This page provides information on the V-Ray Shelf.
Overview
V-Ray includes a shelf with easy shortcuts to some of the most commonly used V-Ray components. The shelf can be added to the shelf dock the first time you launch Houdini with V-Ray installed.
Adding the V-Ray Shelf
To add the V-Ray tab into your Houdini UI after the first time you run the batch file/installer, follow the steps below:
- Click the + button at the far right of the Houdini Shelf Dock.
- Go to the Shelves sub-menu and choose V-Ray to add a check to that shelf option.
For more details on the tools available from the shelf, please see the Shelf Functions section.
Shelf Functions
The V-Ray Shelf provides the functions listed below.
| Button Icon | Button Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Render | Starts a Production render and launches the VFB window. Note: A camera must be set in the viewport to start the render. Shift + Left-click on the button to select a different render. |
| ROP Parm | Opens the V-Ray Renderer settings. Shift + Left-click on the button to select different ROP parameters. |
| IPR (VFB) | Starts an Interactive Production Rendering (IPR) session and launches the VFB window. Shift + Left-click on the button to select a different IPR render. |
| Show VFB | Launches the V-Ray Frame Buffer window. Shift + Left-click on the button to select different ROP parameters. |
| Camera Properties | Allows you to override some of the Camera Overrides in the Renderer window on an individual camera-by-camera basis, such as Field of View (FOV) value and camera type. |
| Phys. Camera | Adds V-Ray Physical Camera properties to the active Houdini Camera. |
| Object Props | Adds a number of properties on per-object basis. See the Object Properties page for more information. |
| Subdivs Props | Assigns displacement properties to a Geometry node. |
| Hair Props | Assigns V-Ray Hair Properties to the selected Geometry node. |
| Cosmos | Opens the Chaos Cosmos Browser. |
| Import Mtl | Imports material from a .vrscene file. Select the correct file path to import the material in Houdini. |
| Import .aur | Imports an .aur file, i.e. a Phoenix simulation cache file. |
| Light Direct | Creates a V-Ray Direct Light. |
| Light IES | Creates a V-Ray IES Light. |
| Light Rect. | Creates a V-Ray Rectangle Light. |
| Light Spot | Creates a V-Ray Spot Light. |
| Light Sun | Creates a V-Ray Sun Light. |
| Light Dome | Creates a V-Ray Dome Light. |
| Light Lister | Opens the V-Ray Light Lister window that gives users an easy access to all the V-Ray lights in a scene. |
