4.0.0 Beta 2

Welcome to the second 4.0 beta!

To catch up with the changes in 4.0, please read the post about the 4.0 beta 1.

Installation and feedback

To test this beta, download the required installation files from the Assets section below, or enable the setting "Update to Pre-releases" inside Blockbench. Enabling this setting will tell Blockbench to always update to the latest pre-release, allowing you to test the latest features. Please note that pre-release versions may be unstable and have more issues than release versions.

Please report issues you find in the beta, make sure to specify the correct version.

Also, please let me know any feedback you might have, especially regarding poly mesh editing and the new UV editor, so that I can make sure to make them as intuitive as possible before release. We can talk about feedback in #bb-feedback on the Discord server.

New features and changes

Poly Editing

• Improved mesh highlighting, added highlighting for selected faces
• Added "Face Normal" debug View Mode, allows you to easily identify faces with inverted normals
  
• "Selection Mode" is now an icon mode widget:
  
• Add Mesh Inset tool
• Improved template generator
• Vertex coordinates can now be changed directly via position sliders
• Added face loop and line loop select by holding Alt
• Implemented "Auto UV" action for mesh faces
• Fill tool face mode now works with meshes
• "Add Primitive" dialog now remembers all input parameters
• "Add Primitive" is now "Add Mesh"
• Hide unselected faces in UV editor on large meshes to improve performance
• Added tool to convert cubes into meshes to filter menu
• Added "Normal" transform space

Tabs

• Closing the desktop app now brings up save dialog for all unsaved tabs
• Fixed issues with switching between and closing tabs
• Camera angles and view mode are now stored per tab

UV Editor

• Added support for "Center View on Selection"
• Added area selection

Misc

• When changing settings via Action Control, the description now appears directly in the dialog (#1038)
• Names of locked elements are now gray in outliner
• Made element panel toolbar labels slightly smaller
• Add "Add Texture Mesh" to edit menu
• Change default animated texture FPS to 7
• Show "Default Path" value in dialog (#1037)

Fixes

• Fix issue where imported bbmodel files would switch to generic model format
• Actions with linked settings are redundant in Action Control
• Fixed generation of recent model thumbnails with mesh models
• Animated textures don't preview in UV editor
• OBJ models import and export with incorrect scale
• Transparent cube faces still show texture
• Fix #1016 erase mode not working with fill tool
• Fix #1017
• Make mesh templates work with other meshes and cubes, fixes #1034
• Implement #1005 Tabs Feedback on unsaved projects
• Fix "Center Pivot" on meshes and groups
• Open with now focuses Blockbench window
• Fix themes exporting private fields
• Fix #1025 Cannot assign tab as a keybind
• Fix #1045 error when saving java block/item
• Fix #1006 UV face scaling issue
• Fix #1027 OBJ mesh export issue
• Fix issue with generating templates on 0 wide mesh faces
• Fix outliner scrolling issue
• Fix #1043 keyframes can be created at invalid timecodes
• Fix #1040
• Fix vertex snap issues (#1017)
• Fix #1012 Uv window does not refresh scale when changing project res
• Fix #1028
• Fix #1007
• Fix #1018
• Fix #1008 mesh highlighting
• Fix #1032 Selection does not update when switching selection modes
• Fix issues with extrusion direction, (#1029, #1023)
• Fix #1011 Missing translation action.add_texture_mesh
• Fix #1036 cannot toggle password input visibility
• Fix render sides not updating in all projects
• Fix #1039

4.0.0 Beta 3

Welcome to the third 4.0 beta!

To catch up with the changes in 4.0, please read the post about the 4.0 beta 1.

Installation and feedback

To test this beta, download the required installation files from this download page, or enable the setting "Update to Pre-releases" inside Blockbench. Enabling this setting will tell Blockbench to always update to the latest pre-release, allowing you to test the latest features. Please note that pre-release versions may be unstable and have more issues than release versions.

Please report issues you find in the beta, make sure to specify the correct version.

Also, please let me know any feedback you might have, especially regarding poly mesh editing and the new UV editor, so that I can make sure to make them as intuitive as possible before release. We can talk about feedback in #bb-feedback on the Discord server.

