Scene Visual Manager - Documentation

Version: 0.1.0

Compatible with: Blender 4.2.0 and later

License: GNU General Public License v3.0 or later

📋 Overview

Scene Visual Manager is a powerful Blender addon designed to help you efficiently manage and visualize scene resources. Perfect for working with complex scenes containing hundreds or thousands of objects, this tool provides real-time statistics, quick visibility controls, smart filtering, and isolation tools to streamline your workflow.

Key Features

• ✨ Real-time Scene Statistics - Instantly see counts for all 16 object types
• 👁️ Quick Visibility Control - One-click show/hide for any object type
• 🔍 Smart Filtering System - Filter by type, properties, and custom criteria
• 🎯 Isolation Tools - Focus on specific objects or types, hide distractions
• 💾 State Snapshots - One-click restore, easy undo for all operations
• 📊 Advanced Diagnostics - Professional filters for meshes, lights, cameras, and more

🚀 Installation

Method 1: Install from BlenderMarket

1. Download the addon from your BlenderMarket purchase
2. Open Blender
3. Go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
4. Click Install... and select the downloaded .zip file
5. Search for "Scene Visual Manager" in the add-ons list
6. Enable the checkbox next to the addon

Method 2: Manual Installation

1. Extract the addon folder from the downloaded archive
2. Place it in your Blender addons directory:

   • Windows: [Blender Installation]/4.2/scripts/addons_core/scene_visual_manager/
   • macOS: [Blender Installation]/4.2/scripts/addons_core/scene_visual_manager/
   • Linux: [Blender Installation]/4.2/scripts/addons_core/scene_visual_manager/

3. Open Blender and go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
4. Search for "Scene Visual Manager" and enable it

🎮 Quick Start

1. Access the Panel:

   • Open the 3D Viewport
   • Press N to open the sidebar (or click the + icon)
   • Look for the "Scene Vis" tab
   • Click to open the Scene Visual Manager panel

2. View Scene Statistics:

   • The Scene Overview section shows real-time counts for all object types
   • Statistics update automatically (or click the refresh button)

3. Control Visibility:

   • Click the Vis button (eye icon) next to any object type to toggle visibility
   • Click the Isolate button (zoom icon) to show only that type

4. Filter Objects:

   • Click the type name button to select all objects of that type
   • Hold Shift to add to selection, Ctrl to subtract

📖 Main Features

Scene Statistics

The Scene Overview section displays real-time counts for 16 object types:

• Meshes, Lights, Cameras, Empties
• Curves, Armatures, Grease Pencils
• Volumes, Text (Fonts), Lattices
• Light Probes, Speakers, Point Clouds
• Hair, Hair Curves, Force Fields

Auto Refresh: Enabled by default, automatically updates when objects are added/removed. For scenes with 20,000+ objects, auto-refresh is automatically disabled for performance.

Visibility Control

Each object type row provides three actions:

• Type Name Button: Click to select all objects of that type

  • Hold Shift: Add to current selection
  • Hold Ctrl: Subtract from current selection

• Vis Button (Eye Icon): Toggle visibility for all objects of that type

  • Eye Open = Visible
  • Eye Closed = Hidden

• Isolate Button (Zoom Icon): Show only objects of this type, hiding all others

  • Click again to restore previous state

Isolation Features

Isolate Selected:

• Select one or more objects in the viewport
• Click "Isolate Selected" button
• Only selected objects remain visible
• Click again to restore

Isolate by Type:

• Click the Isolate button next to any object type
• Only that type remains visible
• Click again to restore

Note: When isolation is active, a HUD appears at the top of the viewport showing "ISOLATION ACTIVE" with instructions.

State Management

Automatic Snapshots:

• Created automatically before any filter or isolation operation
• Captures visibility and selection states
• Allows easy undo/restore

Restore Snapshot:

• Click "Restore Snapshot" to undo the last operation
• Only available when a snapshot exists
• Clears isolation state

Unhide All:

• Forcefully makes all objects visible
• Resets both viewport and view layer visibility
• Warning: This is a destructive operation that clears current state

🔧 Advanced Filters

Expand object type sections to access advanced diagnostic filters:

Mesh Filters

• High Poly: Find meshes with polygon count above threshold (default: 5000)
• No Material: Find meshes without assigned materials
• Unapplied Transform: Find meshes with non-zero transforms

