Solvers > Create Particle Disk Cache >

These are descriptions of the options in the Particle Render Cache Options window.

Cache Directory

Specifies where to store the disk cache. See Specify where the cache files are stored.

• If you don’t specify a name, Maya uses a directory that matches your current scene name. If that directory doesn’t exist, Maya creates it.
• If you specify a name that is different from the current scene name, Maya prompts you to be sure you want to use it. It is generally preferable to use the name of the scene because if two scenes are cached in the same directory, a new caching operation overwrites the old cache.

This same prompt appears if you cache a scene, save the scene under a different name, and re-cache the scene. When you try to re-cache, Maya detects that the cache name now differs from the scene name and asks you to confirm.

• Don’t specify an absolute directory name. Maya considers the cache directory always to be relative to the Particles directory of your workspace. However, you can set the Particles directory of your workspace to an absolute directory name using File > Project > Edit Current.
• The name of the directory used is stored with your scene, so if you change the name of the scene, Maya is still able to find your disk cache. The name is stored in the dynGlobals node (see Editing particle disk cache settings).

  Use Render Settings Range

  If you turn on this option, Maya caches particles for the frame range specified in the defaultRenderSettings instead of for the current playback range. Turn on this option if you plan to use the render settings range in your render.

  Only Update particles

  If Only Update particles is off (default), the particles will be evaluated by normal DG evaluation, and the cache is guaranteed to have the same result as in interactive playback. If Only Update particles is on, Maya optimizes the evaluation by triggering the evaluation only on particles. This optimization can create a discrepancy if one particle system is dependent on another particle system.

  Particle systems to cache

  Specify to cache either Selected or All particle systems. If Selected is specified, then only visible (non-intermediate) particle systems are cached.