VF BlenderAutosaveRender Versions Save

The past half year has been packed with quiet updates but no official releases, so there's plenty to catch up on here!

• Autosave Videos — FFmpeg integration automatically compiles image sequences into ProRes, MP4, and/or a custom format when image sequence rendering completes (the best of both worlds; render to images, but still get a playable file)
• Batch Render — supports selected cameras, collections, items, and image directories, along with a batch index value that can be used to seed variations in Geometry Nodes, Materials, or drivers
• Overhaul of the preferences UI and streamlining of the feature set
• New and updated variables — there are now five categories and these new/revised variables:
  • Project
    • {viewlayer}
    • {node}
      • Requires selected object > material > node; best used with image directory batch rendering
  • Image (thanks to ZeroDean for the request)
    • {display}
    • {colorspace}
      • Blender calls this "view transform" in the UI; {viewtransform} can also be used
    • {look}
    • {exposure}
    • {gamma}
    • {curves}
    • {compositing}
  • Render
    • {engine}
      • Replaces {renderengine} for better readability in long strings (backwards compatible)
    • {duration}
      • Replaces {rendertime} for better readability in long strings (backwards compatible)
    • {rtime}
    • {rH} {rM} {rS}
  • System
    • {processor}
    • {system}
    • {release}
    • {python}
    • {blender}
      • Replaces {version} to prevent confusion with other variables (backwards compatible)
  • Identifier
    • {batch}
      • Returns the index of the current render in the batch list
      • Replaces an unreleased {index} variable, which was easily confused with the existing {serial} value
• Render completed notifications
  • Siri can read out custom details (MacOS exclusive)
  • Send emails and Pushover notifications, however...
    • Blender stores plugin preference data (including passwords!) as plain text in the local file system: please read the documentation careful before you use these features, and entirely at your own risk
• Finally, the documentation here on GitHub has been restructured and revised

While the plugin is actively used in production, there may be issues we haven't come across yet. No dedicated support is provided (this is an internal tool we're simply sharing for free), but please do create a GitHub Issue if you find any broken pieces or have suggestions.

Minor point release that adds a {material} variable. This returns the name of the material in the currently active material slot of the currently active object. Supports anything with an attached material, including meshes, volumes, and grease pencil items. The use case is pretty specific, but if you ever need to render out the same object while iterating through multiple materials, this could be the exact solution you're looking for.

There are a number of updates and new features in this major point release, including a name adjustment to the plugin itself that will likely require uninstalling the previous version and restarting Blender before installing this update.

• User interface has been revised and improved, with better consistency across all output locations
• Global override for autosave settings to enforce cross-project consistency if needed
• Variables can be copied to the clipboard from the popup lists
• Any number of File Output nodes in the Compositing tab are now supported
• Dynamic variables are now supported in the Autosave file path, not just the custom string
• The Autosave file path now supports relative paths
• Individual year, month, day, hour, minute, and second variables have been added for more granular customisation, while {date} and {time} still offer an easy shortcut
  • Both long form {year} and shorthand {y} variables are available
  • Shorthand versions are listed in the variable popup, long form variables are listed in the documentation on GitHub, they can be used interchangeably

This version of the plugin has been tested successfully in Blender 3.3 LTS and Blender 3.4, but is, as always, provided without warranty.

New features since the last release:

• Estimated render time remaining display in the render window menu bar
• New render engine variables with support for Workbench, Eevee, Cycles, and AMD Radeon ProRender (be sure to check out the refreshed documentation for details)
  • {renderdevice}
  • {samples}
  • {features}
• New system variables for differentiating renders across multiple computers and Blender versions
  • {host}
  • {platform}
  • {version}
• More readable UI for listing the available variables, displayed within the interface or in popup panels

Adds {collection} to the available dynamic variables, re-institutes the ability to track total time spent rendering in an external text file (perfect for tallying entire projects as you work), and adds support for dynamic variables in the Compositing tab when using a File Output node. There are some limitations to this new feature (it only supports a single node), but it should work nicely for some compositing pipelines.

Extends the dynamic variables to include current Scene along with correctly warning about Blender Python API issue T71087 that prevents saving of multilayer EXR files (only single layer files can be saved using the Python API).

Adds dynamic variables to the native Blender render output (enable this feature in the Blender preferences add-on tab).

Custom naming feature with expanded options, new quick presets, and per-project total render time tracking

Initial addon release. This functions, but a more flexible file naming system is planned as a major feature update.