Particles Inspecting attributes

Use the details pane to show the values of the attributes on particles in a particle system.

  1. Choose Windows > Floating Pane to create a new window, then press Alt + 8 .

    Alternatively, you can simply change an existing pane into a details pane by pressing Alt + 8 .

  2. Navigate to the POP network.

  3. Make sure the spreadsheet is set to show attributes for Points (use the drop-down menu).

    The spreadsheet should show one row for each particle in the system, with columns for each attribute.

Reading the pstate attribute

The pstate attribute is actually a “bit field”, storing several different state flags in a single value. Houdini calculates the value of pstate by adding up the following values for each flag that is on:

Flag Value
Dead 1
Stopped 2
Stuck 4
Just hit 8

For example:

Particlepstate value
Active0
Stopped2
Stopped and dead3 (2 + 1)
Stuck and just hit12 (4 + 8)