Extend documentation on environment variables to avoid trying to store unusable directories in them #88997

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opened 2021-06-09 12:06:42 +02:00 by Sam Van Hulle · 21 comments

System Information
Operating system: Windows-10-10.0.19041-SP0 64 Bits
Graphics card: GeForce GTX 960/PCIe/SSE2 NVIDIA Corporation 4.5.0 NVIDIA 432.00

Blender Version
Broken: version: 2.93.0, branch: master, commit date: 2021-06-02 11:21, hash: blender/blender@84da05a8b8

Short description of error
When BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS is set to a valid directory containing addons, modules, and startup directories, Blender starts with a partially drawn and responsive user interface. The docs don't specify what is exactly required from directories stored in environment variables.

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error

  1. Create a directory with subdirectories addons, modules, and startup.
  2. Set the BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS environment variable to that parent directory.
  3. Launch Blender.

Untitled.jpg

**System Information** Operating system: Windows-10-10.0.19041-SP0 64 Bits Graphics card: GeForce GTX 960/PCIe/SSE2 NVIDIA Corporation 4.5.0 NVIDIA 432.00 **Blender Version** Broken: version: 2.93.0, branch: master, commit date: 2021-06-02 11:21, hash: `blender/blender@84da05a8b8` **Short description of error** When BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS is set to a valid directory containing addons, modules, and startup directories, Blender starts with a partially drawn and responsive user interface. The docs don't specify what is exactly required from directories stored in environment variables. **Exact steps for others to reproduce the error** 1. Create a directory with subdirectories addons, modules, and startup. 1. Set the BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS environment variable to that parent directory. 1. Launch Blender. ![Untitled.jpg](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F10164038/Untitled.jpg)
Author

Added subscriber: @frameshift

Added subscriber: @frameshift

Added subscriber: @iss

Added subscriber: @iss

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs User Info'

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs User Info'

Is this behavior limited to Microsoft Store version?
I wasn't able to reproduce this issue

Is this behavior limited to Microsoft Store version? I wasn't able to reproduce this issue
Author

In #88997#1173872, @iss wrote:
Is this behavior limited to Microsoft Store version?
I wasn't able to reproduce this issue

I just tried with a fresh download of the portable version, same issue. I'll check another workstation tomorrow.

> In #88997#1173872, @iss wrote: > Is this behavior limited to Microsoft Store version? > I wasn't able to reproduce this issue I just tried with a fresh download of the portable version, same issue. I'll check another workstation tomorrow.
Author

Changed status from 'Needs User Info' to: 'Needs Triage'

Changed status from 'Needs User Info' to: 'Needs Triage'
Author

Exact same problem on my other workstation (Microsoft Store installation as well).

Exact same problem on my other workstation (Microsoft Store installation as well).

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs User Info'

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs User Info'

In #88997#1174171, @frameshift wrote:

In #88997#1173872, @iss wrote:
Is this behavior limited to Microsoft Store version?
I wasn't able to reproduce this issue

I just tried with a fresh download of the portable version, same issue. I'll check another workstation tomorrow.

Thanks that would be good to know the result.

Please run file blender_factory_startup.cmd and check if this resloves the issue. I have noticed that your startup file is modified and this could be reason to partial UI in combination with custom scripts folder, perhaps broken addon?

After you close Blender please upload 2 log files that will be created.

> In #88997#1174171, @frameshift wrote: >> In #88997#1173872, @iss wrote: >> Is this behavior limited to Microsoft Store version? >> I wasn't able to reproduce this issue > > I just tried with a fresh download of the portable version, same issue. I'll check another workstation tomorrow. Thanks that would be good to know the result. Please run file `blender_factory_startup.cmd` and check if this resloves the issue. I have noticed that your startup file is modified and this could be reason to partial UI in combination with custom scripts folder, perhaps broken addon? After you close Blender please upload 2 log files that will be created.
Author

Changed status from 'Needs User Info' to: 'Needs Triage'

Changed status from 'Needs User Info' to: 'Needs Triage'
Author

Starting with factory settings yields the exact same problem, only with the default interface. A broken add-on would have surprised me anyway, because the directory in the environment variable is the exact same one I used to have specified in Blender's File Paths preferences, and everything worked fine.
Here are the log files. I couldn't find anything in them related to environment variables though.
blender_debug_output.txt
blender_system_info.txt

This has brought to my attention that my second workstation has a blender.org installer version, so I think installing via Microsoft Store isn't necessarily related to the issue.

