Switching 3D viewport modes programmatically using Blender Python API

When developing add-ons for Blender, we may need to programmatically switch 3D viewport modes – for example, enable the WIREFRAME grid display mode.

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To switch the 3D viewport to the desired mode, we need to change the “shading.type” property of the viewport area.

List of modes and values to enable it:

Wireframe grid mode – “WIREFRAME” value
Common mode for working with meshes – “SOLID” value
Display of textures and materials – “MATERIAL” value
The same as in the final render – “RENDERED” value

For example, to enable the wireframe grid display mode in the 3D viewport, we need to set the “WIREFRAME” value to the “shading.type” property.

bpy.context.space_data.shading.type = 'WIREFRAME'

1	bpy.context.space_data.shading.type = 'WIREFRAME'

Don’t forget about the need to redefine the context if we execute this code in another area, for example, in the Text Editor.

area = [area for area in bpy.context.screen.areas if area.type == "VIEW_3D"][0]

with bpy.context.temp_override(area=area):
    bpy.context.space_data.shading.type = 'WIREFRAME'

area = [area for area in bpy.context.screen.areas if area.type == "VIEW_3D"][0]

with bpy.context.temp_override(area=area):

bpy.context.space_data.shading.type = 'WIREFRAME'

We can get which display mode is currently enabled in the 3D viewport by checking this property:

with bpy.context.temp_override(area=area):
    print(bpy.context.space_data.shading.type)

# SOLID

with bpy.context.temp_override(area=area):

print(bpy.context.space_data.shading.type)

# SOLID

We can place the buttons for switching the 3D viewport display modes on a custom user’s panel.

First define a test operator that will enable, for example, the wireframe grid mode.

class TEST_OT_op(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = 'test.op'
    bl_label = 'TEST OPERATOR'
    bl_options = {'REGISTER'}
    
    def execute(self, context):
        context.space_data.shading.type = 'WIREFRAME'
        return {'FINISHED'}

class TEST_OT_op(bpy.types.Operator):

bl_idname = 'test.op'

bl_label = 'TEST OPERATOR'

bl_options = {'REGISTER'}

def execute(self, context):

context.space_data.shading.type = 'WIREFRAME'

return {'FINISHED'}

Here, context overriding is not required, since the operator will be executed in the context of the 3D viewport itself.

Now, define a test panel on which we will place the button to call our operator.

class TEST_PT_panel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_idname = 'TEST_PT_panel'
    bl_label = 'TEST PANEL'
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'
    bl_category = 'TEST'
 
    def draw(self, context):
        self.layout.operator(
            operator='test.op',
            text='WIREFRAME MODE'
        )

class TEST_PT_panel(bpy.types.Panel):

bl_idname = 'TEST_PT_panel'

bl_label = 'TEST PANEL'

bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'

bl_region_type = 'UI'

bl_category = 'TEST'

def draw(self, context):

self.layout.operator(

operator='test.op',

text='WIREFRAME MODE'

)

And don’t forget to register both of our classes in Blender Python API.

bpy.utils.register_class(TEST_OT_op)
bpy.utils.register_class(TEST_PT_panel)

1 2	bpy.utils.register_class(TEST_OT_op) bpy.utils.register_class(TEST_PT_panel)

After executing this code, a custom panel with a “WIREFRAME MODE” button will be created in the N-panel, by clicking on which the viewport mode will be switched to the wireframe grid display mode.