New features and changes

Features

• #1002 Add support for forge 1.17 entity models
• Switching away from customized themes now gives an option to restore them
• Added Sketchfab uploader categories and tag suggestions
• Vertex snapping now works for mesh selections
• Mesh selections can now be copied and pasted
• Added "Snap UV to Pixels" action
• Added solid color map template generator
• Added menu to import project from tab into current project
• Implement new start screen tech for the upcoming update screen
• Added UV rotate tool
• Normal transform space now works for resize tool
• Added "Dissolve Edge" (#1055)
• "Create Face" now takes texture from adjacent face
• "Create Face" now works with larger edge loops (#1062)

Fixes

• Fix #1054 Switching from color picker or undoing UV paints will remove texture from UV preview
• FIx #1057 #1057
• Fix painting grid not working for meshes (#1014)
• Fix mirror brush not working for meshes (#1013)
• Copying elements does not copy texture
• Mirroring mesh UV does not work
• Issue with displaying mesh without faces
• Copy-paste tool does not work correctly
• Fix #1067 Start menu bottom graphic icon offset
• Fix template generator face rotation accuracy
• Shape and gradient tool do not work on meshes
• Fill tool element mode does not work for meshes (#1065)
• Fix vertex snapping issue with cubes
• Fix #1063 Unable to rotate groups with meshes on them
• Fix project import resolution issues with meshes (#1059)
• Fix #1058 Importing project does not apply mesh texture
• Fix #1064 Cannot move lines on normal transform mode
• Fix various actions not working on meshes
• FIx issue in JSON exporter with "undefined" in array
• Stop texture animations playing when switching tab
• Fix duplicate keybinding from add mesh button
• Improve face loop selection
• Fix skin models opening two tabs
• Fix issue with closing projects
• Fix #1048 Rescaling with face tool selection creates flickering
• Fix #1051 Arrow keys do not work with meshes (and other non-cubes)
• Fix issues with null objects
• Fix area select in UV editor selecting faces twice

4.0.0 Beta 1

Welcome to the Blockbench 4.0 beta!

This is an early version of the upcoming 4.0 update, which introduces tabs, poly editing, any many other features.

You can find the latest version of the beta here: https://github.com/JannisX11/blockbench/releases

To test this beta, download the required installation files from below, or enable the setting "Update to Pre-releases" inside Blockbench. Enabling this setting will tell Blockbench to always update to the latest pre-release, allowing you to test the latest features. Please note that pre-release versions may be unstable and have more issues than release versions.

Please report issues you find in the beta, make sure to specify the correct version.

Also, please let me know any feedback you might have, especially regarding poly mesh editing and the new UV editor, so that I can make sure to make them as intuitive as possible before release. We can talk about feedback in #bb-feedback on the Discord server.

Changes

Poly Editing

Polygon mesh editing is the biggest new feature in Blockbench 4.0. Meshes can be created in the "Generic Model" format.

You can go to Edit > Add Primitive to generate a simple mesh shape. Switch the selection mode in the main toolbar and select parts of the mesh. Then use the regular transform tools to modify the mesh. You can right click the mesh to find more options to manipulate the mesh, like extruding or cutting faces.

Obligatory disclaimer that this obviously isn't for Minecraft and won't work with Minecraft.

Mesh editing features that are still planned for 4.0

• Template generator for solid face colors
• "Normal" transform space to move faces in the direction they are facing
• Fill tool support

Tabs

• Multiple models can now be opened in Blockbench at the same time
• Use the tab bar at the top to switch between tabs
• If you have multiple tabs open, you can press the search icon next to the tab bar to find and jump to a specific tab.

New UV Editor

The UV editor was rewritten in this update to be more user friendly. The main change is the ability to view and modify the UV mapping of multiple faces at once.
The UV editor window has been removed because it's functionality to edit multiple faces simultaneously now exists in the panel.

UV Editor features that are still planned for 4.0:

• Area select tool
• UV Editor tab that allows editing of specific face attributes, such as cullface, tint, material etc.
• The Copy-Paste tool is not working at the moment and will work once again in the final release

Theme Selector

You can now switch between themes directly in Blockbench. The selection consists of default themes (Default Dark, Default Light, Contrast), curated community themes, your own themes that you can import from files on your computer, and optionally one theme that you are currently editing.

Once you have selected a theme, you can tweak it in the "Options", "Color Scheme" and "Custom CSS" section.

If you have a cool theme, you can already submit it on JannisX11/blockbench-themes during the beta phase.

