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START Blender 1) – Customize UI and Make It Easy to Use

Blenderを始める① ~UIを自分好みにカスタマイズして使いやすくする~

I have been a Maya user for 15 years, but I mainly use Blender for my productions.

When I start using new software, the first thing that Toha does is “customize the UI to your liking”.

 

When you don’t know how to read or operate a software program, it becomes frustrating and you lose the desire to learn new software and learn how to use it…

So, the first step is to customize the UI to your liking and learn to operate it comfortably.

This article will show you how to customize the initial Blender UI to your liking.

What we are doing is “customizing the UI to the UI of your choice”, but we will write the UI with explanations so that you can apply it to your “own taste”.

 

I’d rather know how to operate Blender than customize the UI! If you want to know how to operate Blender, jump to START Blender 4) – Basic Operations! Please jump to.

 

UI means…
Abbreviation for user interface. In this article, we refer to UI primarily as the menu display, windows, and operating feel.

This article corresponds to the long-term supported version Blender 4.2 LTS.

 

Download Blender

GOGO

First, download Blender from the official website.

There are various versions of Blender, but 4.2 LTS is recommended for use now.

LTS stands for Long Term Support, a version that promises two years of long-term support.

4.2 was released in July 2024 and can continue to be used safely until July 2026.

 

each version has a Linux version, a MacOS version, a Windows installer version, and a portable version, so click on the Blender file you want and download it.

Blender 4.2LTSのダウンロードページ

 

The portable version (zip format) can be used without installing it on your computer; unzip the zip file and run “blender.exe” in the folder to start Blender.

ポータブル版(zip形式)Blenderの実行ファイル

 

 

スポンサーリンク

 

Change Blender Menu to Japanese

ポートフォリオ~

When I start Blender after installation, the menu display is all in English.

After all, Japanese is easier to understand than English. Therefore, we will change the display to Japanese.

From Blender’s top menu, select
Click on Edit→Preferences→Interface and go to Language.

Blenderの日本語化(1) Edit→Preferences→Interface→Translation→Language

A further click on Language opens a window in which you can select a language.

Select “Japanese” from the list.

Blenderの日本語化(2) LanguageからJapanese(日本語)を選択

If you select “Japanese”, all items below will be automatically checked and the menu will be displayed in Japanese.

However, it is safer if additional objects are not created in Japanese, so Uncheck [New Data] and leave only [Tooltip] [Interface] [Report] checked.

Blenderの日本語化(3) 新規データのところのチェックを外してから設定保存して完了!

If you press a button like  in the lower left corner of the settings window and Auto Save Preferences is checked, your changed settings are automatically saved.

Now you’ve got Blender in Japanese!

At this rate, I will continue to customize the UI to my liking.

 

*The add-on “Maya Config Addon For Blender” will cause the menu display to revert to English during the installation process.

If you use the Maya Config Addon For Blender, it is recommended to insert the addon first.

 

Make Blender feel like Maya

ピコーン

As I have been using Maya for a long time, I would like to use Blender in the same way as Maya if possible. Therefore, I will customize it to a Maya-like operation feel.

Here are two ways to make Blender feel like Maya.

  1. Use Industry Compatible Keymap
  2. Use the add-on Maya Config Addon For Blender

Look at them in turn.

 

1) Use Industry Compatible Keymap

Blender has a keymap setting called “Industry Compatible”.

Industry compatible keymaps are keymaps that are tailored to the way other 3DCG software, such as Maya and 3dsMax, operate.

 

The keymap can be set from the top menu by selecting Edit→Preferences→Keymap→Industry Compatibility.

Blender 編集→プリファレンス→キーマップ→Industry Compatibleで設定

 

You can find more information about this keymap here on the 3D person’s website.

 

However, these shortcuts described below will not work while using the industry-compatible keymap.

NG
  • T: Toggles between showing and hiding the toolbar
  • Shift + Space: pop up toolbar
  • N: Toggles the sidebar on and off

While using the Industry compatible keymap, the toolbar, and sidebar show/hide will change to the following shortcuts

check
  • Ctrl[: Toggle toolbar display/hide
  • Ctrl]: to show/hide the sidebar

You can easily get a Maya-like feel by using industry-compatible keymaps, but please note that some shortcut registrations may change.

 

2) Use the add-on Maya Config Addon For Blender

The “Maya Config Addon For Blender” can be installed to make Blender feel more Maya-like.

 

I have written an article introducing this add-on with a summary of its features, installation method, and notes. For more information, see Introduction Add-on – Maya Config Addon For Blender.

 

I love this add-on.

I especially like the fact that you can easily switch between [ Maya-like operation / Blender / Industry compatible ] keymaps with the button.

Unfortunately, MacOS is not supported at this time, but if you want to operate Blender with a Maya-like feel, give it a try!

 

スポンサーリンク

 

Customize the position and appearance of the toolbar

目を借りる

The next step is to customize the “toolbar” in a nice way.

