Blender incorporates 3 operators to align the 3D view :
This add-on offers 2 custom alignment features for the 3D view :
First, you need to change the 3D cursor orientation by using the method of your choice.
Next, use one of the following keyboard shortcuts to align the 3D View to the 3D cursor orientation :
ALT
+ NUMPAD 8
ALT
+ CTRL
+ NUMPAD 8
ALT
+ NUMPAD 5
ALT
+ CTRL
+ NUMPAD 5
ALT
+ NUMPAD 6
ALT
+ CTRL
+ NUMPAD 6
Those commands are also accessible in the View
-> Align View
-> Align View to Cursor
top menu of the 3D View.
Tip : 3D cursor can be used to align the 3D view to an object's face by calling the snapping tool of the cursor (SHIFT
+ Right Mouse Button
click on the face) :
Note : the snapping tool of the 3D cursor does not align the cursor orientation to the face one by default. You need to configure the tool in the Keymap
section of the Preferences
panel as follows, and to save your modification to make it permanent :
This method is based on the Blender feature that allows to define custom transform orientations.
To align the 3D View to a custom transform orientation, it must have been created beforehand, like in the following example (based on the normal axes of an object's face) :
Then, you can use one of the following keyboard shortcuts to align the 3D View to its axes :
ALT
+ NUMPAD 7
ALT
+ CTRL
+ NUMPAD 7
ALT
+ NUMPAD 1
ALT
+ CTRL
+ NUMPAD 1
ALT
+ NUMPAD 3
ALT
+ CTRL
+ NUMPAD 3
Note : these commands have no effect if no Custom transform orientation is active.
Those commands are also accessible in the View
-> Align View
-> Align View to Custom
top menu of the 3D View.
If you prefer hard transitions or if you're facing problems (odd behaviors, performance, ...), the add-on installation panel provides an option to disable the smooth transition during the 3D View alignment.
License change from GNU GPL V2 to V3 to fulfill Blender Extensions platform requirements
This extension does not require special permissions.
.whitelist',
.gitignore.` and especially images folder. You're bloating download size unnecessarily. I recommend using Blenders command lines to build the extension.https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/advanced/extensions/command_line_arguments.html
Provide more documentation in this description, here on this website. Users shouldn't have to go to another website to learn how Blender add-on works when it can be on Blender's website. It's annoying.
Are you sure 3D cursor snapping works? When was the last time you tested it? Following the steps I couldn't make it work. It is quite a convoluted workflow anyway. I don't understand why won't you simplify it. For example, why does 3D cursor need to be snapped to the surface? Cursor orientation can be custom changed from sidebar > View to get any orientation you want, like 45degrees tilt. It should be able to align with that without requiring mesh snapped.
I recommend removing all those necessary steps from 3D cursor snapping and simply always snap to 3D cursor when custom orientation doesn't exist, regardless of if its orientation is changed or not. If there is custom, always align to custom.
What is the point of redo panel for the operator? I assumed, that when I'm aligning to view, if I want to go back to 3D cursor I can change it to align to custom
in redo panel to switch to that behavior. But then anytime I press alt+numpad again it still snaps to custom. It would be good to be able to change what alt+numpad keys snap to from redo panel, otherwise you would have to remove custom orientation to go back to 3D cursor. Or, just remove redo panel.
Each version uploaded here has its own changelog, and should only include changes from that version. Remove old changelog unrelated to latest version.
Hello, Thank you for your comment. I already took into account comment #2 and 5.
As for #1, I will fix it as soon as I find a solution to comment #4.
As for comment #3, I wanted to create an add-on as simple and flexible as possible. That's why I didn't want to automate all the workflow. The add-on only align the 3d view to the cursor orientation, no matter how it has been defined. It can be defined as you propose anyway. The aim of my description is to propose a workflow that allows to align the 3D view to a specific face of an object, which is mostly the way I use the add-on. But it's not the only one method. Just a suggestion. To make it clear, I modified the add-on description. And to be complete, I really tested my add-on before sumitting it, and it works.
As for comment #4, I don't understand the problem. I don't remember having implemented a undo/redo mechanism. I agree with you, it's useless. Can you describe more precisely the problem ? Then I will remove it.
Thanks for your revient.
Re: #4 - Ones you click either of Alt + Numpad redo panel appears in 3D viewport, in which you can change orientation, as well as whether you want view snapped to 3D cursor, or custom. If I have custom orientation, but I want to snap to 3D cursor instead I would assume that I can change that from redo panel.
And it works initially when I change it to 3D cursor from redo panel. But, then after I click Alt+Numpad again it still snaps to custom and disregards my change in redo panel. I think it would be very helpful if user made choices in redo panel are respected until user changes them back.
Because otherwise only way to snap to 3D cursor when you have custom is to remove custom, and that I didn't like doing.
Re: 3D cursor snapping. I get that you have specific workflow set up for it, but it should be a more general feature, not only for users sake, but for you too, less maintenance and explaining how to make it work.
I have tried everything in my power can't understand how to snap to 3D cursor, followed steps on github, nothing. But I still don't understand why are those steps necessary at all.
In default scene, when I press Alt-Numpad 1 I expect to be thrown into front view, because 3D cursor is aligned that way. What's the point you would ask, and the point is that then I would go to View > 3D Cursor and change rotation on X to 45 degrees, and then when I would press Alt-Numpad 1 it would tilt my view 45 degrees. That is not something you can do easily in Blender now, and add-on would open up new possibilities.
Basically, allow users to use your tools as they see fit, don't restrict them, but provide documentation about best ways to use them, recommendations, and workflow tips.
As for #4, I will investigate to remove this option.
As for #3, I will rewrite the description to focus on the real work of the add-on and provide "tips" to introduce interesting combinations briefly. To align the view to the 3d cursor orientation, the shortkeys are ALT + NUM 8, 5 or 6 (ALT + NUM 7, 1 or 3 are for the custom transform orientation tool).
OK. I think I took into account all your comments. I hope all is well now. I checked that the add-on is still working and it does. Tell me if you succeed in aligning the 3D view to the 3D cursor orientation by setting it manually (it works for me).
Hey everyone,
Just a heads-up about a recent change regarding the licensing of add-ons on the Blender extension platform. Moving forward, all add-ons will need to be released under the GNU/GPL 3.0 license (SPDX:GPL-3.0-or-later). This is mainly to keep things simple and consistent across the board.
Previously, we accepted various licenses as long as they were compatible with Blender’s distribution. However, to avoid any confusion and streamline the process, all add-ons using the bpy API should now be presented as GPL 3 (the same license the Blender bundle is distributed). Regardless of whether the original code was under GPL 2, or something else like MIT or ZLIB.
Existing add-ons versions won't be affected. However, new updates will need to comply to the revised requirements.
Thanks for understanding, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Everything is nice now. Thanks
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Ready for review