---
title: "Menus and Shelves"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/PHX4MAYA/125960304/Menus%20and%20Shelves"
format: markdown
---
This page gives an overview of the Phoenix UI integration into Maya.

## **Overview**

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Chaos Phoenix is a Fluid Simulation plug-in that integrates with the Maya user interface. Menu options, dialog windows, and parameters flow logically from the familiar Maya tools to make using Phoenix a seamless experience.

In order to use Phoenix, you must first enable it in the Plug-in Manager. Go to **Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager**. For the **phoenixfd.mll** option, enable the **Loaded** checkbox to load Phoenix manually. If you want Phoenix to load automatically every time Maya starts, enable the  **Auto load** option.


![image](media://ae781655-8e17-420f-b394-e0c915906ebf)




## **Integration**

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Phoenix integrates with Maya in the following ways:

- [Menu Integration](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125830010) -** **Phoenix adds a number of items to the **Phoenix FD Menu** in the Dynamics menu set. It exposes most of Phoenix's functionality in one place.
- [Phoenix Shelf](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125862930) - Phoenix includes a shelf with easy shortcuts to some of the most commonly used Phoenix components.