.. _splash:

*************
Splash Screen
*************

When starting Blender, the splash screen appears in the center of the window.
It contains options to create new projects or open recently opened blend-files.
A more detailed description can be found below.

.. figure:: /images/interface_splash_current.png
   :align: center

   Blender Splash Screen.

To close the splash screen and start a new project,
click anywhere outside the splash screen (but inside the Blender Window) or press :kbd:`Esc`.
The splash screen will disappear revealing the default screen.

To reopen the splash screen click on the Blender icon in the Topbar and select :menuselection:`Splash Screen`.

Information Region
   The upper part of the splash screen contains the splash image with a lot of key information overlaid.

   Title
      Besides the Blender icon and text, it shows the Blender version. e.g. the current version is |BLENDER_VERSION|.
   Date
      At the top-right corner, you can see the date of when Blender was compiled.
   Hash
      The Git Hash. This can be useful to give to support personnel, when diagnosing a problem.
   Branch
      Optional branch name.
Interactive Region
   The interactive region is the bottom half of the splash screen.

   New File
      Start a new project based on a template.
   Recent Files
      Your most recently opened blend-files. This gives quick and easy access to your recent projects.
   Open
      Allows opening an existing blend-file.
   Recover Last Session
      Blender will try to recover the last session based on temporary files. See :doc:`/troubleshooting/recover`.
   Links
      Links to the official web site. The same links can be found in the :ref:`help-menu`
      of the :doc:`Topbar </interface/window_system/topbar>`.

.. note::

   When starting Blender for the first time, the Interactive Region
   contains a :ref:`Quick Set Up Process <splash-quick-start>`.