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Utilities

BatchGenie offers a range of utilities to efficiently manage materials and other Assets. All utilities generate detailed reports in the console, providing insights into the actions performed by each utility. You can view these reports by navigating to Window > Toggle System Console (Windows) or through the system console if you're using Linux (requires starting Blender from the console).

Utilities

Where to find?
  • Most utilities are located in the main BatchGenie panel in the 3D Viewport > BatchGenie N-Panel > Utilities, focusing on batch operations, as shown in the image to the right.
  • The Asset Browser > BatchGenie Menu contains Asset Tagging & Metadata utilities, which are also accessible via the right-click menu in the Asset Browser.
  • The Shader Editor > BatchGenie N-Panel includes additional utilities for single operations on materials.

Batch Utilities

Set Origin

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

Adjust the origin of Mesh objects to the minimum, maximum, or center along the X, Y, or Z axis based on their bounding box.

Set Origin Utility

Settings
  • Selection: Allows you to specify which objects to target:
    • Selected Objects
    • All Objects
    • Objects marked as Assets
    • Objects NOT marked as Assets

Change Node Attributes

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

This utility enables you to batch modify attributes across multiple materials. It’s useful for making consistent adjustments to properties like roughness, metallic, or any other material attribute.

Change Node Attributes Utility

Settings
  • Selection: Allows you to specify which materials to include in the batch run:
    • All Materials
    • Materials marked as Assets
    • Materials NOT marked as Assets
    • Materials on Selected Objects

Utilities Material Filter

  • Filter: Helps you to refine the selection made with the 'Selection'.

    • Keywords: Enter keywords to filter materials by their names. Separate multiple keywords with spaces. Case-insensitive. When you type in this field, the Exclude and Include only buttons will appear. Use Exclude to skip materials containing any of the specified keywords in their names, or Include only to process only those materials whose names contain any of the specified keywords.
    • Only materials imported by BatchGenie: When enabled, this option ensures that the batch operation only affect materials imported by BatchGenie. Disabling it applies changes to all materials in your file, regardless of their origin.

  • Target: Specify which node inside the material to target. Refer to the options listed below for details:

Change Node Attributes Shader Node Targets the main shader connected to the 'Material Output' inside the material. This can be any type of shader or a custom Node-Group.

Settings

  • Socket: The name or number of the socket you want to update. Socket numbers start from the top at 0 (e.g., 0 for Base Color, 1 for Roughness, 2 for IOR, etc.). This field is case-sensitive.

  • Type:

    • Color: Set a specific color.
    • Value: Set a specific value.
    • Random Integer: Set a randomly generated number as the value.
    • Random Float: Set a randomly generated number with 5 decimals as the value. Example: 3.14159

    For both Random Integer and Random Float, you can specify the range for the randomly generated values.

  • Additive: When enabled, this option allows you to adjust the current value of by adding or subtracting your chosen value instead of replacing it. For example, if the 'Emission Strength' of a node is set to 1.0 and you enter a value of 5 with 'Additive' enabled, the new value will be 6. If you enter a value of -2, the new value will be -1.

Change Node Attributes Texture Nodes Targets all texture nodes inside the material and you can adjust the following attributes:

  • Interpolation
  • Projection
  • Extension

For further technical details about texture Interpolation, Projection & Extension see the this section in the Blender manual.

Change Node Attributes Displacement Node Targets the Displacement Node inside the material and you can adjust the following attributes:

  • Scale: Specify the new scale to be applied.
  • Space: Space of the input height, can be set either to 'Object' or 'World'.

The scale option has the Additive function:

  • Additive: When enabled, this option allows you to adjust the current value of by adding or subtracting your chosen value instead of replacing it. For example, if the 'Emission Strength' of a node is set to 1.0 and you enter a value of 5 with 'Additive' enabled, the new value will be 6. If you enter a value of -2, the new value will be -1.

Change Node Attributes Normal Map Nodes Targets all Normal Map Nodes inside the material and allows you to set a new Strength value to be applied.

  • Additive: When enabled, this option allows you to adjust the current value of by adding or subtracting your chosen value instead of replacing it. For example, if the 'Emission Strength' of a node is set to 1.0 and you enter a value of 5 with 'Additive' enabled, the new value will be 6. If you enter a value of -2, the new value will be -1.

Change Node Attributes Bump Nodes Targets all Bump Nodes inside the material and allows you to set a new Strength value to be applied.

