Maps Rollout (Standard Material)

To assign a map:

1. In the Maps rollout, click a map button.

   A modal Material/Map Browser is displayed.

2. Use the Browse From buttons to choose where you want to look.

   If you choose Material Library and the dialog's display area is blank, you need to open a library file. Click the Open button and then choose the library to browse.

3. Use the display buttons to choose how you view maps.

   • View List shows each map by name.

   • View List + Icons shows a small preview and each map's name.

   • View Small Icons shows a small preview for each map.

   • View Large Icons shows a large preview for each map, along with the map's name.

     Tip: You can resize the Browser dialog to increase the size of the display area. This is especially useful when you view large icons.

4. Double-click the map you want.

To use the same map for different parameters:

1. In the Maps rollout, use a map button to assign a map.

   The Material Editor is now at the map level, and displays controls for the map parameters.

2. Click Go To Parent to return to the material level, and then open the Maps rollout.

3. Drag the assigned map button to another map button.

   The Copy (Instance) Map dialog is displayed.

4. Choose Copy or Instance, and then click OK.

   If you choose Swap, the Material Editor swaps the two button assignments.

To view the parent material's parameters:

• If you are currently at the map level in the Material Editor, click Go To Parent.

  The parameters for the map's parent material are displayed. Also, the Show End Result and Go To Parent buttons become unavailable.

To view a map's parameters:

• If you are currently at the material level in the Material Editor, click the button that corresponds to the map.

  The parameters for the map are displayed. Also, the Show End Result and Go To Parent buttons become available.

  In the Basic Parameters rollout, if a map has been assigned to a color component or parameter, the corresponding button displays a letter M. In the Maps rollout, if a map has been assigned, the corresponding button displays the map name.

To view a map's location:

• Click Material/Map Navigator to view the Navigator.

  The Material/Map Navigator displays the hierarchy of the current material, which contains the map.

To go to a map using the Navigator:

• In the Material/Map Navigator, click the name of the map, or the green or red parallelogram to the left of the map's name.

  The Navigator goes to the level of the map, and the Material Editor displays the controls for the map you clicked.

  As the Navigator's map tree shows, maps for basic material components and parameters are one level below the material itself.

To preview a map in a sample slot:

1. Go to the level of the map, as described in previous procedures.

   The Material Editor displays the map's parameters.

2. Turn off Show End Result.

   The sample slot shows the map instead of the material. If the map contains sub-maps, these are also visible.

   By default, the sample slot displays a map with no three-dimensional shading. You can change this in the Material Editor Options dialog.

To view the map interactively:

1. Select an object.

2. In the object's creation parameters, make sure that Generate Mapping Coords is on.

   If the object type does not have a Generate Mapping Coordinates toggle, you need to assign mapping coordinates by applying a UVW Map modifier.

3. In the Material Editor, assign the mapped material to the object.

4. If you are at the material level (the top level), click the appropriate map button to go to the map level.

5. Turn on Show Map In Viewport.

   The map appears on objects assigned the material in all shaded viewports. Now when you adjust the map, the viewports update to display the adjustments.

   Turning on Show Map In Viewport for one map automatically turns this button off for all other maps the material has.

   Viewports can display 2D maps such as Checker and Bitmap.

   Viewports can also display most kinds of 3D maps. The exceptions are Particle Age and Particle MBlur. Also, the appearance of the Falloff map in viewports give only a vague indication of how it will appear when rendered.

   Show Map In Viewport is unavailable if the active map type cannot display in viewports.

   Displaying mapped materials in a viewport can slow performance. If you don't need to view the texture, turn off its viewport display.

To turn off interactive texture display:

1. Go to the map level.

   If you are at the material level, click the appropriate map button to go to the map level.

2. Turn off Show Map in Viewport.

   The object is shaded but the map no longer appears.

To turn a map off:

• In the Maps rollout, turn off the map's check box.

  The check box is to the left of the map's name.

To turn a map on:

• In the Maps rollout, turn on the map's check box.

  The check box is to the left of the map's name.

To change a map's strength:

• In the Maps rollout, adjust the map's Amount spinner.

  The material's sample slot reflects the change.

  Note: Adjusting a map's output (in the map's Output rollout) can also change the map's strength.

To move directly to an ancestor:

1. Below the Material Editor toolbar, click the arrow to the right of the map's name field.

   A drop-down list of ancestors is displayed.

2. Click a name in the Ancestor list.

   With this list, you can skip intermediate levels in the tree.

   The Ancestor drop-down list shows only part of the tree. It does not show side branches and siblings. To view these, use the Material/Map Navigator or the Go Forward To Sibling and Go To Parent buttons on the Material Editor toolbar.

To change a map type:

1. At the level of a map, click the button labeled Type below the Material Editor toolbar.

   A modal Material/Map Browser is displayed. If you were at a map, it lists only maps (if you were at a material when you clicked Type, the Browser lists only materials).

2. Choose a map type from the list, and then click OK.

   If you change a map type and the new map type can have component maps, a Replace Map dialog is displayed. This dialog gives you a choice between discarding the original map or using it as a component map.

   If the new map type does not have components, it simply replaces the original map type.

To create a standalone map tree:

1. Activate a sample slot.

2. Click Get Material.

3. In the Material/Map Browser, make sure Browse From is set to New.

4. Double-click the name of the map type (not a material type) you want to use, or drag the map to a sample slot.

   The sample slot now contains a standalone map not associated with material parameters.

5. Use the Material Editor to modify the map as you would any other map.

   By default, the sample slot displays a map with no three-dimensional shading. You can change this in the Material Editor Options dialog.