/ImagePaste

A simple Blender addon to grab images from your clipboard and paste as a reference image in viewport or onto the image editor.

Primary LanguagePythonGNU General Public License v3.0GPL-3.0

ImagePaste

A simple Blender add-on to paste images from the clipboard to various places in Blender and copy them to the clipboard to be pasted anywhere. Works with Blender 2.80 and above.

Installing

  1. Download the latest release (you can also view the changelog on the release page).
  2. Go to Edit|Preferences. On the Add-ons tab, choose Install and select the downloaded .zip file.
  3. Tick the box beside the add-on name.

Using

demo

The add-on supports copying images to the clipboard and pasting them from various places:

Image Editor

Image Editor

Copy Image:

  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+C
  • UI: Image|Copy to Clipboard

Paste as Images:

  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V
  • UI: Image|Paste from Clipboard

Video Sequencer

Video Sequencer

Paste as Image Strips:

  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+V
  • UI: Sequencer Context Menu|Paste from Clipboard

Shader Editor

Shader Editor

Paste as Image Textures:

  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V
  • UI: Node Context Menu|Paste from Clipboard

3D Viewport

3D Viewport

Paste as Planes:

  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+V
  • UI: Add|Image|Paste from Clipboard as Plane

Paste as References:

  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V
  • UI: Add|Image|Paste from Clipboard as Reference

Configuring

Customizing the save folder

By default, pasted images will be stored in a temporary folder, this one will be deleted when you close Blender. If you want, you can redirect these images to a different directory. Preferences - directory

On the other hand, after you save the .blend file, these pasted images will be saved where the .blend file is located - in the ImagePaste folder. This folder can also be customized in the preferences. Preferences - subdirectory

Customizing the image filename

Preferences - filename

You can customize the filename of the pasted image with the help of some predefined variables:

Variable Description Example
${addonName} Name of the add-on ImagePaste
${yearLong} Year with the century 2021, 2022, …
${yearShort} Year without the century 21, 22, …
${monthNumber} Month as a zero-padded decimal number 01, 02, …, 12
${monthNameLong} Full month name January, February, …, December
${monthNameShort} Abbreviated month name Jan, Feb, …, Dec
${day} Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal number 01, 02, …, 31
${weekdayNumber} Weekday as a decimal number 0, 1, …, 6
${weekdayNameLong} Full weekday name Sunday, Monday, …, Saturday
${weekdayNameShort} Abbreviated weekday name Sun, Mon, …, Sat
${hour24} Hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number 00, 01, …, 23
${hour12} Hour (12-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number 01, 02, …, 12
${minute} Minute as a zero-padded decimal number 00, 01, …, 59
${second} Second as a zero-padded decimal number 00, 01, …, 59
${index} Order of the image 1, 2, …
${index:N} N-digits image order number with zero padding ${index:2} gives 01, 02, …

The default filename is ${addonName}-${yearShort}${monthNumber}${day}-${hour24}${minute}${second}.

Choosing the image type to move when saving the file

Preferences - image type

This feature will move (actually copy) images into the save directory after you save the file, so you can paste images anytime, no need to save it first. There's also an option in the add-on preferences you can choose the type of images to move:

  • Pasted images: Only images that were pasted using the add-on would be moved to the save directory.
  • All images: Images existing in the .blend file will be moved.
  • No moving: Don't do anything when saving the file.

Troubleshooting

If ImagePaste doesn't work, try:

  • Running Blender as adminstrator
  • Using an earlier version of ImagePaste, particularly v1.4.0 and v1.3.2 (Windows 7 doesn't seem to work with the newer versions)

Contributing and getting support

This is only a small project and we're happy to know it helped some of you. I just want to say that all this wouldn't have been possible without these great contributors and everybody who comes with new ideas and bug reports! So thank you all!

It will be great if you have an idea and turn it into visible. Tell us how amazing they are by suggesting a feature, or you can make it yourself by creating a pull request. And if you encounter a problem, let us know by opening an issue. But before doing anything, let's take a look at our contributing guide, it will show you how to start with all of that.