  • Additive: When enabled, this option allows you to adjust the current value of by adding or subtracting your chosen value instead of replacing it. For example, if the 'Emission Strength' of a node is set to 1.0 and you enter a value of 5 with 'Additive' enabled, the new value will be 6. If you enter a value of -2, the new value will be -1.

Change Node Attributes Seed Sockets Targets all sockets containing the word 'seed' inside the material and populates them with random numbers. You can specify the range for the randomly generated values by adjusting the A & B.

Tip

If you need further details about the batch run check out the report via Window > Toggle System Console

Change Material Settings

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

This utility enables you to batch modify material settings across materials.

Change Material Settings Utility

Settings
  • Selection: Allows you to specify which materials to include in the batch run:
    • All Materials
    • Materials marked as Assets
    • Materials NOT marked as Assets
    • Materials on Selected Objects

Utilities Material Filter

  • Filter: Helps you to refine the selection made with the 'Selection'.
    • Keywords: Enter keywords to filter materials by their names. Separate multiple keywords with spaces. Case-insensitive. When you type in this field, the Exclude and Include only buttons will appear. Use Exclude to skip materials containing any of the specified keywords in their names, or Include only to process only those materials whose names contain any of the specified keywords.
    • Only materials imported by BatchGenie: When enabled, this option ensures that the batch operation only affect materials imported by BatchGenie. Disabling it applies changes to all materials in your file, regardless of their origin.
  • Setting:
    • Displacement Type
    • Eevee Backface Culling
    • Eevee Transparent Shadows
    • Eevee Render Method
    • Eevee Raytrace Transmission
    • Eevee Thickness
    • Viewport Display Color: Set the 'Viewport Display Color' of the material to match the 'Base Color' attribute of the main shader.

Replace Shader Nodes

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

This utility lets you replace existing 'Shader Editor' nodes with custom Node-Groups. It targets the main shader connected to the 'Material Output' within the material.

This utility is also available in the "Shader Editor" for processing individual nodes rather than in batch. See this section for details.

Replace Shader Nodes Utility

Settings
  • Selection: Allows you to specify which materials to include in the batch run:
    • All Materials
    • Materials marked as Assets
    • Materials NOT marked as Assets
    • Materials on Selected Objects

Utilities Material Filter

  • Filter: Helps you to refine the selection made with the 'Selection'.
    • Keywords: Enter keywords to filter materials by their names. Separate multiple keywords with spaces. Case-insensitive. When you type in this field, the Exclude and Include only buttons will appear. Use Exclude to skip materials containing any of the specified keywords in their names, or Include only to process only those materials whose names contain any of the specified keywords.
    • Only materials imported by BatchGenie: When enabled, this option ensures that the batch operation only affect materials imported by BatchGenie. Disabling it applies changes to all materials in your file, regardless of their origin.
  • Keep Original Shader Node: Check this option if you want to retain the original node for manual inspection of the connections afterward. The original node will be moved to the side of the replaced node.
  • Replacement Node-Group: Select the custom Node-Group to replace the shader from a dropdown menu displaying all Node-Groups in the current blend file.
  • Custom Attributes: Set one or multiple socket attributes such as color or values on the new node. See this section in the documentation for detailed instructions.

Find Unconnected Nodes

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

This utility helps you locate materials with unconnected nodes in your file, such as Image Texture nodes.

Find Unconnected Nodes Utility

Settings
  • Type:
    • All Unconnected Nodes
    • Image Texture Nodes
    • BatchGenie Imported Textures: Materials imported by BatchGenie that contain textures which could not be connected. See more details here about these nodes.
  • Highlight Nodes: Changes the color of the found nodes to red, making them easier to spot visually.
Instructions

Example

Unconnected Textures Example

After clicking Search, the interface will display a list of all found materials with unconnected nodes. There are three main approaches to handle the issues: Automatic, Manual, and Hybrid.

Automatic Approach

Use the Delete Nodes button to automatically remove all unconnected nodes from materials in the list. You can remove materials from the list if you wish to exclude them from the batch change before clicking the button. No further actions are required.

