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Deprecated
PilotPDG (standalone GUI application and license) is now deprecated. Please use Houdini instead. For graphical Houdini, please use a Houdini Indie/Core/FX license. For non-graphical (hbatch
, hython
) Houdini, please use a Houdini Engine license.
When working with TOPs/PDG, you need graphical Houdini to be able to author TOP networks. However to cook a PDG graph (execute jobs) out-of-process, you can use non-graphical Houdini and Houdini Engine licenses.
For more information about the various versions of Houdini and its licenses, see Houdini Compare.
What is PilotPDG? ¶
PilotPDG is a standalone GUI application for authoring and working with TOP graphs. It only allows you to work in the /tasks
context, and it only contains the /tasks
context and TOP shelf UI.
PilotPDG lets you:
-
Create and cook any TOP node and perform other PDG-specific operations.
-
Create any other node outside the
/tasks
context, but not cook them (even when using a higher-level Houdini license). -
Load HIPs and HDAs.
You can find the PilotPDG executable (pilotpdg.exe
) in the $HFS/bin/
folder in your Houdini install directory.
You can run PilotPDG with a PDG license or any other higher-level Houdini license.
Important
Please note that PilotPDG and the PDG license are separate entities.
PDG License ¶
A PDG license is a limited Houdini license that allows you to cook PDG graphs on the farm or run PilotPDG. This license is useful for Submit graph as job operations or for cooking PDG graphs without other Houdini nodes. PDG license is most commonly used with hython --pdg
.
Please contact SideFX Sales if you are interested in acquiring a PDG license.
Note
To be able to cook non-TOP nodes out-of-process, you need to have a higher-level Houdini license (for example, like Houdini Engine).
Modifying license acquisition behavior ¶
You can use the following options to modify the default Houdini license acquisition behavior:
Command line option |
For |
Environment variable option |
When launching Houdini or You can also use the |