Historical · current compatibility unverified Original context: PME version not stated; Blender version not stated; 2017.
Outcome
Create a curated toolbar whose section buttons stay in a deliberate order even when Blender add-ons add, remove, or rearrange their own panels.
Historical construction
Way2Close’s proof of concept separated selection controls from panel contents:
- Make a hidden Panel Group for panels that should not appear in the original tool region.
- Make one visible Panel Group per curated section.
- Create a small reset action that turns every curated group off.
- For each toolbar button, run the reset action and then enable only that button’s group.
- Optionally remember separate active groups for Object Mode and Edit Mode.
The horizontal buttons were therefore a stable index into an explicitly maintained set of groups. They did not depend on the order in which Blender discovered third-party panels.
Design trade-off
This was intentionally described as a convoluted proof of concept. Initial setup took time, and every new section required another group plus an entry in the reset logic.
The payoff was control: unused add-on panels could be omitted, icons could replace vertical labels, and buttons no longer moved because another add-on had registered a panel. The same design works best as a small, curated set: clear the active group, enable one member, and remember separate mode-specific selections only when the toolbar truly needs different working sets.