What features does BeeRef offer for working with reference images?

Updated

BeeRef is a reference image viewer built around one idea: arranging and viewing images while you work, without the interface getting in the way. Its feature set splits into two groups — image manipulation (move, scale, rotate, crop, flip, mass-scale, mass-arrange) and workflow features that keep the window usable alongside your art program (text notes, always-on-top mode, hidden title bar). If your reference workflow is "collect images, arrange them, keep them visible while drawing," these features cover it. If you need layered editing or painting tools, BeeRef is not that.

Image manipulation features

BeeRef lists the following image operations:

  • Move, scale, rotate, crop and flip images — individual transforms on any image you've placed on the board.
  • Mass-scale images to the same width, height or size — normalizes a group of images to a common dimension, useful when references come from mixed sources at different resolutions.
  • Mass-arrange images vertically, horizontally or for optimal usage of space — lays out a selection in a row, a column, or a packed arrangement that uses the available area efficiently.

The mass operations are the distinguishing part. Single-image transforms exist in most viewers; applying the same scale or the same layout to a whole set of references is what makes a large mood board or pose sheet manageable.

Window and workflow features

  • Add text notes — annotate the board alongside your images.
  • Enable always-on-top mode and disable the title bar — the BeeRef window floats unobtrusively above your art program, so references stay visible while you draw.

The always-on-top plus hidden-title-bar combination is the feature that defines the intended use case: BeeRef as a companion window, not a separate application you switch to.

The .bee file format

All images are embedded into the .bee file as PNG or JPG. The file is a SQLite database, with images stored in an sqlar table. That means you can extract them without BeeRef:

sqlite3 myfile.bee -Axv

Export options from inside BeeRef are planned, but the command-line extraction works independently of the application, so your images are not locked into the tool.

Choosing based on these features

If you need to… BeeRef supports it
Normalize many references to one size Yes — mass-scale by width, height or size
Lay out a set of references in a row, column or packed grid Yes — mass-arrange
Keep references visible over your art program Yes — always-on-top, title bar can be hidden
Annotate references with text Yes — text notes
Recover your images without the app Yes — SQLite/sqlar extraction
Layer-based editing or painting No — it is a viewer, not an editor

Practical notes

Installation files for Windows, Linux and macOS come from the latest release; Linux builds target different Ubuntu versions and may work on other distributions with trial and error, and Linux users need to grant the file executable rights before running it. If something goes wrong, the log is available via Help → Show Debug Log, or on disk at C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\BeeRef\BeeRef.log on Windows and /home/USERNAME/.config/BeeRef/BeeRef.log on Linux and macOS. BeeRef is published under the GNU General Public License v3.0.