Render Context

renderset revolves around the concept of render contexts each storing their own scene state. They are stored in the .blend file and load up on any computer with renderset. This allows storing several render setups in one file and switching between them reliably.

Watch how to work with Render Contexts

Motivation

Here is an example of a production scene using renderset. We can render various views of the same scene in various light - daylight, dusk, etc... And store all of it in one blend. We can even set separate samples or resolution settings for each view.

This lets us change the scene and re-render everything without manually inputting HDR, resolution and other settings. This can be a huge time-saver for production scenes.

You can create up to a thousand contexts in one .blend file. Selected settings you change in Blender will be stored in the active context. That way you can quickly switch contexts and it switches various settings. This allows for multiple render and scene settings in one .blend file.

Users sometimes call contexts rendersets

It is common for renderset users to call these contexts "rendersets". For the purposes of this documentation we will call them "render contexts" to avoid confusion with the addon itself.

Search and order contexts

Contexts can be filtered and sorted by name in a dropdown under the list. The filter does not change what is rendered using Render All.

Color-code renderset contexts

Contexts can have color associated with them. Use this to visually distinguish contexts relevant to each other. Color displaying can be turned off in the N-panel or in preferences if you do not want to leverage this feature.

Which Settings Are Stored

Default Properties

By default all contexts store Context Settings, active camera and related Camera Settings and active world with its related World Settings.

You can see all default stored values in the Context Lister

Also most Collection Restriction Toggles are remembered per context, which can be used to create variations of scene.

Collection visibility management is probably the most important feature of renderset. You can set up which collections are visible per context. This enables a ton of flexibility for various workflows - archviz scenes, product visualization, board game characters, you name it!

User Properties

You can add almost any Blender property you want to be remembered by right clicking and selecting Store Property. Similarly you can also remove any stored property, including the default ones. Additionally, you can store and remove object-based properties for all selected objects with one button.

Watch how to work with custom properties

Once you add the property new tab called Overrides will appear in renderset panel. Here you can tweak the values per context.

Overrides panel

Show ALL stored values

Go to Edit → Preferences → Addons, select renderset and in Additional Options check the "Debug Enabled" checkbox.

This will add a new row in the renderset panel called "Show Stored Values", if you expand it you will see the raw data each context contains. This can be useful if you have a lot of contexts and need to figure out what exactly they contain.

Store Objects' Materials

renderset can switch between materials in different contexts. Right click the active material in the Materials properties to store the material of the active material slot in renderset contexts.

Material variations

renderset does not allow storing of node group inputs directly by default. However you can control shader through custom property (which is storable) and a driver.

Active Context

Changing Remembered Settings in Blender when renderset is active will only affect the currently active render context.

renderset makes sure that exactly one context is active at all times. You cannot remove the last context in the .blend and you cannot make two contexts active at the same time.

Adding New Contexts

You can add a new context by clicking the + button on the renderset panel. It will have the same settings as the currently active one. The newly added context will always be placed under the selected already existing context.

Name your contexts

It is a good practice to name the context immediately after you create. It is much easier than trying to figure out later what the context was for. Since contexts remember a lot of information it is not viable to go through it all.

Reordering contexts

Contexts can be reordered by the two arrow buttons next to the context list.

• ▲ ▼ click moves the item up or down.
• Shift+▲ ▼ lets you specify how many positions to move the context up or down.
• Ctrl+▲ ▼ moves the context to the bottom or top.

Context per Selected Camera

Very often you may want to add several contexts, one per camera. renderset allows this with the Context Per Camera button. Clicking it adds one context per selected camera. The contexts will be named after their respective cameras.

Context From Viewport

Operator that creates a camera and context from your current viewport location.

Deleting Contexts

The - button deletes the selected render context. You can always take this action back via undo. Because renderset requires exactly one context active at all times you will not be allowed to delete the last context in the scene, the button will be grayed out.

Does not delete resources associated with the context

This only deletes the context. Any resources - camera, world, ... - associated with or remembered by the context are kept and not deleted. You have to delete them separately.

Listing All Contexts

Use the Render Context Lister button on the renderset panel to get an overview of all stored properties of all contexts. Using Lister is a good way to double check all settings - we recommend looking through this before you burn a lot of electricity rendering a ton of contexts. More about Lister can be found in Panel Overview.