Installing EM Tools: yEd and the Blender Add-on

Todo

Embed YouTube video — placeholder slug 12_em_install_tools. Once the recording is uploaded, replace this todo with a .. raw:: html iframe pointing at the real YouTube video ID. Working title: Installing EM Tools: yEd and the Blender Add-on (~~5 min).

Clip: 12 | Duration: ~5 min | Recording segment: 57:29 → ~1:03:00

Prerequisites

Blender 3.x, yEd Graph Editor (free download from yworks.com).

Overview

Step-by-step installation: download the EM add-on from GitHub releases, install it in Blender via Edit → Preferences → Add-ons, enable it, then import the EM palette into yEd via Edit → Manage Palette → Import New Section. Both tools are now ready to create and visualise Extended Matrices.

The ExtendedMatrix.org homepage — the central hub for downloads and documentation.

Fig. 10 The ExtendedMatrix.org homepage — the central hub for downloads and documentation.

Key Concepts

  • Download the OS-specific build from the GitHub Releases page.

  • Blender: install from disk, enable via checkbox — no restart required.

  • yEd: the EM palette appears in the right panel after import.

  • Both tools read/write the same GraphML file format.

Screenshots

Download page listing software requirements (Blender version, yEd version).

Fig. 11 Download page listing software requirements (Blender version, yEd version).

Blender: Add-ons preferences with 'Install from Disk' highlighted.

Fig. 12 Blender: Add-ons preferences with ‘Install from Disk’ highlighted.

The EM add-on enabled in Blender preferences (checkbox checked).

Fig. 13 The EM add-on enabled in Blender preferences (checkbox checked).

yEd: Edit → Manage Palette → Import New Section dialog.

Fig. 14 yEd: Edit → Manage Palette → Import New Section dialog.

The EM palette visible in the yEd right-hand panel after import.

Fig. 15 The EM palette visible in the yEd right-hand panel after import.

Try It Yourself

Install the add-on and confirm the EM panel appears in Blender’s sidebar (N key) and the EM palette is visible in yEd.

Note

A video walkthrough for this tutorial will be available on the Extended Matrix YouTube channel.