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Materials from Textures

Batch-creates Blender materials from texture files picked in the File Browser. For each selected image, the operator builds a node-based material wired to Principled BSDF, optionally pulling sibling textures from the same directory and connecting normal and mask maps by suffix.

bl_idname: iops.materials_from_textures Mode: any Context: VIEW_3D (invoked from the IOPS Pie); opens a File Browser Modal: no HUD: no

Overview

The operator extends ImportHelper, so invoking it pops a File Browser. The user multi-selects diffuse/base-color images; each selected file becomes one new material. A material name is derived from the filename by stripping the extension and any prefix/suffix tokens defined in the addon preferences (texture_to_material_prefixes, texture_to_material_suffixes).

When Import all textures is enabled, the directory is scanned for other files whose names contain the derived material name. Files ending in _nm are wired through a Normal Map node into the BSDF Normal input. Files ending in _mk are routed through a Separate RGB: R goes to Metallic, G to Roughness. Any other matching sibling is loaded as an unconnected ShaderNodeTexImage placed to the right of the BSDF.

All created materials and loaded images get use_fake_user = True so they survive a save/reload even without an assignment.

Usage

  • No selection required; runs in any context.
  • Invoke from the IOPS Pie ("Materials from Textures") or via operator search. No default keymap binding.
  • In the File Browser, select one or more base-color images and confirm. Toggle Import all textures in the right panel to control sibling import.

Properties

Name Type Default Description
files CollectionProperty (PropertyGroup) empty File Browser multi-selection, populated by ImportHelper.
import_all BoolProperty True When on, scans the source directory and links sibling textures whose filename contains the derived material name.

The operator reads two addon preferences (defined on the addon's AddonPreferences):

Preference Default Purpose
texture_to_material_prefixes env_ Comma-separated prefixes stripped from the filename when building the material name.
texture_to_material_suffixes _df,_dfa,_mk,_emk,_nm Comma-separated suffixes stripped from the filename when building the material name.

Notes

  • Material naming: the filename is truncated at the first . (so name.001.png collapses to name), then each configured prefix/suffix is removed once. Blender will auto-suffix .001, .002 on name collisions.
  • Sibling detection is a substring match (mat_name in file) against the full filename, then _nm / _mk are matched against the constructed <mat_name>_nm / <mat_name>_mk strings. Files with non-PBR suffixes are imported but left unlinked.
  • Normal and mask images are forced to Non-Color colorspace; the base color image keeps the loaded default.
  • No undo grouping is set; each created material/image/node is a separate datablock and undo will roll back the whole batch in one step only if Blender groups it.
  • The operator does not check whether a file is a valid image - bpy.data.images.load will accept any path and may produce broken image datablocks.
  • A print("DIRNAME", ...) debug line still fires to the console on every run.