Action Overlay

Jonas Mangelschots in Interface

Action Overlay - Documentation


Overview

Action Overlay displays your keyboard inputs and scene changes as an on-screen overlay in real time. Perfect for tutorials, streaming, or keeping track of your workflow.



Getting Started

After installation, the overlay starts automatically. Access settings via:

  • N-panel → Action Overlay tab (in 3D Viewport)
  • Or: Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Action Overlay


Features

Keystroke Display

Shows your keyboard and mouse inputs on screen.


Setting Description
Enabled Toggle keystroke display on/off
Show Mouse Buttons Include mouse clicks in the display
Show Modifiers Only Only show when Shift/Ctrl/Alt are held
Max Keys Maximum number of keys shown at once
Lifetime How long keys stay visible (seconds)
Fade Time Duration of fade-out animation
Font Size Text size for key display


Property Tracking

Shows changes to scene properties in real time.


Category What it tracks
Modifiers Modifier values, add/remove
Constraints Constraint settings
Materials Shader node changes
Object Properties Transform, display, visibility
Object Data Mesh, curve, light settings
Physics Rigid body, cloth, soft body, fluid
Particles Particle system settings
Render Render engine settings (Cycles, EEVEE)
Output Output path, format, resolution
Scene Frame range, units, gravity
View Layer Layer settings, passes, Freestyle
World Environment, ambient occlusion
Collections Visibility, holdout, indirect only
Tool Settings Active tool options
Workspace Workspace-level settings


Supported Editors

The overlay can be shown in:

  • 3D Viewport (enabled by default)
  • Node Editor (enabled by default)
  • Image Editor
  • Video Sequencer
  • Movie Clip Editor
  • Dope Sheet
  • Graph Editor
  • NLA Editor
  • Text Editor

Each editor has independent position offsets.



Settings

Display Settings

Setting Description
Anchor Corner of screen (Bottom Left, Bottom Right, Top Left, Top Right)
Offset X/Y Distance from screen edge
Max Items Maximum number of property cards shown
Lifetime How long cards stay visible
Fade Time Fade-out duration
Font Size Text size
Padding Space inside cards
Spacing Space between cards


Colors

Customize the appearance:

  • Background color
  • Text color
  • Accent color


Tips

  1. Reduce clutter — Disable tracking categories you don't need
  2. Adjust timing — Lower lifetime for fast workflows, increase for tutorials
  3. Per-editor settings — Configure different positions for different editors
  4. Recording — Works great with OBS or Blender's screen recorder


Troubleshooting

Overlay not showing?

  • Check that the overlay is enabled in the N-panel
  • Verify the current editor has display enabled
  • Try toggling the enabled checkbox off and on

Too much information?

  • Disable tracking categories you don't need
  • Reduce "Max Items" to show fewer cards
  • Enable "Show Modifiers Only" for keystrokes

Performance issues?

  • Disable tracking categories you're not using
  • Reduce the number of max items


Support

$10

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Details
Rating
2 ratings
Published 8 months ago
Blender Version 5.0
Extension Type N/A
Render Engine Used Arnold, Blender-Internal, Blender-Game-Engine, Cycles, Eevee, Freestyle, Luxrender, Mental-Ray, Octane, Vray, Yafaray
License Mit

Jonas Mangelschots

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