Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would not deny Scottish people a second vote on independence in the next parliament if it's what the public wanted.
Ms Sturgeon used her party's biggest ever conference to build the foundations for another referendum saying she "believed with all her heart" that Scotland should be independent.
She said there were no proposals for a second vote in the next parliament but said that if Scottish people's views changed then "we have no right to rule out a referendum and we will not do that".
She has already said the party's 2016 Holyrood manifesto will set out the circumstances and timescale of another referendum.
Ms Sturgeon reached out to those who voted "No" to independence in September 2014, saying she hopes to "inspire" them to back her party at the Scottish Parliament elections next May.
"For those who want Scotland to be independent, there is only one vote next year that makes sense - and that is a vote for the SNP," she said.
"But I don't just want to win the votes of independence supporters. I want to inspire people who voted No last year to vote SNP too.
"I want them to vote SNP because they know we are the best party, with the best ideas and the best people to lead Scotland forward."
It is the largest gathering in the SNP's history, following its post-referendum membership surge, swelling numbers to 114,000.
They won't be joined, however, by Michelle Thomson, one of 56 SNP MPs elected to Westminster at the last election who is staying away.
The party's front bench spokesperson on business has withdrawn from the party whip amidst a police investigation into "back to back" property deals she was involved with in 2010-11.
She bought properties at knockdown prices from people in dire financial straits and desperate to sell. She then sold them on for a profit, sometimes on the same day.
Ms Thomson's lawyer has been struck off and is now the subject of a police investigation, while the MP herself denies any wrongdoing.
The affair has embarrassed Ms Sturgeon, who has long styled the SNP as a party of social justice.
Its effect on the conference has been to silence debate on a second referendum.
The only structured discussion on the subject was due to be an "indyref2" fringe event organised by Scotland's Law Society.
It has been cancelled amidst criticism at its performance over the Michelle Thomson affair.
Having struck off her solicitor, the society took more than a year to inform Scotland's Crown Office.
Opponents who have struggled to land a blow on the SNP are rubbing their hands, confident that the notion of a property dealer profiting at the expense of vulnerable people resonates strongly with the public.