Light Filters

• By Type: Filter by Point, Sun, Spot, or Area lights
• High Intensity: Find lights with energy above threshold (default: 100.0)
• Non-White Color: Find lights with colored output

Camera Filters

• Clipping Large: Find cameras with unusual clipping ranges
• Inactive: Select all cameras except the active one
• Perspective/Orthographic: Filter by projection type

Curve Filters

• 2D/3D Mode: Filter by curve dimensions
• High Resolution: Find curves with resolution above threshold (default: 64)

Empty Filters

• Image Reference: Find empties displaying images
• Large Size: Find empties with display size above threshold (default: 10.0)

Adjusting Thresholds: Filter thresholds can be adjusted directly in each diagnostic panel.

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

The addon doesn't assign default shortcuts, but you can create custom ones:

1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Keymap
2. Search for "Scene Visual Manager" or the operator name
3. Click the + next to the operator
4. Press your desired key combination
5. Save preferences

Recommended Shortcuts:

• F5 - Refresh Stats
• Ctrl+Z - Restore Snapshot (if not conflicting)
• I - Isolate Selected
• Alt+H - Unhide All

Available Operators:

• svm.refresh_stats - Refresh scene statistics
• svm.toggle_visibility - Toggle visibility for a type
• svm.filter_type - Filter objects by type
• svm.filter_mesh - Filter meshes by criteria
• svm.filter_light - Filter lights by criteria
• svm.filter_camera - Filter cameras by criteria
• svm.filter_curve - Filter curves by criteria
• svm.filter_empty - Filter empties by criteria
• svm.isolate_selected - Isolate selected objects
• svm.restore_snapshot - Restore snapshot state
• svm.unhide_all - Unhide all objects
• svm.capture_display - Manually capture state

❓ Troubleshooting

Statistics Not Updating

• Check if Auto Refresh is enabled
• Manually click the refresh button
• For large scenes (>20,000 objects), auto-refresh may be disabled
• Try reloading the scene or restarting Blender

Visibility Not Working

• Ensure objects are not hidden in collections
• Check view layer visibility settings
• Try "Unhide All" to reset all visibility states
• Verify objects are in the current view layer

Isolation Not Restoring

• Ensure a snapshot exists (check if "Restore Snapshot" is enabled)
• Try using "Unhide All" to reset everything
• Check if another isolation is active (button should be depressed)

Filter Not Finding Objects

• Verify objects match the filter criteria
• Check if objects are hidden (they won't be selected if hidden)
• Adjust filter thresholds in preferences if needed
• Ensure you're filtering the correct object type

Performance Issues

• Disable Auto Refresh for large scenes
• Use filtering to reduce visible objects
• Close unnecessary detail panels
• Consider working with scene subsets

Addon Not Appearing

• Verify the addon is enabled in Preferences > Add-ons
• Check that you're in the 3D Viewport (not other editors)
• Press N to open the sidebar if it's closed
• Look for "Scene Vis" tab in the sidebar
• Restart Blender if the panel still doesn't appear

⚡ Performance Notes

Auto Refresh Performance

• Uses throttling mechanism (0.5 second delay) to prevent excessive updates
• For scenes with >20,000 objects, auto-refresh is automatically disabled
• Manual refresh is always available regardless of scene size

Snapshot Performance

• Snapshots are stored in memory (not saved to disk)
• Creating snapshots is fast for typical scenes (<10,000 objects)
• Very large scenes may experience slight delays when creating snapshots
• Snapshots are cleared when not needed to free memory

Filtering Performance

• Type-based filtering is very fast
• Advanced filters (mesh, light) may take longer on large scenes
• Filters only process visible objects in the current view layer
• Consider using collections to organize large scenes

Best Practices

• Disable auto-refresh when working with very large scenes
• Use filtering to reduce the number of visible objects
• Work with scene subsets using collections
• Clear snapshots when not needed (use "Unhide All" or "Restore Snapshot")
• Close detail panels when not in use

🎯 Use Cases

Perfect for:

• Large scene management and optimization
• Quick object search and location
• Scene cleanup and resource organization
• Pre-render scene inspection
• Team collaboration and scene review
• Finding problematic objects (high poly, missing materials, etc.)
• Organizing complex projects with hundreds or thousands of objects

Thank you for using Scene Visual Manager! 🎉

If you find this addon useful, please consider leaving a review on BlenderMarket. Your feedback helps improve the tool and supports future development.