0.8.1

Bug fixes and stability patches.

Fixes

• #304: Fixed "Collection is empty" false error when all objects are in child collections rather than placed directly in the exported collection.
• #303: Fixed mesh modifiers being applied twice when Triangulate pre-export is enabled.
• #301: Fixed crash in Create Instance Collection when the parent collection and top-level object share the same name.
• #299: Fixed presets failing after a Blender version upgrade due to stale absolute paths baked into saved presets. Also fixed a SyntaxWarning for is not with a string literal.
• #307: Fixed three stability issues found in code review: Triangulate modifier leak on exception, unsafe exporter detection after collection creation, and _props_equal silently masking preset drift on comparison errors.
• #305: Added missing tooltip descriptions to several properties in operators, preferences, and the preset dialog.

Simple Export Beta 0.8

Complete UI Overhaul, Pre-Export Pipeline & Smarter Organization. Version 0.8 is the most significant update to Simple Export. It introduces a completely redesigned interface, a pre-export operation pipeline, smarter filtering with custom group organization, and deep platform improvements across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features

Redesigned UI

• #274/#284: Added compact and detailed view toggle for the export list — switch between a streamlined overview and a full per-collection details view.
• #272: Redesigned popup menu with a cleaner, more organized layout.
• #271: Collection list items now display settings on separate rows for a cleaner, less cramped layout.
• #270: Outliner and export list selection now stay in sync — selecting a collection in the Outliner highlights it in the export list and vice versa.
• #269: Added missing link to root object button to the collection properties panel.
• #279: Export warnings are now interactive — click a warning icon for a detailed explanation of the problem.
• #278: Relative path warnings are only shown when the path cannot be resolved, reducing false positives.
• #282: Removed the default Simple Export N-Panel to reduce sidebar clutter (can be re-enabled in preferences).
• #262: Added a lock symbol to built-in read-only presets.
• #255: Added version update notification — the addon checks for newer releases and shows a link in preferences.
• #254: Added an addon reload button to preferences for quick reloads without restarting Blender.
• #193: Added a quick-access settings button next to the preset selector to open Simple Export preferences directly.
• #100: The export status now shows how many objects were exported per collection.
• #264: Added a Failed status indicator — clearly shows which collections had errors after a batch export.

Pre-Export Operations

• #230: Added Triangulate as a pre-export operation — meshes are triangulated before export without permanently modifying your scene. The Keep Custom Normals option preserves custom split normals during triangulation.
• #231: Added Apply Scale & Rotation as a pre-export operation — object transforms are applied before export and fully restored afterwards, keeping the scene unchanged.
• #256: Pre-export operations and positioning options (move to center, collection offset, etc.) are now stored per collection rather than globally, so each collection can have its own behaviour.
• Individual collections can override the default pre-export operations in the Active Collection panel, allowing fine-grained control per collection.

Filtering & Group Organization

• #203/#260: Filters now affect which collections are exported — only currently visible (filtered) collections are included in batch exports.
• #258: Improved filtering and sorting — filters now correctly apply to all list operations, sort order is consistent, and redundant filter options have been removed.
• #281: New filter: show only collections with a missing export folder.
• #261/#268: Added User Groups — assign custom group labels (e.g. "Characters", "Props") to organize collections and filter by category.

Preset Management

• #283: Preset creation, editing and deletion moved to addon preferences for a cleaner main panel.
• #285: A preset can now be selected directly when creating a new export collection.
• #293: When a collection is renamed, its export filepath updates automatically to reflect the new name.
• #245: Added option to open target software (e.g. game engine) directly from the addon.
• Added a configurable separator character between prefix/suffix and collection or file name (default: _). Leave it empty to omit the separator entirely.

Platform & Compatibility

• #257: Full Blender 5.1 compatibility — export presets are now organised into version-specific folders (Blender 4.x, 5.0, 5.1) to ensure correct defaults for each version.
• #263: Platform-appropriate default export paths (Documents folder on Windows, home directory on macOS/Linux).
• #259: Old blend files are now automatically updated to include any missing exporter properties on load.

Fixes

• #276: Fixed missing Add Preset button in addon preferences.
• #275: Fixed the "Missing Preset" filter not correctly showing only collections with no preset assigned.
• #267: Fixed preset filtering — addon presets and export format presets are now properly separated, each with a dedicated "None" filter option.
• #252: Fixed addon keymap overwriting existing Blender hotkeys.
• #253: Fixed crash on Linux at startup.
• #280: Fixed upward relative path traversal (../) — paths navigating above the Blend file's directory now resolve correctly in both the folder picker and the export logic.
• #273/#277/#295: Fixed multiple relative path resolution issues on Linux, including incorrect file status icons caused by unresolved Blender // paths.
• #288: Fixed Triangulate pre-export operation skipping nested (parented) objects and leaving the modifier on the mesh instead of baking and removing it cleanly.
• #289: Fixed preset dialog silently failing when invoked from a popup panel.
• #290: Fixed root object flag not clearing when the root object is removed; fixed incorrectly disabled instance offset row.
• #291: Fixed stale reference crash in active layer collection sync.
• #266: Fixed empty collection export not updating the status icon to a warning.
• #207: Improved error handling when exporting with relative paths on an unsaved file.
• #209/#173: Fixed parent collection being created in the wrong location in the hierarchy.
• #202: Fixed a crash when loading an addon preset that was saved with no export format preset selected, after new format presets had been added to the addon.
• #213: Fixed preset picker auto-selecting the first preset when none is assigned.
• #206: Fixed parent renaming not working in the operator.
• #154: Fixed double-separator issue — the separator is no longer inserted when the prefix already ends with it (e.g. SM_ no longer produces SM__).
• #161: Fixed relative path picker opening at the wrong directory — it now opens at the Blend file's location instead of an unrelated folder.

