in my world editor when the object is selected, the entire object is selected as one mesh (grouped or not; combined or separated). So therefore only one texture can be applied in 3dws. Somebody in the 3dws forums told me that he is able to select multiple subobjects on his objects by assigning material ID's during export. Unfortunately he uses Max so didn't know how to do it in maya. thanks