Where To Find Hidebar

After installation, open Blender and go to the 3D View sidebar.

  1. Go to the 3D View.
  2. Open the Sidebar.
  3. Select the Hidebar tab.

Quick tipIf the sidebar is hidden, press N in the 3D View.

Panels

This is the main working area. It shows the custom visibility Panels you create.

Settings

This is where you build, edit, import, export, and organize your Panels.

Creating Panels

Create A Panel

  1. Open the Settings tab.
  2. Click the + button near the Panel list.
  3. A new Panel appears.
  4. Rename it if needed.

Rename, Move, Or Remove A Panel

You can rename a Panel directly in the Settings tab. Use the up and down arrow buttons to change Panel order.

Removing a Panel removes only the Hidebar Panel. It does not delete real Blender Collections, Objects, or Masks from the scene.

Adding Controls

Add Collections

  1. Select one or more Collections in the Outliner.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Select the target Panel.
  4. Open the Collections section.
  5. Click the + button.

If a Collection is already in that Panel, Hidebar will not add it again.

Add Objects

  1. Select one or more Objects in the 3D View or Outliner.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Select the target Panel.
  4. Open the Objects section.
  5. Click the + button.

If an Object is already in that Panel, Hidebar will not add it again.

Add Mask Modifiers

  1. Open the Settings tab.
  2. Select the Panel where you want to add the Mask.
  3. Open the Masks section.
  4. Choose a Mask from the dropdown.
  5. Click the + button.

Mask dropdownIf the dropdown is outdated, click the refresh button. Also make sure the Object has a Mask modifier.

Using Buttons

Collection Buttons

Collection buttons control Collection visibility in the current View Layer. This is similar to changing Collection visibility in the Outliner, but the button is placed in your custom Hidebar Panel.

Object Buttons

Object buttons control viewport visibility and render visibility together. Click an Object button to hide or show that Object in both places.

Mask Buttons

Mask buttons control the Mask modifier visibility in viewport and render. Click a Mask button to enable or disable the Mask in both places.

Custom Labels

You can rename Collection, Object, and Mask labels inside Hidebar. This changes only the name shown in Hidebar. It does not rename real Blender data.

What Hidebar Changes In Blender

Hidebar does not delete, move, or rename anything in your scene.

Collections

Hidebar uses Exclude from View Layer.

Objects

Hidebar uses Disable in Viewports and Disable in Renders.

Masks

Hidebar uses the Mask modifier switches Show in Viewport and Show in Render.

Simple ruleThe buttons in Hidebar are not special hidden magic. They control the same visibility switches you already know from Blender, but they put them together in one clean place.

Solo And Hide All

Collection Solo

Each Collection button has a Solo button next to it. Solo shows the selected Collection, hides other Collections, keeps the selected Collection children in their previous state, and remembers the old visibility state.

Click the same Solo button again to restore the previous state. If another Collection Solo is already active in the same Panel, Hidebar restores the old Solo first, then applies the new one.

Object Solo

Object Solo shows the selected Object, hides other Objects in the current View Layer, and remembers the old Object visibility state.

Hidebar saves only Objects that really need to change. This helps keep Solo fast in large scenes.

Hide Or Show A Whole Panel

Each Panel has an eye button in its header. Click it to hide all valid items inside that Panel. Click it again to restore the previous state.

Snapshot restoreHidebar remembers the visibility state before hiding the Panel. This is why showing the Panel again restores mixed states correctly.

Import And Export

Export A Panel

  1. Open the Settings tab.
  2. Select the Panel you want to export.
  3. Open the Panel options menu.
  4. Choose Export Panel.
  5. Save the JSON file.

Import A Panel

  1. Open the Settings tab.
  2. Open the Panel options menu.
  3. Choose Import Panel.
  4. Select a supported JSON file.

What Export Stores

  • Panel name
  • Collection names
  • Object names
  • Mask references
  • Custom Hidebar labels

ImportantIf a Hidebar panel contains elements that reference linked data, create a Library Override for that linked data before importing the panel. Otherwise, those panel elements will not be imported.

Preferences

Open Blender Preferences and find Hidebar in the Add-ons list. Hidebar preferences include the sidebar tab name and the number of Panel button columns.

Sidebar Tab Name

By default, Hidebar appears in a sidebar tab named Hidebar. You can change this name in the add-on preferences.

For example, you can move the Panel to a tab named Item, Tools, Animation, or My Pipeline.

Panel Button Columns

This setting controls how many visibility buttons appear in one row.

  • 1 means one button per row.
  • 2 means two buttons per row.
  • 3 means three buttons per row.

Buttons keep equal width, so long names do not make one button wider than another.

Suggested Workflow

  1. Create one Panel for each important part of your project.
  2. Add only the Collections, Objects, and Masks you change often.
  3. Use clear Panel names.
  4. Use custom labels when Blender names are too technical.
  5. Use Solo when you need to focus on one item.
  6. Use Panel hide when you want to temporarily remove a whole group from view.
  7. Export important Panels so you can reuse them in another .blend file.