Reference Menus

Clears the current scene and starts a new scene.

Loads a .hip file from disk.

The File menu lists the last four .hip files opened. Choose a .hip file from this list to reload it quickly.

Saves the current scene to a .hip file.

Imports the data from another .hip file into the current scene.

Creates a new, empty digital asset.

Loads a digital asset from a file.

Updates operator type libraries (OTLs) from their on-disk definitions. Use this to sync up with any changes to the files since you loaded them. The update is controlled by the options in Tools > Operator Type Manager.

Choose an Hscript file, and it will run as if you typed it in the Hscript Textport.

Exits Houdini.

Reverses the last user action.

To set the amount of memory reserved for undo, choose Edit > Preferences and choose Miscellaneous from the pop-up menu at the top.

Opens a window showing the history of user actions (the “undo stack”). Click an action in the list to undo back to that action.

Cuts or Copies all selected objects to the Editor’s clipboard.

If you have trouble copying and pasting between .hip files, use opscript or opwrite to save out the operators, and source to read them back into the second .hip file.

Opens the Main Preferences window. You can select a preference category from the sub-menu. Once the window is open, you can use the drop-down menu at the top of the window to choose different preference categories including: General User Interface, Network Editor Tiles and Trees, 3D Viewports, Takes, Animation, Handles, Objects and Geometry, Particles, Motion and Audio, Compositing, Scripting, Desktops and Toolbars, Save Options, Miscellaneous, Hip File Options, and Warning Dialogs.

Opens the Hotkey window.

Opens the Color Settings window.

Opens the Aliases and Variables window.

Opens the Compositing Setting window.

Releases any memory currently being used by the compositing cache to speed up compositing operations. The compositing cache can grow very large, especially when compositing over multiple frames. If you're running low on memory, this command can potentially free up a large amount.

Sets a keyframe.

Bone Kinematic Override

Keep Position when Parenting

Generally, you want to make sure Keep Position when Parenting is set to Always before parenting limbs.

To maintain an object’s world space position, Houdini may need to change one or more of the child object’s Translation Order, Translate, Rotate or Scale values. Because this is undesirable if you have an animation channel on one of those values, Keep Position When Parenting does nothing if the child object has animated channels on any of the necessary Translate, Rotate or Scale parameters.

Turns on continuous updates of parameter values in the parameter editor when you change the UI or playback animation. For more information, see Interactive Updates.

Tooltip help is the pop-up help that appears when you hover your mouse over interface elements. You can toggle this option on and off.

By default, the help browser opens in a floating window when Houdini launches. You can toggle this option on and off.

When this is option turned on, all of the parameters inside the take are unlocked. Any changes made are added to the current take. For more information, see takes.

Automatically saves a version of the hip file every minute. The default time can be changed in the Save Options section of the preferences menu.

Opens the parameter editor in a floating window for the selected render node.

Starts the render on the selected render node.

Opens a Render Manager in a floating window. This list shows all the currently active background renders. You can pause or cancel a job, or see history of completed jobs if Clear Completed Jobs is turned off.

Updates your render with the current textures.

Opens a new floating window. You can choose the contents of the window with its Pane menu.

Opens a new floating window containing a Channel Editor, which lets you view and edit animated parameters and how Houdini fills in the transitions between keyframes.

Opens a new floating window containing a Hscript Textport, lets you type HScript commands and prints the results.

Opens a Python shell in a new window.

Opens an editor window that lets you edit the contents of the hou.session module. See Python Scripting.

Opens a new floating window containing a Bundle List pane, which shows all bundles in the current scene.

Opens a new floating window containing a Take List pane.

Opens a new floating window containing a Parameter Spreadsheet, which shows a flat list of rows representing nodes in the network, and columns representing the flags and parameters (and parameter components) of each node.

Opens a new floating window containing a Tree View pane, which shows a hierarchical list of all nodes in the scene.

Opens the Operator Type Manager window, which lets you create and edit custom operator types.

Opens a new floating window containing a Gallery Manager pane, which lets you view and edit gallery entries for any node type.

Opens the Persistent manipulator editor window, which lets you edit persistent manipulators .

Opens the Operator Browser window, which lets you browse through the network hierarchy and edit the flags of operators.

Opens the Material Palette, which has ready-to-use materials available in the gallery for you to drag and drop onto geometry objects.

Opens a Code Viewer window. You can drag a VOP node onto the window, or click the + icon and browser to a VOP node, to view the VEX code inside the node. This is the same as pressing on a VOP node and choosing View Code.

Opens the Performance Monitor window, which lets you tell which operators require the most processor time during cooking. This can help you optimize your networks.

Opens the Audio Panel, which lets you control the audio output of Houdini.

Opens the Cache Manager window, which lets you control the audio output of Houdini.

Opens a new system shell window.

Re-opens the Start Here help that opens when Houdini launches.

Lets you view the local help. You can click the question mark icon on the right side of the menu bar to automatically show or hide a help browser pane.

Lets you view the tutorial section in the local help.

Lets you view all of the example files in the local help.

Lets you view the Side Effects Software website in your help browser. You can access things such as online tutorials, the Houdini forum, the Houdini exchange, as well as customer support.

Lets you view the online tutorials from the Side Effects Software website in your help browser.

Lets you view the Houdini Forum from the Side Effects Software website in your help browser.

Lets you view the Houdini Exchange from the Side Effects Software website in your help browser. The Houdini Exchange is a community-based database where users can find and share Houdini Digital Assets, hip files, and other asset types. You can upload, download, and critique these assets.

Lets you view the Houdini Customer Support page from the Side Effects Software website in your help browser.

Lets you view the Houdini downloads page from the Side Effects Software website in your help browser.

Lets you know which version of Houdini you are running.