Other Changes

• Add texture meshes for Bedrock Models
• Improved design of preferences windows, added navigation sidebar
• Added new "Wheel" color picker
• Area selection now works in the 3D view. If you are using the middle mouse button to navigate, simply use the left mouse button to select an area. If you are using the left mouse button to navigate, hold control while pressing the left mouse button to select an area.
• Added setting to not export empty bones
• Some number sliders now show show their value in a bar within the slider, including the brush opacity and softness slider
• Add "Select All" and "Select None" buttons to animation import dialog
• Added option to load models from blckbn.ch link
• #902 Add spacing option in toolbars
• #367 Add line break option in toolbars
• Uniform keyframe scaling is now an option that can be toggled per scale keyframe
• Enabled advanced toggles in the outliner will now be remembered between restarts
• The outliner now auto-scrolls when dragging nodes
• OptiFine CEM shadow size and bone "attach" field are now supported
• Added "Ignore Inherited Scale" option for locators
• Added Find/Replace option, works in group, element and animation names as well as keyframe values, with regular expression support
• Plugins are now sorted by popularity
• Importing a bbmodel file with an invalid format (due to a missing plugin) now shows an error message
• Plugins in the plugin browser now display their current version
• #116 Added poseable display reference model (player)
• #618 Add Erase-Mode toggle for Fill and Shape tool
• Added outer ring to rotation gizmo, to allow rotation on screen space
• Action Control now supports more tasks, including changing settings, switching tabs, opening recent models, or installing plugins
• You can now press "i" to hide everything except the selection
• Improved screenshow dialog, now shows a full size preview as well as the resolution and format

Fixes

• #998 "!"-Operator in Molang is not supported
• #999 Effects animator is displayed in red
• (API) Keybind items have no delete method
• Plugin tags remain after reloading a plugin
• Animations are draggable by pressing middle mouse button
• Long texture names display incorrectly

3.9.3

Changes

• Names of bones that don't exist in the model are now colored red in the timeline
• Added "Update to pre-releases" setting

Fixes

• Fixed #964 Adding hide sidebars button to top 'toolbar' causes TypeError on next open
• Fixed #939 Issues with model rendering on mobile Mali 400 and Tegra 3 GPUs
• Fixed issues with installing plugins from some geographical regions
• Fixed issue where start screen logo remained visible
• Fixed plugin tags staying after reloading plugin
• Fixed the name of the llama skin preset
• Fixed link to font awesome in about window
• Fixed title of text prompt dialog not working
• Fix issue with automatic updates on macOS

3.9.2

Changes

• You can now set "Swap Tools" to "Alt" to bring back old Alt-key functionality
• Startup errors now show a specific error message on the error screen
• Adding or moving keyframes now automatically extends animation length
• Added launch setting "update_to_prereleases" to automatically update to and test beta versions

Fixes

• glTF exporter exports new material for each element
• Using "Center Pivot" does not update transform gizmo
• #949 Minecraft skin presets have wrong names
• Issues with loading on older mobile browsers
• Improved and fixed various texts and labels throughout the interface
• Fixed painting grid not aligning with specific texture resolutions

3.9.1

Changes

• Keymap preference selection on the start screen no longer pops up for existing users to avoid confusion with new keymaps
• Updated Discord brand color and name of the Blockbench Discord on the start screen
• Added link to Blockbench Wiki in Help menu

Fixes

• #941 glTF does not export materials
• #882 Still-clicking transform gizmo unselects elements when enabled in settings
• #940 GUI Background in Display Tab is Missing
• Fixed display mode not working on mobile
• Variables in particle effects don't work correctly
• Fixed mobile Alt key override not affecting resize tool
• When switching from Animate to Paint to Edit mode, model stays in pose
• Fixed issue when scaling locators
• Fixed horizontal scroll bar in keybinding menu
• Fixed issue with exporting keymaps
• Fixed typo in keymap preference description

3.9.0

This is the first update with official contributions from the community! Thanks to @SizableShrimp and @Unoqwy for their contributions!
Also shout out to Mojang for supporting the development of this update!

