Prefs - General

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:

1.000 means that there is no transition and the imported objects exactly share the same scale as RealFlow’s internal nodes. This is also important for exchanging RealFlow projects between users working with different scene scales. Scale is also connected to the viewport’s grid. One grid element has always a size of 1.0 m x 1.0 m, independent from the currently adjusted scene scale value.

Cell size scale

With Hybrido fluids, cell size is one of the most important parameters, because it affects all aspects of a simulation. In cases where fluid-object interaction is required, the objects' own “Cell size” value also has to be considered. Now imagine a scene with dozens or hundreds of objects with a default “Cell size” of 0.3 and you want to change this value to 0.1. Instead of selecting all objects and changing this value, you simply alter “Cell size scale” to 0.333. The formula is:

Cell size scale = Cell size (new) / Cell size (current)

Of course, this new value also affects the existing Hybrido domains, not only the objects.

Daemon force scale for fluids

This is a very nice option, because instead of adjusting all daemons of a scene individually, it is much easier to scale them globally. Since standard fluids, Hybrido fluids and objects are affected differently by forces, you can change them independently. Global settings are made under “Preferences”, while project-based adjustments are done with the “Scale options” button.

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.

Daemon force scale for objects

With this option, only the forces for rigid or soft bodies will be affected, regardless of whether they are imported or native.

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.

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.

Stack size

Here you can define the number of possible undo actions. Undo can be a very RAM consuming task. With very large scenes or enormous particles amounts, lots of RAM might be allocated, reducing RealFlow’s performance. In this case it is a good idea to free memory by using

Commands > Memory > Clear Undo Stack

Global Font

Font..

A click on this button lets you determine the global font type for RealFlow’s layout. You can choose from any font installed on your system, though some fonts are not very practical, e.g. Times New Roman or handwritten styles. For better readability we recommend using sans-serif fonts. Good examples are Arial, Helvetica, Verdana or Tahoma.