ImageNode — Quick Documentation

1. Installation & Activation

• Download ImageNode_v1.6.zip (do not unzip).
• In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons.
• Click Install... (or top-right arrow > Install from Disk... in Blender 4.2+ / 5.x), select the .zip file, and enable Node: ImageNode.
• Open any Node Editor (Geometry Nodes, Shader Editor, or Compositor). Access ImageNode via Shift+A > ImageNode or the N-Panel > ImageNode tab.

2. Adding Images to Your Node Tree

Press Shift+A > ImageNode (or click Add ImageNode in the N-Panel) and choose an Image Source:

• Paste Clipboard: Copy any image or take a screen snip (Win+Shift+S), then click OK (or click Paste Clipboard in the N-Panel for instant 1-click placement).
• Hard Drive: Select Hard Drive and click OK. The File Browser opens immediately and spawns the card at your cursor as soon as you pick an image file.
• Existing: Select any image datablock already loaded in the current .blend file.

3. Titles, Resizing & Aspect Ratio

• Pure Image Card vs. Titled Card: Leave Title empty for a clean card with symmetrical 4-side margins, or enter a Title (S / M / L / XL / Custom size) to reserve a top header. Editing or clearing the Title in the N-Panel updates the card bounds live.
• Freehand & Step Resizing: Drag any border or corner of the card to scale the image smoothly in real time, or use the - Smaller / + Larger buttons in the N-Panel.
• Snap Frame to Image Aspect: If freehand dragging leaves extra margin, click Snap Frame to Image Aspect in the N-Panel to tightly fit the Frame to the image.

4. Full-Size Lightbox & Pop-Out Viewer

• Open Lightbox: Click the subtle Full Screen [ ] icon in the top-right corner of any card, double-click anywhere on the image, or click View Full Size (Lightbox) in the N-Panel.
• Lightbox Controls: Scroll Wheel to Zoom (25%–800%), LMB / MMB Drag to Pan, press [O] to pop out into a floating Blender Image Editor window, or Click / ESC / Space to close.

5. Styling, Links & File Hygiene (N-Panel)

• Dark Backing Plate: Toggle ON for a dark high-contrast plate behind dark-ink transparent PNGs, or toggle OFF to blend transparent images directly into the card's background color.
• Colors & Custom Slots: Choose from 1-click presets or save 5 persistent Custom Color Slots (Slot 1–5) across all your Blender projects.
• Reference URL: Paste a web link to add a 1-click Open Link button to the card.
• Purge Unused Images: Click Purge Unused Images in the N-Panel to remove unreferenced (0-user) images and keep .blend file sizes minimal.