Blender これがツールバー(旧ツールシェルフ)です

I am somewhat of a proponent of placing the tool-based menu on the right-hand side. In the default configuration, the toolbar is on the left side, so we will move it to the right side.

 

You can swap Toolbar positions using Blender 2.7 keymap.

Boukyakuno’s website also introduces How to swap positions in Blender 2.9 or later. However, it is a bit of a hassle for me, so I will do it the old-fashioned way. The method is as follows.

First, from Blender’s top menu, select Edit→Preferences→Keymaps→Blender 2.7x

ツールバーの移動 編集→プリファレンス→キーマップ→Blender 2.7xを選択

With the keymap changed to the Blender 2.7 keymap, bring the mouse cursor over the toolbar and press F5 on the keyboard. The toolbar will then move to the right.

(*To return to the original location, place the mouse cursor over the toolbar again and press F5).

Blender 2.7のキーマップでツールバーの上でF5キーを押す

Once the position has been changed, the keymap settings should be restored.

 

Finally, change the look of the toolbar to make it a little more obvious.

Click and drag around the side of the toolbar and pull it horizontally. The width of the toolbar will then change and the name of the tool will be displayed.

Blender ツールバーを横に引っ張ってツールの名称を表示

It is hard to understand what kind of tool it is if it is just a mark, but this is a little easier to understand.

Toolbar customization is retained on a per-workspace basis. For more information, see Choosing a Workspace in the window placement article. Please see the following.

 

Incidentally, there are some useful shortcuts to remember regarding toolbars.

check
  • T: Toggles between showing and hiding the toolbar
  • ShiftSpase: pop up toolbar

(*Industry compatible keymap is Ctrl [ to show/hide toolbar)

If you are looking at the Blender work screen and feel that the toolbar is in the way, you can comfortably hide it with the T key.

 

Show/Hide the sidebar

Σ はっ

There is a “sidebar” that is usually hidden but is quite important when working in Blender: try pressing the N key on your keyboard within Blender.

 

You will see something new on the right side of the Blender screen. This is the sidebar.

Blender [N]キーでサイドバー(旧プロパティシェルフ)を表示/非表示

Normally, there is no problem if this is hidden, but, when you are using Blender, the information you want to see is often in the sidebar.

I would like to remember the N key shortcut and be able to use the sidebar.

check
  • N: Toggles the sidebar on and off

(*Industry compatible keymap is Ctrl + ] to show/hide sidebar)

 

Incidentally, the position of the sidebar, like the toolbar, can be swapped left and right.

In the same way as customizing the position and appearance of the toolbar, The sidebar, which is on the right side of the screen by default, can be moved to the left side of the screen.

This is what it looks like with the sidebar swapped to the left and the toolbar to the right.

Blender サイドバーを左側、ツールバーを右側に入れ替えた状態

Sidebar customization is also retained on a workspace-by-workspace basis. For more information, see Choosing a Workspace in the window placement article. Please see the following.

 

スポンサーリンク

 

Important! Save the startup file

!

Now, for now, I want to save my customized UI settings so far.

If you exit Blender without saving your settings, all your customizations will be lost.

After changing the UI or initial settings in Blender, be sure to “save the startup file”.

 

To do this, click on File→Default→Save Startup File from the top menu, then click “Overwrite” when the confirmation window asks if you want to overwrite the file.

Blender ファイル→デフォルト→起動ファイルを保存→起動ファイルを上書き保存

 

Blender’s UI settings are stored in each saved Blender scene data.

If you change the UI and save the scene, when you open the scene, the UI will be replaced with the settings stored in the scene. (* There is another way to open data without loading the scene’s UI settings. )

So what this “Save Startup File” is doing is saving the data of the first scene that is opened when Blender is launched.

When you start Blender, a scene with a square object in the middle opens, but that was the startup file.

 

If you save your preferred initial settings in this startup file, it will be easier to work with Blender in various ways.

Once you have customized Blender to your liking, remember to “Save the startup file”.

If the square object that always appears at startup is bothersome, delete the square object and “save startup file” and it will no longer appear the next time.

 

How to open Blender data without loading the UI

If you do not want the UI to be loaded when opening a Blender scene, press the gear setting symbol in the file open window and uncheck “Load UI” before opening the file.

Blender UIを読み込まずにファイルを開く方法

 

Summary: Customize Blender’s UI to your liking!

GOGO

In this article, in preparation for getting started with Blender, we first customized the UI like this.

  • The menu display changed from English to Japanese
  • Blender operation changed to a Maya-like feel.
  • Change the position and appearance of the toolbar
  • Check the sidebar display/hide toggle
  • Save startup file

It looks a bit easier to use than when I first opened Blender.

But we want to make it easier to use, so the series on customizing Blender will continue for a while longer.

Toha
Toha

Please stay with us if you’d like.

Customize Blender window placement ↓

Recommended initial settings for Blender ↓

Basic operation of Blender ↓

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トハ
Toha

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