Manual Approach
  1. Use either the Assign to Object button or the Auto Assign toggle to assign materials to the selected object:
    • Assign to Object: Click to manually assign the selected material.
    • Auto Assign: Automatically assigns materials as you select them from the list.
  2. Access the material in the 'Shader Editor' to inspect and address issues by reconnecting or removing nodes as needed.
  3. Use the Remove from List button ( icon) to remove materials after resolving issues.
  4. Once all materials are addressed and removed, perform a new search to confirm all issues are fixed.
Hybrid Approach

Mix manual inspection with the automatic process:

  1. Use Assign to Object or Auto Assign to inspect materials.
  2. Verify that unconnected nodes can be safely removed. If not, remove the material from the list to prevent unintended deletions.
  3. Use the Delete Nodes button to remove nodes from any materials still in the list.

The Hybrid approach allows you to ensure that the automatic deletion does not remove important nodes.

Tips

  • The Clear List button ( icon) clears all materials from the list, allowing you to start fresh.
  • Use the Highlight Nodes checkbox to easily spot the found nodes.
  • Regularly refresh the search to ensure all issues have been captured and addressed.

  • If you need further details about the findings check out the report via Window > Toggle System Console

    Example Console Report

    Search:

    Find Unconnected Nodes Console Example

    Delete:

    Find Unconnected Nodes Console Example

Find Zero Strength Nodes

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

This feature searches for nodes with critical values set to zero, which may negatively affect the appearance of your materials. You can select specific node types to check: For Normal Map and Bump nodes, it checks if 'Strength' is zero; for Displacement nodes, it verifies if 'Scale' is zero. This helps ensure that your materials function as intended.

This utility is also available in the "Shader Editor" for processing individual materials rather than in batch. See this section for details.

Find Zero Strength Nodes Utility

Settings
  • Type:
    • Normal, Bump & Displacement
    • Normal Map
    • Displacement
  • Highlight Nodes: Changes the color of the found nodes to red, making them easier to spot visually.
Instructions

Example

Find Zero Strength Nodes Example

After clicking Search, the interface will display a list of all found materials with Zero Strength nodes. There are two main approaches to handle the issues: Automatic and Manual.

Automatic Approach

Use the Set New Value button to batch adjust the values of the nodes in the materials listed. A popup will appear where you can enter the new value. You can also remove materials from the list if you wish to exclude them from the batch change before clicking the button. No further actions are required.

Manual Approach
  1. Use either the Assign to Object button or the Auto Assign toggle to assign materials to the selected object:
    • Assign to Object: Click to manually assign the selected material.
    • Auto Assign: Automatically assigns materials as you select them from the list.
  2. Access the material in the 'Shader Editor' to inspect and address issues by adjusting the found nodes.
  3. Use the Remove from List button ( icon) to remove materials after resolving issues.
  4. Once all materials are addressed and removed, perform a new search to confirm all issues are fixed.

Tips

  • The Clear List button ( icon) clears all materials from the list, allowing you to start fresh.
  • Use the Highlight Nodes checkbox to easily spot the found nodes.

  • If you need further details about the findings check out the report via Window > Toggle System Console

    Example Console Report

    Find Zero Strength Nodes Console Example

Color Space Validator

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

This utility verifies that the image textures within materials in your file are using the correct color space settings, generates reports on its findings, and provides an option to automatically fix any issues.

Color Space Validator Utility

Settings
  • Console report:
    • Standard: Report only includes the textures that have wrong color spaces.
    • Detailed: Includes all color space details of all textures.
Example Console Report

To view the report, go to Window > Toggle System Console.

Standard:

Color Space Validator Console Example

Detailed:

Color Space Validator Detailed Console Example

Instructions

Examples

Color Space Validator Example

After clicking Search, the interface will display a list of all materials with textures that have incorrect color spaces. There are two main approaches to handle the issues: Automatic and Manual.

Automatic Approach

Use the Auto Fix button to automatically set the correct Color Spaces for texture nodes in the materials listed. You can remove materials from the list if you wish to exclude them from the batch change before clicking the button. No further actions are required.

This frame is created inside the materials to help you find the relevant textures: Color Space Validator Example

These frames are automatically removed when running Auto Fix and can also be removed with the Clean File utility.

Manual Approach
  1. Use either the Assign to Object button or the Auto Assign toggle to assign materials to the selected object:
    • Assign to Object: Click to manually assign the selected material.
    • Auto Assign: Automatically assigns materials as you select them from the list.
  2. Access the material in the 'Shader Editor' to inspect and address issues by adjusting the found nodes. Look for the node-frame titled 'Incorrect Color Spaces' that BatchGenie automatically creates, which contains links to all relevant textures.
  3. Use the Remove from List button ( icon) to remove materials after resolving issues.
  4. Once all materials are addressed and removed, perform a new search to confirm all issues are fixed.

