Use these options to specify the name, type, and location-on-disk for the Fluid nCaches you want to create, merge or replace.
- Cache Directory
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Specifies the location on your server or local disk to which the fluid cache is saved. The folder icon (
) allows you to browse to a different directory than the default. If your scene has been saved to disk, then your fluid cache files are saved to folders named after their scene files in the \maya\projects\default\data\ directory by default. If your scene has never been saved, then your fluid cache files are saved to the \maya\projects\default\data\cache directory by default.
- Cache Name
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Specifies the name for the fluid caches you want to create.
- Use as Prefix
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Sets the Cache Name as a prefix. When on, the base names of your fluid caches are the current fluid objects’ names plus the specified Cache Name as a prefix. For example, the cache file names for an fluid object named Cape with the prefix red are as follows: red_CapeFrame1, red_CapeFrame2, red_CapeFrame3 and so on. This option is only available when One File Per Frame is on.
- Cache format
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Specifies the Maya cache format.
- mcx
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Creates cache files that use 64-bit indices. These cache files can exceed 2.0 GB.
- mcc
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Creates cache files that use 32-bit indices. These cache files cannot exceed 2.0 GB.
- File distribution
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Select one of the following File distribution options.
- One file per frame
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Specifies that one fluid cache file per frame of the specified Cache Time Range is created. If multiple fluid objects are selected, one fluid cache file per frame is created for all the fluids.
- One file
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Specifies that one fluid cache file for the specified Cache Time Range is created. If multiple fluid objects are selected, one fluid cache file is created for all the fluid objects.
- One file per object
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When on, one nCache file (if One file is on) or one nCache file per frame (if One file per frame is on) for each of the selected objects, for the specified Cache time range, is created.
When off, one nCache file (if One file is on) or one nCache file per frame (if One file per frame is on) for all the selected objects, for the specified Cache time range, is created.
This option is only available when multiple objects are selected.
If you have more than one fluid object in your scene, One file per object is on by default.
- Cache Time Range
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Select one of the following Cache Time Range options.
- Render Settings
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Specifies that your current Render Settings determine the Cache Time Range.
- Time Slider
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Specifies that the current playback range in your Time Slider determines the Cache Time Range.
- Start/End
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Specifies that the range of frames between (and including) the specified Start and End times determines the Cache Time Range.
- Start/End
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These fields let you specify a Start and End time for the Cache Time Range.
- Evaluate every frame(s) and Save every evaluation(s)
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When creating a fluid cache, one sample of your fluid effect’s simulation is taken every frame and saved to your cache by default.
Evaluate every frame(s) specifies how often samples are taken during fluid cache creation. For example, a value of 2 caches the simulation of the current fluid effect at every other frame of the Cache Time Range.
Save every evaluation(s) specifies which samples are saved during fluid cache creation. For example, a value of 2 specifies that only every other sample specified by the Evaluate every frame(s) option is saved to your fluid cache.
- Cache
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Specifies which fluid properties are saved in the cache file.
- Delete existing caches after merge
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(For Merge Caches) Specifies that all your enabled nCache nodes are deleted when the merged nCache is created. However, your nCaches on disk are preserved.
- Inherit modifications
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(For Replace Caches) Specifies that the replacement nCache inherits the position (in time), trimming, splitting, and scaling of the cache it is replacing.