> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.renderjuice.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Preparing your Project > Pack textures, set relative paths, bake simulations, and select scenes so your Blender project renders correctly on Renderjuice. Preparing to work with render farms can frequently be difficult due to differences between the render nodes and your local computer. To elaborate, the nodes (the computers which we render your file on) need to have the same dependencies that you do on your local machine for your render. When working on a .blend file that is going to be sent off to a render farm. We recommend you take action in the following ways. ## Pack External Assets You can pack or send along any assets that are considered external data into your Blender file. The simplest method to do this is by going to File > External Data > Pack Resources . However, this will only work with certain types of Data Blocks and is a solution for simpler Blender files. Data blocks that are capable of being Packed are Fonts, Images, Libraries, and Sounds as of Blender 3.6. You must then save the file because Blender will not automatically save your file at this point. We recommend saving it as a separate file with the suffix \_PACKED.blend ## Pack Linked Libraries Packing Linked Libraries is useful when an add-on or a data block that you use references another .blend file on your computer. By going to File > External Data > Pack Linked Libraries you pack those linked .blend files directly into one .blend file. You must then save this .blend file again to ensure it is packed. ## Set to Relative Paths When utilizing external assets that cannot be packed as mentioned above. It is highly recommended that all links are set to relative. This way when you send a zip file to our render nodes with files linked, we can simply unzip it on our end and render it with those links preserved. ## Packing Add-Ons Some add-ons have functionality specifically built to support packing and baking into your .blend file. For example, Botaniq has [great documentation](https://docs.polygoniq.com/botaniq/6.4.3/advanced_topics/render_farms/) that guides you on how to use Botaniq with render farms. Other add-ons have a specific “Bake” or “Pack” button to automatically do this for you. Please refer to your add-on’s documentation for this. ## Scene Selection Blender projects can contain multiple scenes, each with its own objects, cameras, and render settings. RenderJuice allows you to specify which scene to render during the configuration step. ##### Active Scene (Default) By default, RenderJuice renders the scene that was active when you saved your Blender file. This is the recommended option for most projects. ##### Different Scene If you need to render a scene other than the active one: 1. Select **"Different Scene"** from the dropdown 2. Enter the exact scene name as it appears in Blender The scene name is case-sensitive and must match exactly. Scene selector in RenderJuice ##### Finding Scene Names in Blender You can find your scene names in: * The **Scene dropdown** at the top of the Blender window * The **Outliner** panel (set display mode to "Scenes") Finding scene names in Blender Only one scene can be rendered per job. To render multiple scenes, submit a separate render job for each scene. If you enable **Video (MP4)** in Renderjuice, the app will switch output settings to image frames (PNG/JPEG). This is intentional so your full frame sequence is always preserved, even if your .blend file is set to a video output. **OpenEXR** and **OpenEXR Multilayer** outputs disable MP4, so keep MP4 off when you need EXR for compositing. ## Zipping your render `ZIP` compression is lossless. This means the zipping process is safe to use for rendering. Everything will be preserved with no impact to output quality. It can get messy when working with a lot of different linked files, textures, `.blend` files that depend on other `.blend` files and more. In these more advanced scenarios, we recommend `zip`ping your project folder to send it off. When starting a new project, try to keep your directory structure clean and all local within a single folder. It'll save you any hassle down the road whether you're working with a team or with a render farm. If you want a local helper for this step, [Blend Project Packer](/renderjuice-101/blend-project-packer) can inspect your Blender scene, collect external files, rewrite fragile paths in the packed copy, and export a portable project zip before you upload or share it. ### What should be inside the zip Your `.zip` should contain the `.blend` file you want to render and every dependency that is not packed into it. This can include: * textures and image sequences * linked `.blend` libraries * Alembic or other external geometry caches * simulation caches * video or audio assets If your scene depends on a custom add-on or extension, upload that add-on separately in Renderjuice before you render. Do not assume the scene zip alone is enough. ### If your zip contains multiple `.blend` files Renderjuice may ask you which `.blend` file inside the archive you want to render. Choose the actual scene file you want to render, not: * backup files * test scenes * alternate look-dev files * outdated copies left in the same archive If possible, keep only the intended render file in the project zip to reduce mistakes. ### Common zip mistakes * Zipping the wrong folder level so the `.blend` and its dependencies are no longer next to each other. * Leaving caches or external assets outside the archive. * Keeping absolute paths that still point to your local machine. * Including multiple `.blend` files and selecting the wrong one in Renderjuice. * Forgetting to upload required custom add-ons separately before rendering. ### Windows Users For the most part, if your renders are simple and you don't have special characters in your file names and linked assets (excluding file extensions), the default Windows zip utility should handle it. However, it's well known that Windows' default zip utilities are unfortunately, not the best and doesn't handle special characters inside file names well. We recommend using [7-Zip](https://www.7-zip.org/) to zip your project folder or [WinRAR](https://www.rarlab.com/download.htm) to zip your project folder. * `7Zip` is free and open source. * `WinRAR` offers licenses but offers a *ahem* *"very extended"* free trial. ### Mac Users MacOS's built-in zip utility typically should handle the majority of cases fairly well. We don't necessarily require a third party app like [7-Zip](https://www.7-zip.org/) or [The Unarchiver](https://theunarchiver.com/), but it's always handy to have an extra option. ### Linux Users The same advice for Mac users apply here. The default `unzip` utility that ships with most Linux distributions should handle the majority of cases fairly well, but always good to have an extra option.