PME Treasure

PME Best Practices

4 min read

PME Best Practices

Tips and recommendations from years of community experience.

Organization

Name Your Items Clearly

Bad:  "Pie Menu 1", "New Macro"
Good: "Transform Pie", "Apply All Transforms Macro"

Use descriptive names that tell you what the item does at a glance.

Use Prefixes for Categories

[Model] Edge Tools
[Sculpt] Brush Selection
[Render] Output Settings

This groups related items in alphabetical lists.

If you have multiple pie menus for modeling:

  • Put them in the same category
  • Use consistent naming
  • Consider making a “master” pie that links to others

Hotkey Strategy

Reserve Keys for Categories

Example organization:

  • Q - Quick access / selection
  • W - Transform / edit
  • E - Extrude / extend
  • Ctrl+Shift+[X] - Custom workflows

Use Modifiers Consistently

Shift+[Key] = Alternative version
Ctrl+[Key]  = Precise/advanced version
Alt+[Key]   = Related but different function

Document Your Keybindings

Keep a reference sheet of your custom shortcuts, either:

  • In a text file
  • As a PME popup that lists all your shortcuts
  • In your startup file’s notes

Limit Pie Menu Items

  • Optimal: 4-6 items
  • Maximum: 8 items
  • If more needed: Use submenus or popup dialog

Place Important Items at Cardinal Directions

       Top (N)
          ↑
    Left (W) ← · → Right (E)
          ↓
      Bottom (S)

Cardinal directions (N, E, S, W) are fastest to select.

Group Logically

Put related commands near each other:

     Move
      ↑
Scale ← · → Rotate
      ↓
    Reset

Scripting Guidelines

Always Use EXEC_DEFAULT for Macros

# Good
bpy.ops.mesh.subdivide("EXEC_DEFAULT", number_cuts=2)
 
# May cause issues
bpy.ops.mesh.subdivide(number_cuts=2)

Handle Undo Properly

From [[../Posts/2025/post_05648|Post #5648]]:

bpy.ops.some.operator("EXEC_DEFAULT")
bpy.ops.ed.undo_push(message="Operation Name")

Check Context Before Operating

if bpy.context.active_object and bpy.context.mode == 'EDIT_MESH':
    bpy.ops.mesh.subdivide()

Use Try/Except for Reliability

try:
    bpy.ops.mesh.subdivide(number_cuts=2)
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Subdivide failed: {e}")

Performance

Avoid Heavy Computations in Polls

Poll functions run frequently. Keep them fast:

# Good - fast check
return C.active_object is not None
 
# Bad - slow check
return len([o for o in C.scene.objects if o.select_get()]) > 0

Limit Dynamic Menu Items

If generating menu items dynamically, limit the count:

for i, obj in enumerate(bpy.context.selected_objects[:20]):
    # Limit to 20 items max
    ...

Use Icons Wisely

Too many custom icons can slow down menu rendering.

Backup & Portability

Export Your PME Items

Regularly export your PME configuration:

  • PME → Menu → Export
  • Save to a backup location

Use Global Mode Carefully

Global mode shares PME items across all files, but:

  • Changes affect all files
  • May not work as expected with linked data

Version Your Configs

When making big changes:

  1. Export current config
  2. Name it with date (pme_backup_2025-01-15.json)
  3. Make your changes
  4. If problems, restore from backup

Compatibility

Test After Blender Updates

Major Blender versions often break PME:

  • Test your items after updating
  • Check compatibility posts for known issues
  • Consider waiting for PME updates before upgrading Blender

Use Version-Appropriate Code

Different Blender versions have different APIs:

# Check Blender version
if bpy.app.version >= (3, 0, 0):
    # Blender 3.0+ code
else:
    # Older Blender code

Document Version Requirements

Note which Blender version your PME items require.

Troubleshooting Mindset

Start Simple

When something doesn’t work:

  1. Create a minimal test case
  2. Test with a fresh Blender file
  3. Disable other addons
  4. Check the console for errors

Use the Console

Window → Toggle System Console shows:

  • Error messages
  • Print statements from your code
  • Operator calls

Search the Archive

Your problem has likely been solved before. Use Ctrl+K to search PME Treasure.

Community Tips

From roaoao (Developer)

  • “Always save your startup file after PME changes”
  • “Use specific keymaps instead of Window keymap”
  • “Test in different modes before relying on a hotkey”

From Heavy Users

  • “Group your menus by workflow, not by feature”
  • “Keep a ‘debug’ menu that shows context info”
  • “Regularly clean up unused PME items”

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