Saving & Loading

Saving

Open the File menu in the top bar.

Action	Description
Save Tab	Save the current tab to a `.json` file
Save All Tabs	Save each tab individually — prompts for a path per tab
Auto-save on Hip Save	Toggle — when enabled, all tabs with a saved path are written automatically every time the Houdini `.hip` file is saved

The picker saves to a .json file. Everything is stored in that file: - Button labels, colors, shapes, modes, control assignments - Scripts - Pose data (including the full pose geometry for cross-session restore) - Background images (embedded as base64) - Zone layout

Saving

Path Conflicts

When Auto-save on Hip Save is enabled, if two or more tabs point to the same file the conflicting tabs are skipped and a warning is shown. Tabs with unique paths still save normally.

Loading

File → Load Tab(s) — opens a file picker. Multiple files can be selected at once; each becomes its own tab.

File Location

The picker file can live anywhere. A good convention:

$HIP/picker/my_character.json

$HIP and other Houdini variables are supported in paths.

Poses Across Sessions

Pose data is fully self-contained in the JSON. Pose buttons work as soon as you reopen the file — no recapture needed.

Multiple Characters

Each character or shot can have its own .json file. Load multiple files to get multiple tabs.

Backups

Edit → Backup on Save toggles automatic backups. Enabled by default.

When enabled, every save rotates up to 3 backup copies into a picker_backups/ subfolder next to your .json file:

$HIP/picker/picker_backups/
    my_character_bak1.json   ← most recent
    my_character_bak2.json
    my_character_bak3.json   ← oldest (deleted when a 4th would be created)

To restore, copy the desired _bakN.json file over your main .json and reload the tab.

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