Editing

Append and Duplicate

Use this page when you want to copy a Volume Forge object cleanly or bring one from another Blender project.

Duplicate Volume Forge

The Duplicate Volume Forge button appears in the Selected Volume section when a valid Volume Forge object is selected.

Use it when you want a new copy of the active volume with its own mesh, independent material setup, node tree, and Noise Animation behavior. This is useful when each copy needs to be adjusted separately.

Normal Blender duplicate

Blender’s normal duplicate shortcut, such as Ctrl+D, can still be useful. Depending on Blender’s data-block behavior and how the object is managed, a normal duplicate can intentionally keep materials linked or shared.

This is not wrong. Linked or shared materials can be useful when several volumes should keep the same material setup. Use Duplicate Volume Forge when you want independent Volume Forge copies instead.

Append from another .blend file

To transfer a Volume Forge volume from another project, use Blender’s File → Append workflow and append the Volume Forge object from the source .blend file.

Copy/paste between two open Blender scenes or projects can still work, but Append is the safer documented workflow. It is usually cleaner and more predictable for Blender data-blocks when moving an object from one .blend file to another.

Noise Animation after duplicate or append

In the current version, Noise Animation is designed to remain linked to the Volume Forge object that owns it. After a clean duplicate, append, save, or reload, the copied or appended volume should keep its own Noise Animation behavior.

If the noise animation looks wrong after a transfer, copy/paste, append, or reload, select the Volume Forge object and run Validate / Repair Selected Volume.

Recommended workflow

Use Duplicate Volume Forge when each copy needs independent controls, independent materials, and its own Noise Animation behavior.
Use Ctrl+D or normal Blender duplication if you intentionally want linked or shared material behavior.
Use File → Append when bringing a Volume Forge object from another .blend file.
Copy/paste may work between open projects, but Append is the cleaner recommended method for transfer between projects.
Use Validate / Repair Selected Volume only if a transferred, appended, or copied volume seems incomplete or does not behave correctly.