What This Does
HDRI Link connects Cinema 4D to your HDRI library and lets you swap HDRIs directly from Cargo. Alt/Option-click any downloaded HDRI thumbnail in Cargo and it swaps into your scene without any dragging or file browsing.
This works with HDRIs only, and it requires Cinema 4D.
This works with HDRIs only, and it requires Cinema 4D.
Getting HDRI Link Set Up
Before you can swap HDRIs from Cargo, HDRI Link needs to be connected to a dome light in your scene. There are two ways to do this.
Method 1: Manual setup
Create a dome light for your renderer (Redshift, Octane, or Arnold).
Add the HDRI Link tag to the dome light. You can do this from the Tags menu, by right-clicking the light, from the Greyscalegorilla menu, or via the Commander (Shift+C, type "HDRI Link").
With the dome light selected, find the texture slot for your renderer and drag it onto the HDRI Link tag. The tag turns white when it's connected.
Redshift: drag the Dome Map parameter
Octane: drag the File parameter (not Texture)
Arnold: drag the Color parameter
For full renderer-specific setup walkthroughs and training videos, see the HDRI Link User Guide.
Method 2: Use Drop Zone (fastest)
If you have Drop Zone installed, you can skip the manual steps entirely. Drag your dome light's texture parameter into the Drop Zone panel and it creates and connects the HDRI Link tag for you automatically.
Swapping HDRIs from Cargo
Once HDRI Link is connected to your dome light, Cargo can swap HDRIs directly.
In Cinema 4D, select the HDRI Link tag on your dome light. The tag needs to be selected so Cargo knows where to send the HDRI.
Open Cargo and go to your HDRI library.
Find the HDRI you want. It needs to already be downloaded. Alt/Option-clicking a thumbnail that hasn't been downloaded won't trigger the swap.
Alt-click the thumbnail (Mac: Option-click / Windows: Alt-click).
The HDRI swaps into your scene.
Troubleshooting
Alt/Option-clicking doesn't do anything.
Check that the HDRI Link tag is selected in Cinema 4D before you click in Cargo. Also confirm the HDRI has been downloaded. If both of those are good, verify that the tag turned white during setup, which means it's properly connected to the dome light.
The HDRI swaps but the scene doesn't update.
Try a viewport refresh. If things still look off, check that the HDRI Link tag is active and the dome light isn't muted or hidden.
HDRI Link isn't showing up in Cinema 4D after installing.
Restart Cinema 4D. If it still doesn't appear, see the Troubleshooting section in How to Install Tools Through Cargo.
I'm clicking the thumbnail but nothing happens.
Make sure you're holding Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and clicking the thumbnail itself, not the title or the download button.
Still running into trouble? Reach out to support and we'll get it sorted.