So I'm trying to clean up my env and setup using the proper package method finally for all my tooling, over a houdini.env. I generally have a very simple env still and my time has been with other learning up to this point, but it's well and truly time to address this and I have had issues with tools not working together and silly stuff like ordering of variables within the houdini.env affecting behaviour.

So, I have deleted my prefs for a clean slate and have no other houdini.env anywhere! No packages set up as of yet as far as I can see (I've checked all the default locations). Everything is reset yet I STILL have a Renderman shelf trying to build - with an icon error and an empty Renderman23 ghost shelf!

Cannot determine preloaded icons for shelf: <hou.Shelf ‘RenderMan23’>

As far as I'm aware shelves are handled within the Houdini pref folder, and don't have any variables saying otherwise. I honestly thought I probably setup a custom houdini.env path at some point but I can find no such thing.

Where is this coming from? How do I debug it?

Win10
H18.0.391

Any breadcrumb of info to put me on track would be really appreciated.

Many Thanks in advance,
Ollie


UPDATE 01
The renderman shelf seems to live here:
C:\Program Files\Pixar\RenderManForHoudini-23.2\18.0

But how does Houdini even know about it? The shelf appears to be erroring because it doesn't have the rest of the env vars it needs, yet something is attempting to load the shelf.

UPDATE 02
Uninstalled Renderman - No change

Reinstalled Houdini (but kept my prefs) - Issue gone. None the wiser as to what Renderman changed in my Houdini install. Going to mirror the folder structure and reinstall Renderman.

So in case anyone else has this experience, looks like the shelf modifications in this case, are written to a file in the Houdini install directory called ShelfDefinitions.master_shelf.

revilo3d
So in case anyone else has this experience, looks like the shelf modifications in this case, are written to a file in the Houdini install directory called ShelfDefinitions.master_shelf.

That shouldn't be possible, so long as Houdini is never run as administrator. The install folder is normally considered off limits to modifications.