Complete Quick N-Panel 2.0.1 manual

cvELD Quick N-Panel 2.0.1

A close-up of the searchable GPU category window with custom colors.

A Blender add-on for listing sidebar (N-panel) categories and quickly switching to the panel you need.

Open the category list from the header or a shortcut in the 3D View, Node Editor, or Image Editor. The selected category opens in that view’s native sidebar tab.

Requirements

• Blender 4.5 LTS or later
• License: GPL-3.0-or-later

Features

• Display N-panel categories in a popup list
• Select sidebar categories independently in each view
• Support the 3D View, Node Editor, and Image Editor
• Choose where the header icon appears
• Customize category order, display names, and icons
• Exclude unwanted categories from the list
• Remove a selected category from the managed list and remember that choice
• Reconcile category changes after add-ons are installed or removed
• Assign a shortcut to each category
• Search categories by name
• Save and load settings as JSON
• Automatically save setting changes
• Display the UI in seven languages

Supported Languages

• English (en_US, source language and fallback)
• Japanese (ja_JP)
• Simplified Chinese (zh_HANS)
• Spanish (es)
• Korean (ko_KR)
• French (fr_FR)
• Italian (it_IT)

The add-on follows the language selected under Edit > Preferences > Interface > Translation > Language in Blender. English is used when a translation or locale is unavailable.

Installation

1. Keep the distributed ZIP file intact; do not extract it.
2. In Blender, open Edit > Preferences > Add-ons.
3. Open the menu, choose Install from Disk, and select the distributed ZIP file.
4. Enable cvELD Quick N-Panel.

Updating from 1.x

Disable the old add-on before installing the 2.0 ZIP. Keep only one version enabled. The extension uses the same settings JSON location. Use Save Settings before updating and Save Settings As to keep a separate copy if needed. Check your categories and shortcuts after the update; use Load Settings if needed.

Basic Usage

1. Open the 3D View, Node Editor, or Image Editor.
2. Click the N-panel list icon in the header, or press the configured shortcut.
3. Select the category you want to display.
4. The category opens in the native sidebar tab of the invoking view.

Selecting the same category again closes only that view’s sidebar. Separate editors can show different categories. Blender’s quad-view quadrants share one native sidebar within their editor.

GPU window and toolbar button

Choose Classic List or GPU GUI under Open N-Panel As. Open it with the window icon below the tools in the left 3D View toolbar, the header, or Alt+N. Show Toolbar Launcher Button controls the toolbar button.

• Click the pin button immediately left of × to toggle pinning. With pinning OFF, a left, right, or middle click outside closes the window. With pinning ON, it stays visible while you work elsewhere. Outside clicks also reach Blender's normal controls.
• The pin button remains available when minimized. Minimizing and restoring keep the current pin state; closing and reopening starts OFF. The pin state is not included in JSON settings.
• Type in the top search field to filter category names, custom labels, and translated labels. The × inside the input frame clears the search. Ctrl+V supports pasting Japanese text.
• Drag any of the four window edges or corners to change width and height. The footer Window Scale slider scales text, spacing, and the entire frame together from 35–200%; its × restores the initial scale.
• Move the footer Opacity slider to fade the entire window, including text and buttons. Its × restores the default opacity.
• Scroll with the mouse wheel. Middle-drag a category onto another and release to swap their positions, including while filtering. Order is included in the existing JSON save. Escape or releasing outside the category list cancels the swap.
• Title − minimizes, × closes the window completely without leaving a button, and ↗ switches to the classic list. Press the header launcher or Alt+N again to close the GPU window; press once more to reopen it.
• Use title Avoid Panels: ON/OFF or Preferences Avoid Other Panels to toggle automatic avoidance of sidebars, toolbars, and other native panels. OFF allows overlap. This applies to GPU windows in every editor and is saved in JSON.
• Right-click a category and choose Edit Category to edit its name, icon, button color and shortcut in one dialog, then commit them together with Apply Changes. Click the shortcut field and press the key combination. Its × clears the assignment; Cancel preserves the original settings.
• Hover over the top-left N-Panel title to highlight it. Double-click it to minimize or restore the window; drag it to move. Minimized windows retain the title, pin button, and ×; restoring returns to the expanded width.
• Set the opening anchor and horizontal/vertical margins under Preferences → Display → GPU Window Placement. Defaults are Top Left, 18% horizontal and 8% vertical. Margins refer to the entire view and also apply with panel avoidance OFF. Changes apply the next time the GPU window opens.
• Right-click inside the GPU GUI or on its header launcher and choose Return UI to Center. This recovers an inaccessible window in the invoking editor while preserving its settings.

GPU window defaults are included in JSON export/import. Dragged positions last for the session. Reopen a closed window using the toolbar, header, or Alt+N.

Pin the window or close it with an outside click

Pin OFF closes on an outside click; pin ON keeps the window visible. Reopening starts OFF.

Recognize categories by color

Right-click a category and choose Edit Category to set its button color.

Swap categories with a middle-button drag

Middle-drag a category onto another and release to swap their positions.

Settings

The following options are available in the add-on preferences.

Header Menu

• Show or hide the N-panel list icon
• Place the icon at the left edge of the main header, in the tool settings header, or at the right edge of the main header

Categories

• Change category priority
• Rename displayed categories
• Change category icons
• Temporarily exclude categories with the eye button
• Remove the selected category with the minus button
• Refresh and reconcile the category list

Dimmed categories are unavailable in the current editor or mode.

A category removed with the minus button is hidden from both the preferences list and the N-panel window, and that choice is stored in JSON. When you run Reconcile N-Panel Categories, a dialog asks whether deliberately removed categories should be restored. Disable the restore option to keep them removed while reconciling only newly added or missing categories.

Shortcuts

Use a category's right-click menu to assign a shortcut that opens it directly. If a shortcut is lost, use the restore function in the add-on preferences.

Settings File

Category customizations, deliberately removed categories, and shortcuts can be saved in JSON format. When automatic saving is enabled, the settings file is updated whenever a setting changes.

Reset Settings resets only the current UI state and does not overwrite the saved JSON. Using Load Settings immediately afterward restores the previously saved state. Changing another setting after a reset may update the JSON when automatic saving is enabled.

Preferences sections

Use the Display / Categories / Shortcuts / Save and Restore tabs. Display contains the opening style and GPU defaults. Expand Launcher Placement or Controls when needed; file location and reset actions are folded under Save and Restore. Switching tabs or folding a section does not change settings.

Header icon placement

Preferences → Display → Launcher Placement offers eight positions: Left Edge, Before Menus, After Menus, Right Edge, Header: Align Right, Tool Settings: Left Edge, Tool Settings, and Tool Settings: Align Right. Tool settings positions require a visible tool settings header in that editor. Other add-ons can affect the final right-aligned location.

Remember GPU appearance

Releasing the scale or opacity slider updates Preferences. Values survive closing and reopening the palette, and persist across launches when JSON auto-save is enabled. Escape cancels the drag. Each slider’s × restores its factory default. The top-right gear opens this add-on’s Display preferences directly.

Edit categories in the GPU GUI

The header icon defaults to Before Menus. Use ↻ in the GPU title bar to reconcile categories. Right-click a category button to rename it, select an icon, or change its button color. The GPU icon search lists icons supported by the palette. Disable custom color to return to the Blender theme. These settings are shared with the Categories preferences and included in JSON save/load.

Credits

This add-on was rebuilt using ideas and selected implementation details from CleanPanels.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE for details.