Blender: Application Templates. One of the strategic topics of Blender for 2022

edited February 2022 in General

One of the strategic topics of Blender for 2022 is Application Templates feature.
https://code.blender.org/2022/01/strategic-targets-2022/
Maybe this can be an interesting topic for BlenderBIM to think itself not just as an addon, but a full BIM app. New possibilities?

The goal of application templates is to support switching to a customized configuration without disrupting your existing settings and installation. This means people can build their own applications on top of Blender that can be easily distributed.

https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/app_templates.html

Darth_BlenderLaurensJNNigelchunchkMeetlatCGR

Comments

  • I used some time to try how far Application Templates can go...it seems kinda limited right now...
    but a valuable source has been found for anyone who feel interested in it.
    https://blenderbrew.com/custom-application-templates-in-blender/

  • I'm hoping to be able to use them as a Blender Viewer application for non-CAD people to use. Just a few navigation buttons and a properties window. I haven't found a good viewer to replace Navisworks with yet - I tried Sketchfab but it takes some manual tweaking of each model (materials etc).

    NigelCadGiruruggieroguida
  • edited January 2022

    Related thread: Blender dedicated OSArch branch ?
    As I understand it from talking to @stephen_l the person to talk to about Application Templates who has worked with it most is @Andyrexic
    I've added the BlenderBIM Add-on tag.

  • I made a preliminary application template file (Attached) for us to have something to play with.

    After installing the App Template, a new folder will be created with the name BlenderBIM in this path
    yourpath(depends on installer or portable version)\3.0\scripts\startup\bl_app_templates_user\
    a new default file can be selected then we can see the default scene of the App Template. (startup.blend)

    Changes in Keymap (userpref.blend)

    Open the console, a version checking action was performed (init.py)

    To start BlenderBIM App template by default is a little be tricky and it is only works using shortcuts (I currently only know how to do it on Windows only)
    Right Clicks on Shortcut

    Add " --app-template BlenderBIM" at the rear

    The icon can also be changed using BlenderBIM.ico inside the folder *\bl_app_templates_user\BlenderBIM
    So every time we start Blender using the Taskbar icon, we can see Cinnamon in the splash screen and it could check the latest version of BlenderBIM (WIP)

    AceduncanbrunopostleNigelGorgiousDarth_BlenderLaurensJNbitacovirCoenMeetlat
  • Great! I'm so looking forward to seeing where this goes in making BBIM more accessible to Blender newbies.

  • @duncan

    I'm so looking forward to seeing where this goes in making BBIM more accessible to Blender newbies.

    When I opened Blender for the first time I got intimidated by the amount of buttons.
    So application template can be used to reduce the amount of buttons? ;-)

  • @Coen said: So application template can be used to reduce the amount of buttons? ;-)

    Exactly - an application (as I understand it) allows for chossing the parts of Blender you want to make visible. In my head I imagine something more like FreeCAD where you have more of the functions you want and less of the things you don't need.

    CGR
  • @Coen said:
    @duncan

    I'm so looking forward to seeing where this goes in making BBIM more accessible to Blender newbies.

    When I opened Blender for the first time I got intimidated by the amount of buttons.
    So application template can be used to reduce the amount of buttons? ;-)

    Yes, some built-in functions can be disabled using the init.py inside the application template. However, disable/create Areas such as Editors still not accessible through python API.

  • on the copier machine in our office there is a 'simple' button, I think they designed it for me! I jest, however Coen and Duncan I concur with the idea of being able to offer a customised UI.
    This idea could go further to offer BIM review and BIM authoring. The former would deal with extracting data from the IFC and the latter would focus on authoring.

    CGRCoen
  • Many years ago the main bit torrent program has three interfaces with increasing numbers of functions - I think it's a fantastic way to get started with a new application when someone has already thought through for me what functions I need to understand first.

    CGR
  • @Nigel said:
    on the copier machine in our office there is a 'simple' button, I think they designed it for me! I jest, however Coen and Duncan I concur with the idea of being able to offer a customised UI.
    This idea could go further to offer BIM review and BIM authoring. The former would deal with extracting data from the IFC and the latter would focus on authoring.

    Agree,

    • review / checking / quality control / data extraction ....

      • Would be great to have a stripped down template focusing on this
    • authoring template
      both are great ideas, @Nigel have You progressed on this? Are there others interested in pursuing...
      Maybe this is a potential project proposal

    Nigelbitacovirduncan
  • There's nothing stopping someone bundling a whole lot of addins together, branding it, and selling it on gumroad as an AEC BIM application. If that was done with profit sharing, GPL compliance and a spirit of cooperation then I would love us to support that kind of project. I think there's a business case to do it.

    vpajic
  • edited October 2022

    @duncan said:
    There's nothing stopping someone bundling a whole lot of addins together, branding it, and selling it on gumroad as an AEC BIM application.

    Even if it is legal, I think the right way and what we should promote is to add a value in adition of what already has been done by others (a book, a course, a translation, a library of 3D models, technical support, whatever...). Selling by internet what already exist by free in internet is not very logic (only if you are the developer like Krita fundation and its app in the Windows Store).

  • @bitacovir sure - tech savvy people can install from source or whatever. But someone needs to spend time collecting all these functions and a way to fund their integration would be worth gold. There is no reason why this is n't being done now - except that the poeple who know hopw also know how to just install them and manage it themselves. A unified product would be both an economic reason, a community incentive and some funding to focus on integrating the apps and distributing the resulting income. Companies are not going to encourage normal Revit-happy employees to start using a tool which is only useful with 20+ addins and no-one offering unified support options.
    What could emerge is a (more) unified toll like FreeCAD. FreeCAD is substantially built on top of OpenCascade. A new tool could be built on top of Blender. That community of tools could become a network of developers each getting paid to develop the tool and participate in selling commercial support.

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