Select a material from the Plan Materials dialog and click Edit, New, or Copy to open the Define Material dialog for that material. The Define Material dialog can also be accessed by right-clicking on any material located in an unlocked library in the Library Browser and selecting Open... from the contextual menu or Library> Open....
You can also create a new material from scratch by selecting 3D> Materials> Create Material... 
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If you select a manufacturer's material, the Define Material dialog displays differently. Some options are not available and the tabs may vary.
The information on the General tab varies from one material to the next.
The name of the material displays here. In this field you can redefine the name of the material. If you rename the material, it does not create a new material; it redefines the existing material.
Material Color - The current color of the material. This color displays in 3D views and in render views if no texture has been selected. Click the color box to open the Windows Color dialog and select a new color. See "Color Chooser Dialog".
Line Color - The color of the pattern lines displays here. Click in the box to open the Color dialog and to select a new line color. Lines are only used with patterns in vector views and are not used in render views. See "Color Chooser Dialog".
Shading Contrast - Use the slider bar or text field to specify the amount of contrast between surfaces at different angles to each other in 3D views. The farther to the right the slide bar is set or higher the contrast value, the more contrast you see. This setting has no effect on render views.
The following is a picture showing the same curved wall view with three different contrasts (combined using a separate graphics program). Notice how the lowest contrast at the top appears almost flat, while the highest contrast on the bottom is sharp.
This area displays a preview of how the material looks in vector views. It updates as you change the material definition.
Type - This is the list of material types defined by the program. Some types are associated with patterns. A Type defines how a material is calculated in the Material List. See "Types".
Depending on the Type selected, several additional edit boxes may display in the dialog.
Height - Define a height dimension for the material. This value may be restricted to a ratio of another dimension. When applied to a strip or siding pattern, this number represents the width of the material.
Note: the Height - Overlap Amount = Exposure of the material.
Length - Define a length dimension for the pattern. This value typically refers to the Pattern across the screen view.
Thickness - Specify a thickness for a material such as Tile. This information does not typically effect the display of the material but is used for material list calculations.
Depth - Specify a depth for the material such as brick. This information does not typically effect the display of the material but is used for material list calculations.
Size - Some patterns are defined by relative size. Enter a number here. The number does not have any units, it is more like a scaling factor.
Joint Width - Enter a value for joint width between pieces of the material. This does not draw the joint any wider, but the information is used by the program when counting pieces of tile or brick.
Mortar Width - Enter a value for the mortar joints in a brick or block pattern. This does not draw the mortar any wider, but the information is used by the program when counting pieces of bricks or block.
Overlap amt - Enter the amount the material overlaps itself, such as lap siding.
Note: the Height - Overlap Amount = Exposure of the material.
Pattern Angle - Certain patterns may be rotated to a different orientation.
Line Weight - Specify the desired line weight for pattern lines in vector views.
Grouping - With a Strip type, grouping is used to describe the repeat of the pattern across the width of the material. i.e. A 13" wide siding with an overlap amount of 1" and a grouping of 3 calculates materials based on a 12" coverage and a repeat line pattern of 4".
DXF Code - This field holds up to five characters that appear at the end of the layer names used when exporting a 3D DXF file.
Every material is classified by Type. The Type defines how the material is calculated in the Material List. Some Types are associated with patterns but not every Type is associated with a 3D pattern. Not every Type is calculated in the Material List.
Following are the available Types and their characteristics:
Framing - These types are used by the program to estimate stick framing quantities if they are applied to the main layer of a wall layer definition.
Brick - Displays a typical brick course pattern. The height and length of the brick can be specified. This can be specified for anything using this type of layout, including plywood with staggered joints. The Material List calculates the number of bricks (by height and length) that fit on the total surface area of the defined object. For a wall, the surface area is used. For a full masonry wall with two layers of brick, be sure to define the wall as having two layers to get the right count. You can define the mortar width that enables the program to do an accurate count of bricks.
Strip - Shows a parallel line pattern in 3D views. The height, separation of the lines, and the angle can be specified. The Material List calculates lineal footage based on the height of the strip and the surface area covered. Overlap is subtracted from the height to get the exposure of the material. Grouping can be used to model a material that has a repeating pattern across its width.
Sheet - Sheets do not show a pattern. If a sheet material is applied to a wall or floor surface, the Material List calculates the number of sheets needed. If a sheet material is applied to a library object such as chair, the Material List does not calculate it.
Gap - This does not show a pattern. Specify gap to a material to create an Air Gap between materials as in the case of a wall layer definition. This would be the same as defining no material at all. This does not go to the Material List.
Area - This does not generate a pattern. The Material List calculates surface area. In the case of walls it is the area of the vertical surfaces.
Volume - This does not generate a pattern. The Material List calculates cubic feet.
Concrete - This does not generate a pattern. The Material List calculates cubic yards or cubic meters. When you apply this to a floor platform, the thickness is defined as four inches, by default.
Tile - This produces a grid-like tile pattern. The Material List calculates the number of units based on the total surface area, exactly as for bricks.
Shingles - This produces a pattern similar to the brick pattern, but you are able to define an overlap amount. The Material List calculates the number of shingles required to cover the surface area.
Flooring - This does not produce a pattern. The Material List calculates the total surface area.
Shakes - This produces a pattern to represent wood shingles. The Material List calculates the number of shingles required to cover the surface area.
Herringbone - This produces a herringbone pattern. Height and width are restricted to a 2:1 ratio. The Material List calculates the number of units required to cover the surface area.
