Minimap - Documentation

1. Install

1. Download minimap_v1.0.0.zip. Do not unzip it.
2. In Blender: Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, click the drop-down arrow at the top right and choose Install from Disk...
3. Pick minimap_v1.0.0.zip and tick "Minimap" in the list.
4. If Auto-Save Preferences is off, click Save Preferences (bottom left).

2. Where to find it

• The map: bottom-right corner of every 3D Viewport, as soon as the add-on is ticked.
• Settings: 3D Viewport > Sidebar (press N) > Minimap tab, with Pins, Look and Mouse sub-panels.
• Look settings also in Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Minimap (expand it).
• Show / hide: Ctrl+Alt+M in the 3D Viewport, View menu > Toggle Minimap, or the Viewport Overlays popover > Minimap > Show.

3. How to use it

• Click anywhere on the map: the view flies there and lands on the surface under your click.
• Hold the left mouse button on the map and drag: the view glides after your cursor.
• Scroll on the map to zoom it, middle-drag to slide it. Right-click > Fit Whole Scene zooms back out.
• Double-click an object on the map to fly to it and fill the view with it.
• Ctrl+Click drops a pin. Click the pin later (or Go in the Pins list) to come back to that exact view.
• Alt+Click moves the 3D cursor there. Shift+Click selects the object under the cursor.
• Click a camera icon to look through that camera.
• Turn on Follow My View (and Rotate) in the sidebar for a game-style map that follows you.

4. Settings

Minimap panel

• Show (checkbox in the panel header): show or hide the map in every 3D Viewport.
• Follow My View: keep the map centred on what you look at. Off: the map shows the whole scene.
• Rotate: turn the map so the way you look is always up.
• Follow Range / Map Range: how far the map reaches (default 25 m when following). Scrolling on the map changes it too.
• Fit Whole Scene / Fit Selected: zoom the map to everything, or to the selected objects.

Pins

• List of pins with a colour swatch, an editable name and a Go button.
• + / Pin This View: save the current view as a pin. -: remove the selected pin.

Look

• Shape: Round (game style) or Square (rounded corners, more map).
• Corner: Bottom Right (default), Bottom Left, Top Left or Top Right.
• Size: 110 to 640 px (default 230), multiplied by your UI scale. Opacity: 0.2 to 1.
• Look: Map (bright flat colours with soft outlines), Paper (pure flat colours) or Shaded (hill shading).
• Colors: Textures, Materials, Object, Random or Single.
• Cameras, Lights, 3D Cursor, Pins, Pin Names, Compass, Scale Bar, Grid: show or hide each one.

Preferences only

• Fly Time: seconds a click-to-fly takes (0 to 3, default 0.55, 0 = jump instantly).
• Map Refresh: the most map redraws per second (1 to 30, default 10). Heavy scenes lower it on their own.

5. Troubleshooting

• No map: check the checkbox in the Minimap panel header, or press Ctrl+Alt+M with the mouse over the 3D Viewport. A very small viewport has no room for it: make the viewport bigger or lower Size.
• The map says "Map paused in Rendered view" or the picture is frozen: that is on purpose with Cycles or EEVEE. Switch to Solid or Material Preview and it updates again.
• The map is tiny or mostly empty: a huge ground plane or a far-away object stretches it. Scroll on the map or use Fit Selected.
• A click lands on a roof or tree top: clicks use the top surface. Hide the roof or use Local View to work inside.
• No map in Quad View: it shows in the perspective view only.
• Blender stopped auto-saving: Blender's timed auto-save does not run while Minimap is enabled. Save with Ctrl+S, or untick Minimap when you don't need it.
• Install error? Make sure you picked the .zip itself, not an unzipped folder, and that you are on Blender 5.2 or newer.

6. Updating

• Download the new zip from your Superhive library, uninstall the old version in Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, restart Blender, then install the new zip.

7. Uninstall

• Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, expand Minimap and choose Uninstall. Pins and map range saved in your .blend files are simply ignored without the add-on.

Support

• Have a question, a bug or an idea for a new feature? Mail me at [email protected]. Please include your Blender version and operating system.