Changelog

User Preferences

• Added keymaps
• Added import and export for settings
• Added option to individually reset theme colors
• Background images can now be stored inside .bbmodel files

Faster Editing

• Added "Edit History"
• Added "Group Elements" action
• Added bi-directional cube resizing by holding Alt
• Changed how the rotation tool works in local space
• Added option to unfold all groups
• Duplicated elements are now inserted together as a block, rather than in between the originals
• Added interface to use modifier keys on mobile devices

Faster Texturing

• Added gradient tool
• Added option to pick a color from anywhere on the screen
• Added emissive texture rendering mode
• Alt-clicking the visibility toggles now hides everything except selection
• Reference textures in .bbmodel files via relative paths, allows easier transfer of projects between different computers

Faster Animating

• Transform spaces are now supported in animation mode
• Added option to display timeline time codes as frame number
• Added action to set the end of an animation to the current time
• Added feature to automatically flip animation keyframes to the opposite side of the model (perfect for walk cycles)
• Added option to edit scale keyframes as uniform value
• Added animation sample rate setting
• Added toggle to include zero line in graph editor

User Interface Improvements

• Added solid view mode
• Added plugin tags to visually distinguish plugins
• Added distinct icon for discontinuous keyframes
• Made animation list easier to navigate by highlighting the important part of the name
• Zoom actions now work in the timeline and the 3D viewport
• Improved form element descriptions in some dialogs, like the "Create Texture" dialog
• Added ? icon to indicate descriptions in dialogs
• Added option to zoom in the viewport using mouse movement
• Uploading a background now automatically enables background positioning (#920)
• #851 Made vertex snap gizmo for pivot visually distinct from vertices

New Features for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

• Added option to edit bone bindings
• Locators now support rotations
• Added support for "this" keyword in animation MoLang expressions
• Textures and animations are now automatically loaded from attachables
• Added support for MP3 and WAV sound files
• If bindings exist in model, bedrock model format version is now automatically upgraded to 1.16.0

Other New Features

• Groups now support marker colors
• Added background color option to GIF recorder
• Added option to abort GIF recordings
• New 30° isometric camera angle
• Added option to edit camera angles
• Added Mojang mappings for modded entity format (#900)
• Added axolotl skin preset
• Added edition selector for some Minecraft skin presets

Technical Changes

• Added Canvas.updateView() API to make updating the preview easier
• Added method to highlight an action in the menu bar
• Added option for plugins to require loading before opening projects
• Improved API for dialog buttons
• Add support for custom LaunchSettings option to enable window frame
• Added option for plugins to add translation strings
• Updated Electron to 13.0
• New build for macs with Apple Silicon

Bug Fixes

• Single non-linear keyframes no longer export as invalid JSON
• #893 Broken UVs on planes in glTF export
• Saving animations does not mark animation as saved in some cases
• Switching tools while using the transform gizmo no longer causes unwanted results
• FIxed an issue with particle orientation in particle preview
• Fixed issue with tooltips being cut off at the bottom of the screen
• #464 Plugin actions disappear from toolbars when restarting Blockbench
• Fix toolbars not showing new order without reload
• Using transform gizmo in animation with short interval sometimes edits wrong keyframe
• Outliner toggles are not properly exposed to plugin API
• Hat layer is missing from Minecraft Skin armor preset
• Fixed #886 Extruded Texture only works with 16x16 res
• Fixed #823 Box UV template generation from Per face UV does not generate textures for mirrored elements
• Fixed #936 Undoing "Add null object" Adds a cube instead of null object
• Fixed #934 Plugin API Documentation button
• Fix outdated Photoshop version names when editing textures

3.9.0 Beta 2

Welcome to the second beta for Blockbench 3.9!

General Beta Informations

• Beta versions may be unstable, so make sure to back up important files
• On Windows, it is recommended to run the portable version as it will not overwrite your main installation. Make sure to close all Blockbench windows before running the portable version.
• The interface is only available in English, other languages might show raw translation strings for new features.
• Please report issues in this repository, or give feedback on the changes in #bb-feedback on the Discord server.

Changes

• If bindings exist in model, bedrock model format version is now automatically upgraded to 1.16.0
• Added option for plugins to add translation strings:

Language.addTranslations('de', {
  "seat_position:set_position": "Position festlegen",
  "seat_position:seat": "Sitz",
})

Fixes

• Fixed Z-fighting in solid view mode
• Fixed cube hover highlight not working
• Fixed issue with bbmodel importer
• Fixed #886 Extruded Texture only works with 16x16 res
• Fixed #823 Issue in box UV template generator
• Box UV template generation from Per face UV does not generate textures for mirrored elements
• Improve built-in keymaps
• Fixed #937 Cannot use Group Elements on null objects or locators
• Fixed #936 Undoing "Add null object" Adds a cube instead of null object
• Fixed Center Pivot not updating bones
• Fixed #935 Chained groups do not rotate correctly
• Fixed #931 Missing description translations on keymap import dropdown menu
• Fixed #934 Plugin API Documentation button
• Fixed #927 Opening Backup folder action not working
• Fixed issue with transforming/rotating groups
• Fixed screen color picker not changing color
• Fix outdated Photoshop version names when editing textures
• Fix dialog file input and description icon conflict
• Control keys on keymaps are not correctly translated to command keys on macOS

3.9 Beta 1

Welcome to the first beta for Blockbench 3.9!

