Assigning Materials

You can add, remove, and edit materials in two main ways:

• Using the Tools>Edit Configured Libraries>Materials menu command.

• Right-clicking Materials in the project tree and selecting Edit All Libraries.

Editing definitions from the project window does not modify the configured libraries for any particular design. To consider the current design, use the Tools>Edit Configured Libraries option. Doing so ensures that new libraries are added to the configured list for the current design. If you edit materials from this command for the current and then export them, they will also be available to assign to objects in other designs.

To assign a material to an object, follow this general procedure:

1. Select the object to which you want to assign a material.

2. Click Modeler>Assign Material.

The Select Definition window appears. When the Show all libraries checkbox is selected, the window lists all of the materials in the global material library as well as the project’s local material library.

You can also open the Select Definition window in one of the following ways:

• In the Properties dialog box for the object, click the material name under the Attributes tab. A drop-down menu shows an Edit... button that opens the Select Definition window.

The menu also lists materials included in the current project. Selecting one of these materials provides another way to assign materials to an object.

• Right-click Model in the project tree, and then click Assign Material on the shortcut menu.

• Right-click the object in the history tree, and then click Assign Material on the shortcut menu.

3. Select a material from the list.

If the material you want to assign is not listed, add a new material to the global or local material library, and then select it.

4. Click OK.

The material you chose is assigned to the object.