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title: "Proxy Mesh"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VRHINO/116130172/Proxy%20Mesh"
format: markdown
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This page provides information on V-Ray Proxy Mesh objects.
## **Overview**
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V-Ray Proxy Mesh allows geometry to be imported from an external mesh at render time only. The geometry is not present in the Rhino scene and does not take any resources. This allows the rendering of scenes with many millions of triangles - more than Rhino itself can handle.
## **UI Paths**
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## **Exporting a Mesh to a File**
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## **Importing a V-Ray Proxy**
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## **Parameters**
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### **Materials**
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### **Animation**
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## **The .vrmesh File Format**
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-Meshes are exported to a special *.vrmesh* file format. It contains all geometric information for a mesh - vertices and face topology as well as texture channels, face material IDs, smoothing groups, normals - in short, everything that is needed to render the mesh. In addition, the mesh is pre-processed and subdivided into chunks for easier access. The file also contains a simplified version of the mesh used for preview purposes in the viewports.
It is important to realize that the mesh is in a "ready to render" format. No further modifications to the mesh are expected. Modifiers cannot be applied to the mesh, and it cannot be animated it in any way except for the proxy object's position/orientation.
## **Notes**
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- The resulting *.vrmesh* files can be rendered outside of Rhino - for example, by V-Ray for 3ds Max, V-Ray for Maya, V-Ray for Softimage and in the standalone version of V-Ray.
- Be aware that depending on the V-Ray proxy object detail, using the preview type **Whole mesh** might put substantial load on your system.
- Displacement of Proxy object is not supported.
- A mesh can be exported into a file via the *vrayProxyExport *command in Rhino's Command Line.
- V-Ray Proxy can be imported via the *vrayProxyImport* command in Rhino's Command Line.
- V-Ray Proxy can be instanced by using the *_Array* command or Alt+drag the object in the Rhino viewport. This helps save memory as the .vrmesh file will be loaded only once regardless of the number of instances.
Copying and pasting a Proxy Mesh, however, creates copies that end up loading the same file multiple times. This should be avoided.
A Proxy Mesh within a block definition will be loaded only once regardless of the number of block instances in the project. Therefore, copying and pasting block instances is a safe alternative method to copy/pasting the Proxy Mesh objects directly.
- A Proxy Mesh may take a few seconds to generate its material slots if the loaded file has numerous face IDs.
- Memory usage can be viewed from the [Stats section](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/VRHINO/pages/116129852/V-Ray+Frame+Buffer#Stats) of the new V-Ray Frame Buffer.
- Proxy Mesh re-export does not export the Proxy Mesh. It only exports a Proxy Preview with a simple mesh. To export the Proxy Mesh, export it as an asset with its .vrmat materials from the V-Ray Asset Editor>Save Assets To File.