# Rig Settings The **Rig Settings** folder on the rig node (closed by default) holds the settings you set once per character, and the **Viewport** folder above it controls how the character draws in the SOP viewport. ## Stash Rig Building a rig and baking its clips takes a minute or so. Without help, Houdini would redo that every time you reopen the scene, and again whenever something it depends on changes, such as the frame range. **Stash Rig** stores the built, baked rig in the node instead, so reopening the scene or changing the frame range loads it in seconds. Measured on a standard character imported from FBX: about **3 to 4 seconds** to reopen with the rig stashed, against **54 seconds** without. **Update Motion Clips** stores the new bake as part of its update, so the stash never goes stale. The Rigger's own **Stash Rig** toggle (in **Character ▸ Build**) decides this for a new rig; the one here changes it afterwards. Off, the rig is rebuilt live whenever it needs to be, about as long as the first build. **Stash In** says where the stashed rig lives. Changing it writes nothing by itself. * **Inside the Hip:** the scene file carries the rig and every baked clip. Simple and self-contained, but the hip gets big: about **220 MB** for a standard character, more for an HD one, plus each clip. * **External File:** **Save to Disk** writes the rig to the **Geometry File** (default `$HIP/jv_rig_cache/$OS.bgeo.sc`), and each baked clip beside it as `_clip_.bgeo.sc`. The hip stays small, and the files are compressed. On the same standard character: a **4.3 MB** hip plus an **82 MB** rig file. Use **Inside the Hip** while you're working on one machine, and **External File** once scenes start piling up or you need to move them around. !!!warning Careful with this one: the files travel with the hip With **External File**, the hip only points at the files. Copy the `jv_rig_cache` folder along with the scene. If the clip files go missing, press **Update Motion Clips** to bake the clips again. !!! ## Hair Follows Head Only Off (the default), the hair keeps Character Creator's own skinning, so long hair drapes over moving shoulders. On, every hair mesh follows the head only. Switching re-cooks the output (a few seconds, longer on heavy characters) and keeps your keys. ## Viewport materials The **Viewport** folder (closed by default, with a checkbox in its header) shows the textured character in the SOP viewport, from the textures the Rigger resolved at **Build Character**. Off draws it plain grey. This is the viewport only; Karma renders the full materials either way. * **Textured** picks which groups draw textured: body, eyes, teeth, and clothing & accessories. * **Hair** is **Off**, **Opaque Cards** (solid cards in the hair's average colour, the default) or **Transparent Cards** (the real opacity maps, best in an unlit viewport). ## The rig node is unlocked The build unlocks the rig node, because your keys are stored in its interior (on the ANIMATE node; see [Animating](animating.md#where-your-animation-lives)). The licence lets you open and modify it in your own scenes.
The rig node's interior, in boxes: body prep, rig, face, clips, output
!!!danger Never use Match Current Definition on a built rig It would wipe the generated rig and your animation. !!!