Background Rendering Manager

Once you have used the Render Wizard to set up the look that you want to render, you can send the render job to the Background Rendering Manager to create the actual rendering. You can send multiple jobs to the Background Rendering Manager queue and then arrange the order of the queue or remove jobs from it. While you can send multiple jobs, the Background Rendering Manager processes only one job at a time, the job at the top of the queue. Once this job is finished, it will then automatically proceed to the next queued job, and so on.

If you manually move a job in progress from the top of the queue down, you pause the rendering and start processing the next job in the queue. However, you do not lose the progress of any rendering jobs that have been started. When they reach the top of the queue, the Background Rendering Manager resumes rendering the image where it last left off.

The Background Rendering Manager processes render jobs independently without requiring Vivien to run. This feature lets you work on other tasks while the renderings in the queue are processed in the order you arranged. You can work on new Vivien files, or you can close Vivien altogether and perform other tasks. You can even shut down your computer and restart later without losing the rendering progress.

When setting up renderings in the Render Wizard, you can send jobs to the Background Rendering Manager that resides on the same computer, or to another computer in your network that is also running the Background Rendering Manager (and has a dongle attached). By sending all rendering jobs to another computer, you free up CPU capacity on your own computer.

Configuring the Background Rendering Manager

When you open the Background Rendering Manager for the first time, the Configuration Wizard appears, prompting you to choose settings, such as the network port, the startup options, and the folder where all renderings are stored.

This Wizard appears automatically when:

• You click Start > All Programs > Vivien 2022 > Vivien Background Rendering Manager to open the program for the first time.
• You click Finish in the Render Wizard after setting up a rendering and choosing to send it to the Background Rendering Manager for the first time.

To configure the Background Rendering Manager

1. Click Start > All Programs > Vivien 2022> Vivien Background Rendering Manager.
2. In the Welcome window, click Next.

Result: The Specify Configuration Type window appears.

3. Select whether you want the program to use the default settings or custom settings that you specify.

• Typical: Click this option to configure the program with the default working directory and network port settings.
• Advanced: Click this option to specify the working directory and network port settings for the program.

4. Click Next. If you chose Typical in the previous step, proceed directly to step 9. If you chose Advanced, the following window appears:

5. The working directory is used to store files that the render engine requires to generate renderings. To change the default working directory shown (for example, if you have run out of space on the default drive), type the path and new folder name in the box provided, or click Browse to locate the folder. It is recommended that the folder be new and empty.
6. Click Next.

7. Type the incoming Network Port that the Background Rendering Manager will monitor for rendering jobs sent from Vivien.

Notes:

• If you change this default port, you must also change the outbound port configured in the Render Wizard for sending jobs to this Background Rendering Manager. These two ports must match.
• When you choose the network port, Windows Firewall will automatically be configured to enable network communication. If you are using a different firewall, then you must configure its settings manually.

8. Click Next.

9. Choose the startup mode for the Background Rendering Manager. You can choose one option or both.

• Run at Windows Start: Select this option to have the Background Rendering Manager automatically start every time Windows starts up. With this option, the application immediately begins rendering submitted jobs as soon as you start up your computer, unless it was paused on last exit.
• Start Minimized: Select this option to have the Background Rendering Manager appear as a minimized taskbar icon every time it starts. Double-click the icon to manually restore the application to its full size. If you select only this option, the Background Rendering Manager starts when you send a render job to it from a Render Wizard that is installed on this same computer. However, if you are sending render jobs from a different computer, then you will have to manually open the Background Rendering Manager on this computer before it will accept render jobs.

10. Click Next.
11. Click Finish.

Result: The Background Rendering Manager is now ready to use.

Tip: To change these settings at any time, you can run the Configuration Wizard again by clicking Tools > Configuration Wizard. You can also click Tools > Options to change these settings on one window.

Background Rendering Manager taskbar icons

Based on the settings that you chose when configuring the Background Rendering Manager, when the program is started, it appears either as a maximized window or a minimized icon on the right side of the Windows taskbar. The icon changes according to the current state of the program. Double-click the taskbar icon to open the program.

Background Rendering Manager window

When you open the Background Rendering Manager (either by sending a render job to it, or double-clicking the taskbar icon), the main window appears, showing you the status of all rendering jobs.

Job pane

The Job pane shows you all jobs that have been successfully sent to the Background Rendering Manager. While you can send multiple jobs, the Background Rendering Manager processes only one job at a time, the job at the top of the queue. Once this job is finished, it will then automatically proceed to the next queued job, and so on. For tips on managing the jobs listed, see “Managing jobs in the Background Rendering Manager queue”.

Preview pane

This window shows you a visual representation of the rendering progress. Note that the final image is scaled to fit this pane and is not indicative of the quality of the actual rendering. To view the final rendering, you must export the image as a graphic file. For details, see “To export rendered images from the Background Rendering Manager”.

Log window

Check the messages in the log window for an up-to-date status as the rendering job is processed. You can change and resize the font in this window by using the drop-down boxes provided.

Using the Background Rendering Manager

Once you have configured the Background Rendering Manager, it is ready to accept render jobs from Vivien.

To use the Background Rendering Manager

1. In Vivien, open the Render Wizard and set up the rendering that you want to create, choosing Background Rendering Manager in Step 1.
2. Proceed through the steps of the Render Wizard, and then click Finish.

Result: The Submitting Render Job window appears, showing the progress as the job is sent to the Background Rendering Manager.

