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The extension adds its own '''Blocky Renderer''' tab to the Activity Bar on the left, with a cube icon. It holds two views: '''Models''', the model browser, and '''Nodes''', the node tree of the current model.

== Models ==
'''Models''' lists all <code>.blockymodel</code> files of the workspace, grouped by folder. The header shows the number of models, for example <code>12 models</code>.

* Folders and files are sorted by name. Numbers in names are sorted by value, so <code>Chair_2</code> comes before <code>Chair_10</code>.
* A click on a model shows it in the [[BlockyRenderer:Preview|Preview]] without opening the file. The focus stays in the list, so you can step through all models with the arrow keys.
* While you browse, clicks in the 3D view do not open a text editor. Use ''Show Source'' to open the text.
* Clicking or typing in the text of a model makes the preview follow that model again.
* <code>Blocky: Open Model Browser</code> searches the workspace again and moves the focus to the list.

=== Keeping the list up to date ===
The workspace is searched once at startup. <code>files.exclude</code> applies. After that, the file watcher adds new models and notices deleted or renamed files and folders. The ↻ button (''Refresh Model List'') searches again.

=== Buttons and menus ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Where !! Entries
|-
| Title bar || ''New Blocky Model…'' (<code>+</code>), ''Refresh Model List'' (↻), ''Collapse All''
|-
| <code>…</code> menu of the title bar || ''Open Blocky Files In…''
|-
| Model entry, inline || ''Show Source''
|-
| Right-click a model || ''Open Preview to the Side'', ''Edit in 3D Editor'', ''Open in Renderer Only'', ''Show Source''
|-
| Right-click a folder || ''New Blocky Model…'' in that folder
|}

Without an open folder, the view offers ''Open Folder''. Without models in the workspace, it shows a ''New Blocky Model…'' button.

== Nodes ==
'''Nodes''' shows the node tree of the model in the active tab. That can be a text editor, a Blocky Editor or a Blocky Preview of a <code>.blockymodel</code> file. The header shows the file name.

* Each entry shows the node name and its type: ''Box'', ''Quad'' or ''Group''. Hidden shapes are marked ''hidden'' and get a closed-eye icon.
* The selection is shared. A click in the list, a click in the 3D view and the cursor in the text all show the same node. A click in the list also selects the node name in the text, if the text is visible.
* While the JSON is broken, the list keeps the last valid state and shows the error with ''showing the last valid state''. An empty file shows ''The file is still empty.''

=== Editing nodes ===
All changes are text edits in the model file, the same as in the [[BlockyRenderer:Blocky Editor|Blocky Editor]]. One command is one undo step.

{| class="wikitable"
! Command !! Key (list focused) !! What it does
|-
| ''Add Box'' || || Adds an 8 × 8 × 8 box as the last child of the node
|-
| ''Add Quad'' || || Adds an 8 × 8 quad facing <code>+Z</code> as the last child
|-
| ''Add Group'' || || Adds a group (a node without shape) as the last child
|-
| ''Rename'' || <code>F2</code> || Asks for a new name. The name must not be empty.
|-
| ''Duplicate'' || <code>Ctrl+D</code> (<code>Cmd+D</code> on macOS) || Copies the node with its children right after itself
|-
| ''Toggle Visibility'' (eye) || || Shows or hides the shape of the node
|-
| ''Delete'' || <code>Delete</code> (<code>Cmd+Backspace</code> on macOS) || Deletes the node with its children
|}

* Right-click a node for all commands. The eye button sits directly on the entry.
* The title bar has ''Add Box'' (<code>+</code>), ''Add Group'' and ''Edit in 3D Editor''. The <code>…</code> menu has ''Add Quad'', ''Open Preview to the Side'' and ''Show Source''. ''Collapse All'' is also in the title bar.
* From the title bar, a new node goes under the selected node, or to the top level if nothing is selected.
* After a change, the new or changed node is selected.

New boxes and quads stand on the level of their parent. Their texture layout starts at the top left corner of the atlas, so they are visible at once. The extension does not search for free space in the atlas. New groups get <code>isPiece: false</code> and an empty texture layout, as in vanilla files.

If the list does not match the text at that moment, for example right after typing, the command is not applied. The list is read again instead.

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