Save & Load

Blend Files

Save – Save Prompt

Asks for confirmation before closing or opening a new blend-file if the current file has unsaved changes.

Save Versions

Number of versions created (for backup) when saving newer versions of a file.

This option keeps saved versions of your file in the same directory, using extensions: .blend1, .blend2, etc., with the number increasing to the number of versions you specify.

Older files will be named with a higher number. E.g. with the default setting of 2, you will have three versions of your file:

• *.blend – last saved.

• *.blend1 – second last saved.

• *.blend2 – third last saved.

Recent Files

Number of files displayed in File ‣ Open Recent.

Auto Save

Enables Auto Save. Tells Blender to automatically save a backup copy of your work-in-progress files to the Temporary Directory.

• Timer (Minutes)

  This specifies the number of minutes to wait between each Auto Save. The default value of the Blender installation is 2 minutes. The minimum is 1, and the Maximum is 60 (save every hour).

File Preview Types

Select how blend-file preview are generated. These previews are used both in the File Browser and for previews shown in the operating system’s file browser.

• None:

  Do not generate any blend-file previews.

  Auto:

  If there is no camera in the 3D Viewport a preview using a screenshot of the active Workspace is generated. If a camera is in the scene, a preview of the viewport from the camera view is used.

  Screenshot:

  Generate a preview by taking a screenshot of the active Workspace.

  Camera View:

  Generate a preview of a Workbench render from the camera’s point of view.

Default To – Relative Paths

Default value for Relative Paths when loading external files such as images, sounds, and linked libraries. It will be ignored if a path is already set.

Default To – Compress File

Default value for Compress file when saving blend-files.

Default To – Load UI

Default value for Load UI when loading blend-files.

Text Files – Tabs as Spaces

Entering Tab in the Text Editor adds the appropriate number of spaces instead of using characters.

Auto Run Python Scripts

Python scripts (including driver expressions) are not executed by default for security reasons. You may be working on projects where you only load files from trusted sources, making it more convenient to allow scripts to be executed automatically.

Excluded Paths

Blend-files in these folders will not automatically run Python scripts. This can be used to define where blend-files from untrusted sources are kept.

See also

Python Security.

File Browser

Show Locations – Recent

Hide the Recent panel of the File Browser which displays recently accessed folders.

Show Locations – System

Hide System Bookmarks in the File Browser.

Defaults – Filter Files

By activating this, the file region in the File Browser will only show appropriate files (i.e. blend-files when loading a complete Blender setting). The selection of file types may be changed in the file region.

Defaults – Show Hidden Files/Data-Blocks

Unhide files and data-blocks with names that start with . in File Browsers and data IDs.

Hint

Data-blocks with names beginning with a . can be selected by typing in a search string that also starts with the . character, even if this setting is disabled.