3. When the job is successfully sent, a Vivien message box notifies you. The next step differs based on where you sent the job (either to your own computer, or another computer on the network):

• Background Rendering Manager residing on your computer If you have sent the job to the Background Rendering Manager residing on the same computer as the Render Wizard, it automatically starts processing the rendering if there are no jobs currently being rendered (if it is currently processing a job, the new job is placed in the active queue).
• Background Rendering Manager residing on a network computer If you have sent the job to the Background Rendering Manager residing a network computer, you must first ensure that the Background Rendering Manager is started before it will process the job. The act of sending a rendering job does not start the Background Rendering Manager when it is installed on a network computer.

4. Open the Background Rendering Manager to check the progress of the rendering and arrange the rendering queue. For details, see “Managing jobs in the Background Rendering Manager queue”.

Note: You can shut down your computer while the Background Rendering Manager is processing the job without losing the rendering progress. You can also pause and resume the program. When you restart your computer or resume the program, the rendering continues where it last left off. (You might need to open the Background Rendering Manager manually before it will resume rendering.)

Managing jobs in the Background Rendering Manager queue

The Job pane shows you all jobs that have been successfully sent to the Background Rendering Manager. While you can send multiple jobs, the Background Rendering Manager processes only one job at a time, the job at the top of the queue. Once this job is finished, it will then automatically proceed to the next queued job, and so on.

As shown in the Status column in the following graphic, rendering jobs can have one of four statuses:

• Rendering: This is the job that is currently being processed. Only one job can have this status at any given time. The values in the Progress and Time Left columns indicate when the job will be finished.
• Queued: Jobs with this status are waiting to be processed. These can be new jobs or those that have already started, but have been interrupted by moving them down in the queue. In this latter case, when the job is moved back to the top of the queue, the rendering automatically resumes where it left off.
• Stopped: Jobs with this status have been manually dequeued. This means that they will not automatically move up in the queue as jobs are completed. To process jobs with this status, you have to highlight them and click Queue to move them back into the active queue (or click Render Job Now to start rendering the job immediately).
• Completed: These are jobs that have been processed successfully. However, the actual rendering image still resides in the Background Rendering Manager. To export the image to a folder of your choice, highlight the completed job, and then click Save Rendering.

Background Rendering Manager buttons

The table below contains descriptions of the Background Rendering Manager buttons. Use these descriptions as a guideline when managing the jobs in the queue.

To pause and resume all jobs in the Background Rendering Manager

To free up some CPU capacity on your computer (for example, if you are going to run another program), you can pause the Background Rendering Manager and the job that is currently in progress. When you click Resume, the job at the top of the queue continues rendering where it left off.

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, click the Pause button.
2. Click Resume when you want to resume rendering the job at the top of the queue.  

To move a render job to the top of the queue

When you move a Queued job to the top of the queue, the Background Rendering Manager automatically starts to process it. The current job is moved down one step in the queue to a paused status (any progress that had been made in the rendering is saved with the job).

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, highlight the Queued job that you want to start rendering.
2. Click the Move Job Up button until the job is at the top of the queue.

Result: The job starts rendering.

Tip: If you have many jobs in the queue, click the Render Job Now button to move a job from the bottom of the queue to the top and start rendering it immediately.

To remove a render job from the queue

When you remove a job from the queue, it will not automatically move up in the queue as jobs are completed. Instead, to process jobs with this status, you have to highlight them and click Queue to move them back into the active queue.

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, highlight the Rendering or Queued job that you want to remove from the queue.
2. Press the Dequeue button.

Result: The job is moved out of the queue and given the Stopped status.

To move a stopped render job back into the queue

When you dequeue a job, you cannot use the Move Job Up button to move it back into the active queue; instead, you must use the Queue button to place the job back into the queue. The job will be processed when it reaches the top of the queue.

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, highlight the Stopped job that you want to move back into the queue.
2. Press the Queue button.

Result: The job moves to the active queue.

To move render jobs up or down in the queue

When you have multiple jobs that are either Queued or Stopped, you can move jobs up or down within their current status level. For example, you can use this feature to arrange the order in which the Background Rendering Manager will process queued jobs, or you can move a queued job to the top of the queue so that it is processed immediately.

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, highlight the Queued or Stopped job that you want to move.
2. Click the Move Job Up or Move Job Down button repeatedly until the desired position is reached in the queue.  

To export rendered images from the Background Rendering Manager

To use the rendered images that you create with the Background Rendering Manager, you must export them to a folder of your choice, in a graphic format like “.bmp”, “.jpg”, “.gif”, “.png”, or “.tga”.

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, highlight a Completed job or multiple Completed jobs that you want to export.

Note: Image preview is not available when more than one Completed jobs are selected.

2. Click the Save Rendering button.
3. Browse to the location where you want to save the rendered image.
4. In the File name box, type the name of the file.

Note: If you highlighted multiple Completed jobs, the render job names and the graphic file names will be identical.

5. From the Save as type drop-down box, choose a graphic format (“.bmp”, “.jpg”, “.tif” or “.gif”, “.png”, or “.tga”).

Note: If you highlighted multiple Completed jobs, the exported graphic files will be saved in “.png” format.

6. Click Save.

To delete render jobs from the Background Rendering Manager

You can delete any job—those with the Rendering, Queued, Stopped, or Completed status—and all of its supporting files from the Background Rendering Manager. Note that when you delete jobs, you cannot recover them and there will be no record of them.

1. In the Background Rendering Manager window, highlight the job that you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button.  A message box asks you to confirm your choice.
3. Click Yes.