Making files portable

[barad_dur]

Hi guys. I wanted to ask how to make a hip file portable between machines.

For instance my work computer only has a C Drive, at home it is my S drive I use; so if I have several pointers in nodes to the C drive and I take it home i have to change the ALL. And that's a lot.

Is there a way to pack a hip and all its contents into a portable package that can be put on another computer without having to change every pointer under the sun? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Guest mantragora]

Use variables.

In Edit->Aliases and Variables->Variables Tab you can set JOB variable to point to some directory. Than in your project you just use this as a folder in which your project searches for files. And if you need make change you just have to go to this menu again and change one letter and project will update.

You can add your own variables too.

BTW: Houdini can read system environment variables too. So you can set your own variable on your home computer to point to some directory, and have the same variable on your work computer point to different directory. And if you use this variable in your project instead of direct path you don't have to touch anything even in menu I mentioned.

Edited June 14, 2012 by mantragora

[barad_dur]

Thank you for that information. I knew there was something like this. Thank God for od[force].

[Annon]

$JOB is a little dangerous to use sometimes as you have to hard set it.

I prefer to use ($HIP/../geo/). That way you just copy your project directory over and it's just relative to your hip file.

[barad_dur]

On this same note: Let's say that I had a file with just all manner of textures and file pointers and pre-rendered point cloud files and .bgeo files and shaders and dirt maps etc. etc. etc. etc. Now lets say I needed to hop a plane in a hurry because I'm being offered a trillion dollar a year job to be the next Houdini rockstar in Hollywood but it hinges on getting the whole damn project to the destination, being able to open it up and show off the more awesomenerous. Is this even remotely possible?

Just wondering in case that trillion dollar a year job comes around.

[Annon]

Are you on about locking it all into one file?

You have a project folder with all sorts of stuff in it

Project>

geo>

hip>

maps>

So you have your houdini file in the hips folder, your maps in maps, caches in geo etc...

In your file in nodes (or whatever) have something like ("$HIP/../geo/myCache.$F.bgeo"), that way you can just copy the project folder over to your hard drive and everything should work. If you're relying on external OTLs, you can stick them in the project as well (I think you can also "bake" them into the scene...).

That would make your project portable and should work on any machine running the same version of Houdini...