Tip

  • The Clear List button ( icon) clears all materials from the list, allowing you to start fresh.

Batch Rename

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

While not an all-encompassing renaming tool, this function provides targeted assistance for a few specific use cases. It includes options for aligning mesh names with object names and syncing image names with their file names, making it particularly useful when dealing imported Assets that have inconsistent naming conventions.

Batch Rename Utility

Options
  • Set Mesh names same as Object names
    • Selection: Allows you to specify which objects to include in the batch run:
      • All Objects
      • Objects marked as Assets
      • Objects NOT marked as Assets
      • Selected Objects
  • Set Image names same as the Image File names
Examples

Set Mesh names same as Object names:

Batch Rename Mesh Example

Set Image names same as the Image File names:

Use Case: You imported external models, and all texture names are generic like 'color map', 'roughness map', and 'normal map', making it difficult to track them. This feature solves the issue by renaming image names in Blender to match the actual file names. For example, instead of 'color map', it could be 'Bark_2K_BaseColor'.

Batch Rename Texture Example

Reload Images

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

If you have edited any of your textures externally and the changes are not visible in Blender, use this utility to reload all images in your your file.

Reload Images Utility

Clean File

Location: 3D Viewport ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel ▸ Utilities

Helps delete any temporary files that might be left behind by BatchGenie. There are two scenarios when you might want to use this utility:

  1. Blender Crashes: If Blender crashes during import or other batch processes, it can leave behind temporary data (e.g., temp materials, scenes, objects depending on the operation).

  2. Removing Extra Info Nodes: If you want to remove any extra info nodes created inside your materials by BatchGenie. See the 'Info' box below for details.

Clean File Utility

Settings

  • Material Info Nodes: Checking this option will remove extra nodes that BatchGenie has created inside materials, such as frames and node reroutes that include notes and other useful information. This will not affect the appearance of the materials.

    Extra Info Nodes

    Examples of these nodes include:

    • 'Unable to connect' nodes created during imports when there are issues connecting textures. See details here.

    • 'Incorrect Color Space' nodes created by the 'Color Space Validator' utility. See details here.

Asset Tags

Location: Asset Browser ▸ BatchGenie Menu

Asset Tags Utility

Add or remove tags from your Assets. Select any number of Assets of any type, choose the desired tags to add, and BatchGenie will assign them to the appropriate Assets. These can be either regular tags or Smart Tags that apply the property of your choice to the Asset.

This feature works with both internal and external Assets, so you don't have to open each individual Asset Blend file separately.

- Add Tags

Tag - Default or Copy Tag

  • New Tag: Creates a regular tag.
  • Copy from existing tags: Lets you pick from a dropdown menu containing all tags from the currently selected Assets. Tags that are present in all of the selected Assets are filtered out (since it wouldn't make sense to apply a tag that is already there).

Tag - Object Triangles

Tags Object Assets with their triangle count, offering customizable formatting and rounding options to suit your needs. Examples illustrate the tag's appearance based on your selections before applying them.

Tag - Object Vertices

Tags Object Assets with their vertex count, offering customizable formatting and rounding options to suit your needs. Examples illustrate the tag's appearance based on your selections before applying them.

Tag - Object and Collection Dimensions

Adds Tags displaying the size or dimensions of objects and collections. You can customize the format and adjust options such as decimal precision and unit display. The interface provides an example to preview how the tags will appear based on your selected settings.

Tag - Material Texture Resolution

Tags material Assets with the texture resolution, like 2K, 4K, or 8K, by identifying the albedo texture within the material and checking its resolution.

Tag - Material Type

Tags material Assets with its type: "Texture-based" or "Procedural", with an option to include node counts for both types.

Tip

Smart Tags will overwrite previously existing Smart Tags of the same type. For example, if you have added the Object Dimensions tag and then edited the object, you can reapply the tag to update it.

- Combine / Split Tags

Tag - Combine and Split

Combine or split existing tags on Assets. Combine single-word tags into a single line, separated by commas (e.g., "tag1, tag2, tag3"), only if they don't contain spaces.

