15

Navigate and Save

Navigate and Save has been placed here, towards the back of the book, since you may find it a

tedious subject especially if you already know how to find your way around your computer's file

system. Knowing how and where to save work when it is completed and during the construction

process is essential since a project is seldom finished at one sitting. Saving work should be

performed regularly both on your computer and to a backup device in case of a computer error.

Losing work half way through a project is a frustrating and soul destroying experience so,

backup, backup, backup.

Make saving a habit. Saving will save you time.

Saving Work

When you work in Blender you edit (modify) the default file which opens when you start Blender

or a file that has been previously saved. Blender file names end with a .blend suffix and are

specific to the Blender program. Saving work means you save the modifications or editing, that

have been performed in a Blender file. You save the file, in a folder of your choice on your

computer's hard drive. You should understand how and where to create a folder and how to

retrieve a file when it has been saved. In other words you need to know how to navigate your file

system. In Blender files are saved on your computer using the File Browser Editor.

Navigation

Navigation is the science of finding the way from one place to another. If you can see where you

are going it's an easy process to head over to that place but sometimes where you want to go is

hidden from view. In Blender you create files and store them away for future use. You can reuse

the files and build on to them and then save the new material. Saved files are your library of

information from which you extract elements and insert into future work. The saying is, “There is

no point reinventing the wheel”. If you have created something that works use it again. But

where did you put the wheel? That's where navigation comes in. You need to find the place

where you safely stored that wheel or, in the case of Blender, where you saved a file containing

the wheel. Navigation in Blender is performed in the File Browser Editor.

151