************ File Browser ************ .. figure:: /images/editors_file-browser_editor.png The File Browser. Introduction ============ The File Browser is used in all the file-related operations. These include: - Opening and saving blend-files. - Browsing inside other blend-files, when appending or linking data-blocks, see :doc:`Linked Libraries `. - Importing from/exporting to other file formats. - Picking new locations for existing file paths (images, videos, fonts...). The most common way to use this editor is through modal operators (like opening or saving a blend-file). It will appear maximized, waiting for the operation to complete, and then close and return to the former screen layout. .. note:: You can always select several entries in the File Browser, the last selected one is considered as the active one. If the calling operation expects a single path (like e.g. the main blend-file *Open* one), it will get that active item's path, other selected ones will just be ignored. You can also keep the File Browser open, as any other editor type, to browse through the file system. The main purpose of this is to be able to drag-and-drop media files: - Images into the :ref:`editors-3dview-index` (to set as background or apply as material texture). - Media files into the :ref:`editors-sequencer-index`. Header ====== Navigation icon buttons Tools for navigation of files. Left Arrow :kbd:`Backspace`, :kbd:`Alt-Left` Move to previous folder (in navigation history). Right Arrow :kbd:`Shift-Backspace`, :kbd:`Alt-Right` Move to next folder (in navigation history). Up Arrow :kbd:`P`, :kbd:`Alt-Up` Move up to parent directory. Cycle Arrows :kbd:`R`, :kbd:`NumpadPeriod` Refresh current folder. Create Directory :kbd:`I` Will ask you to confirm and create a new directory inside current one, scroll to it in the main view, and let you enter its name. Display type Controls how files are displayed. - *Short List* only shows file names. - *Long List* adds date/time and size information. - *Thumbnails* shows :ref:`previews `. Sorting Sorts items by one of the four proposed methods (alphabetically, by types, by dates, or by size): Show hidden :kbd:`H` Shows hidden files (starting with a ``.``). View Menu --------- Display size The size of the thumbnails, or the width of the columns. Recursion The number of directory levels to show at once in a flat way. - None (default, shows only the current directory content) - Blend File (the whole content of a blend-file, only available when linking or appending data-blocks) - One Levels - Two Levels - Three Levels .. hint:: Showing several levels of directories at once can be handy to e.g. see your whole collection of textures, even if you have arranged them in a nice set of directories to avoid having hundreds of files in a single place. In the *Append/Link* case, showing the content of the whole blend-file will allow you to link different types of data-blocks in a single operation. .. warning:: The more levels you show at once, the more time it will take to list them all (typically, it will be exponential, showing three levels at once may take three orders of magnitude more time to be fully listed). File Filtering -------------- To the right of the header are the filtering options. The first "funnel" button controls whether filtering is enabled or not. File Types Filters files by categories, like folders, blend-files, images, etc. Data-Block Types When appending or linking, you can also filter by data-block categories, like scenes, animations, materials, etc. Search field Filter items by name. The wildcard ``*`` will match anything, e.g. ``bl*er`` will match both ``blender`` and ``blogger``. There is always an implicit wildcard at start and end of the search string, so ``blender`` will also match ``test_blender_file.blend``. This field can also be used to filter some specific file extension (e.g. ``.png`` will list all PNG files). File Region =========== File Path Text field for the current folder path. :kbd:`Tab` will auto-complete an existing path. If you type a non existing directory path, you will be prompted to create that new directory. File Name Text field to edit the file name and extension. When saving, if the background is red, a file with same name already exists in the folder. :kbd:`Tab` will auto-complete to existing names in the current directory. Increment Filename ``+``, ``-`` Adds/increases or removes/decreases a trailing number to your file name (used e.g. to store different versions of a file). Confirm :kbd:`Return` The main button to validate the operation, which defines its name. Double-clicking on a non-directory item will have the same effect. Cancel :kbd:`Esc` Cancels the file selection (and the underlying operation), and closes the File Browser. Using the *Back to Previous* button in the :doc:`Topbar ` will have the same effect. Toolbar ======= The left region is divided in two areas, Bookmarks on top, and the Operator panel at the bottom. Bookmarks --------- The top one displays different ways to quickly access some directories, in four :ref:`lists `. Clicking on one of the shortcut entries will immediately navigate to that folder. Volumes Contains all OS-defined available volumes, e.g. drives or network mounts. System Contains OS-defined common directories, like the main user folder... Favorites Contains folders that you want to be able to access often without having to navigate to them in the File Browser. To the right of that list are buttons to perform basic management actions on your favorites, e.g. add/remove an entry, move it up or down in the list, etc. Recent Contains recently accessed folders. The ``X`` button to the right allows you to fully erase this list. You can control how many folders appear in this list with the *Recent Files* number field of the :ref:`Save & Load ` tab in the Preferences. Operator Panel -------------- Shows the options of the calling operator. Besides common actions listed below, many import/export add-ons will also expose their options there. Open, Save, Save As Blender File See :doc:`/files/blend/save_load`. Open, Replace, Save As Image See :doc:`/files/media/image_formats`. Link/Append from Library See :doc:`Linked libraries `. For the common option: Relative Path See :ref:`files-blend-relative_paths`. Main Region =========== Navigation ---------- Entering a Directory A single :kbd:`LMB` click on a directory enters it. Parent Directory :kbd:`P` Takes you up one level of directory. File Drop ^^^^^^^^^ You can also drag & drop a file or directory from your local file explorer into the Blender File Browser. This will relocate it to the directory of the dropped file, and the file will be selected. Selection --------- Select Both :kbd:`LMB` and :kbd:`RMB` clicks work. Holding :kbd:`Shift` will extend the items selection. (De)select All :kbd:`A` Toggles selecting all files. Dragging Dragging with :kbd:`LMB` starts a :ref:`box selection `. Arrow Keys ^^^^^^^^^^ It is also possible to select/deselect files by "walking" through them using the arrow keys: - Just using an arrow key, the next file in the chosen direction will be selected and all others deselected. - Holding down :kbd:`Shift` while doing this does not deselect anything so it extends to the selection, plus it allows to deselect files by navigating into a block of already selected ones (minimum two files in sequence). - Holding down :kbd:`Shift-Ctrl` further selects/deselects all files in between. If no file is selected, the arrow key navigation selects the first or last file in the directory, depending on the arrow direction. If you select a directory and hit :kbd:`Return`, you will go into that directory (and highlighting 'parent' ``..`` entry will bring you up one level). File Management --------------- Delete Files :kbd:`Delete`, :kbd:`X` Delete the currently selected files. Rename :kbd:`Ctrl-LMB` Can be used on a file or directory to rename it. .. warning:: Be careful, there is no way to undo those actions! .. _file_browser-previews: Previews -------- .. figure:: /images/editors_file-browser_previews.png The File Browser in *Thumbnail* mode. In its *Thumbnail* display mode, the File Browser supports many types of previews. These include: - Image and video formats - Fonts - Blend-files - Internal :doc:`Data-blocks ` See :doc:`Blend-files Previews ` for how to manage blender data previews.