With the release of Blender 4.2, we received many new features and resources. One significant change disrupted a workflow that many artists had been using for years: the management of add-ons. Among the changes introduced in this version is a new way to manage and control add-ons.
For many years, users could go to Edit → Preferences → Add-ons to enable pre-installed extensions for Blender. Some of these extensions, like Import Images as Planes or the DXF importer, have been part of Blender for a long time.
In the new version, we have a tab called Get Extensions that provides access to a new repository of extensions and themes. You need to grant internet access to Blender to browse these new add-ons and resources. There's even a website where you can check details about each of these add-ons.
How to Manage Add-ons in Blender 4.2
To better explain how to manage and work with add-ons in Blender 4.2, I created a detailed video with all the steps required to manage and add new extensions in Blender. The video also covers how to grant and control internet access, which is a new requirement for Blender.
This process applies to both add-ons and themes. In past versions, many of these resources were already available in Blender, but now you have to manually install them from the official repository.
You can still install add-ons from paid repositories like BlenderMarket and Gumroad. The difference, in this case, is that you will have to add those files manually. All resources from the official extensions site are free and open-source.
There are even a few surprises, such as an add-on that allows us to import 3ds Max files into Blender.
Learning to Use Blender for Architecture
If you want to take advantage of these resources in Blender as part of a workflow focused on architecture and design, we have many resources at Blender 3D Architect that can help you use Blender for this purpose. We offer various resources like workshops and books with detailed information about how to use Blender for architecture and design.
- Blender for architecture (Workshop)
- Blender 4.1: The beginners guide (Paperback) – (eBook)
Getting any of these resources helps support our work at Blender 3D Architect.