Octagon - This produces a "tile" pattern of octagons and small squares. The size specified is the size of the small squares between the octagons. The octagon resizes proportionally. The Material List calculates the number of square and octagonal tiles required to complete the pattern.
Hexagon - This produces a hexagon pattern. The Material List calculates the number of units required to cover the area of the object.
Parquet - This produces a parquet wood floor pattern of small squares. The Material List calculates the required number of parquet units.
Textured - This produces a pattern similar to stucco. The density or frequency of the dots is definable. The Material List does not calculate this material Type.
Earth - This produces a 2D hatch that represents earth in cross section view. The Material List does not calculate this material Type.
Stars - This produces a star pattern. The Material List does not calculate this material Type.
Custom - If you select a pattern type from a PAT file, the material is automatically defined as Custom regardless of the pattern style. Custom materials are calculated in the Materials List as area.
2D surface patterns can be used as a visual tool in vector views. When a cross section/elevation view or overview is generated, the pattern helps define what material is used. Patterns that are associated with Types are used by the program to generate accurate take-off quantities for the Material List. Patterns are not used in render views.
The name of the material displays in this field.
This is a preview of the material as it appears in a vector view. The pattern is not used in render views. The preview updates as changes are made.
Pattern Type - Select a Chief Architect pattern from the pull down list. The Pattern Type defines how the material is calculated in the Material List. Only Chief Architect Pattern Types are figured in the Material List. If a .pat file is defined, the pattern type is listed as Custom.
Pattern File - The name of the current pattern file is shown here.
Click Browse to select a Pattern File that has not been defined by Chief Architect. Pattern files (files with a .pat extension) can come from a variety of sources and can be saved on your hard drive. Once you have selected a pattern file, use the Entries drop-down list to pick a hatch pattern from the file.
Entries - Pattern files are text files that define more than one hatch pattern. Individual patterns are defined with names that appear in the Entries list. Use the drop-down list to select an entry from the pattern file. The selected pattern displays in the preview window.
Scale - Rescale the pattern if necessary. If the pattern displays as black, the pattern repeats too often and the number in this field should be increased.
Origin - Enter coordinates to specify where the pattern begins in vector views. See "Mapping Patterns and Textures".
Textures applied to materials affect how a material appears in render view. Transparency information contained on the alpha channel of a texture is used in render view. Textures do not show up in any other 3D view and do not affect the Material List.
The name of the selected material displays, and can be renamed here if desired. Renaming a material does not create a new material; it just changes the name of an existing material.
The selected texture displays here.
Texture File - Displays the path and file name of the selected texture.
Click the Browse button to select a texture for the material. This accesses the Textures folder.
Ratio - Adjust the ratio or scaling of the selected texture. The values are in inches (or mm).
In this example, the bitmap shown is mapped to a 48" x 48" area.
If the surface rendered is larger than this ratio, the surface has "tiles" that are 48" x 48" of the assigned bitmap. If it is smaller, only a portion of the texture is shown.
Select the Stretch to Fit check box to stretch the texture image to cover each surface it is applied to.
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Note: Changing the scale or selecting Stretch to Fit can cause textures to appear distorted if they are mapped to a surface using a different aspect ratio than they were originally created with.
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Set a new Origin, if needed, so the texture displays correctly on surfaces in render views. See "Mapping Patterns and Textures".
Rotate Angle - Specify how the texture is rotated on the surface.
Set Color Using Texture - Selects a color to represent the material in vector views. The program averages the color of all pixels.
The Render tab controls how the material displays in render views. The preview window displays the material as it is rendered on a panel that is approximately 3' x 6'. As any of the render properties are changed, the preview updates to show how the new material looks in a render view.
The name of the material displays here.
Use the radio buttons to select the Simple or Advanced editing options. The Simple options display on this tab and the Advanced options, below.
Brightness - Controls how bright the material appears. It can be used to get the desired appearance relative to other materials.
Shininess - Controls the sheen of the material when it is rendered with a point or spot light source on it. Shiny materials appear to have a bright white spot that simulates reflection of light.
Transparency - Controls the opacity of the material. Most materials are set to Opaque, but Partial can be used to simulate a glass surface that you can see through.
Advanced options provide more control over the appearance of the rendered material. If you change any Advanced value, the Render tab displays the Advanced options when you edit that material. You can always change back to the Simple settings.
You can adjust settings using the slide bar, or by entering a value in the edit box.
The Ambient and Diffuse settings are used together to modify a material's brightness.
Ambient - Controls how bright the material appears when only ambient light is present.
Diffuse - Controls how bright the material appears when illuminated by a light source.
The Specular and Shininess settings are used together to modify a material's shininess.
Specular - Controls how bright the material appears when illuminated by a positional light source. It simulates the reflection of light off a surface.
Shininess - Controls how shiny the surface appears when illuminated by a positional light source. It must be used together with the specular value to simulate light being reflected from a surface. Adjust the shininess value to control the size of the reflected highlight on a surface.
Emissive - Controls how bright a material appears without regard to the lighting of the current scene. It can be used to simulate surfaces that are glowing with their own light, such as the glass on a light fixture.
Transp - Controls the transparency range from completely opaque to completely transparent.
You should note that the material Render Properties are dependent on the Render settings in the Preferences dialog and the lights that have been placed in the model.
To get proper lighting effects on an object, use at least one point or spot light. For these highlights to appear on large flat surfaces, select the Use Triangles option on the Render panel of the Preferences dialog.
For information about the Raytrace tab, see "Raytrace Tab".
If you select a manufacturer's material from a locked library, the Manufactuer's tab is available in the Define Material dialog.
This tab lists information on the manufacturer and how to contact them.
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