Layers - Main Window

The layer system's panel is located under RealFlow's “Layout” menu and you can also control it via a toolbar. There you will find a couple of icons giving you access to the most important functions. The layer window can be added to your custom RealFlow layout and saved, of course, because it behaves like any other floating window. Before we go through the individual functions, let's have a look at the panel, its layout and its features.

When a layer exists you can point with your mouse directly onto it to see its members in a tooltip box. Another method to show a layer's member is to use the “Show/Edit layer members” icon. The layer window also supports right-click menus. The function sets for both panels (“Visibility” and “Simulation”) are slightly different, but also have common entries.

The Visibility Panel

This panel offers two properties: “Visible” and “Display mode”. The first option turns the visibility of the layer's member on and off in the viewport. Of course, you can change visibility for each layer separately. “Display mode” controls the shading attributes of the layer's nodes. You can choose between the well-known modes “Bounding Box”, “Wireframe”, “Flat shaded” and “Smooth shaded”. Please keep in mind that you can change all properties at simulation time.

The Simulation Panel

Under “Simulation” you will also find two functions: “Simulation status” and “Export Data”. With the first option it is possible to switch between “Inactive”, “Active” and “Cache”. “Cache” is of special importance with Hybrido nodes, because here this mode is used to simulate the different passes for splashes, foam and mist. Scenes with high numbers of rigid bodies can also profit from this function - for example, when you want to cache a scene with hundreds of individual objects.

Please keep in mind that IDOCs do not have a “Cache” mode. If you try to set an IDOC to “Cache”, the node will be skipped and a warning message will be displayed in the messages window. Meshes are also a special case. When a mesh node is set to “Active”, the “Build” parameter will be set to “Yes” as well and the mesh will be created. On the other hand, “Inactive” will set “Build” to “No”, of course. Meshes do not support the cache mode either – here they behave like IDOCs.

The “Export Data” function is directly connected to the nodes' checkboxes under “Export Central”. If you set this option to “No”, RealFlow will not write any simulation data to your hard disk. With “Yes”, RealFlow will write the data, but only from nodes with already activated resources. The following table will give you an overview how “Export data” works: