IMAGE
Main Section
Scenes Folder
This field contains the path to RealFlow’s default directory where all scenes are stored. Whenever you create a project, RealFlow links to this directory. With “…” you can easily define a new location, while “Default” resets to the standard folder. If the environment variable "RFSCENESPATH" is defined in your operating system, the scenes folder is always updated with this variable ignoring the user preference.
Miscellanea
Axis setup
To guarantee a hassle-free exchange of geometry and simulation data, RealFlow has to be adjusted to your 3D software package. The idea behind this menu is to choose the correct height axis setup to avoid flipped or mirrored objects. This setting also affects many height-dependent Python scripting commands. You can select from these options (the first letter indicates the height axis):
YXZ Lightwave, cinema 4d
ZXY 3dsmax, maya
YZX xsi, maya, houdini
File
...
Cache (MB)
Here you can see the amount of RAM that is reserved for playing back your simulation data. The individual files can grow rather big, depending on the number of particles or polygons, slowing down playback speed. With higher settings playback can be accelerated.
Max. Frames
The number of simulation frames is related to RealFlow’s timeline. The given value of 200 is the standard end frame for simulations and playback. “Max. Frames” can also be changed individually for each project directly within the timeline. This setting is stored with the project and it is not necessary to overwrite the default “Max. Frame” value each time the scene’s opened.
Number of decimals
In most cases, it is enough to work with 2 decimals, but if you need higher precision it is possible to enter the number of decimals. Parameters like position or rotation, offer even higher precision by default, without changing “Number of decimals”. The field accepts any integer number between 1 and 5.
Scale
Geometry scale
Aside from a correct axis setup, scale has also to be adapted to your 3D package. Since different programs work with different scales, this scale type has to be represented in RealFlow’s workspace. Most of today's 3D programs also allow users to work at various scales as well (mm, cm, ft, m). RealFlow's standard scale, on the other hand, is 1.0 m. When RealFlow's scale is set to 1.0 m object with dimension of 20 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm, for example, appears in RealFlow with exactly the same size: 0.2 m x 0.2 m x 0.2 m. With a RealFlow scale of 10.0, the object appears as if it has a size of 2.0 m x 2.0 m x 2.0 m. Most of the connectivity plugins already provide a parameter where it is possible to adjust the objects to a certain scale, but this can also be done globally with the "Geometry scale" parameter. If you want to change scale on project level please use the "Scale options" dialogue. The following conversion table helps you to find the correct factor if you want to refer to RealFlow's standard scale of 1.0 m:
...
Please note that many 3D programs already provide methods and settings to work at real-world scales. It is therefore possible that the standard scale conversion table does not match anymore. In such a case you have to modify the scale either directly in your 3D application (downscaling, RealFlow export plugin scale converter) or in RealFlow with the "Scale options" panel of the "Various Elements" icon bar.
...
Scale is certainly one of RealFlow’s core concepts, because it greatly affects your simulations and calculation times. Scale is also very important for the credibility of simulations and can be used to compensate for problems with either very large or very small objects.
Max. Frames
The number of simulation frames is related to RealFlow’s timeline. The given value of 200 is the standard end frame for simulations and playback. “Max. Frames” can also be changed individually for each project directly within the timeline. This setting is stored with the project and it is not necessary to overwrite the default “Max. Frame” value each time the scene’s opened.
Number of decimals
In most cases, it is enough to work with 2 decimals, but if you need higher precision it is possible to enter the number of decimals. Parameters like position or rotation, offer even higher precision by default, without changing “Number of decimals”. The field accepts any integer number between 1 and 5.
Warning level
You can choose between normal warning and error messages, and expert style notifications
Warning Level
You can choose between normal warning and error messages, and expert style notifications.
Node list icon size
Size
With entries of the drop-down menu it is possible to determine the size of the icons in the “Nodes” tree.
Window Position (OS X only)
Keep windows on top
When this option is unchecked, all non-modal windows will be moved behind RealFlow's main GUI making it difficult to access them again. To avoid this behaviour, this checkbox should be active. A non-modal window, by the way, is a panel that allows you to access other, underlying windows, e.g. “Node Params” or the viewport. Examples for modal windows are “Export Central” and the “Scripted” daemon's Python editor.
Undo
Enabled
The checkbox enables/disables RealFlow’s undo function.
...