Command

Description

Render Branch

Renders the currently selected node if the Nodes tab is active. If the Lab tab is active, the currently selected Lab section will be rendered.  Rendering will use the Resolution and Anti-Alias properties described below.  If the node is animated, only the first frame will be rendered.

Render Texture

Renders the currently active texture.  Rendering will use the Resolution and Anti-Alias properties described below.  If the node is animated, only the first frame will be rendered.

Render Branch Animation (Studio)

Works the same as the Render Branch command, except that an animation will be rendered.  Be sure that the current texture is animated before using this command.

Render Texture Animation (Studio)

Works the same as the Render Texture command, except that an animation will be rendered.  Be sure that the current texture is animated before using this command.

Stop Render

Cancels a render that is in progress.

Create Floating View

An alternative form of rendering that provides more immediate feedback as you make changes to a texture.  This menu item opens a window, called a floating view, that contains a larger preview of the currently selected node.  The floating view will automatically re-render itself as needed.  Please see Floating Views for more details.

Render Environment Map (Pro/Studio)

Opens the Render Environment Map dialog.

Color Only Render

Specifies whether a color-only render will occur the next time you render a texture.  Color-only renders ignore highlights and shadows, and are useful when used in combination with effect maps.  Please refer to the Using Effect Maps tutorial for an example making use of this capability.

Render Effect Maps

Specifies whether any effect maps that are present in the current texture will be rendered along with the texture itself.  The Using Effect Maps tutorial has more details.

Batch Render (Pro/Studio)

A Pro and Studio edition feature that makes it easy to render a large number of textures all at once.  Please refer to the batch processing section for more information.

Batch Swap (Pro/Studio)

A Pro and Studio edition feature that allows you to create any number of new textures by repeatedly replacing one of the nodes of a source texture with each member of a list of input textures.  See the Making Website Thumbnails tutorial for an example of how this can be used.

Resolution

Used to specify the resolution at which rendering will occur when either the Render Branch or Render Texture commands described above are selected.

Anti-Alias

Specifies whether anti-aliasing is used during renders.  Anti-aliasing creates smoother results, but significantly increases the processing time and memory consumption of renders.

Tile Image

Specifies whether the image displayed in the Results tab is tiled (in other words, repeated).

Invert Image

Toggling this menu item will invert the colors of the image that is currently visible within the Results tab.  This is useful when used in combination with effect maps, in which case you may want to swap the black and white portions of the map.

Make Normal Map (Pro/Studio)

A Pro and Studio edition feature that converts the currently displayed image into a normal map.  More information is available on the Rendering page.