Starting with factory settings yields the exact same problem, only with the default interface. A broken add-on would have surprised me anyway, because the directory in the environment variable is the exact same one I used to have specified in Blender's File Paths preferences, and everything worked fine. Here are the log files. I couldn't find anything in them related to environment variables though. [blender_debug_output.txt](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F10165507/blender_debug_output.txt) [blender_system_info.txt](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F10165506/blender_system_info.txt) This has brought to my attention that my second workstation has a blender.org installer version, so I think installing via Microsoft Store isn't necessarily related to the issue.
Sam Van Hulle changed title from Unusable user interface after launching a Microsoft Store version of Blender with BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS set to Unusable user interface with BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS set 2021-06-10 12:44:21 +02:00

Here is how I have set my environment:
Copy folder blender-2.93\2.93\scripts to D:\scripts
Then set BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS to D:\scripts

Is that correct?

Here is how I have set my environment: Copy folder `blender-2.93\2.93\scripts` to `D:\scripts` Then set `BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS` to `D:\scripts` Is that correct?
Author

In #88997#1174544, @iss wrote:
Here is how I have set my environment:
Copy folder blender-2.93\2.93\scripts to D:\scripts
Then set BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS to D:\scripts

Is that correct?

Not exactly in my case. Mine is almost empty, with only a few custom addons. Like I said, it used to work perfectly when it was set via Blender's Preferences (File Paths > Data > Scripts).
I have tried BLENDER_USER_SCRIPTS instead now, which seems to work. Is BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS supposed to contain all addons Blender ships with? If that's the case, it would be a useful thing to mention in the docs.

> In #88997#1174544, @iss wrote: > Here is how I have set my environment: > Copy folder `blender-2.93\2.93\scripts` to `D:\scripts` > Then set `BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS` to `D:\scripts` > > Is that correct? Not exactly in my case. Mine is almost empty, with only a few custom addons. Like I said, it used to work perfectly when it was set via Blender's Preferences (File Paths > Data > Scripts). I have tried BLENDER_USER_SCRIPTS instead now, which seems to work. Is BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS supposed to contain all addons Blender ships with? If that's the case, it would be a useful thing to mention in the docs.

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs Developer To Reproduce'

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs Developer To Reproduce'

Added subscriber: @Blendify

Added subscriber: @Blendify

Technically this is mentioned in https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/preferences/file_paths.html#data
That Scripts field is for "An additional location to search for Python scripts."

BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS overrides default scripts location completely therefore requires full set of scripts.

Will leave up to @Blendify if this needs clarification

Technically this is mentioned in https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/preferences/file_paths.html#data That Scripts field is for "An additional location to search for Python scripts." `BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS` overrides default scripts location completely therefore requires full set of scripts. Will leave up to @Blendify if this needs clarification
Author

In #88997#1176187, @iss wrote:
Technically this is mentioned in https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/preferences/file_paths.html#data
That Scripts field is for "An additional location to search for Python scripts."

BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS overrides default scripts location completely therefore requires full set of scripts.

That's exactly my point - that page only mentions the field in Preferences.
BLENDER_USER_SCRIPTS seems to act the same way, which I would expect from BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS as well, only system-wide.
Since that's not the case and it does, as you say, expect the full set of scripts, it would be useful to mention this in the docs on environment variables, which are pretty vague: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/arguments.html?highlight=environment%20variables#environment-variables

> In #88997#1176187, @iss wrote: > Technically this is mentioned in https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/preferences/file_paths.html#data > That Scripts field is for "An additional location to search for Python scripts." > > `BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS` overrides default scripts location completely therefore requires full set of scripts. That's exactly my point - that page only mentions the field in Preferences. BLENDER_USER_SCRIPTS seems to act the same way, which I would expect from BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS as well, only system-wide. Since that's not the case and it does, as you say, expect the full set of scripts, it would be useful to mention this in the docs on environment variables, which are pretty vague: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/arguments.html?highlight=environment%20variables#environment-variables
Member

Changed status from 'Needs Developer To Reproduce' to: 'Confirmed'

Changed status from 'Needs Developer To Reproduce' to: 'Confirmed'
Member
Yes, this is something that should be fixed on https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/arguments.html#environment-variables
Sam Van Hulle changed title from Unusable user interface with BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS set to Extend documentation on environment variables to avoid trying to store unusable directories in them 2021-06-24 10:13:54 +02:00

Added subscriber: @writersdoc22

Added subscriber: @writersdoc22

from manual of 3.4 version onwards there are texts about the overriding blender script variables,

image.png

please clarify if these changes are sufficient.

from manual of 3.4 version onwards there are texts about the overriding blender script variables, ![image.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F13897211/image.png) please clarify if these changes are sufficient.
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Reference: blender/blender-manual#88997
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