The split function reverses this, separating combined tags that follow the exact "tag1, tag2, tag3" format. Tags with spaces, like "Long tag with spaces" are unaffected by either function.

- Remove Tags

Tag - Object Triangles

Displays all tags from the currently selected Assets in the Asset Browser in a dropdown menu, allowing you to choose which tags to remove.

You also have filtering options to only show common tags from the selected Assets, as well as an "Exclude common" option to exclude these tags.

Tag - Object Triangles

Allows you to search for tags using a keyword with options for "exact," "contains," "starts with," or "ends with," along with a "case sensitive" option to precisely target specific tags.

Tag - Object Triangles

Allows you to target specific Smart Tags applied by BatchGenie for safe removal without affecting other types of tags.

Tip

You can also access the Tags menu through the right-click menu in the Asset Browser.

Asset Metadata

Location: Asset Browser ▸ BatchGenie Menu

Batch add metadata for your Assets: Description, License, Copyright, and Author. You can select and edit one or multiple attributes simultaneously. This feature works with both internal and external assets, so you don't have to open each individual Asset Blend file separately.

If a single Asset is selected, you can use the "Retrieve from Selected Asset" button to load its existing metadata for editing.

Metadata Utility

Tip

You can also access the Metadata menu through the right-click menu in the Asset Browser.

Move Assets

Location: Asset Browser ▸ BatchGenie Menu

Move Assets to different Asset Catalogs to help you organize your Asset Library. This feature works with both internal and external Assets, so you don't have to open each individual Asset Blend file separately.

The 'Catalog Details' section displays the UUID and the Asset Library Path of the chosen Catalog.

Move Assets Utility

Move Assets Catalog Example

Instructions

First, make sure you're in the specific Asset library where you want to move your assets. Once that's done, select the assets you want to move, choose the destination, and click OK.

How is this done?

The utility does not touch the Assets "physical location"; it simply changes the Catalog ID they are associated with, making them appear in a specific catalog (exactly as if you had moved them manually).

Load previews from disk

Location: Asset Browser ▸ BatchGenie Menu ▸ Misc

Load custom Asset Preview images from a specified directory. When assets are selected in the Asset Browser, this tool checks for image files in the selected folder that match the names of the Assets. Supported image formats include .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .tga, .exr, .webp, .tif, .tiff, and .bmp. The tool prioritizes image formats in this specific order, starting with .png and stopping once a matching image is found.

Load Asset Previews from disk

Instructions
  1. Select the Assets you want to load previews for in the Asset Browser.
  2. Navigate to BatchGenie > Misc > Load previews from disk.

Pack Textures

Location: Asset Browser ▸ BatchGenie Menu ▸ Misc

This feature packs all associated textures into their respective blend files, ensuring that your assets retain their appearance without the need for external texture files.

Load Asset Previews from disk

Note

This feature packs textures for all Assets inside the blend file, which can affect other Assets that you have not selected but reside in the same blend file as one of the selected Assets.

Instructions
  1. Select the Assets you want to pack from the Asset Browser.
  2. Navigate to BatchGenie > Misc > Pack Textures.

Single Operation Utilities

Replace Node

Location: Shader Editor ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel

This utility offers similar functionality to the Replace Shader Nodes utility but is designed for processing individual nodes rather than batch adjustments. It also allows you to replace any type of node, not just the main shader node as in the main utility.

Replace Node Utility

Settings
  • Target:
    • Main Shader: Targets the main shader connected to the 'Material Output' inside the material.
    • Active Node: Select a node manually.
  • Keep Original Node: Check this option if you want to retain the original node for manual inspection of the connections afterward. The original node will be moved to the side of the replaced node.
  • Replacement Node-Group: Select the custom Node-Group to replace the shader from a dropdown menu displaying all Node-Groups in the current blend file.
  • Custom Attributes: Set one or multiple socket attributes such as color or values on the new node. See this section in the documentation for detailed instructions.

Find Zero Strength Nodes

Location: Shader Editor ▸ BatchGenie N-Panel

This utility offers the same functionality as the Find Zero Strength Nodes utility but is designed for processing individual materials rather than batch adjustments.

Find Zero Strength Nodes Utility

Settings

  • Type:

    • Normal, Bump & Displacement
    • Normal Map
    • Displacement

  • Highlight Nodes: Changes the color of the found nodes to red, making them easier to spot visually.