Simple Export 0.8 Beta

Complete UI Overhaul, Pre-Export Pipeline & Smarter Organization. Version 0.8 is the most significant update to Simple Export. It introduces a completely redesigned interface, a pre-export operation pipeline, smarter filtering with custom group organization, and deep platform improvements across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features

Redesigned UI

• #274/#284: Added compact and detailed view toggle for the export list — switch between a streamlined overview and a full per-collection details view.
• #272: Redesigned popup menu with a cleaner, more organized layout.
• #271: Collection list items now display settings on separate rows for a cleaner, less cramped layout.
• #270: Outliner and export list selection now stay in sync — selecting a collection in the Outliner highlights it in the export list and vice versa.
• #269: Added missing link to root object button to the collection properties panel.
• #279: Export warnings are now interactive — click a warning icon for a detailed explanation of the problem.
• #278: Relative path warnings are only shown when the path cannot be resolved, reducing false positives.
• #282: Removed the default Simple Export N-Panel to reduce sidebar clutter (can be re-enabled in preferences).
• #262: Added a lock symbol to built-in read-only presets.
• #255: Added version update notification — the addon checks for newer releases and shows a link in preferences.
• #254: Added an addon reload button to preferences for quick reloads without restarting Blender.
• #193: Added a quick-access settings button next to the preset selector to open Simple Export preferences directly.
• #100: The export status now shows how many objects were exported per collection.
• #264: Added a Failed status indicator — clearly shows which collections had errors after a batch export.

Pre-Export Operations

• #230: Added Triangulate as a pre-export operation — meshes are triangulated before export without permanently modifying your scene. The Keep Custom Normals option preserves custom split normals during triangulation.
• #231: Added Apply Scale & Rotation as a pre-export operation — object transforms are applied before export and fully restored afterwards, keeping the scene unchanged.
• #256: Pre-export operations and positioning options (move to center, collection offset, etc.) are now stored per collection rather than globally, so each collection can have its own behaviour.
• Individual collections can override the default pre-export operations in the Active Collection panel, allowing fine-grained control per collection.

Filtering & Group Organization

• #203/#260: Filters now affect which collections are exported — only currently visible (filtered) collections are included in batch exports.
• #258: Improved filtering and sorting — filters now correctly apply to all list operations, sort order is consistent, and redundant filter options have been removed.
• #281: New filter: show only collections with a missing export folder.
• #261/#268: Added User Groups — assign custom group labels (e.g. "Characters", "Props") to organize collections and filter by category.

Preset Management

• #283: Preset creation, editing and deletion moved to addon preferences for a cleaner main panel.
• #285: A preset can now be selected directly when creating a new export collection.
• #293: When a collection is renamed, its export filepath updates automatically to reflect the new name.
• #245: Added option to open target software (e.g. game engine) directly from the addon.
• Added a configurable separator character between prefix/suffix and collection or file name (default: _). Leave it empty to omit the separator entirely.

Platform & Compatibility

• #257: Full Blender 5.1 compatibility — export presets are now organised into version-specific folders (Blender 4.x, 5.0, 5.1) to ensure correct defaults for each version.
• #263: Platform-appropriate default export paths (Documents folder on Windows, home directory on macOS/Linux).
• #259: Old blend files are now automatically updated to include any missing exporter properties on load.

Fixes

• #276: Fixed missing Add Preset button in addon preferences.
• #275: Fixed the "Missing Preset" filter not correctly showing only collections with no preset assigned.
• #267: Fixed preset filtering — addon presets and export format presets are now properly separated, each with a dedicated "None" filter option.
• #252: Fixed addon keymap overwriting existing Blender hotkeys.
• #253: Fixed crash on Linux at startup.
• #280: Fixed upward relative path traversal (../) — paths navigating above the Blend file's directory now resolve correctly in both the folder picker and the export logic.
• #273/#277/#295: Fixed multiple relative path resolution issues on Linux, including incorrect file status icons caused by unresolved Blender // paths.
• #288: Fixed Triangulate pre-export operation skipping nested (parented) objects and leaving the modifier on the mesh instead of baking and removing it cleanly.
• #289: Fixed preset dialog silently failing when invoked from a popup panel.
• #290: Fixed root object flag not clearing when the root object is removed; fixed incorrectly disabled instance offset row.
• #291: Fixed stale reference crash in active layer collection sync.
• #266: Fixed empty collection export not updating the status icon to a warning.
• #207: Improved error handling when exporting with relative paths on an unsaved file.
• #209/#173: Fixed parent collection being created in the wrong location in the hierarchy.
• #202: Fixed a crash when loading an addon preset that was saved with no export format preset selected, after new format presets had been added to the addon.
• #213: Fixed preset picker auto-selecting the first preset when none is assigned.
• #206: Fixed parent renaming not working in the operator.
• #154: Fixed double-separator issue — the separator is no longer inserted when the prefix already ends with it (e.g. SM_ no longer produces SM__).
• #161: Fixed relative path picker opening at the wrong directory — it now opens at the Blend file's location instead of an unrelated folder.