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  • Published 17 Mar 2026

Improved playback/looping options

Prompted by the addition of Looping options in the 5.2 alpha release, I'm requesting more fleshed-out playback options.

blender-UI-playback-mockup.png

In this concept:

Playback

Basic behavior

  • Play Once: play once and stop
  • Loop: loop forever
  • Ping-Pong: bounce forward & backward forever

Start

Where to begin playing

  • Range Start: timeline/preview range start
  • Current Frame current frame/playhead location

End

Where to end playing

  • Range End: timeline/preview range end
  • Current Frame: current frame/playhead location

Return

How to behave once playback is over

  • None: take no action
  • Range Start: return to the start of the timeline/preview range
  • Current Frame: restore the frame/playhead location

Variations that this concept would allow:

  • play once from the start to the current frame: very good for straight-ahead animation
  • play once from the current frame to the end, then return to the current frame
  • ping-pong between current frame and end
  • etc.
100%

Development Status: Open

Upvote 5 Downvote 0
magic_science
17 Mar 2026

1 Comment

chris.lend

I like the idea of splitting the options up into smaller elements that can be combined. IMO we just need a warning telling the user when both Start and End are set to "Current Frame"

2