• Beta versions may be unstable, so make sure to back up important files
• On Windows, it is recommended to run the portable version as it will not overwrite your main installation. Make sure to close all Blockbench windows before running the portable version.
• The interface is only available in English, other languages might show raw translation strings for new features.
• Please report issues in this repository, or give feedback on the changes in #bb-feedback on the Discord server.

Changes

• Added keymaps
• Added edit history
• Added import and export for settings
• Added gradient tool
• Added "Group Elements" action
• Groups now support marker colors
• Added option to pick a color from anywhere on the screen
• Added background color option to GIF recorder
• Added option to abort GIF recordings
• Added bi-directional cube resizing by holding Alt
• Added option to display timeline time codes as frame number
• Added action to set the end of an animation to the current time
• Added option to individually reset theme colors
• Transform spaces are now supported in animation mode
• Added feature to automatically flip animation keyframes to the opposite side of the model
• Added animation sample rate setting
• Added option to edit camera angles
• New 30° isometric camera angle
• Added toggle to include zero line in graph editor
• Added axolotl skin preset
• Added edition selector for some Minecraft skin presets
• Added distinct icon for discontinuous keyframes
• Added support for "this" keyword in animation expressions
• Hold Alt and click the visibility icon to hide everything except selection
• Added option to edit scale keyframes as uniform value
• Zoom actions now work in the timeline and the 3D viewport
• Improved form element descriptions in dialogs, added ? icon to indicate description
• Added option to edit MC bedrock bone bindings
• Locators now support rotations
• Added option to unfold all groups
• Added menu to use modifier keys on mobile devices
• Added Mojang mappings for modded entity format (#900)
• Added plugin tags
• #851 Made vertex snap gizmo for pivot visually distinct from vertices
• Reference textures in .bbmodel files via relative paths, allows easier transfer of projects between different computers
• Added option to zoom in the viewport using mouse movement
• Added support for MP3 and WAV sound files
• Added emissive texture rendering mode
• Background images can now be stored inside .bbmodel files
• Change how the rotation tool works in local space
• Alt-clicking the visibility toggles now hides everything except selection
• Uploading a background now automatically enables background positioning (#920)
• Textures and animations are now automatically loaded from Minecraft Bedrock attachables

Technical changes

• Added Canvas.updateView() API to make updating the preview easier
• Added method to highlight an action in the menu bar
• Added option for plugins to require loading before opening projects
• Improved API for dialog buttons
• Add support for custom LaunchSettings option to enable window frame
• Updated electron to 13.0

Fixes

• Single non-linear keyframes no longer export as invalid JSON
• #893 Broken UVs on planes in glTF export
• Saving animations does not mark animation as saved in some cases
• Switching tools while using the transform gizmo no longer causes unwanted results
• FIxed an issue with particle orientation in particle preview
• Fixed issue with tooltips being cut off at the bottom of the screen
• #464 Plugin actions disappear from toolbars when restarting Blockbench
• Fix toolbars not showing new order without reload
• Using transform gizmo in animation with short interval sometimes edits wrong keyframe
• Outliner toggles are not properly exposed to plugin API

3.8.4

Changes

• Added support for aliases such as q, v, and t in Molang
• Increased maximum sharing duration to 2 weeks

Fixes

• Fixed issue with cube click detection
• Fixed issue with saving animations in the web app
• #865 Issue with piglin MC skin model
• Fixed timeline staying open when deleting animation
• Fixed issue in Box UV template generator
• Various file saving issues in the web app
• #631 Issue with stylus pressure on brush tool
• Moving keyframes using the arrow keys does not update slider
• #873 New Selection untoggled selects selected cubes
• Fixed issue with saving skin on desktop app
• Fixed SpaceNavigator compatibility issue
• #877 Rotated cube go out of 3x3x3 limit
• #878 Can't click gizmo arrow after cam switched
• #861 animations not merging into file
• Fixed orbit gizmo handles being hard to click