Before I installed Pro2014, I was looking at the only online manual I could find - happened to be for Poser7.

Anyway, it mentioned that to reduce the necessary computer resources for the strand-based hair, I could use the "Opaque in Shadow" setting. Does this exist in Pro2014?

I really need something like this for my beards as I'm already at 5000 and it's nowhere near enough. My machine is okay, but I'm wary that if I have to have more than one character with strand-based hair + beard, I'm going to have problems!

Thanks!

It's also needed for James' "long hair" as there are several unsightly gaps where his scalp shows through.

some users will tell you to turn off shadows and raytracing for transmapped hair.  however, setting still exists:

Opaque in Shadow: Check this option to create solid shadows beneath hair strands. This allows you to create hair that looks more full without having to increase the number of hairs on the head (thereby requiring less computer resources). 

Where do I find the "opaque in shadow" setting?

So far, I can't find it anywhere. 

It's right on the hair shader node

That took a bit of finding! But I'm there now. 

I'm working with Ryan hair 3 at the moment and find that when I color everything as I want it, that for some reason, the hair is transparent when compared with the scalp which is currently shining through the whole thing. Do you know what I've done wrong - and/or how to fix it?