I was reading this thread: (Asset browser / user library workflow - #4 by MickHanks) which kind of describes the issue I am having. Back then there was no solution and I am wondering whether the situation has changed since then. If it has, I can’t figure out how to access the new functionality.
Basically, I have set up an asset library using the preferences.
Now, when I am working on a new scene, I may have an item in this scene (usually geo nodes groups, but it could also be geometry) that I find useful and would like to add to my existing library.
My ideal workflow would be to select this item (or nodegroup) and then “send” it to my master library.
But what I think I need to do is to mark the item as an asset and then save my entire scene (including all of the data that is not part of the asset) somewhere as a copy. This needs to be saved where it won’t disappear from because if it does disappear then my asset disappears. Then I need to make sure that that location either already is listed in my preferences as part of the asset library paths, or add the path to this list.
Asset libraries path corresponds to a directory.
In this directory, you can save .blend files.
So, to appear in asset browser, asset has to be saved inside a .blend file, presents in directories corresponding to asset libraries path.
Or it has to be an asset of opened current file.
You can save an asset per file in asset libraries directories. You can save multiple assets in one file.
You can import assets from file saved, anywhere, into a blend file present in asset libraries directories.
You can have different preferences paths per application template.
For an undetermined future, it was discussed to let Blender set-up directories per project.
Alternatively, you could set up a single Asset Library with a very broad path, such as “C:”. This way, if most of your Blender files are stored on that drive, you wouldn’t need to worry about saving copies — any asset marked within your C: directory would automatically show up in the Asset Browser. I haven’t tested this myself though, so it might be a bad idea performance-wise.
I am marking your answer as the solution as it clearly explains how the asset library works. Unfortunately it doesn’t do what I would like it to, but it confirms my suspicions on its functionality.
Thanks. I am not sure how that would affect performance, but it does have one additional drawback: If I ever move a file then any assets that I have linked to that file would probably no longer work.
Eventually I would like to combine the blender asset library with a version control system… but I don’t know how I would manage that.
For now I am going to look into whether I can script an addon that would extract the selected asset and then store it in the correct path on disk. But I first would need to carve out some time for that so it may not happen for a while (if at all).