Profiler 2.0 — User Documentation

Profiler turns any Blender curve into a molding, trim, or profiled shape by beveling it with a chosen cross-section. This guide covers installation, every control in the panel, and the main workflows.

• Author / support: Mike Radjabov — [email protected]
• Compatibility: Blender 3.6 LTS through 5.2
• Category: Modeling

1. Installation

Profiler ships as two files. Use the one that matches your Blender version.

Blender 4.2 – 5.2 (extension)

1. Open Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Get Extensions.
2. Click the dropdown (▾) in the top-right ▸ Install from Disk…
3. Select profiler_extension.zip.

Blender 3.6 – 4.1 (classic add-on)

1. Open Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Add-ons.
2. Click Install… and select profiler_legacy.zip.
3. Tick the checkbox next to "Profiler" to enable it.

After installing, open the 3D Viewport sidebar by pressing N and select the Profiler tab.

2. Quick start (60 seconds)

1. Add or select a curve (or convert a mesh — see §4).
2. In the Profiler panel, click a profile in the gallery at the top.
3. Click Apply Profile.
4. Your curve now has that cross-section. Use the alignment, rotate, mirror, dimension and offset controls to position it.

That's the whole core loop: pick a profile, apply, adjust.

3. The panel, control by control

Profile gallery

The image grid at the top is the profile picker. Click the preview to open the full gallery of 76 built-in profiles plus any custom profiles you've saved. The selected profile is what Apply Profile uses.

Apply Profile

Applies the selected profile to the active curve as its bevel cross-section. If the curve already has a profile, applying a new one replaces it.

Convert to Curve

Converts the selected object — or, in Edit Mode, a selected face or edge loop — into a curve so you can apply a profile to it. See §4.

Custom Profiles

• Save Current — saves the selected curve as your own reusable profile (see §5).
• Import SVG — imports an .svg drawing as a profile (see §6).
• Refresh — reloads the gallery thumbnails (use after adding files manually).
• Open Folder — opens the folder where your custom profiles are stored, for backup (see §7).

The controls below appear only when a curve with a profile applied is active.

Origin Alignment (3×3 gamepad)

Nine buttons that snap the profile's origin to a corner, edge-midpoint, or center of its bounding box. This controls how the profile sits relative to the curve — e.g. align a baseboard so it sits flush on the floor, or a crown molding into a wall/ceiling corner.

Profile Dimensions (X / Y)

Sets the real-world width (X) and height (Y) of the profile. The small reset button (↺) next to the label restores the profile to its default (saved) size.

Offset

• X — shifts the profile sideways relative to the curve.
• Z — moves the profile along the curve's local Z axis.

Rotate / Mirror / Flip

• −90° / +90° — rotate the profile in 90° steps.
• Mirror X / Mirror Y — mirror the profile across an axis.
• Switch direction (⟲ icon) — flips the profile's normal direction (use if the surface faces inward).

Shade Smooth / Shade Flat

Sets the shading of the resulting geometry.

Resolutions

• Curve Resolution — smoothness along the length of the curve.
• Profile Resolution — smoothness of the cross-section itself. Lower these for performance; raise them for smoother results.

4. Profiling a mesh (Convert to Curve)

Profiles apply to curves, so a mesh edge must first become a curve:

1. Select your mesh and enter Edit Mode.
2. Select a face, edge loop, or boundary you want to profile (e.g. the top edge of a wall for crown molding, or the base for skirting).
3. In the Profiler panel, click Convert to Curve. Profiler extracts the selection, turns it into a curve, and leaves it ready.
4. Pick a profile and click Apply Profile.

You can also select a whole object in Object Mode and click Convert to Curve.

5. Saving your own profiles

1. Make or select a curve shaped like the cross-section you want (drawn in the front/XY plane works best).
2. Click Save Current, type a name, and confirm.
3. Profiler cleans the curve up (bakes its scale/rotation, closes it into a solid) and adds it to the gallery with an auto-generated thumbnail.

Your saved profile now behaves exactly like a built-in one and can be applied to any curve.

Tip: open profiles (not fully closed) are automatically closed into a solid so the applied result matches the gallery preview.

6. Importing SVG profiles

You can design a profile in Illustrator, Inkscape, or any vector tool and import it:

1. Click Import SVG and choose your .svg file.
2. Profiler imports the shape, converts it to a curve, and saves it as a custom profile.

Requirement: this uses Blender's bundled Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) add-on. If import fails, enable it in Preferences ▸ Add-ons (search "SVG").

7. Where profiles are stored & how to back them up

Your custom profiles live in one folder containing UserProfiles.blend (the shapes) and Profile_*.png (the thumbnails). By default this is in your Blender config folder.

• Find it: click Open Folder in the Custom Profiles section.
• Back up: copy that whole folder somewhere safe (external drive, Dropbox, OneDrive).
• Restore / move to a new computer: copy the files back into the same folder, or point Preferences ▸ Add-ons/Extensions ▸ Profiler ▸ User Profiles Folder at your backup.
• Tip: set the User Profiles Folder to a cloud-synced location and your profiles are backed up automatically.

Don't keep your only copy inside the add-on's install folder — updating the add-on can replace it.

How applied profiles are stored in your scene: when you apply a profile, its shape is kept referenced by the curve itself (as the curve's Bevel Object). It isn't placed in a visible collection, so it won't clutter your outliner or get deleted by accident, and it's removed automatically when you delete the curve that uses it.

8. Preferences

Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Add-ons/Extensions ▸ Profiler:

• User Profiles Folder — where your custom profiles are saved. Leave empty for the default location, or set it to a folder of your choice (e.g. a cloud-synced one).

9. Troubleshooting

• Buttons are greyed out. Most controls need a curve (with a profile) active. Select a curve, or apply a profile first.
• Nothing happens on Apply. Make sure a curve is selected and a profile is chosen in the gallery. For a mesh, use Convert to Curve first.
• Import SVG fails. Enable the bundled "Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)" add-on in Preferences.
• The profile faces the wrong way. Use Switch direction, or Mirror X / Y.
• Custom profile thumbnails look old. Click Refresh after adding or re-saving files.
• Profile looks too big/small. Set the Profile Dimensions, or click the reset (↺) button to return to default.

10. Compatibility & support

• Blender: 3.6 LTS → 5.2. Use the extension zip on 4.2+, the legacy zip on 3.6–4.1.
• License: GPL-3.0-or-later.